The Real Pirates Of The Caribbean

A piracy is offence against the universal law of society. A pirate is a seaman, robber who attacks, seizes or destroys any ship at high seas and sometimes even harbors at the shore. Besides that, they were involved in many other illegal activates like smuggling and slave trades. The pirates are doing that for personal interest, without any legal rights. And as those attacks were unauthorized acts, they were treated like criminals in all countries. In periods when those sea-robbers were most influential, piracy was punished with death almost everywhere. Legality of their actions is also the main distinction between them and the privateers or buccaneers for whom we can also say that were some kind of pirates, but not treated like criminals.

No matter what type of pirates they were, the piracy was in their blood. They were not doing it just for the money, but because of their spirit, hunger for adventures, danger s and fame! The life on the open sea has never been easy. A pirate ship was no place for the weak ones, but being a pirate gave them a total freedom to do what they pleased, whatever they want and whenever they want.

The pirates have existed and terrorized from the very earliest days of history and they are still active. Some regions like the islands of the Indian Ocean, west coasts of Africa and especially the Caribbean, were being their “hunting grounds” for centuries.

The pirates were also truly woman lovers. Famous Blackbeard had 14 wives! They extremely liked celebrations and when not engaged in robbing, pirates heavily drank rum and liquors while singing their old songs.

A fictional versions of pirates are shown today in many novels and movies. They are romanticized, sometimes shown in a really glamorous way. However, in most cases, they were not like that. Actually, a pirate's life was anything but nice and happy. In fact, it was indeed cruel, violent and generally very short. Their career did not last long, even for the most successful ones. They had usually sailed for 2 or 3 years before they got caught or died in a battle.

Nevertheless their short period of activity, despite they were treated like outlaws and feared throughout the seas, the pirates were enormously famous, and some of their names still live today.

BLACKBEARD

Even though he was not the most successful, the feared and hated sea-robber, legendary Blackbeard is probably the most famous pirate of the Caribbean. As a notorious figure and a villain, he has been the main subject of many stories, books and movies in modern fiction.

In appearance, he was most notable and terrifying because of the long black beard which covered almost his whole face. For amusement, he used to separate it into the tails, each one tied with a differently colored ribbon. Speaking of his image, Teach was always wearing a sling with three pairs of pistols strung across his breast in addition of cutlass and few knives in his belt. An opposing crew often surrendered only by a sight of this seafaring pirate, although some rumors goes that he was very generous with the people who cooperated with him.

Intelligent and astute for a pirate, he was well educated and he could read and write. He was also famous for his weakness for women. It is said that he had around 14 wives and that only his last marriage to 14-years-old Mary Ormond was legitimate.

His real name is not certain. Most likely it was Edward Drummond, but he always introduced himself as Edward Teach . However, he was the best known as Blackbeard

It is believed that he was born in Bristol around 1680. During his teen years, Blackbeard left England and took a passage to the Caribbean . He served in Jamaica as a privateer during the War of Spanish Succession. After the war, he moved to New Providence in Bahamas . There he worked as an ordinary crewman on the sloop commanded by the pirate and the ex-privateer, Captain Benjamin Hornigold.

By learning the trade of piracy quickly, Blackbeard was promoted and awarded with his own vessel and a small crew from his tutor. Soon, as he was sailing alongside captain Hornigold and plundered many ships, Teach gained bloodthirsty reputation. The "Concorde" was the last big capture of this duo. Nonetheless, it was the powerful 300-ton frigate armed with 26 guns. However, Hornigold decided to retire from a piracy and gave to Blackbeard the "Concorde". Horngold accepted the offer of general amnesty for pirates in the Caribbean Sea from Woodes Rogers, the governor of Bahamas . Teach upgraded the "Concorde" with 40 guns and renamed it to "Queen Anne's Revenge" .

