Famous Pirates and Privateers G-H

Sir Michael Geare
Active late 1500's

Geare's first voyages were under Captain Sir George Carey. He then worked for John Watts from 1588 through 1591. In 1591 he was made captain of the Little John, which was one of five ships under the command of William Lane.

According to Lane's accounts, Captain Geare was in the forefront of most of the fighting, gaining for himself a rather large booty plus extra loot by smuggling goods into England. Captain Geare bought a share in the Little John and renamed her the Michael and John. From 1592 to 1595, Captain Geare had four successful versions in the ship. In 1595, Captain Geare encountered a Spanish warship near Havana. The battle cost the lives of 50 of his crew as well as a pinnace, the Spanish prize he had captured. Captain Geare fled the action in the Michael and John and was able to recoup some of his losses by taking of another Spanish prize, after which he returned to England.

In 1596 Captain Geare commanded the Neptune and its pinnace with John Rilesden and Christopher Newport. Toward the end of the year, Captain Geare along with 15 men, stole the pinnace plus several more prizes before setting anchor at Jamaica where he joined Captain Sir Anthony Sherley. Captains Geare, Sherley, and William Parker then sailed to Honduras.

In 1601, Captain Geare was in command of the warship Archangel and captured three valuable ships. Captain Geare was able to get two of the ships back to England, but was separated from the third. The crew of the third ship sailed her to Morocco where she was sold.

Captain Geare was instrumental in the capture of two Spanish warships as well as several other ships during 1602 when his ship was part of a three-ship consort led by Christopher Newton.

In 1603, a wealthy Sir Captain Geare was knighted and retired to a large home in Stepney, a suburb of London.

James Gilliam
British Pirate

See James Kelley

Catherine Hagerty
Died 1807

Felon Charlotte Badger and convict Catherine Hagerty were among other convicts who seized the colonial brig called Venus while it was docked at Port Dalrymple so that the captain could attend to some business delivering official dispatches. The pirates headed for New Zealand and the Bay of Islands. In one story, the islanders hanged them along with four others, and in another account, the two women, Charlotte and Catherine, had been living onshore, but Catherine Hagerty had become ill and died in April, 1807. Charlotte and her child remained in the Bay, where it was believed that she lived with a local maori rangatira for some time. She refused to return to Port Jackson even though they were offered passage from several ships, including the Elizabeth, saying she wanted a passage to America. Charlotte and her daughter were believed to have accepted a passage aboard a ship on its way to Tonga.

John Halsey
Active early 1700's

Captain Halsey, originally hailed Boston. As a privateer, he raided French and Spanish shipping in 1704 and by 1705 he received a new commission and turned pirate and sailed to Madagascar in command of the Charles, which had 10 guns.

In late 1706, Captain Halsey was disposed by his crew who thought him to be a coward after refusing to fire upon a larger Dutch ship in the Indian Ocean. His crew was convinced the ship was nothing more than a merchantman. Captain Halsey's intuition was correct however for the Dutch ship turned on the Charles and fired. Afterwards, Captain Halsey was reinstated as captain.

In 1707, Captain Halsey seized two coastal traders at the Nicobar Islands. Then Halsey sailed to the Straits of Malacca. He found little success there, as his crew was now afraid to fire upon any ship larger than their own after the encounter with the Dutch ship.

At Madagascar Captain Halsey picked up more crew and Captain Nathaniel North became Quartermaster. While visiting Mocha in the Red Sea, August, 1707, Captain Halsey encountered a British squadron of five ships with a total of 62 guns. Captain Halsey displaying immense courage and attacked the squadron. The largest of the British ships fled and the others scattered in all directions. Captain Halsey captured two of the ships, taking £50,000 in cash and cargo.

In 1708, Captain Halsey returned to Madagascar. A hurricane struck and destroyed his ships. Captain Halsey was sick with a fever and died soon after. He was buried with great ceremony.

Of the ceremony, Daniel Defoe quotes: "He was brave in his person, courteous to all his prisoners, lived beloved, and died regretted by his own people. His grave was made in a garden of water melons, and fenced in with palisades to prevent his being rooted up by wild Hogs."

