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It is truly ironic that very little is known with certainty about the most famous, most notorious pirate ever. Eyewitness accounts state that Blackbeard was a large, tall man with a long black beard which he braided and tied with ribbons. To add to his imposing looks, he would light cannon fuses that had been dipped in lime water or salt peter and stuff them under the edge of his hat (some say in his beard). The smoke would encircle his head and certainly give him an intimidating flair.
The true identity of Blackbeard differs between official records, personal accounts, eyewitnesses, and fictionalized history. Even paintings and woodcuts show him looking vastly different. Whether you believe him to be Edward Teach, Edward Thatch or even Edward Drummond, he was most likely born in Bristol, England around 1680. Some recent, unverifiable reports say he was actually from Jamaica, London, or Philadelphia.
It’s believed that like many other young men of his time, he probably served aboard a British privateer ship in the West Indies during the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne’s War) and chose piracy over unemployment at war’s end.
He arrived in New Providence, Bahamas in 1716, a base for Captain Benjamin Hornigold, whose crew Teach joined around 1716. Hornigold served as his mentor and placed him in command of a sloop that he had captured. He was very impressed by Blackbeard, who would later go on to capture 2 ships, including the French slaver La Concorde. It was renamed the Queen Anne’s Revenge and fitted with around 40 guns.
The village of Bath, North Carolina became his new home in January of 1718, the town being a good place to sell plunder and to perhaps settle down. He sought a pardon and protection from Governor Charles Eden, who welcomed the economic boost the pirates brought to the area.
Most accounts suggest that he was generally kind to those who were cooperative with him but intolerant of those who were not. There is no record however of his murdering anyone in his short-lived career. He was a shrewd and calculating leader who spurned the use of violence, relying instead on his fearsome image to elicit the response that he desired from those whom he robbed. He was romanticized after his death and became the inspiration for an archetypal pirate in works of fiction across many genres.
In November 1718, Virginia governor Alexander Spotswood sent Lieutenant Robert Maynard with two sloops to attack Blackbeard, but both sloops were temporarily grounded in pursuit. After Blackbeard killed several of Maynard’s men with grapeshot and grenades, his ownsloop, Adventure, was grounded but he nevertheless boarded thinking he had the advantage in men. Maynard’s remaining troops rose from hiding spots in the hold and a fierce fight ensued. During the mighty struggle, Maynard himself shot Blackbeard in the shoulder, and another officer slit his throat. The officer then nearly decapitated him with a second blow.
When Blackbeard’s body was inspected, it showed more than 25 wounds, including 5 from gunshots. His severed head was put on the bowsprit of Maynard’s ship, which sailed back to Williamsburg with the remnants of the crew in custody. Thirteen of them were hung there in March 1719.
Blackbeard had captured over 40 ships during his piratical career and had been the cause of the deaths of hundreds of people. Although Blackbeard’s lawless career lasted only a few years, his fearsome reputation has long outlived him.
Allen Balogh is a retired educator who taught World and U.S. History for more than 20 years. He is also an award-winning author. In 1985, he began exploring the locations of the southernmost ship of the 1715 Armada Fleet off the coast of Florida near Hutchinson Island in Stuart. Over the years, Allen had been fascinated with the 1715 Fleet and the Golden Age of Piracy. He had boxes of articles, documents, and court records. In addition, his research at Castillo de la Fuerza in Havana, Cuba, provided insight and primary documents to intertwine into his novels.
His first book, Black Sails 1715, is a 78,000-word historical fiction novel based on fact. He took the literary pleasure of creating dialogue for the characters to come alive for the reader to become educated, as well as entertained.
His next book, Goat with the Glass Eye, was co-written with Joanne Wetzl. The book was awarded Bronze Historical Fiction by the Florida Writers Association, a membership made up of 1,300 authors. This book is based on factual people and recorded events from the Age of Piracy and the 18th century Triangular Trade Route.
Allen’s third book was an Early Reader for children between the ages of four and six. He and his son, Christopher, wanted to leave a family legacy. The book, Mimi’s Mermaids, tells the story about the secret to life, understanding, and love.
A Perilous Journey from Cuba, his fourth novel, was released in January of this year, and is a continuation of his research of archival documents while he was in Havana, Cuba.
Allen is a popular lecturer and historian and does book signings and offers presentations to various groups on the Golden Age of Piracy and the 1715 Fleet. In addition to being a guest on various radio stations, he has also appeared at the Saint Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum, Mel Fisher Museum, Sunrise Theater, Treasure Coast Historical Society, and numerous pirate festivals to name but a few. Allen also wrote two articles for the premier publication, Indian River Magazine; “When Pirates Scoured the Treasure Coast” and a tribute to Dr. Eugene Lyon, the foremost expert in Spanish Colonial history. The article was penned “Researcher for the Ages.”
Allen Balogh is a member of the National Historic Preservation Society, Florida Historic Society, 1715 Fleet Society, and Palm Beach Writers Group.
Jeff MacKay started Pirating in 2003 when he recreated the Jack Sparrow costume in full within the first month of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl being released. At the time he was one of only 3 Jack Sparrow impersonators in the United States. He portrayed Jack Sparrow in Disney’s only interactive release of Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl in both Portland, Oregon, and New Orleans, Louisiana.
Also in 2003, MacKay launched Captain Jack’s Pirate Hats, and to date has sold over 5000 handcrafted pirate hats. He has sold them all over the world and has made hats for Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Disney theme parks, Disney Junior Network, the History and Discovery channels, Broadway, films, rock bands and celebrities, museums, exhibits, fashion magazines and advertisements, TV commercials, living history, pirate reenactment, collectors, and everyday pirate fans. He has been affectionately dubbed “The Ralph Lauren of Pirate Haberdashery.”
His pirating includes more than costume and hat making. In 2008, with wife Rebecca, started The Pirate Furniture Co. LLC making Pirate theme Home Furniture and Décor. The following year he finished a full-length feature film screenplay, “The Buccaneer”. In addition to his hats, he makes flags, skull stands, and props.
