Who were the greatest pirates in history?

Question

Who were the greatest pirates in history and what books would you recommend to learn more about them?

Answer 1

By far, Henry Morgan. The man did things other pirate's only dreamed of doing. In addition to capturing or destroying almost 40 spanish ships, Morgan sacked the most forified cities in the Carrebean, including Panama and Portobelo's Puerto Principe each with a garrison of over 1600 battle tested Spanish soldiers. Morgan's skill in battle was met only by his cruelty after victory. Upon sacking the city of Panama, Morgan burned it to the ground and slaughtered every last man, woman and child.

Morgan's reputation was so extreme, that when his ships were sighted of the coast of Maracaibo (one of the most heavily fortified coastal cities in Venuzuala), virtually every inhabitant AND the local garrison fled the city. And well they should have....those wealthy residents in the nearby city of Gibraltar on Lake Maracaibo who failed to flee were captured and personally tortured by Morgan for over three weeks...until they gave up every hidden cache of treasure or valuables they possessed. Reportedly, when gutted city of Gibraltar was eventually visited immediately after Morgan's attack, 3 corpses had been found with their noses and ears removed, dozens of cuts across the body, hanging by rope tied to their 'members'.

The man assembled entire pirate fleets (as large as 86 ships and 2000 men), and commited act of torture, rape, murder and mutilation that made even the Spanish squimish. Morgan was the pirate's pirate, often referred to as 'The Pirate King', as crafty, calculating, violent and cruel as the seas have ever seen...with a 'career' that spanned nearly two and a half decades. Hell, they even named a rum after him.

I'd recommend 'Harry Morgan's Way', by Dudley Pope.

Answer 2

The pirates of pirate ship Radio Caroline, which played rock music off the coast of Britain in the 60's.

Answer 3

I think that pirate guy on Captain Morgan Rum looks pretty great for pirate.
Also, that guy who created Napster was the greatest cyber pirate in history !
Hail to free downloading !

Answer 4

Personally I think Centropy are the greatest pirates in history. But your probably talking about the swashbuckling kind.

For those, I would say:
Captain Morgan and Blackbeard

Answer 5

Morgan, definitely. Blackbeard... Layfayette... Kidd... Teach... and many, many others.

Check the library, there used to be some very good books about Pirates. Pirates and Privateers were hard to separate at times.

Answer 6

Black Beard was a fearsome pirate, my boy. The surge of the the seven seas, Black Beard was the most ruthless, bloody and single-minded pirate ever! OK, but seriously, he's one of the most famous, and most of today's 'pirates' would have to take a chapter from his book, cuz he wrote it.
Check out, "The idiots guide to pirates". I can't remember the author, a woman I believe. Amazon.com should be able to tell more...
Bliss

Answer 7

Bill Gates and Steve Jobs and Steve Wasniak

"Pirates of Silicon Valley" (It's a movie)

Answer 8

I suggest the Barbary Pirates who raided and controlled the Meteraian aswell as raided in the North Atlantic. Here is a summary and more can be found at the source link:

Though at least a proportion of them are better described as privateers, the Barbary pirates were pirates that operated out of Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Salè and ports in Morocco, preying on shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea from the time of the Crusades as well as on ships on their way to Asia around Africa until the early 19th century. Their stronghold was along the stretch of northern Africa known as the Barbary Coast (a medieval term for the Maghreb after its Berber inhabitants), although their predation was said to extend as far north as Iceland, and south along West Africa's Atlantic seaboard. As well as preying on shipping, raids were often made on European coastal towns. The pirates were responsible for capturing large numbers of Christian slaves from Western Europe, who were sold in slave markets in places such as Morocco. Sultan Mawlay Ismail had a very substantial fortified palace built almost entirely by Christian slave labour obtained through the actions of Barbary pirates.
Perhaps the best-known was Barbarossa (meaning red beard) the nickname of Khair ad Din, who after having been invited to defend the city of Algiers from the Spaniards killed its ruler and seized it in 1510, making it into a major base for privateering, as well as a regent for the sultan of the Ottoman Empire.
Some of them were renegades or Moriscos. Their usual ship was the galley with slaves or prisoners at the oars. Two examples of these renegades are Süleyman Reis "De Veenboer" who became admiral of the Algerian corsair fleet in 1617, and his quartermaster Murad Reis, born Jan Janszoon van Haarlem. Both worked for the notorious corsair (privateer) Simon the Dancer, who owned a palace. These pirates were all originally Dutch. The Dutch admiral Michiel de Ruyter unsuccessfully tried to end their piracy.
Raids by Barbary pirates on Western Europe did not cease until 1816, when a Royal Navy raid, assisted by six Dutch vessels, destroyed the port of Algiers and its fleet of Barbary ships.

Answer 9

Mary Read, Henry Morgan, Anne Bonny, Captain Kidd... There were tons.

Answer 10

Ted Kennedy and all his friends at the "Big Dig" in Massachusetts