The most famous pirate ships. Vessels of sea cutthroats: the nine most formidable. Dictionary of pirate terms

Ship, flag and appearance - only these three things could put a pirate above the rest of the world. A fast ship, a flag with a bad reputation, and an intimidating appearance - these are often enough to make the enemy surrender without a fight. When success depends on how much fear you can instill in the victim, these three things were of no small importance, and they also served as evidence of the pirate's luck.

Pirates didn't build their own ships. Pirate ship was supposed to be fast, maneuverable and well-armed. When capturing a ship, they first of all looked at its seaworthiness. Daniel Defoe said that a pirate ship is first of all “a pair of light heels that will come in handy when you need to grab something quickly or get away even faster if you get grabbed”. On captured merchant ships, the hold bulkheads, deck superstructures and one of the masts were often removed, the poop was made lower, and additional cannon ports were cut into the sides.

As a rule, pirate ships outperformed ordinary ships in speed, which was very important both in order to catch up with the victim and in order to get away from the chase. For example, when Charles Vane hunted a ship in the Bahamas in 1718, he easily evaded sea patrols, "making two feet on their one".

Most pirate captains haven't changed ships throughout their careers.(which was often very short - we can even talk about months, not years; even Blackbeard's reign of terror lasted only a few years). However, there were those who changed ships like gloves - Bartholomew Roberts had about six of them. As for the captured ships, they were usually sold or simply burned.

A pirate ship needs constant care, it is especially important to clean the bottom of shells and algae in time so that they do not slow down the progress of the ship.. This procedure was done every three months. Usually the pirates swam to some safe place, put their cannons at the entrance to the bay to repel a possible attack, and knelt the ship - that is, with the help of pulleys they pulled it to the shallows and cleaned the bottom. Cranking was also used in cases where it was necessary to repair the underwater part of the hull. The biggest threat to the ship was the mollusk and the shipworm (woodworm), which bit into the wood and could make moves up to 6 feet (2 meters) long in it. These worms were capable of completely destroying a ship's hull.

Vessel dimensions

The size of the pirate ship was quite important. A large ship can fight storms more easily, and besides, it can carry more guns. However, large ships are less manoeuvrable and more difficult to roll. In movies, pirates are usually shown on large ships such as galleons because they look very impressive, but in fact, pirates preferred small ships, most often sloops.; they were fast and easy to care for. In addition, due to the smaller draft, they could swim in shallow waters or hide among sandbars where a larger ship could not pass.

They were so large that they could participate in everyday naval duties for everything, however, in battle for one gun, four, or even six, people were required. A ship with twelve guns on board needed seventy men just to fire, and you also had to bring the cannonballs and gunpowder.

Pirates have always been associated with adventurers, robbers, robbers and brawlers who have gained fame not only at sea, in love affairs, but even in politics. But let's look at their activities in the open sea, since it was she who brought those fabulous riches that are still being sought. Even the names of pirate ships were intended to intimidate their opponents, and the Jolly Roger flag instilled panic in the crew of the attacked ship.

The most famous pirates

Speaking about the era of piracy, it should be borne in mind that not all adherents of this way of earning and existence were exactly pirates in the direct sense of the word. In those days, there was a division into outright robbers, corsairs, privateers, filibusters, etc.

Interestingly, privateering was legalized in England, which did its best to prevent Spain from entering the New World. Roughly speaking, the English crown secretly issued patents for the robbery of Spanish galleons, which returned with gold and silver from both Americas.

But in general, if you make a list of the most desperate and famous personalities of that era in their field, it could look something like this:

• Captain Kidd.
• Edward Teach "Blackbeard".
• Henry Morgan.
• L'Ollone.
• Jetrow Flint.
• Olivier Le Wasser.
• William Dampier.
• Aruj Barbarossa.
• Jen Shi and many others.

