The Most Notorious Pirates of All Time

Who are the most notorious pirates of all time? Pirates have plagued waterways for centuries, but some have risen to a level of notoriety that few achieve. Today’s list takes a look at the veritable plagues of the seven seas.

Stede Bonnet

With a nickname like the Gentleman Pirate, you’d probably expect a bit more from one of the most notorious pirates. Stede Bonnet was born to a wealthy English family before engaging in piracy. He ravaged North America and the Bahamas before his eventual capture in South Carolina.

Laurens de Graaf

The Dutch made for some of the most fearsome and notorious pirates you can imagine. Take Laurens de Graaf, for example. With a nickname like Scourge of the West, you know the man wasn’t exactly well-heeled. After decades of piracy, he mysteriously vanished and was presumed dead after attempting to establish a French colony in Mississippi.

Calico Jack

England has its fair share of the most notorious pirates throughout history. Calico Jack is one such pirate and has the distinction of operating a ship with two female first mates. After years of pillaging the seas, he was eventually captured by Jonathan Barnet and hanged for his crimes. His wife, Anne Bonny, shows up later on our list.

Turgut Reis

When we think of the most notorious pirates, the Ottoman Empire doesn’t play into it. However, Dragut, or Turgut Reis, is one of the most vicious men to sail the seas. He operated primarily in the Aegean and went into a legitimate venture as the admiral of the Ottoman Navy.

Anne Bonny

The wife of Calico Jack is also one of the most notorious pirates to ever command a ship. Anne Bonny isn’t the only female pirate on our list, as you’ll see later on. She followed in Calico Jack’s footsteps, which eventually led to her own capture alongside her husband. She died in prison but was granted a stay of execution due to a rumored pregnancy.

Charles Vane

The Golden Age of Piracy saw its fair share of notorious pirates. While Charles Vane isn’t the only one operating during that era, he has a degree of infamy for his actions. The man received a royal pardon and turned right back around and worked as a pirate shortly after. He was eventually captured in 1720, before being executed in 1721.

Cheung Po Tsai

Eastern Asia has its fair share of notorious pirates, with Cheung Po Tsai being near the top of the heap. Pressganged into piracy at the age of 15, Cheung Po Tsai took to it with gusto, taking control of a massive fleet in the 19th century. As with many pirates on this list, he died young but commanded tens of thousands of men before his demise.

Sir Henry Morgan

While Morgan is more known for being the jovial corsair on rum bottles, he is one of the most notorious pirates to come out of England. Interestingly, he was knighted, which isn’t a common attribute for most pirates. He plundered his way through the Caribbean for decades before settling into a life of politics and agriculture.

Samuel Bellamy

There is an overwhelming trend of notorious pirates dying young. Interestingly, Samuel Bellamy is no exception to this rule, having died at 28. He’s gone down in history as one of the wealthiest pirates to ever walk the earth, and he did so in a relatively short time.

Howell Davis

Some of the most notorious pirates in history don’t have long periods of activity. Howell Davis, a Welsh pirate, only had a career spanning around 11 months. While active, he terrorized shipping lanes across the Atlantic. A chance ambush caught him and his crew off-guard, dying to the last man.

Mary Read

We’ve got another of the most notorious pirates in history, and another woman at that. Mary Read is infamous for her time on the crew of Calico Jack’s ship. She and Anne Bonny served as first mates and occasional lovers to the captain. She would be caught in the same ambush that took Calico Jack, dying in prison of a fever.

Henry Every

Better known as the King of the Pirates, you can certainly see why Henry Every makes the list of notorious pirates. His most famous exploit was raiding a 25-ship convoy in 1695, scoring a massive cache of treasure. Every was never taken alive, disappearing at the height of his infamy.

The Barbarossa Brothers

Few of the notorious pirates on this list come as a package deal. The Barbarossa Brothers sailed into history as pirates in service of the Ottoman Empire. The Spanish coasts, and captured quite a few islands in a 15-year reign of terror. That came to an end for the eldest brother in 1518 when he was executed by the Spanish.

Bartholomew Roberts

If you measure success by spoils, then Bartholomew Roberts is the clear winner of notorious pirates. This Welsh Corsair took around 400 ships in his prime, operating near the Americas and West Africa. He’s also famous for flying the Skull and Crossbones on his ship’s mast.

Christopher Myngs

England is back once again with yet another of the most notorious pirates to sail. Christopher Myngs was knighted for his service to the crown but gained a reputation for wanton cruelty and sadism. Myngs died young, but in service of his country during the Second Anglo-Dutch War.

Edward Teach

You knew Blackbeard was going to be on here, admit it. Edward Teach made a fearsome reputation for himself as one of the most notorious pirates to sail during the Golden Age of Piracy. Teach had a fleet fearsome enough to blockade port towns like modern Charleston. He met his end off the coast of North Carolina, going down in a legendary blaze of glory.

Shi Yang

One of the most notorious pirates in all of human history is a Chinese woman. Shi Yang went by many names, but it is undeniable she commanded a massive fleet of up to 60,000 pirates during her prime. She lived to reach old age, a rarity for a pirate. Interestingly, the final few decades of her life were lived in utter peace.