Jeff MacKay has received many accolades over the years, including his election into The Order of Leviathan in 2009 as one of the first group of Inductees, known as “the Devil’s Dozen.” His involvement with the Order didn’t stop there as he served two back-to-back terms as the “Grand Leviathan” at the Helm of the Order from 2010 – 2014. Since that time, he has been a Master Leviathan Advisor to the Steering Committee of the Order of Leviathan. He was also named Pirate of the Year in 2015 by Mutiny Magazine.
This inductee has many accomplishments. In 2010 he wrote “The Pirate’s Compendium,” a compilation book of over 400 historical documented real pirates. He served as Casting Director and appeared as “Billy” in the independent pirate short “Blood” in 2012. A few years later he designed the PiratePix phone app, allowing iPhone users to piratetize their photos with realistic pirate accessory stickers. Jeff and his family (wife Rebecca and son Wilde) appeared in a Yahoo Celebrity Spotlight piece on The MacKay Pirate Family.
Throughout his 19 years in the Pirate Community, Jeff MacKay has appeared in countless Pirate reenactments, living history and Faire events, various inductions, exhibits, corporate gigs, birthday parties, schools, summer camps, and Charity events (particularly Cancer related).
It’s hard to find one person who has done more for the popularity of pirates over the last few decades than Johnny Depp. Johnny is perhaps also one of the most versatile actors of his day and age in Hollywood.
Raised in Florida, he dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music garage bands, including one named “The Kids.” When he visited Los Angeles, California, it turned out to be a blessing in disguise when he met actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp’s film debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger.
In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series 21 Jump Street (1987). In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film’s success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut’s Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
In the 2000s, Depp became one of the most commercially successful film stars by playing Captain Jack Sparrow in the film series Pirates of the Caribbean. In 2003, Depp starred in the first franchise Walt Disney Pictures adventure film Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, which was a major box office success. He earned widespread acclaim for his comic performance as pirate Captain Jack Sparrow, and received Academy Award, Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations and won a Screen Actor’s Guild Award for Best Actor as well as an MTV Movie Award. Depp says that Sparrow is definitely a big part of him, and that he modeled the character after Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards and cartoon skunk Pepé Le Pew.
Depp is an actor, producer, and musician, and now an Inductee into the International Pirate Hall of Fame.
When you hear the word pirates you undeniably end up thinking of proficient fierce men whose life stories have mesmerized millions for several centuries now. Contrary to these popular ideas, the most successful pirate-lord in recorded history was not a man. Instead, it was an extraordinary Asian woman who is known today by the name Ching Shih.
Her saga is nothing less than an exhilarating rag to riches story. At the height of her power, she commanded over 800 large ships, 1000 smaller vessels and an over 70,000 pirate crew comprised of both men and women.
Ching Shih was born as Shih Yang in 1775 in the poverty-ridden society of Guangdong province, in China. Akin to many of the women of this period, at the tender age of thirteen, she was forced into prostitution in order to supplement her family’s income. She worked in one of the floating brothels, also known as flower boats, in the Cantonese port city.
In 1801, Zheng Yi, a notorious pirate commander of the infamous Red Flag Fleet, encountered Ching Shih in the Cantonese port and was enthralled by her beauty. No sooner had he visited the floating brothel and met Ching Shih, he expressed his feelings and asked her to marry him. Some historians however claim that Zheng Yi had ordered his men to abduct Ching Shih from the brothel, forcibly marrying her. Either way, at this juncture, Ching Shih asserted that she would marry him only if she was granted fifty percent share over his monetary gains and partial control over his pirate fleet. The fleet grew from 200 ships, at the time of their wedding, to 1800 ships, in the next few months.
Just six years into their marriage, in 1807, Ching Shih’s life took a sudden tragic turn, Zheng Yi died in a devastating storm off the coast of Vietnam. Their adopted son Chang Pao was made
the leading commander of the Red Flag Fleet and the pirate queen Ching Shih’s confidant.
Amidst this tragedy, there was an internal rift for power amongst the power-hungry captains of partnering ships. The future of the Red Flag Fleet was in danger. Ching Shih managed to secure command of the fleet and win the support of factions loyal to Zheng Yi, including his nephew and cousins, by utilizing a few cunning business tactics. Soon after, the power-hungry traitors were captured and executed in public to set an example and deter any future possibilities of a coup.
Less than two weeks after the tragic death of her husband the pirate queen announced that she was getting married to her adopted son. It is said that she had shared an illegitimate relationship with him for a very long time.
In 1822, her second husband lost his life at sea, after which she relocated to Macau along with her children and opened a gambling house with all the wealth she had acquired at sea. She was also involved in trading salt. Towards the end of her life, she opened a brothel in Macau.
She died in 1844 at the approximate age of 68, having lived a relatively peaceful and prosperous life since the end of her career in piracy. Zheng Yi Sao has been described as history’s most successful female pirate, and one of the most successful pirates in history.
The 2 things this inductee is known for is bringing smiles to the faces of the young and young at heart, and his charitable work. Hailed as one of the best overall entertainers, Keith Carson has been seen at many pirate festivals and renaissance faires from coast to coast, telling pirate jokes, taking photos with attendees, and presenting various other forms of entertainment. As Captain Kidd Carson, aka WhiteBeard the Pirate, he has been pirating for well over a decade. He visits most every children’s hospital in the State of Florida in character, reading to the children, posing for photos, participating in pirate-themed parties, and handing out piratical gifts.
He was raised in a family that taught him the value of volunteer service. His literacy program, Captain Kidd Carson’s Bookaneers, features pirate stories from various children’s book authors, all who have donated books to the Program. On top of regularly visiting hospitals, Keith takes his literacy program to elementary schools, libraries, and pirate-themed events, sharing books and stories with children, inspiring them to read and learn. During the Program, he reads age-appropriate pirate tales promoting the importance of reading, gives each participant a Bookaneer certificate and a t-shirt, along with coins, jewels and other treasure, all paid for out of his own pocket. He is currently working on converting a school bus into a pirate ship on wheels for the Program. The motto of the Program is, “Books are Treasure for the Mind.”