He continued to capture vessels in the Caribbean . Most epic victory was certainly the one in the sea-battle against the powerful warship, HMS " Scarborough ", which brought even bigger reputation to the pirate captain. In January 1718, Teach sailed for Bathe Towne in North Carolina and found a new base in Ocracoke Islands . He was spending days robbing the passing ships. The nearby town's market was a perfect place for selling captured goods. Even the local Governor Eden was bribed so Blackbeard wasn't prosecuted for any of his crimes.

When the pirates sailed to Florida , Teach's crew encountered the sloop "Revenge", commanded by another famous pirate, Stede Bonnet. The two captains became friends and they agreed to sail together as partners. However, soon after agreement, Blackbeard realized that Bonnet was a poor leader and an uncompetitive pirate. Therefore, Teach convinced him to leave captain's place to his man. Bonnet was boarded on the "Queen Anne's Revenge" as a "guest".

In that period, Blackbeard captured several more prize ships, and the sloop "Adventure" was added to his fleet. When the pirates left the Caribbean , the fleet counted four ships and over 300 pirates . In May 1718, Teach anchored near the harbor of Charles Town (now Charleston ), South Carolina where he seized 8 vessels with great valuables and some very important people. However, his pirates were deceased and in a need of medicines rather then money. So Blackbeard ransomed many prominent citizens, who were enslaved, for the medical supplies.

Unfortunately, later that month, when the pirates sailed to North Carolina , the "Queen Anne's Revenge" was lost as she ran aground in shallow waters at Beaufort Inlet. In that period, Teach planned to take a pardon like Hornigold. However, before that, he had committed a greedy treason. Intension was to get rid of Stede Bonnet. Blackbeard persuaded him to receive a pardon as well. When he left for Bathe Towne, Teach marooned around 30 pirates on island, stole all valuables and fled with the "Adventure". Later, Stede Bonnet rescued the marooned pirates, and in return they agreed to obey his commands. Once again he took control of the "Revenge", which was left to him, as Blackbead promised if Bonnet would accept amnesty.

Meanwhile Teach returned to Bathe Towne, sold the entire booty, bought a house and was granted a pardon from his "old friend", Governor Eden. Local people taught his pirate's days were finished.

Anyway, Blackbeard couldn't settle with an ordinary life. He was tired of pretending to be a prominent citizen. So after a few months, bloody pirate returned to his old trade and continued to plunder ships near his base. Despite his activities were well covered, some local ship owners feared of Blackbeard and possible gathering of pirates. Doubts were especially increased when another famous pirate, Charles Vane visited Ocracoke Island to salute his old friend. Soon, complains reached nearby colony of Virginia .

The local governor, Alexander Spotswood had been frustrated by the pirates for a long time, so he dispatched military to get rid of Blackbeard. The two naval vessels, HMS " Pearl " and HMS "Lyme", were selected for that particular task, but waters around Teach's base were too shallow for those ships. Spotswood then offered money from his own pocket to hire two sloops, "Ranger" and "Jane". Lieutenant Robert Maynard was in command of these two sloops filled with Royal Naval crew.

Maynard attacked Blackbeard at the dawn of 22nd November 1718. In the one epic sea-battle, Captain Blackbead was finally killed and few surviving pirates from his crew were sentenced and hanged afterwards.

STEDE BONNET

Stede Bonnet was an ex-army major and the Barbados plantation owner. Recognized as a "pirate gentleman" because of his cultured background, Bonnet was one of the most interesting and unique pirates in the Caribbean history. Although one of the least successful, he became very famous for some of his not-so-pirate actions.

Bonnet lived with his wife on a large estate near Bridgetown , Barbados after his retirement from the army. His profitable sugar plantation brought him wealth, a nice and a peaceful lifestyle. It was 1717 when this middle-aged gentleman suddenly turned to the piracy without any particular reason. The Rumor goes that Bonnet had much brawling with his wife, or that he was bored with ordinary life.

