The history of pirates was based on money - the potential wealth which could be made in a pirate's life. The pirate ships were governed by their own laws, called Articles, which were agreed between the pirate crew and the captain - these articles also agreed how the prize money from their raids and captures would be shared out. But 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. 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.

The History of Famous Pirates dates back over many hundreds of years. 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. Mary Read - Famous English Female Pirate.Anne Bonney (Anne Cormac) - Famous Irish Female Pirate.Edward Teach or Thatch, known as Blackbeard - English Pirate.Black Bellamy (Samuel Bellamy) - Famous English Pirate.Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) - Welsh Pirate.The following list of names represent the most famous pirates who were associated with the 1700's: List of Famous Pirates Names - 1700 - 1800 The following list of names represent the famous pirates who were associated with the Buccaneers and the Spanish Main: List of Famous Pirates Names - 1650 - 1700 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: Information and facts about these Privateers, or pirates, can be accessed via the following page Famous Elizabethan Pirates 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. The English government issued ‘letters of marque’ to the famous Elizabethan pirates which licensed these sailors to legally plunder enemy ships. The notorious famous pirates detailed on this page are real pirates - not Privateers. The most famous Pirates were:īarbarossa (meaning Red Beard) the nickname of Khair ad Din The Golden Age of Piracy lasted just over 100 years form the 1500's to the mid 1600's. 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.

Famous pirates