Keith is also an ordained minister and runs a very successful business, Captain WhiteBeard’s Weddings, a full-service pirate-themed wedding company. He has been officiating pirate weddings since 2015 and has married couples all over the United States. He is well-known for his custom ceremony scripts that help deliver a wedding ceremony no couple will ever forget.
As an Instructor, Keith has assisted many pirate crew members as well as rogue pirates by certifying them in the NRA Basic Muzzleloading Shooting Course. He is an adamant proponent of safety in the Pirate Community and is also a certified Range Safety Officer.
In 2020, Keith was inducted into the Order of Leviathan, an organization whose mission is to encourage camaraderie and involvement amongst the piratical social and entertainment groups at pirate-themed events, festivals and gatherings; to expand their presence and involvement in supporting local communities and charities; to be an example of leadership in educating, promoting, and building upon the historical and fictional pirate subculture for future years to come; and to support, promote, and maintain quality pirate-themed events worldwide.
It’s not just pirate joy that Keith brings to the masses. He is also a professional Santa Claus and has been spreading Christmas joy for the past 17 years. During the holiday season, Keith portrays Santa at the Christmas Spectacular featuring the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. In 2012, he launched the Believe in Santa Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides visits from Santa to children in need all year long, including children living in poverty, crime victims, disaster survivors, hospitalized, terminally ill, or children of parents in the military. Visits include handing out presents and quality time with each child in an effort to bring love, hope and joy to children in times of need.
Keith served as a police officer for 25 years, retiring at the rank of Colonel, and as one of the most honored and decorated law enforcement officers in the State of Florida.
John de Bry, Ph.D., is a paleographer and historian specializing in 16th to 18th century French, Spanish, and English manuscripts. He serves as a Senior Advisor to SEARCH in the areas of Spanish and French colonial archives, ethnohistory, historical archaeology, and maritime archaeology.
Dr. de Bry received his master’s in history from the École Pratique des Hautes Études, Paris Sorbonne as well as his doctorate in Post-Medieval History. He has participated in a number of excavations in the U.S., Caribbean, South America, Madagascar, and the Philippines. He has conducted extensive research in European repositories, as well as The Library of Congress in Washington, DC.
Dr. de Bry currently serves as the Director of the Center for Historical Archaeology in Melbourne Beach, Florida. He has been published over a dozen times, including his most recent archival research on the 17th century French ship La Belle.
In his long list of projects, he served as scientific consultant for the Discovery Channel. Chief Underwater Archaeologist on four expeditions to Madagascar (January-November 2000), sponsored by the Discovery Channel to locate and investigate the wreck of the Adventure Galley (1698), abandoned by Captain William Kidd in the natural harbor of Sainte-Marie Island, off the northeast coast of Madagascar. In addition to the Adventure Galley, the wreck of the pirate ship the Fiery Dragon (1721) was also discovered and positively identified. The expeditions and findings were the subject of a major documentary, The Quest for Captain Kidd, which premiered on the Discovery Channel on Sunday, June 10, 2001.
An expedition to Madagascar that took place in October-November 2010, resulted in a second documentary, “Pirate Island,” which premiered on November 20, 2011 on H2 (History Channel 2, formerly History International).
He’s involved in archival research in French archives on Site 0003BUI, suspected of being the wreck of Blackbeard’s ship, the Queen Anne’s Revenge (1718). The research is aimed at determining if the pirate ship Queen Anne’s Revenge was the French slaver la Concorde, from Nantes, Captained by Pierre Dosset and captured by pirates near St. Vincent in November 1717.
Dr. de Bry previously served as a consultant for Josh Gate’s Expedition Unknown (Travel Channel). He has appeared in multiple documentaries investigating archaeological sites near Madagascar, the Dominican Republic, Egypt, and Haiti for the History Channel, Discovery Channel and History Channel 2. He also served as consultant in charge of supervising conservation, selection, assemblage and archaeological description of all artifacts for the National Geographic traveling exhibition “Real Pirates.”
Dr. de Bry was a featured speaker at the 1st International Conference on the 1715 Fleet held in Vero Beach in July 2015 and at the 2nd International Conference on the 1715 Fleet held at Flagler College, St. Augustine, Florida in March 2017. His assistance and support made these conferences a success.
Dr. de Bry’s list of projects, accomplishments, publications, and memberships is quite extensive, a direct result of his experience and expertise. Only a handful are listed here. He is fluent in French and Spanish, and is a Fellow in The Explorers Club (FN’90).
John is also a direct descendant of the Fleming engraver Theodore de Bry who published, with the help of his family, the Great Voyages, notably the 1591 Brevis narration that depicted and narrated the second voyage to Florida by René de Goulaine de Laudonnière and the establishment of the first French fort, Ft. Caroline in Florida. He is the nephew of Lily Pons, the great opera singer and star of the Metropolitan Opera from 1931 until 1960.
He’s best known as Joshamee Gibbs, the longtime comrade and devoted First Mate of Captain Jack Sparrow. Teller of tales, handy with a bottle, this veteran sea dog was truly a skillful sailor who cleverly navigated his way through many deadly situations. The often soused but always reliable Gibbs had an encyclopedic knowledge in all manner of pirate lore of the seven seas and an epicurean taste for rum.
Once a sailor in His Majesty’s Royal Navy, later an enthusiastic pirate, Joshamee Gibbs was a man who knew his way across every ocean, and into every pub. Gibbs was Jack Sparrow’s most trusted comrade, one who cared as much about the Black Pearl as Jack himself did. On several occasions, Gibbs served under Jack’s nemesis and rival, Hector Barbossa, but was never truly loyal to him compared to his true loyalty to Jack. Gibbs had an endless capacity to forgive, necessary when he sailed with Jack Sparrow, but lived a pirate’s life and followed the Pirate’s Code.
