Pirates & Privateers

A 14th-century Breton noblewoman, Jeanne de Clisson became a privateer after the execution of her husband Olivier IV de Clisson by the King of France in 1343. Nicknamed “the Lioness of Brittany,” she armed a fleet to wage a war of vengeance in the English Channel during the Hundred Years' War.

Klaus Störtebeker was a German pirate of the late 14th century, a leading figure of the Vitalienbrüder (Victual Brothers). He raided the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, preying on ships of the Hanseatic League, before being captured and beheaded in Hamburg around 1401.

Francis Drake was an English privateer and navigator of the 16th century, famous for being the second person to circumnavigate the globe by ship (1577–1580). Vice Admiral of the English fleet, he played a decisive role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Irish clan chief and navigator of the 16th century, nicknamed the “pirate queen.” At the head of the Ó Máille fleet, she scoured the west coast of Ireland through raiding and tolls, and negotiated in person with Elizabeth I of England.

Jean Fleury, known as Florin, was a Norman privateer in the service of the Dieppe shipowner Jean Ango. In 1523, off the Azores, he seized part of the Aztec treasure that Hernán Cortés was shipping to Charles V, revealing to Europe the fabulous riches of the New World.

Born into an Andalusian family exiled after the fall of Granada, Sayyida al-Hurra became governor of Tétouan in the early 16th century. An ally of the corsair Barbarossa of Algiers, she led privateering campaigns in the western Mediterranean against the Iberian powers and was one of the few women to rule as a sovereign in the Muslim world of her time.

Anne Bonny was a pirate of Irish origin active in the Caribbean in the early 18th century. The companion of the pirate Calico Jack Rackham, she fought at his side and became one of the few known women of the “Golden Age of Piracy.” Captured in 1720, she escaped hanging by declaring herself pregnant.

Bartholomew Roberts, known as “Black Bart,” was a Welsh pirate considered the most prolific of the Golden Age of Piracy. In barely three years (1719–1722), he captured more than 400 ships across the Atlantic and the Caribbean before being killed in battle by the Royal Navy.

Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, was one of the most famous pirates of the early 18th century. He roamed the Caribbean and the Atlantic coast of North America aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge, spreading terror through his carefully cultivated reputation, before being killed in battle in 1718.

English pirate of the early 18th century, active in the Caribbean during the “Golden Age of Piracy.” He owes his fame to his flag — a skull above two crossed cutlasses — and to the presence in his crew of the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

Ching Shih (c. 1775–1844) was a Chinese pirate who became one of the most formidable military commanders in history. She led the Red Flag Fleet, a confederation of over 1,800 ships and 80,000 men, imposing her rule across the South China Sea.

French buccaneer of the 17th century, born in Les Sables-d'Olonne, who terrorized Spain's possessions in the Caribbean. A leader of the Brethren of the Coast, he remained infamous for the extreme cruelty he inflicted on his prisoners during his raids.

Henry Every, nicknamed “Long Ben,” was an English pirate of the late 17th century. In 1695, he seized the Ganj-i-Sawai, a ship of the Grand Mughal, pulling off one of the largest hauls in the history of piracy. Actively hunted, he vanished without ever being captured.

Henry Morgan (c. 1635–1688) was a Welsh privateer in the service of England who led devastating raids against Spanish possessions in the Caribbean. Knighted by the Crown, he ended his career as Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica.

Jean Bart (1650-1702) was a privateer and naval officer from Dunkirk in the service of Louis XIV. Born into a family of sailors, he distinguished himself through his victories against the English and Dutch fleets and was raised to the nobility by the king.

Mary Read (1685-1721) was an English pirate who long concealed her sex beneath men's clothing. She served in the army and then aboard ships before joining the crew of the pirate Calico Jack Rackham, alongside Anne Bonny, in the Caribbean.

Rachel Wall (c. 1760-1789) is considered the first female pirate born in America. Together with her husband, she plundered the coasts of New England from Essex Island, luring ships with fake distress signals. Hanged in Boston in 1789, she was one of the last women to be executed in Massachusetts.

A privateer from Saint-Malo in the service of the King of France, René Duguay-Trouin distinguished himself through daring captures of enemy ships during the wars of Louis XIV. Ennobled for his exploits, he ended his career as lieutenant general of the naval forces after the capture of Rio de Janeiro in 1711.

Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy (c. 1689-1717) was an English pirate of the golden age of piracy. Captain of the Whydah, a captured former slave ship, he is considered one of the wealthiest pirates in history before perishing in a shipwreck in 1717.

Stede Bonnet (vers 1688-1718), surnommé « le pirate gentleman », était un riche planteur de la Barbade qui abandonna sa plantation pour devenir pirate dans les Caraïbes. Allié un temps à Barbe-Noire, il fut capturé puis pendu à Charleston en 1718.

A Scottish sailor first commissioned as a privateer in the service of the English Crown to hunt down pirates in the Indian Ocean. Accused of piracy himself, he was tried and hanged in London in 1701, becoming a legendary figure of the Golden Age of Piracy.

French privateer and smuggler based in the Gulf of Mexico in the early 19th century. As leader of the buccaneer community of Barataria, near New Orleans, he came to the aid of the Americans at the Battle of New Orleans in 1815.

French Malouin privateer, shipowner and slave trader (1773-1827). Nicknamed the “King of Corsairs,” he led feared campaigns against British maritime trade in the Indian Ocean during the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars, before becoming a wealthy shipowner in Saint-Malo.