He had been at the sea very little and knew nothing about pirates' way of life. Therefore, unlike any other pirate, Stede Bonnet actually purchased his ship! It was the sloop "Revenge" with 10 cannons. He also hired around 70 good seamen from the local towns and began his "adventure" throughout the Caribbean Sea . Strategy of paying them well kept him from being deposed because he was really incompetent as a sailor and inexperienced leader. However, Bonnet was able to somehow capture and plunder a few smaller vessels in the coasts of Virginia and Carolinas , mostly because of his skillful crew.

In Florida he encountered a fearsome pirate , Blackbeard and his ship, the "Queen's Anne Revenge". Infamous Edward Teach visited the "Revenge" and soon realized that Stede Bonnet was a pleasant pirate with good manners. They became companions and set sail together. Soon after that, Teach convinced Bonnet to leave the command of the ship because of his uselessness. Bonnet barely agreed and became a "guest" on the "Queen's Anne Revenge". One of Blackbeard's lieutenants took control of the "Revenge" and the crew accepted him.

After the famous siege of Charles Town in South Carolina which he witnessed as a spectator, Bonnet took advice from Teach and left immediately for Bathe Town , North Carolina to receive amnesty from the "pirate-friendly" governor Eden. Bonnet decided it would be better for him to become a privateer in the war against Spain , especially because he would be the captain once again.

However, Bonnet was tricked . Blackbeard took all Bonnet's valuables and only left him the "Revenge" and 25 pirates on a lone island. Bonnet once again took control of the "Revenge". He set off towards the Virgin Island in the war for England and France . Newly-promoter privateer also vowed the revenge on Blackbeard although he was unable to even pursue him.

Generally, the most Caribbean pirates who took pardon didn't settle with legal jobs and returned to the sea-robbing. Same goes for Bonnet. Not long had passed before he renamed his ship to "Royal James" and returned to the piracy . Bonnet now cruised with much more experience and easily plundered some ships on the Virginia coast. While he was undoing his repairs in the small port of North Carolina, he plundered a local ship, and the news reached the authorities in Charles Town. Other pirates besides him, like Charles Vane, caused a lot of trouble in that region of the Caribbean . So, the local authorities decided to hire a local ship owner, William Rhett , to hunt the pirates. He had two sloops: the "Henry" with 70 men, led by Captain Masters and the "Sea Nymph" with 60 men, led by Captain Hall.

In October 1718, hunters found a pirate liar in Cape Fear Riverand and attacked Bonnet's flagship . The battle had lasted 5 hours when Bonnet was forced to surrender. Rhett was very surprised when he found out that Bonnet was on the ship because he was chasing Charles Vane. The pirates were taken to Charles Town, where townsfolk remembered Bonnet was a part of Blackbeard's crew during the infamous siege.

While imprisoned in a private house before a trial, Bonnet sent a letter to the governor, in which he asked to be forgiven. He also tried to escape but failed. Stede Bonnet was put on sentenced and hanged in November 1718 for piracy alongside 30pirates.

CALICO RACKHAM JACK

Calico Rackham Jack had mediocre accomplishments as a pirate. His fame comes from the fact that two most famous woman pirates, Anne Bonny and Mary Read sailed under his flag.

Calico Jack got nickname Calico, because he was always wearing lousy striped calico pants. (Calico is clothing material that was made in India in 18 th century. It was cheap and had "unfinished" look.)

Calico Jack Rackham never had enough manpower to attack heavily protected treasure ships. He preferred to use a small sloop and attack fishing vessels and local merchants.

In 1718, Jack Rackham was quartermaster on Charles Vane's ship. On November 23 rd, they encountered a French man-of-war. After realizing that it was not a commercial ship as they first though, Vane decided not to try to board the warship. His crew disagreed and on the following day Calico Rackham Jack was elected as a new captain. Charles Vane and the part of crew that supported him were left in a small sloop.