Kevin McNally is an accomplished theatre and radio actor. He was born in Bristol, England, and grew up in Birmingham. At the age of 16, he got his first job at Birmingham Repertory Theatre. A year later he received a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. In 1975 he won the Best Actor Bancroft Gold Medal for his stage performance. McNally’s most notable stage performances in London’s West End include his appearance as Alan Bennett opposite Maggie Smith in The Lady in the Van, and opposite Juliette Binoche in Naked. He also starred as Richard in Terry Johnson’s Dead Funny.
Since 1976 McNally has been involved in numerous TV productions beginning with his portrayal of the Roman ruler Castor, son of Tiberius, in the acclaimed BBC history series I, Claudius (1976) and his portrayal of Drake Carne in the popular series Poldark (1975). His career on television ascended after his work in Masada (1981) and in the cult TV series Doctor Who: The Twin Dilemma (1984). During the 1980s and 1990s McNally established himself as a reputable and versatile actor on both the British and American TV. He played a broad variety of leading and supporting characters ranging from the Soviet politician Kirov in Stalin (1992) to homicide detective Jack Taylor in Chiller (1995), and from an insecure son, Alan Hook, in TV series Dad (1997) to a convicted murderer James Hopkin in Bloodlines (2005). His portrayal of Frank Worsley in Shackleton (2002) as well as the role of Harry Woolf in Life on Mars (2006) are among his best-known works for television.
In 1977 McNally made his big screen debut as HMS Ranger Crewman in the James Bond adventure The Spy Who Loved Me (1977). After having played bit parts in more than twenty feature films, McNally shot to international fame as pirate Joshamee Gibbs, his best-known film role, in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. He is one of only a few actors to have appeared in all 5 films.
Matt Albers is the host of The Pirate History Podcast, which keeps the history of piracy alive and well for all to hear. He’s a lifelong landlubber, book lover, and history enthusiast. His infatuation with the Golden Age of Piracy began during Christmas break at the age of seven; after bedtime, under the covers, flashlight in hand, and a copy of Treasure Island open in his lap.
He started The Pirate History Podcast in March 2016 to share the amazing stories of the real men and women who sailed the seas, and to tell their tales with the depth and respect they deserve. For Matt, it’s a lifelong dream to get to talk about the real history of the pirates with people who truly love these stories.
As of today, there are over 250 episodes of the Podcast, all of which are available free of charge to listeners on numerous platforms. Each episode takes an incredible amount of time to research, record, edit, and produce. Matt’s Podcast has earned nearly a perfect 5-star rating.
Samuel Bellamy is long regarded as the most successful pirate in recorded history. He accumulated the equivalent of between $120 and $177 million in today’s money from more than 50 ships becoming the richest pirate the world has ever known.
He pirated under Benjamin Hornigold and his second in command, Edward Teach. But when the crew became irritated by Hornigold’s unwillingness to attack ships of England, his home country, a majority of the crew voted that Hornigold be deposed as captain of the Marianne. He left the vessel with his loyal followers, including Teach. The remaining 90-man crew then elected Bellamy as captain.
A master sailor, Bellamy pirated for just a little more than a year in and around the West Indies. He’s famous for being one of the original members of the Flying Gang which launched the careers of some of the most infamous pirates of all time including Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Charles Vane.
He was said to be a tall, strong and well-mannered man who liked flashy clothes like many of his counterparts. He usually carried four dueling pistols and captained two ships, one heavily armed and another smaller one that he could quickly maneuver to block rival ships.
Bellamy called himself the “Robin Hood of the Sea” and his men called themselves “Robin Hood’s men.” His nickname, Black Sam, came from the fact he wore his black locks tied back in a ponytail rather than a powdered white wig.
There is no record of him ever killing a captive, and he often returned captured ships and cargo if they didn’t suit his purpose.
Little is known of his early life, though he is believed to have been born in the west of England. His parents were said to be tenant farmers, hovering on the edge of starvation. Bellamy left home at a young age for a port, London, Bristol or Plymouth. He became a ship’s boy at 13 and by the end of the Spanish war in 1712 he was a skilled sailor.
Just a few months after acquiring the Whydah Galley, the ship went down in stormy seas in 1717 off the coast of Massachusetts, killing Bellamy and most of his crew and leaving its treasure scattered across the ocean floor. It’s the largest mass pirate burial ground in America. Bellamy was just 28.
Bellamy may not have been as famous as many of his contemporaries, most likely due to his relatively short life as a pirate, but he went from being a penniless sailor to the captain of a small fleet of ships and nearly 200 pirates. Had he lived a little longer, his tale would surely have made him much more famous.
A Welsh pirate, he was born John Roberts in 1682. It is unclear why Roberts changed his name from John to Bartholomew, but then again, pirates often adopted aliases. He may have chosen his first name after the well-known buccaneer Bartholomew Sharp. He is considered the most successful pirate in the Golden Age of Piracy when measured by vessels captured, taking over 470 prizes during his career. In addition, he is also known for creating his own Pirate Code and designing his own pirate flags.
In 1719, Roberts was second mate on the slave ship Princess under Captain Abraham Plumb. In early June that year, the Princess was anchored at Anomabu (then spelled Annamaboa, which is situated along the Gold Coast of West Africa, present-day Ghana) when she was captured by pirates. The pirates were in two vessels, Royal Rover and Royal James, and were led by captain Howell Davis. Davis, like Roberts, was a Welshman. Roberts and several other of the crew of the Princess were forced to join the pirates.
Davis quickly discovered Roberts’ abilities as a navigator and took to consulting him. He was also able to confide information to Roberts in the Welsh language, thereby keeping it hidden from the English and international crewmen. Roberts is said to have been reluctant to become a pirate at first, but quickly came to see the advantages of this new lifestyle and saw it as a great opportunity for him. In the merchant navy, Roberts’ wage was less than £4 per month and he had no chance of promotion to captaincy.