Israel Hands
British Pirate
circa 1718

Hands was second-in-command under Captain Edward Teach aka Blackbeard. Hands was given command of David Herriot's ship the Adventure after Herriot was captured by Captain Blackbeard in March, 1718.

Captain Hands was with Captain Blackbeard in the attack on Charleston, South Carolina. Afterwards, Hands settled with Blackbeard in Ocracoke, North Carolina. When Captain Blackbeard was killed by Captain Robert Maynard, Hands was captured and taken to Virginia for trial. In exchange for immunity, Captain Hands testified against corrupt North Carolina officials who had consorted with Captain Blackbeard.

According to Daniel Defoe's "General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates," Captain Hands is said to have died a beggar in London and also wrote that Captain Hands was shot in the knee by Captain Edward Teach after Teach fired at another member of his crew, striking Captain Hands accidentally. Captain Hands supposedly asked Captain Blackbeard his meaning in this act, his response was, "That if he did not now and then kill one of them, they would forget who he was."

Klein Hänslein
AKA Little Jack
Died 1573

This German pirate of the 1570's attacked shipping in the North sea until he and his crew were captured and beheaded in Hamburg.

Mary Harvey

Sir John Hawkins
1532 - 1595

Captain Hawkins spent the years 1562 through 1568 making four voyages. It was during these voyages that he became the first English slaver and the first Englishman to invade the Caribbean which was largely of Spanish possession.

Captain Hawkins started his career as smuggler while visiting the Canary islands with his father in 1562. He smuggled slaves from West Africa to the Caribbean. Slave smuggling was extremely profitable at the time as Spain required all slavers to register their cargo at Seville and Spain would take a portion of the proceeds thereby inflating the price. A smuggler could sell directly to the Spanish colonies as the colonists were eager to get a good price, so there was a ready market for those willing to take the risks. During these times, most pirates got their start smuggling slaves.

In October 1562, Captain Hawkins took three small ships to Sierra Leone. His purpose was to raid native villages (collecting slaves), and loot Portuguese ships. Captain Hawkins had worked out an agreement between local officials whereby he could sell his cargo on the northern coast of Hispaniola. Hawkins next went to England in one of his ships and sent the two others to Seville. At Seville the Spaniards seized the cargoes. Although Captain Hawkins lost the two ship's cargoes, he nevertheless made a substantial profit. Pirates realizing the profits made from slaving increased their elicit trade and tensions between England and Spain increased. Spain suspended trade with England and arrested English ships. Spain was immensely powerful at the time, controlling the seas and most of the colonies of the Americas. As such Spain was the enemy of many European nations. It was because of her control that England and France had planned a joint assault on Florida, but the plan wasn't to come to fruition and Queen Elizabeth I, having heard of Captain Hawkins' success in the Caribbean, decided to support him. The queen wanted Captain Hawkins to go on another slaving expedition and the plan was financed by courtiers and merchants. The queen gave Captain Hawkins the 700-ton Jesus of Lubeck and Captain Hawkins set sail with her plus three other smaller ships in October 1564. Captain Hawkins sailed to Borburata, Venezuela pirating along the way. By the time he reached Borburata, he had gathered around 400 slaves. After Borburata, Captain Hawkins sailed to Rio de la Hacha. The Spanish officials tried to prevent Captain Hawkins' sale of the slaves by imposing taxes. Captain Hawkins refused the taxes and threatened to burn the towns. The Spanish were no match for Captain Hawkins' crew and backed down. After selling his cargo, Captain Hawkins sailed to a French colony in Florida for a respite. Captain Hawkins returned to England in September 1655, his expedition a total success as his financiers made a 60% profit.

The Spanish government, outraged at Captain Hawkins' activities, persuaded the English government to forbid Captain Hawkins' next expedition. Captain Hawkins ignored the order from his government, financing John Lovell with a contribution of three ships. Lovell's expedition, which included Sir Francis Drake, left for Africa in October 1566. Lovell's voyage proved a financial disaster as Lovell's force was too small to force Spanish trade. After the disastrous Lovell expedition, Captain Hawkins once again gained support from the crown, and Captain Hawkins left England in October 1567. This time, Captain Hawkins was in command of two royal warships and four smaller ships.

