Pirate Flag histories

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Emanuel Wynn (sometimes spelled as Emmanuel Wynne) was a French pirate active in the 1700s. Not much is known about Wynn expect that he was active in the late 17th century around Province of Carolina, and later that he was in the Caribbean attacking Spanish and English ships.

Only written records about Wynn comes from British Admiralty Record, which states that Captain John Cranby of “HMS Poole”, engaged Emanuels’ pirate ship near the Cape Verde Islands. Captain Cranby chased Wynn near the Brava island, but Wynn escaped, perhaps aided by Portuguese Soldiers. Emanuel Wynn was probably the first pirate to fly a Jolly Roger. His flag is a variant of today's most famous pirate flag crossbones motif, but with an addition of an hourglass which represented that pirate prey’s time is up. Another possible explanation of an hourglass motif is that prey can only evade death by surrendering immediately. Although not a famous pirate, variants of his flags are often featured in modern pirate stories.

Born in England in the late17th century, Hornigold began his pirate career in 1713, attacking merchant ships in the Bahamas. He helped to establish the "Republic of Pirates" in Nassau and by 1717 was the captain of one of the most heavily armed ships in the region, called the “Ranger”. It was at this time he appointed Edward Teach, best known in history books as "Blackbeard", as his second-in-command. Mindful not to attack British led ships during his career, his crew eventually grew tired of the tactic and Hornigold was voted out as captain. In December 1718, Hornigold accepted a King's Pardon for his crimes and became a pirate hunter, pursuing his former allies on behalf of the Governor of the Bahamas, Woodes Rogers. He was killed when his ship was wrecked on a reef near New Spain during the hurricane season of 1719.

Little is known of Blackbeard’s early life, and his origins have been left to speculation. He has been widely identified as Edward Teach (or several variations thereof, including Thatch and Thack), though pirate custom at the time was to use a pseudonym when engaging in acts of piracy, and his true name will probably never be known. Thought to have been active as a privateer for the British during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–13), Blackbeard was first heard of as a pirate late in 1716. The following year he converted a captured French merchantman into a 40-gun warship, Queen Anne’s Revenge, and soon became notorious for outrages along the Virginia and Carolina coasts and in the Caribbean Sea. In 1718 Blackbeard established his base in a North Carolina inlet, forcibly collected tolls from shipping in Pamlico Sound, and made a prize-sharing agreement with Charles Eden, governor of the North Carolina colony. At the request of Carolina planters, the lieutenant governor of Virginia, Alexander Spotswood, dispatched a British naval force under Lieutenant Robert Maynard, who, after a hard fight, succeeded in killing Blackbeard. The pirate’s body was decapitated, and his head was affixed to the end of the bowsprit of his ship.

Edward "Ned" Low (also spelled Lowe or Loe; born in1690, was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London and was a thief from an early age. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts as a young man. His wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two years later, he became a pirate, operating off the coasts of New England and the Azores, and in the Caribbean.

Low captained a number of ships, usually maintaining a small fleet of three or four. Low and his pirate crews captured at least a hundred ships during his short career, burning most of them. Although he was active for only three years, Low remains notorious as one of the most vicious pirates of the age, with a reputation for violently torturing his victims before murdering them.

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle described Low as "savage and desperate," and a man of "amazing and grotesque brutality". The New York Times called him a torturer, whose methods would have "done credit to the ingenuity of the Spanish Inquisition in its darkest days". The circumstances of Low's death, which took place around 1724, have been the subject of much speculation.

Little is known about Thomas Tew before he arrived in Bermuda in 1692. According to some sources, he was from a wealthy family on Rhode Island. During the conflict with France, he served as a privateer on English ships. Soon, Tew was elected as a captain of “Amity Venture”.

The Governor of Bermudagave Tew permission to attack French ships and colonies on the African coast. With Captain George Drew he was supposed to join the Royal African Company and attack the French factory at Goori, in Gambia. However, after storm damaged Captain George Drew';s ship, Tew abandoned the original plan and decided to become a pirate. He persuaded his crew easily, because their original assignment was too risky and the salary was a pittance.

Tew soon encountered a great Indian ship, with more than three hundred soldiers, as well as seamen. Yet, Tew and his pirates had the courage to attack them! After short battle, Tew was victorious and each of his men received a £3,000 fortune as his share. Informed by the prisoners, that this ship was a part of a convoy, Tew wanted to attack the rest of them. However, quartermaster and most of the crew were against that. Tew and his crew decided to settle on the island of Madagascar. Soon after, Tew sailed to Rhode Island, and obtained a pardon. He lived there for some time, but "found the call of the sea and the lure of the "grand account"; too great to resist". He took command of a pirate ship and returned to the Red Sea. In 1695 Tew attacked a large ship belonging to the Great Mogul. However, this time, his pray was well armed. During the battle, he was mortally wounded.