A few weeks after Roberts’ capture, Royal James had to be abandoned because of worm damage. Royal Rover headed for the island of Príncipe. Davis hoisted the flags of a British man-of-war and was allowed to enter the harbor. After a few days, Davis invited the governor to lunch on board his ship, intending to hold him hostage for a ransom. Davis had to send boats to collect the governor, and he was invited to call at the fort for a glass of wine first. The Portuguese had discovered that their visitors were pirates. They ambushed Davis’ party on its way to the fort, shooting Davis dead.
A new captain had to be elected. Davis’ crew was divided into “Lords” and “Commons”, and it was the “Lords” who had the right to propose a name to the remainder of the crew. Within six weeks of his capture, Roberts was elected captain. This was unusual, especially as he had objected to serving on the vessel in the first place. Historians believe he was elected for his navigational abilities and his personality, which history reflects was outspoken and opinionated.
Roberts took to piracy late, after the age of 37. With a succession of ships—the Royal Rover, Fortune, Royal Fortune, and Good Fortune, he burned and plundered ships from the coasts of West Africa to the coasts of Brazil and the Caribbean, and as far north as Newfoundland.
Roberts’ first act as captain was to lead the crew back to Príncipe to avenge the death of Captain Davis. Roberts and his crew landed on the island in the darkness of night, killed a large portion of the male population, and stole all items of value that they could carry away. Soon afterwards, he captured a Dutch Guineaman, then two days later a British ship called Experiment. The combination of bravery and success that marked this adventure cemented most of the crew’s loyalty to Roberts. They concluded that he was “pistol proof” and that they had much to gain by staying with him.
Roberts was the archetypal pirate captain in his love of fine clothing and jewelry, but he had some traits unusual in a pirate, notably a preference for drinking tea rather than rum. He certainly disliked drunkenness while at sea, yet it appears that he drank beer. Ironically, Roberts’ final defeat was facilitated by the drunkenness of his crew.
Roberts was felled by grapeshot from the HMS Swallow, captained by Chaloner Ogle. He was struck in the throat while he stood on the deck. He died on February 10, 1722 at sea off the Guinea coast of Africa. Before his body could be captured, Roberts’s wish to be buried at sea with all his arms and ornaments on (a request he had repeated in life) was fulfilled by his crew who weighed his body down and threw it overboard after wrapping it in his ship’s sail. It was never found. Roberts’s death shocked the pirate world, as well as the Royal Navy. The local merchants and civilians had thought him invincible, and some considered him a hero.
Ogle was rewarded with a knighthood, the only British naval officer to be honored specifically for his actions against pirates. He also profited financially, taking gold dust from Roberts’ cabin, and he eventually became an admiral.
The death of Bartholomew Roberts signaled the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. He was the final pirate captain that was able to ruthlessly control the high seas and brazenly defy the imperial powers of the time. While piracy and smuggling would persist throughout the rest of the 18th and even into the 19th centuries, it would face a slow death.
Bartholomew Roberts is one of four pirate captains mentioned in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Along with Henry Morgan, Roberts is also mentioned in Pirates of the Caribbean as a founder of the Pirate Code.
Martin Klebba is an American actor/stunt performer, most notably known as Captain Jack Sparrow’s trusty crew member “Marty” in the Pirates of Caribbean franchise. The character was originally named “Dirk,” but it’s believed that director Gore Verbinski preferred the actor’s real name instead. He appeared in 4 out of the 5 movies, including “Curse of the Black Pearl,” “Dead Man’s Chest,” “At World’s End,” and “Dead Men Tell No Tales.”
Klebba has said in interviews that he felt he was always destined to play a pirate. “When I was in high school all my friends joined the theater program. They kept encouraging me to try out but, it wasn’t until my theater teacher (Krista Manfredi) pulled me aside and told me to try out.” Klebba got the roll of Mr. Smee (Captain Hooks right hand man in Peter Pan) and on stage he realized that the pirate life (and acting life) was for him.
Klebba has many credits to his acting career such as Cradle 2 the Grave, Oz the Great and Powerful, Project X, Scrubs, and even became a captain to his own pirate ship in The Iron Mask: Journey to China. He is the only actor to appear in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl as well as The Haunted Mansion, both adaptations of Disney theme-park rides.
He has many stunt credits as well including Hancock, Zombieland, Pirates of the Caribbean, Evan Almighty, Van Helsing, Men in Black, and he played a Dimorphodon who grapples with Chris Pratt in Jurassic World.
Martin Klebba is also a philanthropist. He made a generous donation to the Little People of America, a non-profit organization that provides support and information to people of short stature and their families. His contribution is helping to get children with Dwarfism adopted from around the world. He also Created a Non-Profit organization called CoDA (Coalition of Dwarf Advocates). To help Dwarfs with adoption and many other issues they face.
Martin has always been grateful to the pirate community for their support through the years. “I don’t consider them fans; I consider them family. It means the world to me that I am a part of the community and able to meet such a fun group, whether it is at a convention, movie premiere, parade, or just walking down the street,” Klebba says.
If piracy was still around when Errol Flynn was of age, he probably would have become a pirate. Flynn was a rambunctious child who could be counted on to find trouble. Errol managed to have himself thrown out of every school in which he was enrolled. In his late teens he set out to find gold, but instead found a series of short-lived odd jobs. Information is sketchy, however the positions of police constable, sanitation engineer, treasure hunter, sheep castrator, shipmaster for hire, fisherman, and soldier seem to be among his more reputable career choices.
Staying one jump ahead of the law and jealous husbands forced Flynn to England. He took up acting, a pastime he had previously stumbled into when he was asked to play Fletcher Christian in a film called In the Wake of the Bounty (1933).
Flynn quickly rocketed to stardom as the undisputed king of adventure films. He shot to international stardom overnight, and throughout the 1930s he was arguably the most recognizable movie star in the world. His striking good looks and screen charisma won him millions of fans, including legions of women who threw themselves at him.
It’s probably safe to say that many children grew up wanting to be, dreaming about, and playing pirates with their friends as a result of Flynn starring in several pirate movies. He starred in Captain Blood (1935), The Sea Hawk (1940), and Against All Flags (1952), three very popular swashbuckler movies. He was also reported to star in and produce another pirate movie, The Last of the Buccaneers in 1949, however that movie was never made.
