Personell aboard

[Dept of PMM Artists & things]

Captain

The Spanish were continuously harassed in the Caribbean by pirates and buccaneers who attacked the Spanish galleons, which were carrying riches, back to Spain. The celebrated English Explorers Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake were classed as such famous pirates! The pirates who operated in the Caribbean in later years included Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny and Henry Morgan. A pirate is a person who robs or plunders at sea, or sometimes the shore, without a commission from a recognized sovereign nation. There were safe havens for pirates, or pirate enclaves, all over the world but Port Royal and Jamaica were famous examples of places where pirates could gather without fear of attack or arrest. The Golden Age of Piracy lasted just over 100 years form the 1500's to the mid 1600's. The most famous Pirates were:

Blackbeard (Edward Teach)
Grace O'Malley
Black Bart
Henry Every (Avery)
Henry Morgan
Calico Jack (Jack Rackham)
Barbarossa (meaning Red Beard) the nickname of Khair ad Din
Captain Kidd

Famous historical pirates/privateers
• Kanhoji Angre
• Captain Thomas Anstis
• Louis-Michel Aury
• Hayreddin Barbarossa
• "Black Sam" Samuel Bellamy
• Moric Benovsky
• "Blackbeard" (Edward Teach)
• Stede Bonnet
• Anne Bonny
• Roche Braziliano
• Roberto Cofresi
• Jacob Collaart
• William Dampier
• Simon de Danser
• Pier Gerlofs Donia
• Sir Francis Drake
• Henry Every
• Jean Fleury
• Chevalier de Grammont
• Richard Hawkins
• Jan Janszoon
• Wijerd Jelckama
• William Kidd
• Jean Lafitte
• Hendrick Lucifer
• Edward Low
• François l'Ollonais
• Grace O'Malley
• Samuel Mason
• Sir Henry Morgan
• Christopher Newport
• Calico Jack Rackham
• Mary Read
• Kemal Reis
• Turgut Reis
• Bartholomew Roberts ("Black Bart")
• Klaus Stoertebeker
• Robert Surcouf
• Zheng Yi Sao
• Zheng Zhilong

Famous Elizabethan Pirates
The notorious famous pirates detailed on this page are real pirates - not Privateers. The English government issued ‘letters of marquee’ to the famous Elizabethan pirates, which licensed these sailors to legally plunder enemy ships. These Privateers, often referred to as Elizabethan pirates included Sir Francis Drake, Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir Richard Hawkins and his son, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Martin Frobisher, Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Richard Grenville. Information and facts about these Privateers, or pirates, can be accessed via the following page Famous Elizabethan Pirates

The following list of names represent the famous pirates and privateers who were associated with the Elizabethan era, late 1400's and early 1500's:

Nathaniel Butler - English Pirate
Jan de Bouff - Dutch Pirate
Tobias Bridge - English Pirate
Enrique Brower - Dutch Pirate
John Calles - English Pirate
Peter Easton - English Pirate
Daniel Elfrith - English Pirate
John Nutt - English Pirate
Grace O'Malley - Irish Pirate
John Ward - English Pirate

The following list of names represent the famous pirates who were associated with the Buccaneers and the Spanish Main:

Henry Morgan - Welsh
John Morris - English
Thomas Paine - English
Richard Sawkins - English
Bartholomew Sharp - English

The following list of names represent the most famous pirates who were associated with the 1700's:

Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) - Welsh Pirate
George Booth - English Pirate
John Bowen - English Pirate
Black Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy) - Famous English Pirate
Edward Teach or Thatch, known as Blackbeard - English Pirate
Anne Bonney (Anne Cormac) - Famous Irish Female Pirate
Edward England - English
Henry Every (Avery) - English
Benjamin Hornigold - English
Calico Jack (Jack Rackham) - English
James Kelly - English
Captain William Kidd - Scottish
Mary Read - Famous English Female Pirate
Bartholomew Roberts - English
Thomas Tew - English
Charles Vane - English
Richard Worley - English
John Morris - English

The famous woman pirates are covered in the page Famous Woman Pirates include famous female pirates such as Grace O’Malley, Mary Read, Lady Killigrew and Anne Bonny.

The History of Famous Pirates dates back over many hundreds of years. The Golden Age of European pirates saw many seamen, who had served in merchant or naval ships, turning to the lucrative, but dangerous occupation of a pirate. However, the pirate crews were treated much better than the navy crews who were subjected to harsh, rules, treatment and punishment and low wages - many were press-ganged into service. Their own laws, called Articles, which were agreed between the pirate crew and the captain, governed the pirate ships - these articles also agreed how the prize money from their raids and captures would be shared out. The history of pirates was based on money - the potential wealth that could be made in a pirate's life. Moreover, lifestyle.

The Famous Pirates of the Spanish Main
The term the 'Spanish Main' is often associated with famous pirates. However, what and where was the Spanish Main? The Spanish established colonies on the land in the New World and also claimed specific sea routes. The “Spanish Main” referred to the coastal region of the Americas surrounding the Caribbean Sea and South America. The famous pirates who operated around the Spanish Main were the original pirates of the Caribbean! The territories around the Spanish Main opened up paths to the new wealth that was found in the New World. They loaded their ships with their treasure to send back to Spain. Many of the famous pirates attacked these Spanish treasures fleets. The original Pirates of the Caribbean and the pirates the Spanish Main used many of the Caribbean Islands as their bases. The traffic in treasure made the Spanish Main a haunt of famous pirates and privateers.

Female Pirates of Note

Ch'iao K'uo Fü Jën — Chinese legend from c. 600 B.C.

Queen Artemisia of Halicarnassus (in Greece) — 480 B.C., Mediterranean.