Famous names of pirate ships. List

Naturally, each of these thugs preferred to have his own ship, and, if possible, a fleet of three or more ships. However, if the secondary ships had sometimes even satirical names, the flagship had to bear such a name without fail so that it was on everyone's lips. Allegories or frankly defiant names were often used. Here is an incomplete list of the most famous ships of that time (the names of pirate ships in English or French are given along with the Russian translation):

• "Golden Doe" (Golden Hind);
• Galley "Adventure" (Adventure Galley);
• "Revenge of Queen Anne" (Queen Ann's Revenge);
• "Careless Corsair" (El corsario descuidad);
• "Periton" (Le Periton) - a flying deer;
• "Avenger" (Avenger);
• "Ouida" (Whydah);
• "Royal Fortune" (Royal Fortune);
• "Fantasy" (Fancy);
• "Happy Delivery" (Happy Delivery);
• "Rising Sun";
• "Retribution" (Revenge), etc.

And that's not all. Very often one could also come across the names of pirate ships like "Omnipresent Death", "Victoria - Bloody Baroness", "Prize of Luck", "Bell", "Cerberus", "Black Widow", "Leviathan", "Shaving Water", in In general, fantasy was enough in abundance. But let's dwell on what the famous pirate ships were. Their names did not always reflect the true nature of the threat, because by and large the Spanish galleons were 36-48-gun frigates, which it was not possible to board for capture. A pirate ship would have been shot at on approach, no matter how well it maneuvered.

Therefore, usually the robbers were content with frigates of a lower rank. To have 24, 36 or 40 guns on board was considered riding. And escort by several ships with 20 or even 12 guns on board could play a decisive role in the battle.

The main characteristics of the ships

Despite the loud and sometimes intimidating names of pirate ships, they could not always be compared with the same Spanish ships or the English fleet.

So, for example, "Adventure" by William Kidd was a 34-gun frigate brigantine of an unusual type (with straight sails and an oar crew).

"Queen Anne's Revenge", originally called "Concorde", was more powerful, with 40 guns. "Golden Doe" first descended from the stocks as under the name "Pelican", according to various estimates, with 18-22 guns.

The most famous literary hero and his squadron

In the literature, the names of pirate ships were replenished with another famous character - Captain Blood (Rafael Sabatini - “Odyssey of Captain Blood”, “Chronicles of Captain Blood”), whose unrequited love for the daughter of the governor of Barbados (and then Jamaica) made him call the captured from the Spaniards 36- cannon frigate "Cinco Llagos" named after her. Since then, "Arabella" has become a thunderstorm of the seas.

By the way, the work mentions and but the name is Levasseur, and his ship is called "La Foudre" ("Lightning"). There is also the name "Avenger" (Avenger) of one of the constant opponents of the protagonist - Captain Easterling.

Captain Blood himself, in his characteristic humorous manner, gave names to minor ships like "Elizabeth" (in honor of the Queen of England) or in honor of the three Greek goddesses - "Atropos", "Clotho" and "Lachesis".

Only towards the end of the story was the 80-gun frigate Victorieuse, commanded by Baron de Rivarol, captured. But according to the plot, the author could not rename it, because Blood became the governor, and his ships became part of the Jamaican squadron.

Cinema

And how to do without the "Black Pearl" from the quadrology "Pirates of the Caribbean"? Here, too, there are nuances. The name of Captain Barbossa clearly echoes Barbarossa.

And there is no need to talk about the "Flying Dutchman" at all. In the film, it is indicated that this is a ship, although in reality no one knows who owned this ghost ship, and whether it exists at all and whether it is only in a single copy.

Instead of an afterword

Well, if we take into account that kids love this kind of adventure, it’s easy to come up with the name of a pirate ship for children, because their imagination is often much more developed than that of an adult. Even common names like "Thunderstorm" or "Thunder" will do. Here, children are masters of using associations that frighten their peers.

But, seriously, the names of pirate ships are very often associated not with abstract concepts or mystical phenomena, but rather with the history of England, because most of these fortune seekers, one way or another, were associated with the English crown, and by and large fought against the Spaniards. Naturally, there were those who robbed indiscriminately, but privateering in those days was, so to speak, the most gentlemanly trade with a huge number of restrictions. Take the same Henry Morgan, who later became the vice-governor of Jamaica, or sir (English admiral). History is full of surprises...

From the 17th century to the early 18th century, pirates owned many of the famous ships. Their combined navies were capable of fighting back against the navies of the most powerful nations. Pirates often captured powerful warships, changed their names and turned them into their flagships, 15 of which are described in the list below.