At the height of his career, Flynn was voted among the leading stars in Britain, the United States and Australia in various polls. He is among a small group of actors who has appeared in multiple pirate movies throughout his career.
As a child, Jean David Nau, also known as François L’ollonais, was sent as an indentured servant from France to the French island of Martinique. After serving his term of servitude he moved to the island of Hispaniola where he joined up with the buccaneers. He seems to have distinguished himself to the French governor of Tortuga, Monsieur de la Place, who gave him command of a small ship and sent him out to win his fortune.
He was reputed to have been one of the most ruthless and barbaric pirates to have ever sailed under the black flag. His career started during the early part of the golden age of piracy when Tortuga was a safe haven for the pirates and Spanish vessels were the primary target for the buccaneers’ depredations.
His early career, while fairly successful, seems to be more of note for the fact that it distinguished L’ollonais for his unusually ferocious treatment of prisoners and earned him a reputation for cruelty that few have surpassed. During the peak of his early successes his ship was wrecked in a storm off the Yucatan coast. While most of the crew survived the wreck, all but L’ollonais were killed when a group of Spaniards attacked. He managed this feat of cunning by smearing blood and sand over his face and body and hiding among his fallen men on the beach. Later, disguised as a Spaniard, he entered Campeche. While the city celebrated his death, he schemed with a band of French slaves to escape the city and return to Tortuga.
L’ollonais’ reign of terror in the Caribbean continued. In 1666 he partnered with the famous freebooter Michel de Basque, and with a fleet of eight ships and 440 men they sacked Maracaibo, in what is modern day Venezuela. He found that most of the residents had fled and that their gold had been hidden. L’ollonais’ men tracked down the residents and tortured them until they revealed the location of their possessions. He and his crew turned the townspeople’s lives into a nightmare with rape, murder, and pillaging being a daily occurrence. They also seized the fort’s 16 cannons and demolished most of the town’s defensive walls to ensure that a hasty retreat was possible.
Sailing away to Corso Island, a rendezvous of French buccaneers, they crossed paths with a Spanish treasure ship which he captured, along with its cargo of cocoa beans, gemstones and more than 260,000 pieces of eight, as well as large amounts of silver plate, silk and jewels.
He moved on to San Antonio de Gibraltar, on the eastern shore of Lake Maracaibo. Even being outnumbered, the pirates slaughtered 500 soldiers of Gibraltar’s garrison and held the city for ransom. Despite the payment of the ransom (20,000 pieces of eight and five hundred cattle), L’ollonais continued to ransack the city. Word of his attack on Maracaibo and Gibraltar reached Tortuga, and L’ollonais earned a reputation for his ferocity and cruelty. He was given the nickname “The Bane of Spain.”
Another large expedition was soon in the planning, this time to attack the coast of Nicaragua. Amassing a force of 700 men in six ships, L’ollonais once again led the expedition to raid Spanish possessions. This time the buccaneers had less luck and their fleet got stuck due to a lack of wind in the Gulf of Honduras. Still, it made no difference where their plunder came from and so in 1668 the buccaneers attacked the Honduran coast, including the small settlement of Puerto Caballos. Once again, most of the locals had fled at the first sight of the buccaneers’ ships, but those unfortunate enough to be captured were tortured to reveal the whereabouts of anything valuable.
The reputation for cruelty and depravity of this buccaneer was by now well known throughout the West Indies. L’ollonais himself was an expert torturer, and his techniques included slicing portions of flesh off the victim with a sword, burning them alive, or tying knotted “woolding” (rope bound around a ship’s mast to strengthen it) around the victim’s head until their eyes were forced out. One graphic occurrence during the attack on San Pedros has L’ollonnais questioning the unlucky survivors of a party sent to ambush him. During the questioning, L’ollonais, becoming frustrated with the prisoners’ silence, drew his knife and cut the heart from one of the Spaniards and began to gnaw upon it. Not long after this incident much his crew defected leaving him with a single craft.
Like most nasty villains, L’ollonais did get his deserved fate, and in his case, it seems a strangely apt one. Working his way down towards the isthmus of Panama in 1668, he captured a Spanish galleon, but unfamiliar with this type of heavy and unwieldy ship, his crew lost control of it in the difficult waters and ran the ship aground on the Mosquito Coast of Nicaragua. L’ollonais had his crew begin to build rudimentary boats, but when leading a foraging trip inland, he was attacked and defeated by a Spanish force. L’ollonais escaped to sail down the coast, but in another foraging trip in the Gulf of Darien, he was captured by cannibals. Amongst the captives, L’ollonais was served last, so to speak. He was slowly cut to pieces until he died, and then he was roasted. The choicest parts were eaten, and what remained was burned to ashes and scattered in the wind.
Scott Erkelens opened The Pirate Store in Saint Augustine in 2010, and has been transforming people from their ordinary lives to their ideal pirate persona for 13 years. While he could have remained as a business owner in the background, he chose rather to support the community that supported him. Almost all the clothing sold in the store is made by local seamstresses and craftspeople, giving work to about 10 individuals.
Scott is a founding member and former First Captain of the Krewe of the 13. Over the years, that crew has raised and donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to help people and organizations right here in Saint Augustine.
As an active member of the Pirate Community, Scott Erkelens has done so much to help so many. From hospital and nursing home visits to parades and toy drives. From Make-a-Wish to Dreams Come True, Scott is always there. When a coworker’s house burnt down, he helped by raising thousands of dollars so that they could get a new home. When a close friend and member of the Pirate Community was facing enormous medical bills, Scott turned the anniversary party for his business into a fundraising event to help. He has personally given money, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, time, and products to numerous events in the Ancient City and beyond to help raise funds for a variety of charitable causes.