With his new ship, Calico Rackham Jack captured several small vessels. His share of plundered gold was not big, but he decided to retire for a time being. In 1719, he returned to the New Providence and received a King's Pardon from governor Woodes Rogers.

In the New Providence, Rackham met and fell in love with Anne Bonny. Her husband, James Bonny, in several occasions even threatened Calico. However, at the end Anne decided to leave her husband and ran away with Rackham.

Jack's money was running out, so in August 1719, he stole sloop named the William and returned to piracy. He cruised between Bermuda and Hispaniola and then sailed to Cuba. Again, he only attacked smaller vessels and mostly local craft.

During one occasion, Rackham captured en English ship, and forced several captured sailors into service. One of them was Mary Read.

Calico Jack Rackham and the most of his crew were captured in October 1720, near western coast of the Jamaica. Ship was anchored and crew unprepared, because the day before, they captured Spanish commercial ship and were celebrating all night. According to testimonies, only Mary and Anne resisted. Calico was apparently too drunk to command and even defend himself.

Captain Calico Jack Rackham would certainly be forgotten quickly, if during his trial for piracy, background of two woman pirates were not revealed. Anne and Mary were more than just woman pirates. They broke society's strict rules and escaped traditional restrictions. However, the names of Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, spread quickly throughout Europe and the America. They became legends, although they were just a minor nuisance.

Calico Jack and his crew were found guilty, for crime of piracy. Anne and Mary were reprieved, when it was discovered that they were both pregnant. With the rest of his crew, Jack was hanged.

HENRY MORGAN

Despite some of his actions were brutal and illegitimate, Henry Morgan was not a pirate. The Welshman was a magnificent buccaneer , certainly the most famous one . Described as a remarkable leader and a fearsome conqueror, he had a couple of legendary battles and unique tactics which brought him fame and wealth. Because of all his deeds, Morgan was a true hero of the Caribbean and the English nation.

Henry Morgan was born around 1635 in Llanrhymny, Wells. Already as a youngster, Henry was ambitious and very lively person who could not settle with a monotonous life in a quiet place. He decided to move on because he had a dream to be a sailor. Although Morgan wanted to gain wealth and fame as soon as possible, a pirate way of life was not in his interest. Therefore, he joined the England 's naval army to serve as a buccaneer .

It is uncertain how Morgan arrived in Jamaica, but it happened in the in 1655, when island was occupied by the buccaneers. He joined the England forces which attacked and robbed Spanish colonies in the Caribbean . There he built his buccaneer career first as a common solider and soon as a respected sailor. By joining a famous captain, Christopher Myngs and his fleet on some of his expeditions, Morgan gained much more naval experience.

Finally, in 1662, he became a captain of a small privateering vessel. His first successful raid was in 1664, when a group of buccaneer captains harassed together. They plundered many ships and colonies on the coast of Yutacan Peninsula and the rich town Granada in Central America.

All those attacks brought him a great financial income and also an excellent reputation . He bought a plantation on Jamaica and married his cousin , Mary Elizabeth. She was the daughter of Morgan's uncle, Colonel Edward Morgan, the governor of Jamaica. Edward Morgan died soon after, in attack on the Dutch colony. The new governor of Jamaica was Sir Tomas Modyford , who became a very good friend to Henry Morgan . Because of that friendship and his constant success, Morgan was promoted to a vice-admiral of the Jamaican fleet.

Meanwhile, the Spanish activity increased in Cuba, so Mayford choose Morgan to lead the Jamaican fleet. In January 1668, more then 10 ships and over 500 soldiers sailed to Cuba. Once again Morgan turned nightmarish for Spain. The City of Peurto Principe was easily conquered without much loss. Problem was that this raid brought to his army only 50,000 pieces of eight. Many disappointed soldiers left Morgan.