Top 15 Most Famous Pirate Ships

Wanderer

Charles Vane was a notorious pirate who terrorized French and English ships and plundered gold and treasure. He tortured sailors for information and always captured ships that were better than his. He renamed each of his captured ships the Pathfinder. However, a Spanish brig captured in 1718 was given the name "Wanderer".

Rising Sun

This ship was owned by Captain William Moody. The pirate ruled the Caribbean on his ship with 36 guns and a crew of 150 people. As a rule, all the ships he captured were looted and burned.

Speaker

In 1699, Captain George Booth captured a 45-ton Indian slave ship and named it The Orator. It was his most prized prize and had a long service as a pirate ship even after George's death. The Orator ran aground in 1701 off the coast of Madagascar.

Revenge

Originally named "Caroline", his name quickly changed after John Howe and other members of the crew rioted and killed the captain as well as soldiers loyal to him. Gow took over as captain, and renamed the ship the Revenge.

Bachelor's Delight

40 gun ship commanded by John Cook and Edward Davis. In 1684, this pirate ship was captured by them in West Africa and attacked many Spanish cities and ships throughout South America.

flying dragon

After Christopher Condent became a pirate and started wreaking havoc in the Atlantic, he stumbled upon a Dutch ship, captured it, and renamed it the Flying Dragon. This ship gave Condent even more success, allowing him to capture other ships and treasure at sea.

William

The small but fast twelve-ton sloop carried only four guns and had about thirteen crew members. It was captured by Captain Ann Bonnie, also known as "Toothless Annie". Under the command of Bonnie, the ship was a true terror in the Caribbean.

kingston

Jack "Calico Jack" Rackham was a member of the crew of pirates under the command of Captain Charles Vane. He later became a captain in his own right and ended up getting his hands on a very large Jamaican vessel called the Kingston. Using this ship as their flagship, Rackham and his crew were able to evade capture for a long time.

Satisfaction

Captain Henry Morgan was at the helm of this ship. In the 17th century, he was a privateer in England and was considered very successful, excellent at capturing the ships of the Spanish fleet. However, in the end, the Satisfaction did not survive the battle with powerful storms and reefs.

Rebecca

This 6-gun ship belonged to the ruthless Edward Low, and was handed over to him by Captain George Lowther. With the Rebecca, Lowe was able to expand his piratical power and had significant success on the seas. He later changed the Rebecca to a large fishing boat.

Adventure

Built in 1695 by Captain William Kidd, this ship could sail at a speed of 14 knots and was armed with 32 guns. The ship was originally used as a privateer to hunt down pirates until Kidd became one of the pirates himself.

Sudden death

Once a Russian ship "Warman" with 70 crew members, it was captured by the pirate John Derdrake off the coast of Norway. Derdrake, at the time, had a much smaller ship, but he somehow found a way to capture such a formidable vessel. The new owner gave him the name "Sudden Death".

Pride

It was the favorite ship of Jean Laffite, a notorious Louisiana war hero, pirate, privateer, spy and governor. He did most of his business with the Pride and made the ship his home. When the United States government began to catch him for piracy, he burned his colony and headed south, continuing to ravage the South American coasts.

Saint James

Captured by pirate captain Howell Davis, this 26-gun ship was the flagship of his fleet after he raided Mayo Island. This ship contributed to the turning point in his piracy career. Davies became an admiral over two other pirate captains and captured four large English and Dutch ships loaded with ivory and gold.

Queen Anne's Revenge

Owned by the infamous pirate Blackbeard, this ship is almost as famous as its captain. It was a French ship converted into a pirate ship, armed to the teeth with 40 guns and carrying a large number of armed crew. Instead of engaging in bloody battles, Blackbeard intimidated his prey, and this often worked. The Queen Anne's Revenge sank in 1718 and was rediscovered off the coast of North Carolina in 1996.

Nothing sounds as good as a firm, stern, and easy-to-remember pirate's name. Having succumbed to the sea robbers, people often changed their names in order to complicate the authorities' ability to identify them. For others, the change of name was purely symbolic: the newly minted pirates mastered not only new activities, but also a completely new life, which some preferred to enter with a new name.

