Famous Pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy
Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, Captain Kidd, Henry Morgan & More
The Golden Age of Piracy — roughly 1650 to 1730 — produced the most famous pirates in history. From the terror of Blackbeard on the Atlantic coast to the audacious raids of Henry Morgan across the Spanish Main, this era gave us the real pirate stories that still captivate the world today. Here you’ll find the most complete list of famous pirates from that age and beyond — each one a window into the real history behind the legend.
Howard Pyle, 1908. Public domain.
Some are household names: Blackbeard, the fearsome pirate who blockaded the port of Charleston and sailed under a flag of a skeleton toasting the devil; Captain Kidd, the privateer whose dramatic trial in London became one of the most sensational in pirate history; and Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two of the most celebrated female pirates of the Golden Age, who fought alongside men and became legends in their own right.
Others are less familiar but no less remarkable. Bartholomew Roberts — Black Bart — captured more ships than any other pirate of his era, over 400 in a career that spanned three oceans. Samuel Bellamy, the “Prince of Pirates,” commanded the most powerful pirate fleet in the Americas before his ship the Whydah was lost off Cape Cod in 1717 — the only fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck ever excavated. Henry Every pulled off the richest pirate raid in history and then vanished, never caught.
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The famous pirates of this era operated across the Caribbean, the Atlantic, the Indian Ocean, and the Mediterranean. Many built their reputations plundering the Spanish Main — the treasure routes of the New World where Spain shipped gold and silver back to Europe. Others terrorized merchant shipping as far as Madagascar and the Red Sea. Most had careers measured in months or a few years, ending on the gallows. Their pirate stories range from the historically documented to the richly legendary — and this page is your guide to all of them.
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| Kanhoji Angria |
Samuel Bellamy |
Blackbeard |
| Stede Bonnet |
Anne Bonny | The Barbarossa Brothers |
| Black Caesar | Christopher Condent |
Howell Davis |
| Francis Drake |
Edward England | Henry Every |
| John Hawkins | Captain Kidd | François L'Ollonais |
| Edward Low |
Henry Morgan |
Jack Rackham |
| Murat Rais |
Mary Read |
Bartholomew Roberts |
| Thomas Tew |
Charles Vane |
Emmanuel Wynne |
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Period engraving, c.1701. Public domain.
📖 Under the Black Flag — David Cordingly separates pirate fact from fiction with more authority than anyone. After running the National Maritime Museum's piracy exhibitions, he wrote the book that serious pirate history readers reach for first. Under the Black Flag on Amazon → (Amazon affiliate link)
When you follow the links to the famous pirates above, you’ll find that most of those we consider the greatest had short careers — often just two or three years — that ended on the gallows. Pirate executions were public spectacles, designed to deter others, and the bodies of the most notorious were sometimes gibbeted in harbors as a warning to sailors. Yet the real pirate stories from the Golden Age of Piracy have only grown more compelling with time. The history behind the legend is almost always more interesting than the legend itself.
Among those listed, pay particular attention to the female pirates: Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two of the most remarkable women in pirate history, fighting and sailing alongside men at a time when women were forbidden aboard most vessels. Their stories are among the most dramatic of the entire Golden Age.
📖 The Only Life That Mattered — James Nelson's account of the short and merry lives of Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack is the most readable telling of their story in print. If their entries here left you wanting more, this is the next read. The Only Life That Mattered on Amazon → (Amazon affiliate link)
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🗺️ The Golden Age of Piracy Timeline — a two-page printable covering 25 key events, 14 pirate biographies, famous ships, the pirate code, and a full glossary. Instant PDF download, letter size, $5.00.
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