Fearless Henry planned another attack right away despite his army was almost halved. Target was a fortified and a well-guarded town, Puerto Bello. The tactic that Morgan was using during this conflict was crucial . He anchored his ships far from the city and used the canoes to approach the city quietly at the night. The attack was quick, the guards were unaware and two of the three main forts were easily conquered. However, the third one was almost impossible to occupy. Then Morgan came up with a brilliant idea to use the imprisoned monks and nuns as a human shield. With that strategy they succeed to conquer the last obstacle. The Buccaneers captured the town and the governor of Panama was forced to pay a lot for the slaves. 250,000 pieces of eight were taken from that impressive raid.

Next Morgan's terror took place in Venezuela in 1669. With 8 ships and 650 crewmen he conquered the city of Marcaibo. His buccaneers tortured many Venezuelan citizens almost like the cruelest pirates, in order to discover all hidden booty .

At that time, Morgan was the indisputable king of all buccaneers . He had wealth, the most powerful army in the Caribbean , and what is most important, a constant success. In most fights, Morgan performed such achievements that even Spaniards praised his bravery and leadership.

With the powerful force of 1200 buccaneers and 30 ships, his last great attack began in 1670. It was the greatest challenge and his main goal - Panama. First he took fort, San Lorenzo, which allowed his troops to reach Panama through the jungle. However, it turnout that trip was much more exhausting than Morgan expected. He lost many people because of hunger and sickness. However, buccaneers' charismatic captain boosted everyone's moral and they finally reached their goal. An enormous number of Spaniards was gathered in order to defend the rich city, but they could to nothing against the supreme army of buccaneers. The city was taken in the great fight and then entirely plundered and demolished. That happened to be the last Morgan's raid .

Actually, he did not know that he had committed act of piracy . England and Spain had been at peace when last attack occurred, so after his return to Jamaica, Morgan was promptly arrested by the new governor and shipped to England for a trial. However, that trail never happened. Morgan was a powerful and influential man with many great deeds for England behind him. Although a prisoner of state, he has never been punished. Instead, he was honored by the King and promoted to the deputy governor of Jamaica. In the period between 1674 and 1682, he was still military active in defense of the island from the pirates.

Morgan spent rest of his life peacefully with his wife, on a big plantation. When he died in 1688 , almost no buccaneers in the Caribbean were active.

WILLIAM KIDD

This famous Scottish pirate had a very unlucky career. From a great privateer he became an infamous pirate. Many historians today do not even consider Captain William Kidd a pirate. The people talk more about his fate, and less about his deeds. For his one and only act of piracy he paid with his very own life. However, beginning of his career looked very promising.

Kidd was born around 1645 in Greenock, Scotland. He loved the sea and sailing. Since the childhood, his dream had been to become a seaman, or even more, a great privateer and a pirate hunter. Later on, he left his homeland for New York where his career got underway. The success came almost instantly and Kidd's reputation as a privateer was growing rapidly. His prestige increased after many successful raids and a rank of a captain entitled him afterwards. He married Sarah Bradley Cox, a rich 20-years-old two-times widow. They had two kids. With successful career, wealth and family, his dreams were becoming reality.

England heard of his success, and in 1695, the king called him to serve there. Kidd agreed, hoping to win more challenging contracts. Once in England, he met many prominent citizens, including the new governor of New York and Massachusetts, Sir George Bellomont. He had a proposal for Kidd, which later turned fatal. He was put in the command of the "Adventure", a specially designed galley-warship with 30 cannons and 100 skillful crewmembers. His backers counted a lot of influential people in England. Some rumor goes that the king himself included that group. His main task was to hunt the pirates of the Red Sea. Kidd acquired two commissions: one gave him the authority to capture the French ships, and the other made him the government's pirate hunter.

The whole plan also involved some semi-legal actions which were supposed to bring a big profit. On those pirate-like operations, the backers would turn a blind eye. Kidd sailed out of the Chatham dockyard, and the troubles started soon after. Almost all his best crewmen left him for two Royal Navy ships, which were in a need of sailors. So, Kidd was forced to recruit the new ones in New York. Unfortunately, new crewmembers were mostly smugglers and former pirates, and they intended to attack all ships with no exception. As expected, Kidd refused that, so the arguing between him and newly-promoted crew began immediately.

