Pirates

In reality it’s unlikely that real pirates were as handsome as Errol Flynn or Johnny Depp and battles at sea were a lot bloodier than the choreographed sword fights we’re used to seeing on the silver screen.

Pirates were renowned for their heavy drinking and foul language; many of them were ex-seamen who were either lured into piracy by the promise of getting rich quick or who were forced into it when their vessels were attacked. It was a cut throat but highly organised business, each crew having their own code of conduct which often included punishment of death for those who deserted or stole from their shipmates and a policy of no women allowed onboard.

Captain Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart, has been called the most successful pirate of all time. He looted up to 400 hundred ships off the coasts of West Africa and America before being killed in a battle with the British navy in 1721. This was all the more impressive because although he left his native Wales to go to sea at an early age Roberts didn’t begin his criminal career until the age of 37 when his ship was attacked by pirates and he was forced to join their ranks. He obviously got the hang of it pretty quickly because within a few years had become a captain and secured millions of pounds worth of stolen booty.

Another of the most infamous pirates of all time was also a Welshman. During the late 17th century buccaneer Henry Morgan plundered ships off the coast of the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean with the unofficial blessing of the English crown. In 1674 he was knighted by King Charles II and made deputy governor of Jamaica where he died a respected planter 14 years later.

Captain William Kidd has the reputation of being one of the most colourful and celebrated pirates. Born in Scotland he went to sea as a young man and became a legitimate privateer for the British government in 1689, plundering French ships for the Crown. Kidd was later given a royal commission to capture pirates but decided it would be more lucrative to become one instead. After years of attacking ships off the coasts of Africa and America he was eventually captured and brought back to London for trial where he was hanged on Executioner’s Dock on the Thames in May 1701. For centuries after his death treasure hunters tried unsuccessfully to find the location of his hidden booty.

There are only two female pirates on record; Mary Read and Anne Bonny. They were both captured and tried in Jamaica in 1720 and although found guilty they were reprieved because they were both pregnant.