Edward England was an Irish-born pirate. The ships he sailed on included the “Pearl” which he renamed “The Royal James” and later the “Fancy”, for which England exchanged the “Pearl” in 1720. His flag was the classic Jolly Roger, almost exactly as the one "Black Sam" Bellamy used, with a skull above two crossed bones on a black background. Like Bellamy, England was known for his kindness and compassion as a leader, unlike many other pirates of the time.

England was born Edward Seegar in Ireland around 1685. He took part in Henry Jennings' expedition for the sunken 1715 Treasure Fleet off the coast of Florida, and then began sailing with Charles Vane in 1718. Upon Vane and other prominent pirates accepting the King's Pardon, England and some of his men sailed for Africa. Along his way he spawned the career of Bartholomew Roberts, among others. In 1720, near the African island of Comoros, England and his men got into a violent conflict with James Macrae. After 10 days of hiding on an island, England and Macrae agreed to a peace deal, upsetting England's crew; he was subsequently voted out as captain and marooned on the island of Mauritius. After four months, England and the loyal crewman that had been stranded with him managed to build a boat and sail to a pirate safe haven in Madagascar. He died sometime in the winter of 1720–21, possibly from tropical disease.

Christopher Condent's real name is uncertain, but he is most commonly known as "Billy One-Hand".

During a trip across the Atlantic Ocean, Condent killed an Indian crew member, who threatened to ignite the ship's powder magazine. Shortly after, the ship captured a merchantman, the “Duke of York”. After a dispute, the crew split up between the two ships, with Condent elected captain of the sloop. Around 1718, when Woodes Rogers became governor of the Bahamas, and was tasked with ridding the Caribbean of pirates, Condent and his crew left New Providence. At the Cape Verde Islands, Condent and his men captured a ship carrying Portuguese wine. Condent then sailed to Brazil, where he took more prizes, occasionally cutting off the ears and noses of Portuguese prisoners. He then returned to the area around Cape Verde, where he captured a flotilla of twenty small ships and a Dutch war sloop off Santiago. Condent kept the warship, and named it “The Fiery Dragon”. Condent seized the English galley, the “Wright”, a Portuguese ship, and a 26-gun Dutch vessel. Leaving the “Wright” behind, he led a fleet of three ships to the Gold Coast of Ghana where they captured the “Indian Queen”, the “Fame”, and another Dutch ship.

By April 1719, Condent had reached Madagascar and established a base at Sainte-Marie. There he integrated some of John Halsey's old crew into his own. He used their knowledge of the area to his advantage as he cruised the Indian Coast and the Red Sea in search of more plunder. Other pirates, namely Edward England and John Taylor aboard their ship the “Pearl”, followed Condent from New Providence to Madagascar.

Icondent and his crew returned to the island of Sainte-Marie, dividing their haul into around £3,000 each.(equivilant today to about $800.000!) In 1721 Condent and forty other members of his crew sailed to the island of Bourbon where they negotiated with the French governor for a pardon. Twenty or more of the men settled on the island. Condent went on to marry the governor’s sister-in-law, and in 1723 travelled to France, where he settled down with his wife in Brittany and became a wealthy merchant in Saint-Malo.

John Quelch (1666 – 30 June 1704) was an English pirate who had a lucrative but very brief career of about one year. His chief claim to historical significance is that he was the first person to be tried for piracy outside England under Admiralty Law and thus without a jury. These Admiralty courts had been instituted to tackle the rise of piracy in colonial ports where civil and criminal courts had proved ineffective.

In July 1703, Governor Joseph Dudley of Boston sent out Captain Daniel Plowman of the “Charles” with a privateering license to attack French and Spanish ships off the coast of Newfoundland and Arcadia. John Quelch was Plowman's lieutenant. Before leaving Marblehead, Massachusetts, the “Charles” crew under Quartermaster Anthony Holding mutinied and locked the ailing Plowman in his cabin. The crew elected Quelch the captain, who turned the “Charles” south. Plowman was thrown overboard, although it was never established whether he was dead or alive at that moment. The crew plundered nine Portuguese ships off the coast of Brazil and gained a large sum of money, even though England and Portugal were at peace at the time. The :Charles” contained large amounts of Brazilian sugar, hides, cloth, guns, gold dust and coins. The loot's total value is estimated at over £10,000 sterling Almost $3,000,000 today. Before their capture, legend says the crew buried some of the gold on Star Island off the coast of New Hampshire. In the 1800s some gold coins were found hidden in a stone wall there.

