Of all the pirates who terrorised the seas,
One of the most infamous of the sea rovers was the ruthless English pirate Edward 'Ned' Low. Born in London, Low moved to British America as a young man and became a petty thief. Graduating to piracy at sea, he soon acquired a reputation for extreme brutality towards his enemies - and even his own men.
Like Bellamy, England was known for his kindness and compassion as a leader, unlike many other pirates of the time. Several vessels, most famously the Royal James and the Fancy. Battle with the Cassandra that caused his crew to mutiny and maroon him for sparing some captives.
Don Pedro, the handsome, ruthless Spanish pirate, apparently didn't get the memo in 1832 that piracy was over in the Atlantic Ocean. He made a reckless move on the high seas against a brig from Salem, Mass., and he paid for it with his life.
The oldest active pirate during the Golden Age of piracy was Captain William Kidd (born c. 1645, d. 23 May 1701), who plied his trade until the age of 54; owing to the many occupational hazards, the majority of pirates only lived into their mid-30s.
Sailors and pirates tended to be very superstitious - that is, they had a fear of the unknown and used it to explain misfortune (bad things that happened). Living and working on a ship in the middle of the seven seas was a very dangerous job.
Every himself disappeared with his double share of the loot and was never captured. This last fact is what really sets Henry Every apart from his contemporaries. Almost all of the most famous pirates of the so-called 'golden age of piracy' (roughly 1690-1730) met sticky ends.
O'Malley then ruled from two castles—on Clare Island and Clew Bay—and the sea. That's why many called her a “pirate queen.” Grace O'Malley largely fought with English ships, as a feud between England and Ireland was well underway.
Grace O'Malley: The Pirate Queen of Ireland. Grace O'Malley (a. 1530 - 1603) is one of the most famous pirates of all time. From the age of eleven, she forged a career in seafaring and piracy and was considered a fierce leader at sea and a shrewd politician on land.
Edward Low
Captain Edward (Ned) Low was born in Westminster. He was one of the most brutal men to command a pirate ship. During the 1720s he plundered ships on both sides of the Atlantic and became notorious for his savage cruelty. He took a sadistic pleasure in cutting off the noses, ears and lips of his victims.
For particularly notorious pirates, usually the captains, they were hanged and then their body was hung to rot in an iron cage. The Scottish privateer turned pirate Captain Kidd (c. 1645-1701) was found guilty of piracy and murder at his trial in London in May 1701.
Captain Samuel Bellamy ( c. 23 February 1689 – 26 April 1717), later known as "Black Sam" Bellamy, was an English sailor turned pirate during the early 18th century. He is best known as the wealthiest pirate in recorded history, and one of the faces of the Golden Age of Piracy.
Blackbeard or Edward Teach (c. 1680-1718) is one of the most infamous pirates to have ever lived. Known for his fearsome image and daring acts on land and sea throughout the West Indies and along the North American East coast, his legacy has been the inspiration for many depictions of pirates throughout history.
The highest-earning pirate ever was Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy, an Englishman who made his bones patrolling the New England coast in the 18th century. By our calculations, “Black Sam” plundered an estimated $120 million over the course of his career.
If some pirates had goals beyond personal wealth, however, treasure was, at the very least, a means to an end, and their way of acquiring it had no limits in cruelty and violence. To persuade their victims to hand over all they owned, pirates made regular use of every form of torture.
Cabin boys are the ones who attend to the needs of all the pirates on the ship. It's a job that would require them to be active almost 24/7. Cabin boys were usually hostages, while others were stowaways or were only looking for adventure. This is undeniably one of the worst jobs on the ship.
Indonesia (43 Pirate Attacks)
Indonesia's 17,500 islands and their surrounding waters now take the title as the world's most heavily pirated. Shortly before 11 p.m. at Belawan Anchorage, the docked Rudolf Schulte, was boarded by six pirates who climbed aboard using a long bamboo pole topped with a metal hook.
With the blessing of the vessel's owner, the captain treated crewmen as he saw fit, often harshly. Sailors were beaten, overworked, underpaid, and sometimes starved. Morale was low. Dissent was punished as mutiny.
Mary Read & Anne Bonny
Mary Read (1685 – 28 April 1721) was an English pirate who, along with her crewmate Anne Bonny, became a legendary female pirate. Mary's mother was a widow who dressed her as a boy to collect money from the family of her dead husband. She eventually joined the British Army disguised as a boy.
William B. Pordobel, better known as One-Eyed Willy, was the pirate captain of the ship, Inferno. He was Flemish from Flanders, a region in present day Belgium (Then the Spanish Netherlands).
Englishwoman Mary Read is ultimately remembered for two things: as a woman who disguised herself as a man, and for her career as a fearsome pirate. Born in England towards the end of the 17th century, Mary was the illegitimate daughter of a young widow.
It's difficult to know what female pirates were called. Many disguised themselves as men to be able to fit into pirate crews undetected. Female pirates were a minority – and openingly female pirates – even rarer. In today's popular culture you can find references to girl pirates, women pirates, she-pirates and so on.