Scott has been an active sailor his entire life, and helped his father rebuild an Omega sloop at the age of nine. He sailed as a teen from San Francisco Bay to the Potomac in Washington, D.C., to the waters of the Caribbean. He currently owns and is restoring a 62’ Concordia Schooner, one of the last all-wood schooners built in the Concordia yard. She is a fine ship and will hopefully be available to further the good he does for the Community, and for Pirating. He truly is passionate about what he does.
Don Maitz is an American science fiction, fantasy, and commercial artist. He has twice won the Hugo Award for Best Professional Artist, science fiction’s highest honor for an artist. His peers in the Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists have honored him ten times with a Chesley Award for outstanding achievement, and he has received a Silver Medal of Excellence from the Society of Illustrators.
In his over 45-year career, Don has produced paintings that have amazed a worldwide audience. His most widely known work is the iconic character he created for Joseph Seagrams and Sons, Captain Morgan. Over a period of 20 years, he produced six subsequent national advertising campaign images, helping Captain Morgan’s Spiced Rum become the second best-selling rum in world before the product was sold to another distributor. He even created the artwork for a pirate deck of playing cards.
His work can be seen on book covers, in art books, in and on magazines, and on licensed products. His original art can be found hanging in museums, and in private collections. He’s also the author of 2 published books.
His clients include the National Geographic Society, Paramount Pictures, Harper Collins Publishers, Warner Brothers Pictures, Random House Publishers, and Sony Online Entertainment to name just a fraction of the list.
Most of you here today know him as a painter of remarkable maritime authenticity. In the Pirate Community, his work is instantly recognizable in his approximately 150 works of art.
Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery, Benjamin Bridgeman, and “Long Ben,” was one of the most savage and successful pirates in the Golden Age of Piracy. His exploits inspired songs, books and plays, including one called “The Successful Pyrate” that was performed on London stages for several years.
Little is known about Every’s early life. He went to sea at a young age, and may have served in the Royal Navy before working as a slave trader in the early 1690s. In 1693, he reappears in the historical record as the first mate of the Charles II, a privateering vessel hired to plunder French shipping in the Caribbean. In May 1694, Every capitalized on the poor morale by leading his disgruntled crew in a mutiny. Upon seizing the Charles II, he announced his intention to turn pirate. He reportedly said, “I am captain of this ship now. I am bound to Madagascar, with the design of making my own fortune, and that of all the brave fellows joined with me.”
After renaming the Charles II the Fancy, Every and his upstart buccaneers set a course toward the southern tip of Africa. Their first raid came soon thereafter, when they ransacked three English merchant ships in the Cape Verde Islands. They continued to plunder their way along the African coastline for the next several months, capturing French and Danish ships and picking up new recruits. By the time the Fancy reached Madagascar in mid-1695, it was a floating rogues’ gallery of some 150 men.
Every set his sights on a more formidable prize. He’d learned that a Mughal Empire fleet was soon to set sail from the Red Sea port of Mocha on a voyage home to India. Every and his men cruised to the Red Sea in August 1695 and prepared to ambush the Mughal flotilla. To ensure they had significant firepower, they partnered with several other pirate ships. Only a few days later, the pirates spotted the 25-ship Mughal convoy as it raced toward the open ocean. They immediately took off in pursuit. Most of the fleet slipped away, but the Fancy successfully ran down an escort vessel called the Fath Mahmamadi. After a brief firefight, the ship surrendered and was relieved of some 50,000 British pounds’ worth of gold and silver.
Every and his men resumed the hunt, and on September 7th, their three remaining pirate ships caught up with the richest prize in the Indian fleet: the Grand Mughal flagship Ganj-i-Sawai. Unlike the Fath Mahmamadi, the Ganj-i-Sawai was more than capable of defending itself. It was the biggest ship in all of India, and boasted several dozen cannons and a complement of 400 riflemen—more than the entire pirate fleet combined. Every gambled on an attack, and immediately scored a devastating blow when one of his first cannon volleys cut down the Ganj-i-Sawai’s mainmast. The pirates sacked the Ganj-i-Sawai and brutalized its passengers.
English authorities scrambled to deal with the political fallout from their raid. Royal Navy vessels were soon scouring the seas in search of the Fancy, and a large bounty was placed on Every’s head. Capturing a treasure ship of the Mughal emperor in 1695 with a cargo worth over $95 million today, he promptly disappeared and was never seen again.
Every’s own fate remains something of a mystery. He is believed to have sailed to Ireland under the name “Bridgeman,” but his trail goes cold from there. As the manhunt for Every continued in the decade following his disappearance, sightings were frequently reported, but none proved reliable. No reliable information about Every’s whereabouts or activities emerged after June 1696. During just two years prowling the seas, Every and his crew captured roughly a dozen vessels and made off with tens of millions of dollars in booty. Most astonishing of all—and unlike many other pirates—he did it all without getting captured or killed.
Robert Guy Newton was an English actor and one of the more popular actors among the younger male audience of the 1940s and early 1950s. He was cited as a role model by actor Oliver Reed and the Who’s drummer, Keith Moon.
He began his career in theater in the 1920s appearing in numerous plays in the West End. After serving in the Royal Navy during the Second World War, he had his major break on screen playing the lead in This Happy Breed (1944) and starring in Olivier’s version of Henry V (1944). These appearances saw British exhibitors vote him the 10th most popular British film star of 1944, 9th in 1947, 5th in 1950, and 7th in 1951.
Robert Newton was one of the great character actors and great characters of the British cinema, best remembered today for playing Long John Silver in Treasure Island (1950) and its sequel, Long John Silver’s Return to Treasure Island (1954). In 1952 he starred in the title role of Blackbeard in Blackbeard, the Pirate. He also starred in a TV series, The Adventures of Long John Silver, which aired 26 episodes from 1956 to 1957.
His portrayal of Long John Silver and of Blackbeard created a persona that was so indelible that he is credited with originating the style of speech generally equated with pirates. After his spectacular turn as Long John Silver in the Disney version of Treasure Island, actors playing pirates in film, radio, television and theater all tended to use (and still use to this day) the same pseudo-Cornish accent Newton came up with. Newton has become the “patron saint” of the annual International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
Newton’s legacy is based on many first-rate performances in such movies as Odd Man Out (1947), Oliver Twist (1948), and as Inspector Fix in Around the World in 80 Days (1956) opposite David Niven and Shirley MacLaine. It won the Academy Award for the Best Picture in 1956.