The next destination was Madagascar. Meanwhile, no acceptable victims were found. There were a few attacks on French ships, but they failed. His crew was frustrated, especially when Kidd fled from some potential victims who seemed well-armed. Actually, they had some small captures, but they used earned money to repair the ship in the Laccadive Islands. Some of the disappointed crew left him there. The others pressured their captain even more because of his evasiveness. In one of many conflicts, enraged Kidd killed his gunner William Moore. After that incident, a potential mutiny was quelled. However, almost two years after leaving London, Kidd couldn't handle the pressure any more, so he committed his first and last act of piracy.

It was January 1698, when Kidd captured Quedah Merchant, the treasure ship that belonged to the British East India Company. He won battle easily and it was a truly great catch. That enormous vessel became his new flagship called the "Adventure Prize" and he finally abandoned the damaged "Adventure". However, Kidd became a wanted man as the revolted East India Company forced the government to brand him as a pirate. The backers couldn't support him anymore and any pardon was unacceptable. He had no other choice but to try to make some kind of a deal through the Governor Bellamont. Unfortunately, neither he, nor anybody else could do anything for Kidd anymore.

In April 1700, Kidd sailed to New York hoping to hide behind some powerful friends of his. However, he was arrested and shipped back to the England. William Kidd was trialed in May 1701 and sentenced to death for piracy and killing his gunner. This unlucky man had even the disastrous death. On his execution, the hanging rope had broken, before he was hanged properly in the second try. His body was disposed in a cage on Thames River as a warning to any potential pirate.

Today, Captain Kidd is one of the most familiar pirates. The main reason for that is the famous treasure. It is believed that he buried somewhere on Long Island just before he was captured and executed. Among many other stories and novels, Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island" brought the most attention to this legend. However, if all those stories are true, these treasures are all there yet.

MARY READ

Mary Read was born in Devon County, England, in the late 17th century. She had a harsh childhood. Her father died before she was born and her half-brother Mark passed away soon afterward. Mary's paternal grandmother supported Mary and her mother, only because she thought that her grandson Mark was still alive. To keep death of Mary's brother as secret, from his grandmother, Mary was raised as a boy, pretending to be her older brother.

When Mary Read was about thirteen years old, her grandmother died. Mary still dressed as boy and with boyish habits, had to find a job. She became a footboy to wealthy French woman, who lived in London . Unsatisfied with her current position, she escaped and boarded a man-o-war. Few years have passed and she became bored again. This time she joined army , where she met her future husband. After confessing love and true gender to him, they left army, married and opened an Inn called Three Horseshoes near Castle Breda.

Mary Read was always surrounded by death. After just few months of marriage, her husband got sick and died. Desperate, she just wanted to escape from everything and joined the army again. This time she was boarded a Dutch ship that sailed to the Caribbean . Almost at the reach of its destination, Mary's ship was attacked and captured by the pirate, Calico Rackham Jack who took all English captured sailors as part of his crew. Unwillingly she became a pirate. However, soon after, she started to like pirate way of life . When she had a chance to leave Rackham's ship, Mary decided to stay.

On Rackham's ship, she met Anne Bonny. Being only women on ship and sharing a lot in common, they quickly became good friends. Some people believe that Mary Read was in romantic relationship with Anne Bonny, Rackham or even one of the crewmembers. However, we cannot testify to any of that.

Mary's pirate carrier ended, on October 1720. She was captured, by Captain Barnet in desperate battle. In Port Royal, they stood trial. Rackam and his crew were found guilty of piracy, but Mary and Anne were spared because they claimed to be with child .

Mary Read died with her unborn child in prison from fever . She was buried at St. Catherine's parish in Jamaica .

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