6. The Pirate Who Ended His Days as a Pirate Hunter
Early in his seafaring career, Benjamin Hornigold (1680 – 1719) was a privateer during the War of the Spanish Succession, licensed with Letters of Marque to legally prey upon French ships. After the war, he switched from privateering to outright piracy. His first recorded act of piracy dates to 1713, when he used sailing canoes and a small sloop to capture and loot merchant ships around the Bahamas.
Eventually, Hornigold became one of the Caribbean’s most notorious pirates, before accepting a royal pardon in 1718. He then turned against his former friends and colleagues, and became a successful pirate hunter.