Excessive drinking damaged him, and a highly erratic film career was the result. He often found himself unemployable due to his unreliability. Before being cast in “Around the World in 80 Days,” it was stipulated in Robert Newton’s contract that he remain sober throughout every day of filming. The actor kept his word and didn’t consume any alcohol during working hours. However, once the production came to an end, he went on a drinking marathon. He died at age 50 of alcohol-related causes, although the official cause shown was a heart attack.
When it comes to pirate movies, none has been remade or adapted more times, 16 in fact, than Treasure Island. The novel was writtten by Scottish essayist, poet, and author of fiction and travel books, Robert Louis Stevenson. It’s also a safe bet that Treasure Island is the one movie that has inspired many more pirate movies and generated an interest worldwide among young children wanting to be pirates.
Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, Stevenson traveled often, and his global wanderings lent themselves well to his brand of fiction. Stevenson developed a desire to write early in life, having no interest in the family business of lighthouse engineering. He was often abroad, usually for health reasons, and his journeys led to some of his early literary works. Publishing his first volume at the age of 28, Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his life when his works were released to eager audiences.
Treasure Island was originally published as a serial from October 1881 to January 1882 under the title The Sea-Cook, or Treasure Island in the Young Folks magazine. He had published it under the pseudonym Captain George North. Later it was published in book form in 1883. Set in the days of exploration and piracy, it narrates Jim Hawkins’ quest for unearthing the treasure of the evil pirate – Captain Flint. In the fight between good and evil, one could see a clear picture of pirates’ life.
The original movie Treasure Island was released in 1917, but has since been remade 11 times. There were also adaptations, including, Long John Silver’s Return to Treasure Island, Muppet Treasure Island, Treasure Planet, and Pirates of Treasure Island. The most recent remake was in 2012. Even characters from Stevenson’s novel have been featured in many other movies and television series.
Around 1753, when Georgia had become firmly established, and where the first public agricultural experimental garden in America was located, the site was developed as a residential section. Since Savannah had become a thriving seaport town, one of the first buildings constructed there was an inn for visiting sailors. Today, it’s home to one of the most famous pirate restaurants, The Pirate House, steeped in rich history. Treasure Island mentions The Pirate House in Savannah, Georiga and a pirate by the name of Captain John Flint. Captain Flint amassed considerable treasure and buried it on a deserted island. It is said that he died in Savannah from drinking too much rum. His treasure map was given to Billy Bones who helps set the adventure in motion for the main characters. The rumor is that Stevenson was inspired to write the tale while visiting the Inn and early pages can be found in the Treasure Room today.
In poor health for nearly all of his life, Robert Louis Stevenson died in 1894 at the age of 44.
Marck Forget, aka “The Ghost Capt’n Smoo,” was born and raised in Quebec, Canada. He retired after 32nd years of service with the Royal Canadian Air-Forces (RCAF). His pirate adventure however started in 2003 during an RCAF deployment to Tyndall AFB. Without knowing that there was something special happening, the aircrew that he was part of, still in their flight suits, stopped at a marina in Panama City Beach to get some refreshments. It was that night that he got hooked on a new lifestyle. It was also that night that he got introduced to his first pirate festival.
He went back the next day with the aircrew and the full aircraft maintenance crew. It proved to be the best thing for him to release the stress caused by overworking. So much so that he decided to promote this lifestyle. So much so that he had a vision of an entertainment system that would promote and support the pirate style of living. “Le Festival des Pirates” (FdP) and its 120 plus interconnected modules was born.
The organization and production of pirate and other events started in 2013 during a family pirate themed vacation. With the help of local pirate businesses, he tested some of FdP’s modules. That spring he created and became the captain of two pirate crews, Montreal and Gatineau. To give more momentum to FdP, he reached out to a local pirate band and this quest brought him to meet with Captain Tor. Together they decided to unite forces and to create the Canadian Pirate Republic. That summer he started FdPs’ media module (YouTube channel “Pavillon en vue,” Pirate Radio “l’Écho des mers” and a Pirate magazine “l’Écho des mers”). With 75% being French content, these media outlets attracted the attention of pirates from Belgium and France. In matter of few months, it became international.
With all his efforts reaching those worldwide, things really took off for Marck. In 2015 he reached out to many countries around the world for articles and news. To help him track all his contacts and to do a marketing study, two FdP modules were started, “The International Pirate Community (IPC) map” and FdP’s Newsroom (a Facebook group).
In 2016, he created a fundraising campaign, the “2016 IPC Calendar.” It financially helped small crews around the world and reinforced the IPC concept. Left with hundreds of unused pictures, he lunched another FdP module, “The Pirate Picture of the Day”. Before Christmas, he got his Montreal crew involved in food distribution for the homeless.
With the help of Feel de Fer, from Belguim, they created the First international “Pirate Rendez-Vous” invasion that took place in August 2018 at Le Festival Grain d’Pirate in France. It was a small success for the IPC, but a tremendous marketing effort for Grain d’Pirate. Since then, he has been involved in organizing 2 additional “Pirate Rendez-Vous” events. They are held to coordinate information with pirates around the globe and exchange information on the future of piracy as an education and entertainment industry.
Forget joined the International Pirate Awards committee in 2016, and in 2017 he got his Gatineau crew involved distributing warm clothing and hot food to the homeless. Beginning in 2019 he took the lead of the IPC to promote it to the rest of the world.
In early 2021, he became and Administrator for the Fiddler’s Green – Dead Pirate Memorial Facebook page. Last year he was involved in the organization and production of the IPC’s Women in Piracy: Then and Now Virtual Symposium. Also, in 2022 he was inducted into the prestigious Order of Leviathan.
It would most likely be impossible to find anyone involved in promoting piracy worldwide more than Marck Forget.