Elissa ("Dido") — c. 470 B.C., Mediterranean, legendary founder of
Carthage.

Queen Teuta of Illyria — 232 B.C. to 228 B.C., Adriatic Sea.

Princess Sela — c. 420 A.D., Norwegian Viking.

Princess Rusla — Norwegian Viking.

Russila and her sister Stikla — Norwegian Viking.

Wigbiorg — 800s A.D., Viking.

Hetha — 800s A.D., Viking.

Wisna — 800s A.D., Viking.

Crew

A pirate captain had to be cut from a different mold, because previous experience had taught most that life at sea was harsh enough without an inexperienced or cruel leader making it worse. He was elected as a sort of president of this shaky democracy, someone already respected for his or her leadership and navigation skills that would be levelheaded and decisive with the pirate crew in the heat of battle.

It was during engagements that this pirate of pirates would be expected to rise above and help bring victory, but in most other occasions on ship, he was more or less another voting member in the pirate crew, delegating most of the everyday tasks to the quartermaster or other junior officer. In these times, he was to be an even-tempered father who maintained the barest level of discipline necessary to hold the family venture together. This father could be voted out and even thrown off if he became passive or wavering, went against the majority vote, became too brutal, or simply no longer performed his duties to the liking of the pirate ship crew.


First Mate- A pirate crew sometimes had this position as the captain's right-hand man and the one who would assume his role if he were killed in battle or could no longer perform his duties. This was often considered the job of a lieutenant in a regular navy, and most pirate crews chose a quartermaster instead of a First Mate.

Quartermaster - Out of their distrust of dictatorial rule, pirates of the Golden Age placed a large portion of the captain's traditional role and power into the hands of an elected quartermaster who became second-in-command and almost a co-captain through his representing the best interests of the crew.

As a foreman, he was in charge of maintaining order, distributing rations and supplies, delegating work, and guarding and dividing plunder. In fighting, the quartermaster decided what ships were worth it and often led any boarding party, ultimately deciding what loot to keep. When discipline or punishment was necessary, only he could give it, but even then, it was with the agreement of the captain or the vote of the pirate crew.

In the worst of situations, he was a sheriff enforcing fairness in duels or a judge presiding over jury trials for serious crimes committed among the crew. For all his hard work, the quartermaster received a larger portion of any plunder and would often be asked to command any highly valued ship taken in battle.

Boatswain (bos'n) - This position may be compared to the modern chief petty officer. A ship of any size would require the boatswain to oversee several junior officers who would share his responsibility for the crew's morale and work efficiency as well as the maintenance and repair of the hull, rigging, lines, cables, sails, and anchors.

Gunner - A gunner would be the leader of any separate group manning the artillery. His special skill would be in aiming, but he would oversee the four to six men required to take the gun through the steps of loading, aiming, firing, resetting, and swabbing for the next load. He would also work to ensure the gun crew's safety in avoiding dangerous overheating or excessive recoiling of the weapon. A master gunner would help to coordinate the timing and accuracy of the individual crews, especially when a broadside was ordered.

Powder Monkey - This term was first used in the British Navy for the very young men who made up most gun crews in the 17th century. In contrast to a pirate officer who was elected, these poor souls were forced to perform what was some of the most dangerous work on the ship. They were harshly treated and rarely paid, and if they avoided being mortally wounded in their service, desertion was probably as attractive as having very little hope of being promoted in the pirate crew.


Carpenter - There could probably be no more highly regarded artisan in a pirate crew when your life and livelihood depended on the soundness of the wood around and beneath you. A person in this apprenticed trade would use their skill to not only repair battle damage to masts, yards, hatches, and the hull, but to keep the ship's leaky seams in check with wooden plugs and oakum fibers. He would often have separate quarters combined with a workspace. Each carpenter would usually have an assistant in apprenticeship.

Surgeons, Cooks - Yet another highly valued position, surgeons would often be grabbed from crews of captured ships, although they would not be ordinarily be asked to sign the articles. He would be expected to deal with colds, fevers, or sexual diseases with an assortment of mercurial medicines or other current treatments, and the carnage of battle often required amputations in hopes of saving the wounded.

It seems that the ship was possibly more valued than life or limb when there is no mention of substitute carpenters, but for lack of a surgeon, a carpenter or even a cook would be asked to fill in. A carpenter would be certain to have the similar tools and cutting experience, but a cook as a surgeon would be quite a stretch.

More often than not, a cook would be a disabled pirate who was allowed to stay on ship if he could make food that did not kill the pirate crew. Perhaps it was felt that if a pirate crew survived his cooking, he could make something to help heal as a stand-in surgeon.


Cooper - If a pirate captain was fortunate enough to have a prosperous career, perhaps he could afford the services of a cooper, a barrel maker. Most everything not in a crate or canvas bag was in a barrel. Using steel hoops and strong wood, the cooper would make containers to keep gunpowder dry, food free of pests, and water and spirits from leaking into the bilge. With a changing environment and the constant shifting of the cargo, the hoops and staves of the barrels required constant upkeep to remain intact and tight.

Musicians - Those who could play drums, bagpipes, trumpets, accordions, fiddles, and other instruments were so well liked that they escaped torture if captured by pirates. With entertainment at a premium on most uneventful days at sea, they would be expected to play a jig to dance to, lead a shanty for work tempo, or provide dinner music. Musicians would usually play prior to and during a battle, blaring out martial tunes, nautical favorites, or simple loud noise to inspire the crew. Bartholomew Roberts wrote a provision in his articles stating that regular Sabbath rest should be provided for his musicians. Roberts was known for his good treatment of his pirate crew.