Best Free Pirate Games

[Cora Devries]

Blackbeardis possibly the most famous pirate in history, but his life is shrouded in mystery. Much of what we know about him and other pirates of his time comes from a 1724 book, published under the name Capt. Charles Johnson, called "A General History of the Pyrates." Charles Johnson is a pseudonym, and the book is often attributed to author Daniel Defoe, who wrote famous novels such as "Robinson Crusoe." Some of the book is backed up by government documents from the time, while scholars have proven other parts to be false, so it isn't an entirely reliable source.

"A General History of the Pyrates" claimed that Thatch's huge beard "came up to his eyes," and while in action, he carried "three brace of pistols, hanging in holsters like Bandoliers; and stuck lighted matches under his hat" to cloud himself in an ominous haze of smoke. Blackbeard was killed in November 1718 after his ship was ambushed by the British navy near Ocracoke Island in North Carolina, according to the National Park Service.

One of the most successful pirates in history was a woman named Ching Shih, sometimes called Cheng I Sao or Zheng Yi Sao. Born into poverty as Shih Yang in Guangzhou, China, in the late 18th century, Shih was a sex worker until she married a pirate named Ching I in 1801 and took the name Ching Shih, which meant "the wife of Ching," according to a case study by the University of Oxford's Global History of Capitalism project.

The pair consolidated control of the region's rival pirate gangs into a confederation, Dian Murray, a professor emeritus of history at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, wrote in a 1981 article in the journal Historical Reflections. Ching died in 1807, and Shih seized sole control of the pirate confederation. According to Murray, Shih secured control of the pirates through careful alliances and a strict code of laws. "The code was severe. Anyone caught giving commands on his own or disobeying those of a superior was immediately decapitated," Murray wrote.

At the height of her power, Shih, also called the "Pirate Queen," controlled a fleet of 1,200 ships crewed by about 70,000 pirates. Shih broke up the confederation in 1810 and negotiated a generous surrender deal with the Chinese government. Not only were the pirates pardoned for their crimes, but some were allowed to keep their vessels and joined the Chinese navy. Some even took positions in the government, Murray wrote.

Drake's legacy is further muddied by his involvement in slavery. He helped start the English slave trade in Africa by making multiple trips to Guinea and Sierra Leone with his cousin and naval commander Sir John Hawkins and enslaved up to 1,400 African people, according to Murphy. Drake died of dysentery off the coast of Panama in 1596.

Samuel Bellamy lived to be only 28 years old, but he made a name for himself during his short life. Likely born in Devon at the end of the 17th century, Bellamy began working on the high seas at the beginning of the War of the Spanish Succession when he was 13 years old and later became a pirate captain, according to the New England Historical Society.

As a pirate, Bellamy captured 53 ships, including the Whydah Gally, a slave ship carrying a fortune in gold, silver and other goods. The Whydah Gally had left England in 1716 and took 312 enslaved people from the west coast of Africa to Jamaica. Bellamy captured the ship as it returned to England, by then emptied of slaves and filled with profits, according to the Field Museum in Chicago.

He was likely the highest-earning pirate of all time, Forbes reported in 2008. Forbes estimated that he captured booty worth about $120 million in 2008 dollars. Bellamy made the Whydah Gally his flagship in 1717, but he went down with it in a storm that same year.

His nickname was "Black Sam" Bellamy because he wore black wigs tied back with a black bow. Bellamy also styled himself as the "Robin Hood of the Sea" by stealing from the wealthy. According to the New England Historical Society, he ran his ship democratically, treated his crew members as equals and spared the lives of captives.

Bartholomew Roberts, nicknamed "Black Bart," was a tall, handsome and flamboyantly dressed 18th-century pirate from Wales. He initially worked on merchant ships but became a pirate and was soon elected captain of his own ship and crew, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich in London.

Roberts took upward of 400 ships during his lifetime, including in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He often took slave ships and then demanded gold from their captains in exchange for their return. When one such captain refused, Roberts reportedly burned the ship with 80 enslaved people trapped on board, according to the World History Encyclopedia.