In addition to many pirate names, there are also many recognizable pirate nicknames. Aliases have always been an integral part of gangster culture, and pirates were no exception in this regard. We will talk about the most common pirate nicknames, analyze their origin and provide a list of the most popular ones.

• Blackbeard. The origin of the nickname is very trivial. had a thick black beard, and, according to legend, before the battle he wove burning wicks into it, the smoke of which made him look like the devil himself from the underworld.
• Calico Jack. The nickname of the pirate, so he was christened for his love for various calico decorations.
• Spaniard killer. That is what they called the cruel and ruthless towards the Spaniards famous.
• Redhead, Bloody Henry. Two nicknames that belonged to the famous pirate. The first nickname is directly related to the color of his hair, and the second - to his far from merciful deeds.
• Pirate Gentleman. A nickname given to him due to his aristocratic origin.
• Vulture. Nickname for a French pirate. It is not entirely clear why this nickname stuck to him, apparently, after all, it better reflected his character and temper.
• Lanky John. Pirate nickname for a fictional pirate. In addition to this nickname, he had one more - Ham.
• Black Corsair. The nickname of the protagonist in the novel of the same name by Emilio Salgari.

These were the nicknames of the most famous real and fictional pirates. If you need unique thematic names, then in the game Corsairs Online, when creating a character, you have at your disposal a pirate nickname generator, you can try to pick up something interesting for yourself.

Pirate nicknames for the party

If you're hosting a pirate-themed party and need to name everyone in attendance, the list below should help you with that.

Small pirate ships

As we have already said, most pirates started their careers with small ships. The smallest vessels in the waters of the New World at that time were pinnaces, longboats, flat-bottomed vessels. Many of them have been known in the Caribbean since the 16th century. The term pinas has two different meanings. Firstly, a pinnace is usually understood as a semi-barge - an open single-masted vessel with a displacement of not more than 60 tons. Secondly, larger deck vessels with a displacement of 40-80 tons were also called pinas. Later, pinas reached a displacement of 200 tons, turning into three-masted ships capable of carrying artillery. In different countries, the same term could have different meanings, in addition, the meanings of terms changed over time.

Initially, pinas were called rowboats, which also had one mast with a latin or gaff sail. Usually the longboat had a length of no more than 10 m and was used for auxiliary purposes on large merchant ships and warships. Although maritime historians are still arguing on this topic, it seems that the term sloop most likely meant the same pinnace, but with a direct sailing rig. The Spaniards called the pinnaces "long launches", the Spanish launch carried direct sailing weapons. The Dutch used the word pinge, which meant any small merchant ship with a displacement of up to 80 tons, encountered in the Caribbean during the 17th century. At the end of the XVII century. pirates actively used all these small vessels in their criminal trade.

In another meaning, "pinas" meant an independent vessel with a displacement of 40-200 tons. Pinas could carry any number of masts; in the period we are describing, three-masted pinas were most common. Three-masted pinnaces could carry any rig, most often a combination of straight and latin sails. The armament of the pinas consisted of 8-20 guns. At the end of the XVII century. pirates like Henry Morgan used large pinnaces as the main ships of their pirate fleets, although the flag was kept on larger ships. The term flyboat usually meant a flat-bottomed trading vessel, usually Dutch, with the Dutch language having a special term fluyt. By the end of the 17th century, flyboats began to be understood as small vessels intended for coastal navigation. The Spaniards called such ships the word balandra. The Dutch and Spaniards actively used flat-bottomed flyboats to patrol the coast, reconnaissance, transport manpower, and also as small warships and raiders. The smallest ship in the Caribbean in the XVII century. was an Indian canoe. Canoes could be of various sizes. The smallest canoes could not carry even four, while the largest canoes could carry a mast, guns, and a large crew. Canoes were also actively used by pirates.

Ships sailing in the Caribbean at the end of the 16th century. From left to right: flyush, pinas and barge, sloop, ping, long barge, periag, canoe, yawl.

In the last decade of the 17th century, the terms "pinnace", "longboat" and "flyboat" fell into disuse. It cannot be said that the old types of Caribbean ships have abruptly given way to new types. Rather, ships now began to be classified by sailing armament and the number of masts, rather than by hull size and purpose.

