While the swashbuckling pirates who sailed the seas romancing is long gone, their carefree lifestyle and adventures still remain in the hearts of many people today through literature, movies and computer games. It might come as a surprise to you that many of the pirate captains who were successful didn’t have an extravagant pirate ship. Their home upon the sea was just a part of their lifestyle, a necessity rather than a luxury. Look below at some of the famous pirate ships real or fictitious in our history.
1. The Black Pearl Pirate Ship
The Black Pearl pirate ship is probably one of the most famous pirate ships of modern times, albeit fictitious. The Black Pearl pirate ship very popular and famous during the films of the Pirates of the Caribbean. She could be easily recognized with the black hull and sails on the ship. She was known to be a speedy ship due to the many sails that were on her. The Black Pearl pirate ship was first known as the Wicked Wench until her demise where she was burned and sunken. She was resurrected from the sea floor by a man named Davy Jones, then Jack Sparrow renamed her.
2. The Flying Dutchman
3. The Jolly Roger Pirate Ship
The Jolly Roger pirate ship is another popular and fictional pirate ship that featured in the story of Peter Pan. The famous Captain Hook and Mr. Smee called the Jolly Roger their home. Captain Hook used the Jolly Roger pirate ship as his pirate business headquarters. The Neverland and Skull Rock is pirate territory and the only areas where pirate business was conducted.
4. The Adventure Galley Pirate Ship
A Scottish sailor turned pirate named William Kidd captained the Adventure Galley pirate ship. The Adventure Galley was used to stop any British pirate ship attacks occurring in the East Indies. When William Kidd realized that searching for French ships was becoming difficult he would just attack his allied ships to make a living. Eventually William Kidd left the Adventure Galley to return to London looking for leniency, but when he arrived he was found guilty of being a pirate and immediately executed.
5. The Queen Anne’s Revenge Pirate Ship
Probably the most famous pirate ship for real was the Queen Anne’s Revenge, originally named the Concorde. English pirate, Blackbeard seized the slave ship which was owned by the French in 1717. Blackbeard decided to keep this ship, because it was able to go fast and sail quickly. He renamed the pirate ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge. This famous pirate ship came to a muddy end, when he was raiding five merchant ships. The Queen Anne’s Revenge hit a sandbar and became damaged severely. Some historians think that Blackbeard hit the sandbar intentionally, because he wanted to kill his crew, so he would have more of the fortune for himself.
6. Fancy the Pirate Ship
Along the coast of Spain in 1694, Henry Avery, a midshipman and Royal Navy man captained the Fancy. Avery created a mutiny on the Charles II ship taking it over and then renaming the pirate ship the Fancy. Then he and the mutinous crew set out to look for treasures on the Indian Ocean. They went to the Bahamas in 1695 where they were all going to retire, but they had to hand over all their treasure in exchange for refuge.
7. Whydah Pirate Ship
In 1715, from London the Whydah pirate ship was first launched as a slave ship. The ship was taken over by “Black Sam” Bellamy and his pirates while on their second voyage. The Whydah pirate ship had treasures collected from over 50 ships. The famous pirate ship met its end when it came upon a storm while sailing on the Cape Cod coast and hit a sandbar, After sinking, only 2 men survived from 146.
8. Royal Fortune
First capturing a French brigantine near Newfoundland, Bartholomew Roberts upgraded and repaired the ship, headed south to the Caribbean, and renamed her the Royal Fortune. He also used the same name for a subsequently captured French warship and when renaming the Onslow. Roberts died in a blaze of glory on his final Royal Fortune when it sank in an attack by a British warship.