Loi Chai-san was a much more modern pirate than the others discussed here so far. Known as the ‘Queen of the Macao Pirates’, she preyed on shipping in the waters around Hong Kong in the 1920s.
She made her fortune both from stealing cargo and also from the proceeds of kidnap.
Loi Chai-San commanded a small group of 12 armed junks which she had acquired from another pirate by the name of Honcho Lo. Apparently, Loi Chai-San never spoke to her men directly. Instead, she spoke to them through two maids who were constantly by her side.
Chai-San always saw kidnap as a profitable venture and took captives whenever possible. She would inform the relatives and set a ransom. If this ransom was not paid within her timescale then she would send another, along with a finger or an ear from her captive. If this didn’t encourage a prompt payment then the captive would be murdered.
Loi Chai-San disappeared from history and no-one is quite sure what became of her. One story suggests that she was imprisoned for the rest of her life in 1939, after being captured by the Coast Guard. Another tale claims that she died during the China/Japan war after attacking a torpedo squadron.
It is believed that Rachel Wall was the first female American pirate. She was born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania in 1760.
She ran away from home and her strict Presbyterian parents at an early age and joined up with, and married, George Wall who had previously privateered during the Revolution.
The pair travelled to Boston before George disappeared for a time, leaving Rachel to scratch a living as a servant. When George returned some time later he brought many treasures with him and used them to convince Rachel to join him in a life of piracy.
Their method of piracy was a little different to the norm as they tended to lure vessels towards them instead of outright attacking them. They would position themselves near an island during a storm and pretend to be in trouble. When another vessel came to offer assistance Rachel would cry out for help. After pulling to, the pirates would kill all the sailors and steal all the cargo.
This method proved quite profitable with George and Rachel netting $6000 of booty between 1781 and 1782. They also captured 12 ships and murdered at least 24 sailors.
In September 1782 the Wall’s ship became a genuine victim of the weather when they got caught up in a ferocious storm. Everyone except Rachel was washed overboard - George and all the other sailors were drowned.
Somehow, Rachel survived and managed to sail back to Boston where she once again found employment as a maid. She would appear to have kept herself on the right side of the law for sometime but in 1789 she found herself on trial for a street robbery.
She protested her innocence for that particular crime though for some reason she did admit to her earlier piracy during the trial. Nevertheless, she was found guilty and became the last woman to be hanged in Massachusetts.
(11 votes, average: 3.45 out of 5)
Loading …Lady Mary Killigrew, a friend of Queen Elizabeth I, was no stranger to piracy as it was rumoured that her father and other family members had been involved in stealing ships and cargo for many years.
Mary killigrew’s most famous exploit occurred in 1583 in her native Cornwall. On the first of January a Spanish ship, the Maria, berthed at Arwenack Castle and the officers were entertained by the Killigrew’s.
During the officer’s stay, Lady Killigrew slipped away from them for a while and boarded the Maria. She and her men killed all aboard and stole the cargo and hid the ship.
Upon returning to the dock, the Spanish captain was furious at the disappearance of the Maria but there was little to no proof that Mary Killigrew had been involved in either the disappearance of the vessel or the killing of his men.
A Spanish contingent travelled to London to lobby for justice and an investigation was begun. However, when it was discovered that the judge behind the investigation was Killigrew’s son, the Spanish exerted political pressure on the Queen’s court.
This led to a trial at which Killigrew and two of her cohorts were found guilty and sentenced to death. The other two were executed but Lady Mary Killigrew was pardoned by her friend, Queen Elizabeth I.
(8 votes, average: 2.63 out of 5) Loading …Born to a puritan preacher around 1540, Francis Drake began his sailing career as navigator on a small merchant vessel. Later he became an officer on a West African slave ship.
In 1567, whilst sailing from the Caribbean to Mexico, Drake and his cousin, John Hawkins, were defeated in battle by a Spanish Armada. They lost all of their vessels and from that time forward Francis Drake had a deep hatred towards all Spaniards.
Over the next few years Drake befriended escaped African slaves around the Caribbean. He vollected them together and they went with him into battle against the Spanish around the region.
In 1572 John Hawkins gave Drake 73 sailors and 2 ships. With these, and a privateers commission from Queen Elizabeth I, he sailed to America in under 3 weeks. After a failed attack on Nombre de Dios (present day Nicaragua), Drake succeeded in attacking a Spanish caravel carrying gold. This brough him some small fame and fortune. Continua »
A well educated man of high status, Major Stede Bonnet, from Virginia, was born into a respectable English family.
His life progressed well and he became a respectable and successful plantation owner who had a good standard of living and a high place in Bridgetown society.
It’s no surprise then that Barbados was shocked when Stede Bonnet suddenly changed direction in his life. He became a pirate for reasons no-one has ever been able to understand, though it has been hypothesised that he may have developed some kind of mental disorder.
As a pirate, he was completely different to anyone else who had gone before him - he bought his own ship instead of stealing one and paid his crew from his own purse instead of drawing up contracts and allocating divisions of treasure.
His ship, the Revenge, was small and fast and carried ten guns. In early 1717 Bonnet recruited desperate sailors from the inns of Bridgetown and then managed to keep them in order only by virtue of the payments he was giving them.
After a slow start to his piracy career, Steed Bonnet set sail without saying a word to his wife or friends and began to capture various ships. After the first few it became his trademark to burn them.
After some success to the north and around the New Englan Coast, Bonnet and his crew returned south. By this time there was unease amongst his crew as they were becoming increasingly aware that he was only an amateur pirate.
After stopping by the Bay of Honduras, the Revenge came into contact with the Queen Anne’s Revenge, captained by the infamous Blackbeard, aka Edward Teach. Blackbeard and Bonnet quickly became firm friends.
Blackbeard, however, quickly became aware that Bonnet’s inexperience and relieved him of his command. Putting one of his crew in charge of Bonnet’s ship quickly placted the crew and so order was resored.
Not long after, Bonnet persuaded Teach to return the Revenge and he then promptly set sail for North Carolina where he handed himself in to the Governor, Charles Eden.
As a reformed pirate he escaped major punishment but still went straight back to his pirate ways. He was quickly caught by Colonel William Rhett. Bonnet escaped once but was soon captured yet again very soon afterwards.
Stede Bonnet was taken to Charleston where he faced the Court of Vice Admiralty, chaired by Sir Nicholas Trott esq.
Bonnet was found guilty of piracy, sentenced to death and then hung on 10th December, 1718.
(4 votes, average: 2.75 out of 5) Loading …Presumeably born in France, jean Laffite approached piracy from a business perspective more than a nautical one.
Working with his brother out of Barataria Bay near New Orleans, they engaged in both piracy and privateering. They would attack anyone, not caring to differentiate between Spanish, American or British shipping. Trading their spoils in a vast number of ports in the area ensured they became well known and so there were a great many merchants willing to trade with them.
Laffite often found ingenious ways of escaping travel. After being arrested one time he simply did not turn up for his trial. When the governot offered a bounty of $750 for his arrest, Laffite offered a payment of $1500 to anyone who could capture the governor!
Laffite then allied himself with the British, aiding an attack on New Orleans in 1814 in return for money. He attempted to acquire more money by passing the details onto officials in New Orleans but they dismissed both him and his stories. Laffite slipped away as the British attacked and was later pardoned for all crimes against Britain in return for his help.
Laffite and his crew, however, were denied pirating rights in Barataria Bay and so moved on to Galveston which they took control of. The Laffite’s continued as pirates, operating out of Galveston until they were run out. They continued their acts of piracy around Central America until Jean died in 1821.
(1 votes, average: 1 out of 5) Loading …