Before continuing our story, it is necessary to identify the main types of ships of the “golden age of piracy”. A sloop was a small single-masted vessel with slanting sailing weapons and a jib. A brigantine was a two-masted vessel with straight sails on the fore mast and oblique sails below and straight sails above.

main mast. In addition, the brigantine carried a jib on a bowsprit. The brig was a variant of the brigantine with straight sails on both masts. A brigantine with slanting sails was called shnyava.

An analysis of pirate attacks between 1710 and 1730 in the waters of the New World showed that in half the cases the pirates acted on sloops. Most of the rest of the pirate ships carried straight sails. Brigantines, brigs and shnyavs were the least common, and in some cases the pirates acted on open boats and longboats. But it should be borne in mind that these statistics can be challenged. First, pirates like Bartholomew Roberts, who captured over 200 ships, confuse the statistics. Secondly, Teach and Roberts immediately used fleets of ships in which light ships operated under the cover of a large flagship.

In any case, it is clear that the sloop was the most important type of pirate ship. Almost all pirates started their careers with this type of ship. Currently, a sloop is understood as a single-masted vessel with oblique sailing equipment. During the "golden age of piracy" the term was less defined, it was used to refer to different ships with different sailing weapons. Sloops appeared in military service in the middle of the 17th century, one of the first sloops was captured by the British at Dunkirk. With a keel length of about 12 m and a midship width of just over 3.5 m, the sloops were the smallest independent ships in the fleet. The sloops carried a minimum armament of four guns. In England, sloops were also understood as small two-masted ships with direct sailing weapons. Some sloops of war carried three masts.

Flying Dragon sloop by Edmund Condent, 1719

When an English colony was founded in the Bahamas in 1718, the pirate Edmund Condent fled from New Providence on a small sloop along with several pirates who did not agree to accept the amnesty. After the first failure, the pirates captured the first booty in the Cape Verde Islands. After that, the crew removed the old captain, and Condent took the vacant position. Soon the pirates seized several ships, including a heavily armed sloop from the Portuguese navy. Condent decided to keep the sloop, giving it the name Flying Dragon. The sloop crossed the Atlantic and reached the Brazilian coast, and then moved southeast to the Cape of Good Hope, from where it entered the Indian Ocean. Condent reached Madagascar in the summer of 1719. During the next year he sailed the Indian Ocean, plundering the ships he met. During the attacks, Condent showed himself to be an experienced captain. On the French island of Reunion, he negotiated with the local governor, trying to get an amnesty from him. We do not know the details, but soon Condent was removed, and One-armed Billy was chosen in his place. In 1721, the sloop Fiery Dragon burned down due to an accidental fire. while at anchor in Martinique. Recently, archaeologists managed to find the remains of the ship's hull.

Here the sloop is depicted in a form typical of the "golden age of piracy". Displacement 150 tons. Length 16 m, width amidships 5.5 m, armament K) guns, crew 50-75 people.

To this day, drawings of the sloop HMS Ferret, built in 1711, have been preserved. 10-12 guns. In addition to cannon ports, each side had eight rowing ports, which allowed the sloop to move at oars in calm. It is not clear how many masts the ship had - one or two. Most likely, there were two masts, since it is known that five years later, sloops of war were built with two masts. But if we generally imagine what a sloop of war looked like, there are much more ambiguities with the appearance of a pirate sloop. Although not a single drawing of a trading sloop has been preserved, we can reconstruct the appearance of these ships from drawings of that time and a drawing dating back to the middle of the 18th century. from Frederick Henry Chapman's Architecture Navalis Mercatoria. We know that the sloops built in Jamaica and Bermuda were especially valued for their speed. The sloops from Jamaica were a development of the pinas, built from Virginian juniper. They were easily recognizable by their low freeboard and overturned masts. Similar sloops were built in Bermuda, Chapman presents drawings of just such a sloop.