When the “Charles” returned to Marblehead 10 months later, the crewmen scattered with their plunder. Some of the crew sailed with pirate and former privateer Thomas Larimore, who was also captured shortly afterward. Within a week, Quelch was in jail, because the Portuguese were not in his letter of marque and more importantly, Queen Anne and the King of Portugal had just become allies. He and others of his crew were taken to Boston to be tried. This was the first admiralty trial outside England. It was called by one historian "the first case of judicial murder in America." On Friday, 30 June 1704, the pirates were marched on foot through Boston to Scarlet's Wharf accompanied by a guard of musketeers, various officials, and two ministers, while in front was carried a silver oar, the emblem of the Lord High Admiral. Upon reaching the gallows, the minister gave the pirates a long and fervent sermon. All of the pirates showed repentance on their faces except Captain Quelch. Before he was hanged, Quelch stepped up while holding his hat and bowed to the spectators. He also gave a short address and warned them, "They should take care how they brought Money into New England to be Hanged for it." Their bodies were buried in between the tide marks.

Born in 1659, Henry Avery was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid 1690s. He used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates. Dubbed "The Arch Pirate" and "The King of Pirates" by contemporaries, Avery was infamous for being one of few major pirate captains to escape with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle, and for being the perpetrator of what has been called the most profitable act of piracy in history. Although Avery's career as a pirate lasted only two years, his exploits captured the public's imagination, inspired others to take up piracy, and spawned several works of literature.

Avery began his pirate career while he was first mate aboard the warship “Charles II”. As the ship lay anchored in the northern Spanish harbour of Corunna, the crew grew discontented as Spain failed to deliver a letter of marque and “Charles II”'s owners failed to pay their wages so they mutinied. “Charles II” was renamed the “Fancy” and Avery elected as the new captain.

Avery's most famous raid was on a 25 ship convoy of Grand Moghal vessels making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, including the treasure-laden Ghanjah dhow “Ganj-i-sawai” and its escort “Fateh Muhammed”. Joining forces with several pirate vessels, Avery found himself in command of a small pirate squadron, and they were able to capture up to £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, equivalent to over $160,000,000 today, making him the richest pirate in the world. This caused considerable damage to England's fragile relations with the Moghals, and a combined bounty of £1,000 an immense sum at the time,was offered by the Privy Council and the East India Company for his capture, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history.

Although a number of his crew were subsequently arrested, Avery himself eluded capture, vanishing from all records in 1696; his whereabouts and activities after this period are unknown. Unconfirmed accounts state he may have changed his name and retired, quietly living out the rest of his life in either Britain or an unidentified tropical island, while alternative accounts consider Avery may have squandered his riches. He is considered to have died anywhere between 1699 and 1714; his treasure has never been recovered.

Born in 1659, Henry Avery was an English pirate who operated in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in the mid 1690s. He used several aliases throughout his career, including Benjamin Bridgeman, and was known as Long Ben to his crewmen and associates. 

Dubbed "The Arch Pirate" and "The King of Pirates" by contemporaries, Avery was infamous for being one of few major pirate captains to escape with his loot without being arrested or killed in battle, and for being the perpetrator of what has been called the most profitable act of piracy in history. Although Avery's career as a pirate lasted only two years, his exploits captured the public's imagination, inspired others to take up piracy, and spawned several works of literature.

Avery began his pirate career while he was first mate aboard the warship “Charles II”. As the ship lay anchored in the northern Spanish harbour of Corunna, the crew grew discontented as Spain failed to deliver a letter of marque and “Charles II”'s owners failed to pay their wages so they mutinied. “Charles II” was renamed the “Fancy” and Avery elected as the new captain.

Avery's most famous raid was on a 25 ship convoy of Grand Moghal vessels making the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, including the treasure-laden Ghanjah dhow “Ganj-i-sawai” and its escort “Fateh Muhammed”. Joining forces with several pirate vessels, Avery found himself in command of a small pirate squadron, and they were able to capture up to £600,000 in precious metals and jewels, equivalent to over $160,000,000 today, making him the richest pirate in the world. This caused considerable damage to England's fragile relations with the Moghals, and a combined bounty of £1,000 an immense sum at the time,was offered by the Privy Council and the East India Company for his capture, leading to the first worldwide manhunt in recorded history.

Although a number of his crew were subsequently arrested, Avery himself eluded capture, vanishing from all records in 1696; his whereabouts and activities after this period are unknown. Unconfirmed accounts state he may have changed his name and retired, quietly living out the rest of his life in either Britain or an unidentified tropical island, while alternative accounts consider Avery may have squandered his riches. He is considered to have died anywhere between 1699 and 1714; his treasure has never been recovered.

