Vsauce!
Captain Kidd was a Scottish sailor famous for the legend of his buried treasure.
People have searched for his treasure in places ranging from Long Island and Nova Scotia to
Vietnam and the Japanese island of Takarajima which literally translates to "Treasure Island".
But despite being recognized as the only known pirate to have buried treasure some believe
he wasn't even a pirate at all was falsely accused of piracy - so the idea of pirates
burying treasure might have almost no basis in reality.
What The Fak?
The Facts And Knowledge On Real Historic Pirates.
Edward Teach was known for his intimidating stature and long black beard which earned
him the nickname Blackbeard.
He'd intimidate enemies by tying lit fuses under his hat and to his beard but in reality
he was much less violent than many other pirates.
After taking a royal pardon to stop pirating it turned out he was still doing it.
So after his capture in 1718 he reportedly had one of the most drawn out and epic deaths
ever.
It's said he was shot five times and received twenty sword cuts before a fatal blow to the
neck finally felled the infamous Blackbeard.
Then his head was cut off and hung from the ship to collect the reward for his death.
It's thought that pirates may have worn eye patches to keep one eye adjusted to the dark
for moving from the light above deck to the darkness below deck.
Captain Benjamin Hornigold was at one time Blackbeard's boss.
He commanded a ship called Ranger that was the most heavily armed ship in his region.
He wasn't the most ruthless of pirates and once took over a ship just to steal hats.
Apparently his men had gotten drunk the previous night and thrown their hats overboard and
they needed some new ones.
Hornigold lost his captainship when he refused to attack English or Dutch vessels.
He then became a pirate hunter in 1718 for Governor Woodes Rogers which he died doing
in a shipwreck during a Hurricane.
And he appears in Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag
The word "pirate" (English and French) is from the Latin and Spanish pirata, originally
the Greek peirates (one who attacks) and peiran (to attempt or try).
Bartholomew Roberts aka Black Bart captured 470 vessels making him the most successful
pirate during the Golden age of piracy.
He did not intend on being a pirate but when the slaveship Princess he worked on was taken
by pirates he was forced to join and his ability to navigate made him invaluable to the captain.
When he was given the command of his first ship he said "that since he had dipped his
hands in muddy water, and must be a pirate, it was better to command a ship than be a
common man".
He was buried at sea by his crew as a final wish and was never found.
The association of pirates with hook hands and peglegs may have arisen from so many crew
members losing limbs during battle and while on the ship but many that needed amputations
didn't survive the surgery.
Hooks and peglegs were popularized by fictional works such as Treasure Island and Peter Pan.
Francois L'Olonnais was one of the most feared and vicious pirates of his time with acts
like reportedly ripping out a captives heart and gnawing on it to intimidate his enemies.
In 1667, his ship was destroyed and the majority of his crew were massacred by the Spanish.
L'olannais covered himself in blood and sand and played dead until they left, then disguised
himself as a Spaniard, made his way to the city where they were celebrating his death
and convinced slaves to help him escape where he got new ship and men and resumed pirating.
L'Olonnais was eventually captured and an account from one man said he was hacked to
pieces, cooked over a fire, and eaten because the Spanish despised him so much.
Calico Jack, real name John Rackham, earned his nickname from the calico clothes he wore.
He had two female crew members Mary Read and Anne Bonny.
Jack had an affair with Anne Bonny who was to be whipped for adultery but together they
stole a ship and escaped.
Mary Read cross-dressed as a man, joined Jack's crew, was almost killed by Jack for showing
too much interest in Anne Bonny until Read revealed she was actually a woman.
Jack was captured and hanged in 1720 with his dead body gibbeted on display to deter
other criminals.
And he was responsible for the classic skull with crossed swords Jolly Roger.
And here are so more famous Jolly Rogers...
Henry Every was known as The King Of Pirates.
He's thought to have had the most profitable haul in pirate history when he led a small
pirate squadron to overtake the Ganj-i-sawai - the flagship of a 25 ship convoy of Grand
Mughal vessels containing £600,000 in metals and jewels.
And amazingly he's one of the few famous pirates thought of have escaped alive with his treasure
- one story saying he disappeared to Madagascar with all of his loot and lived like a king.
The other story is that he died penniless after squandering all his money.
The well-known pirate voice is an impersonation of West Country English and Robert Newton
who was born in England not far from the birthplaces of many famous pirates played both Long John
Silver and Blackbeard in early Disney movies.
Henry Morgan, the man whom Captain Morgan rum is named after was actually privateer
and not a pirate.
A privateer is basically a legal pirate.
Morgan was allowed to attack enemy ships and ports in exchange for sharing the loot with
the crown and he was even knighted by King Charles II.
Although known as one of the greatest pirates ever Morgan would've been offended to be called
one.
Parrots and monkeys were considered trophies of the exotic places pirates visited and were
often sold for high prices back in Europe.
Madame Cheng was the most famous female pirate of all time.
She commanded over 300 Junks or chinese sailing vessels with a crew of over 20k men women
and children.
She started out as a prostitute that was captured by pirates, married one of them and took over
his fleet.
She created a code that went like this.
Disobeying her or any superior meant immediate beheading
No one could steal from the public fund or anyone that supplied the pirates
All booty was presented for group inspection - the finder kept 20% and the rest went into
the public fund Actual money was given to the squadron leader
to help unsuccessful ships And pirates could choose to marry female captives
with the ugliest, unchosen ones then being released.
She was never defeated and eventually retired, opened a gambling house, and died at the age
of 69.
I'm gonna leave you with this pirate.
Who was he and what was his nickname?
Before we go here's last video's winner.
And as always, thanks ye for watchin'.