Pirate Facts
Here is a great collection of pirate facts for you: who they were, what they did, where they did it, and how.
If you want to know the difference between a buccaneer and a corsair, or if you want to know who the most famous pirates were, then you have come to the right place!
A pirate is a robber on the sea
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The Greek Islands were home to pirates in 500BC
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Julius Caesar was captured by pirates when he was 25. While prisoner, he told them that he would come back and kill them all. He was eventually released, and he kept his promise!
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Pirates of the Mediterranean were known as "corsairs". Most were Muslim. Corsairs fought with curved swords called "scimitars". They captured people and sold them as slaves.
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The two most feared corsairs were the Barbarossa brothers. Barba Rossa means "Redbeard" in Latin.
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Because England and Spain were at war, Queen Elizabeth I encouraged
English pirates (called "privateers") like John Hawkins and Francis
Drake to attack the Spanish ships.
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The original buccaneers were drifters and criminals who survived by
hunting wild pigs on the island of Cuba. When the Spanish attacked them
and killed all the pigs, the buccaneers became pirates instead and
attacked and looted Spanish merchant ships.
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Henry Morgan was a famous buccaneer leader.
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Buccaneers invented a special kind of sword called a "cutlass"
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In the 1650s, most buccaneers moved to a new hideout on Jamaica, called
Port Royal. This became a wild and wealthy place full of drunk pirates
and runaway slaves. It was destroyed by an earthquake in 1692.
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Ching-Chi-Ling was a great pirate leader in the South China Seas. He had a fleet of more than 1000 ships.
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Many pirates were women - such as Mary Read, Anne Bonny, Grace O'Malley, and Ching Shih.
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The most successful pirate ever was probably Bartholomew Roberts, known
as Black Bart. He captured around 400 ships in the 1720s. He was
handsome and dashing too!
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The most terrifying pirate on the high seas was Edward Teach -
Blackbeard! After many years of murder and mayhem, in 1718, he was
eventually defeated in a sword fight by naval officer Robert Maynard
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Steam power spelled the end for most pirates. The navy built steam ships
which could travel much faster than the old sailing ships, and the
pirates could not escape.
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There are still pirates around today, especially in the Caribbean and
Far East. They tend to use small boats, and sneak onto merchant ships in
the dead of night to steal the cargo. Sometimes they kidnap people and
demand ransoms.
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