1. Benjamin Hornigold Joins the Good Guys
In 1718, a new British governor offered a royal pardon to all who turned themselves in abandoned piracy. Benjamin Hornigold came in at the last minute before the offer expired, and the governor commissioned him to hunt down those who had failed to accept the pardon. Accepting the commission, Hornigold turned upon his former friends and fell upon them with a will.
He turned out to be an even better pirate hunter than he had been a pirate, and by December, 1718, Hornigold had captured 10 recalcitrant pirate captains, of whom 9 were executed. His actions effectively brought the Pirates’ Republic in Nassau to an end, and reestablished British control – and law and order – in the Bahamas. In late 1719, while sailing about, hunting more pirates, Hornigold drowned after his ship was caught in a storm and wrecked on an uncharted reef.
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Where Did We Find This Stuff? Some Sources and Further Reading
All That is Interesting – Andrew Robinson Stoney May Have Been England’s Worst Husband, Ever
Biography – Frank Lucas, Drug Dealer
Historic UK – Colonel Blood and the Theft of the Crown Jewels
Historic UK – Sawney Bean, Scotland’s Most Famous Cannibal
Koerner, Brendan I. – The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking (2013)
New York Times, June 13th, 2013 – Bonnie and Clyde, the Aerial Version
Vintage News, February 23rd, 2009 – ‘Your crime … has no name’: The Bombing of Flight 108