 A brave, but unlucky pirate, Charles Vane was certainly one of the most skillful pirate captains. His navigating and ship combat skills were unmatchable, and he successfully plundered numerous vessels. However, he often didn't get along with his crew, which completely ruined him and put the end to his career.His pirating days began in 1716 when he became a crewmember under Henry Jennings. Jennings, like many other pirates, raided ships and camps of the sunken Spanish galleons' salvagers, on the coast of eastern Florida. In 1718, just before Jennings took a pardon from the new governor of New Providence, Woodes Rogers, Vane became a captain and continued sailing on his own. Captain Vane became quickly infamous, because he captured many vessels, torturing and murdering many prisoners.In fact he was one of the few pirates that did not accept the king's pardon. When Rogers arrived in the region with the flagship “Delicia” and two warships the “Rose” and “Milford”, Vane launched a fire ship straight torward Rogers' small fleet. While they were trying to avoid the ship in flames, Vane sailed away laughing. He even fired a few shots from his ship “Ranger”. That was a clear message that Vane will not accept the pardon. Rogers sent a former pirate, Captain Benjamin Hornigold to hunt him down. He caught many runaway pirates, but Vane evaded.While he was sailing to the Carolinas, Vane captured a large warship which he used as a second raiding ship with much success.As the pirates' attacks became a constant threat, the governor of South Carolina hired pirate hunters to capture the pesky pirates. Vane evaded his pursuers and the pirate hunters managed to save their reputation by capturing another wanted pirate, Stede Bonnet.Captain Vane treated his pirate companions with little respect. Because of this, many of his crew took one of Vane's ships, with part of the plunder, and fled.The remaining pirates continued to sail together and harass throughout the Carolinas. Captain Vane always evaded well-armed ships and his crew’s  dissatisfaction grew. In September 1718, he met his good friend Blackbeard and together they celebrated their union by holding a week-long drunken party. Even traders and women from near Bathe Town joined them. After the long party ended, Vane headed towards New York, and there he robbed more vessels and decided to come back to the Carolinas to sell goods.Charles Vane's downfall began in March. While “operating" in Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola, he and his crew attacked a vessel and expected little resistance. However, it was a powerful French Warship, and after a few shoots, Vane decided to flee from the battle. The his quartermaster, Calico Jack Rackham, and Vane’s crew accused him of cowardice. Rackham took over lthe ship, and Vane was left behind in a small captured sloop with a handfull of loyal crew.Skillful as he was, he quickly captured a couple of small ships and rebuilt his pirate fleet. However, while they were at the Bay of Honduras, a Hurricane wrecked his ships. Almost his entire crew drowned. Vane and another survivor were stranded on a small island awaiting any ship that might rescue them. Unfortunately, his “rescuer” recognised Vane and imprisoned and extradited him to authorities in Port Royal. Vane was put on trial, found guilty and hanged in 1720. 

Stede Bonnet was an ex-army major and the Barbados plantation owner. Recognized as a "pirate gentleman" because of his cultured background, Bonnet was one of the most interesting and unique pirates in the Caribbean history. Although one of the least successful, he became very famous for some of his not-so-pirate actions. Bonnet lived with his wife on a large estate near Bridgetown, Barbados after his retirement from the army. His profitable sugar plantation brought him wealth, a nice and a peaceful lifestyle. It was 1717 when this middle-aged gentleman suddenly turned to the piracy without any particular reason. The Rumor goes that Bonnet had much brawling with his wife, or that he was bored with ordinary life.

He had been at the sea very little and knew nothing about pirates' way of life. Therefore, unlike any other pirate, Stede Bonnet actually purchased his ship! It was the sloop "Revenge" with 10 cannons. He also hired around 70 good seamen from the local towns and began his "adventure" throughout the Caribbean Sea. Strategy of paying them well kept him from being deposed because he was really incompetent as a sailor and inexperienced leader. However, Bonnet was able to somehow capture and plunder a few smaller vessels in the coasts of Virginia and Carolinas, mostly because of his skillful crew.

In Florida he encountered a fearsome pirate Blackbeard and his ship, the "Queen's Anne Revenge". Infamous Edward Teach visited the "Revenge" and soon realized that Stede Bonnet was a pleasant pirate with good manners. They became companions and set sail together. 

After the famous siege of Charles Town in South Carolina Bonnet took advice from Teach and left immediately for Bathe Town, North Carolina to receive amnesty from the "pirate-friendly" governor. Bonnet decided to become a privateer in the war against Spain.

However, he was tricked by Blackbeard who took all Bonnet's valuables and only left him the "Revenge" and 25 pirates on a lone island. Bonnet set off towards the Virgin Island in the war for England and France as a privateer and vowed revenge on Blackbeard.

It wasn't long before he renamed his ship "Royal James" and returned to piracy. 

In October 1718, pirate hunters attacked Bonnet's flagship. The battle had lasted 5 hours when Bonnet was forced to surrender. The pirates were taken to Charles Town, where townsfolk remembered Bonnet was a part of Blackbeard's crew during the infamous siege.

Stede Bonnet was sentenced and hanged in November 1718 for piracy alongside 30 other pirates.