Chapman's sloop is 18 m long (keel length 13.5 m) and 5 m wide amidships. The only mast of the sloop is littered back at an angle of 12 degrees. The long bowsprit is set at an angle of 20 degrees to the horizon, the sloop's rigging consisted of a slanting mizzen, a straight topsail and one or two jibs. The upper and lower yards of the oblique mizzen were only slightly shorter than the length of the hull. Therefore, the sloop carried a huge sailing armament for its displacement. The displacement is estimated at 95-100 tons. The armament consisted of 12 guns. The upper deck of the sloop ran continuously from bow to stern, without interruption by the quarterdeck.

Charles Galley is the sistership of the Adventure Galley, a privateer ship built for William Kidd in 1696. Both ships could be oared, for which there were ports at the bottom of the side.

Dutch engraving of a tropical port, circa 1700. Pirates in the foreground. Bays of this kind in the West Indies and in the northeast of Madagascar were used by pirates to keel their ships and replenish provisions. In the foreground is a small pinas.

Faience painting, late 17th century. Dutch whaling ship. Bartholomew Roberts ruined New England whaling and fishing in a raid in the summer of 1720. The whaler, capable of carrying 16 cannons, was similar to the ship captured by Roberts in August of that year.

The drawing agrees perfectly with three images of colonial American sloops made in the early 18th century. An engraving by William Burges (1717) of New York Harbor shows the sloop Fancy used as a private yacht. Like many other sloops, the Fancy had a single mast and a rig described by Chapman. Also noteworthy is the rounded aft cabin, which covers the rear part of the quarterdeck. Another engraving by William Burgis, also dated 1717, shows a sloop anchored at Boston Lighthouse. Although the sloop carries seven guns on each side, it is a merchant ship and not a warship. At the beginning of the 18th century, the threat of pirates increased so much that merchants began to put additional artillery on their ships, even evidence of that time has survived about the increased demand for small-caliber naval artillery. The third engraving depicts the port of Charleston, South Carolina. Various ships are shown in the foreground, including several sloops. All of them are single-masted, only one of them has a straight topsail. Although we do not know exactly what the pirate sloops looked like, the similarity of all three engravings with Chapman's drawings allows us to reconstruct the appearance of the sloops quite well.

With regard to brigantines, everything is a little simpler. We have several images of brigantines related to the period of interest to us. Their rigging remained unchanged for a century after the "golden age of piracy" ended. Chapman brought to us a number of drawings of the brigantine, which also allow us to learn a lot about the design of ships of this type. The term "brigantine" appeared before 1690. Even then, the brigantine had straight sails on the foremast, and a combination of straight and oblique sails on the main mast. By the middle of the 18th century, the term “brig” appeared, which meant a two-masted ship with an oblique mainsail, in front of which there was no straight sail. The staysail was raised between the main and fore mast. At the beginning of the 18th century, the term "brig" also denoted a standard brigantine. At that time, shnyava was understood as a variant of a brigantine with additional

a vertical vertical mast installed immediately behind the main mast. Pirates used all these types of ships more out of necessity than by choice. The brigantine and its modifications did not have such powerful sailing weapons as the sloop carried. The fastest straight-rigged ships were used to transport slaves to the New World.

At the beginning of the XVIII century. a new type of ship appeared on the Atlantic - a schooner. The schooner was a two-masted vessel with slanting sails and sometimes an additional straight topsail on the foremast. The first mention of schooners is in the Boston Newsletter (1717). Six years later, another Boston newspaper reported on a pirate schooner under the command of John Phillips, operating in the Newfoundland area. In reality, the schooner was a New England ship captured by Phillips in the Great Newfoundland Bank area. Schooners could sail in American waters until 1717, although they were not popular. For the period from 1710 to 1730, only 5% of pirate attacks took place using schooners. In later times, fiction writers often began to place the heroes of their pirate novels on board schooners, since in later times schooners became widespread.

In summary, we argue that the main small ship of the pirates of the era of the "golden age of piracy" was a sloop.

The small sloop Fancy served as the yacht of Colonel Lewis Morris, commander of the New York militia, early 17th century. A typical example of a ship sailing off the North American coast during the "golden age of piracy".

Well-armed flute, late 17th century. 18 cannons on board the ship were supposed to help in the event of an attack by pirates. The flute's shallow draft allowed it to enter small ports in the Caribbean. The vessel could also take on board up to one and a half hundred soldiers, full flutes were often used as troop transports.