Black Bart's crimes came to an end in 1722 when he was killed by the British navy off the coast of Gabon in West Central Africa while his crew members were too drunk to defend the ship, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. A total of 52 members of his crew were then hanged following the largest pirate trial ever held, according to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

William Kidd, often known as Captain Kidd, is famous for walking the blurry line between privateer and pirate. Born in Scotland around 1645, Kidd was employed as a privateer by the British government in 1689 and was even commissioned to arrest pirates. However, he was ultimately hanged for murder and piracy himself, according to Britannica.

Kidd famously captured a merchant ship, the Quedagh Merchant, off the west coast of India in 1698. The ship was filled with gold, silver, valuable silks and satins, as well as other Indian merchandise. Learning he'd been branded a pirate, Kidd left the ship in the Caribbean in 1699, traveled to New York to clear his name and was captured. The wreckage of the Quedagh Merchant was discovered in 2007.

Historians disagree on whether Kidd was actually guilty of piracy. Nevertheless, he was executed in London in 1701. Authorities then hung his body in a metal cage in the River Thames for three high tides, supposedly to deter passing sailors from piracy, according to Thurrock Council, a local government authority in England.

Morgan married his cousin Elizabeth Morgan in 1665, who was also the daughter of the deputy-governor of Jamaica. From 1666, he commanded his own ship as a privateer. Morgan fought on land as well as at sea. He raided towns along the coasts of Mexico, Panama and Cuba, according to BBC Wales. His bounty included gold, silver and gems, and he also captured and sold enslaved people. Morgan appears to have been knighted by King Charles II of England in 1674, despite being a prisoner for his exploits just a few years earlier, according to the DWB. This demonstrates how quickly fortunes could change for pirates and privateers during the Golden Age of Piracy.

Morgan died of natural causes in 1688. At the time of his death, Morgan owned three plantations, and his estate in Jamaica had 131 enslaved people, including 33 boys, girls or children, according to the Legacies of British Slavery database at University College London.

Anne Bonny (or Bonney) was a female pirate who was as menacing as her male counterparts, if not more so. The daughter of a plantation owner, Bonny was born in Ireland in 1698 before moving to South Carolina, according to the Royal Museums Greenwich. She left her life behind for the Caribbean in the early 1700s and hit the open ocean. Bonny started pirating disguised as a man on the ship of Calico Jack Rackham, a pardoned buccaneer.

Bonny and Read became friends, pillaging together on the high seas. They wore jackets and long trousers, and fought with a machete in one hand and a pistol in the other. A victim of their piracy testified that they were very active on the ship and "wiling to do any thing," according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Rackham's ship and crew were captured off Jamaica in 1720 and put on trial, but Bonny and Read avoided the gallows because they were both pregnant. Read died in prison with a fever, while Bonny survived. Her father secured her release from prison and took her back to South Carolina, where she lived until age 84.

Charles Vane is a mysterious figure in the Golden Age of Piracy. His date and place of birth are unknown, but historical accounts paint him as a bold and ruthless pirate. He's first recorded in the early 18th century, plundering Spaniards who were salvaging silver from the wreckage of a Spanish fleet in the Gulf of Florida, according to the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. From there, he's documented attacking various ships on the high seas.

Learn more about the real Caribbean pirates by reading Colin Woodard's "The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down" (Mariner Books, 2008). You can also listen to a short audio series about historical pirates called "The Truth About Pirates," by Royal Museums Greenwich, on SoundCloud. For more information on the discovery of Captain Kidd's ship, the Quedagh Merchant, check out the Indiana University website.

Patrick Pester is a freelance writer and previously a staff writer at Live Science. His background is in wildlife conservation and he has worked with endangered species around the world. Patrick holds a master's degree in international journalism from Cardiff University in the U.K."}), " -0-10/js/authorBio.js"); } else console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); Patrick PesterSocial Links NavigationLive Science ContributorPatrick Pester is a freelance writer and previously a staff writer at Live Science. His background is in wildlife conservation and he has worked with endangered species around the world. Patrick holds a master's degree in international journalism from Cardiff University in the U.K.

Best class for pirates is warriors, with tons of charge etc. just great.

But I prefer playing unholy alliance with Paladins and Pirates. Add in some shadowy stuff (manipulators), and your themed antipaladin deck is complete.

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