Captain Hawkins course was the same as his last expedition, but this time Sir Francis Drake (who had joined the expedition) received command of a captured Portuguese ship, and Captain Hawkins was forced to take hostages at Rio de la Hacha as well as burning part of the town to make the Spanish permit trade. On the return voyage, Captain Hawkins ran into a severe storm which forced Captain Hawkins to a nearby port. The closest port was San Juan de Ulúa in Mexico, and Captain Hawkins anchored off an island in the harbor on September 15, 1568. At the island, Captain Hawkins took several hostages. The next day a Spanish treasure fleet commanded by the viceroy of Mexico arrived at the port. The viceroy, seeing the occupation by the English, ordered the Spanish forts and ships to attack on September 23. Captain Hawkins' force lost four of the 6 ships as well as three-fourths of the crew along with large sums of money. The remainder of Captain Hawkins' force arrived in England several months later. Hawkins' days as a slaver were over and he settled into the title of Treasurer of the Navy in 1577. In 1588 he became Naval comptroller as well as treasurer. While serving these positions, Captain Hawkins rebuilt older galleons as well as helped design faster, more heavily armed ships. He also improved the sailor's lot, providing better working conditions and more pay.

In 1588, Captain Hawkins commanded a squadron against the Spanish armada which was trying to invade England. Captain Hawkins was knighted for his performance in the foray. Hawkins next tried, unsuccessfully, to intercept the Spanish treasure fleet off Portugal with the aid of Martin Frobisher in early 1590. Captain Hawkins next joined Sir Francis Drake in an expedition to the West Indies in 1595. During the voyage, Hawkins became ill and died as the fleet was reaching San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Henriques the Englishman
AKA: Henry Johnson
Irish Pirate
Active 1730's

In 1730 Henry Johnson, dubbed Henriques the Englishman by his Spanish crew, was operating a pirate ship called the Two Brothers off the coast of Rhode Island.

Although Henriques was missing a hand, it did little to slow him down. In battle, he would often start off by balancing his rifle on the stub of his arm and firing it with expert accuracy. Afterwards he would drop the rifle and attack with his cutlass, swinging it madly at anyone in his way.

Attacking the John and Jane off Swan Island near Jamaica, Henriques' pirates battled for almost five hours before boarding the vessel.

Henriques was known as pirate who gave no quarter and asked for none in return, except in this instance. The pirates had stripped the crew and were preparing to hang everyone on board in pairs when Henriques heard the scream of a woman. Upon entering the cabin, he discovered one of his pirates had stripped and was about to rape her. Henriques put a stop to it, forbade anyone to hurt her, then had her belongings gathered up and let her go at the next port. He also stopped the other hangings from taking place.

Henriques was wanted throughout the Americas yet he managed to have a long career, confounding all pursuers and terrifying all in his wake. With the exception of his staunch rule against violence against women, he was an extremely blood-thirsty pirate who was never captured.

David Herriot
British
Died 1718

Pirate Israel Hands was second-in-command under Captain Edward Teach aka Blackbeard. Hands was given command of David Herriot's ship "Adventure" after Herriot was captured by Captain Blackbeard in March, 1718.

John Hoar
Active 1690's

During wartime, Captain Hoar captured a French ship. He was permitted to purchase her and renamed his new ship the John and Rebecca.

After Captain Hoar received a privateering commission from Governor Benjamin Fletcher of New York in December, 1695 he left Boston and sailed for the Red Sea with a stopover at Madagascar in April, 1696. Captain Hoar joined Captain Dirk Chivers and they seized several Indian ships as well as European ships. One of these was the Rouparelle.

Captain Hoar then sailed to the Persian Gulf where he captured a large Indian ship laden with cloth. Afterwards, Captain Hoar sailed for Saint Mary's Island, arriving in February 1697. Saint Mary's Island, which was a breeding ground for pirates. A large group in which to pick a crew from could always be found there. While Captain Hoar was at Saint Mary's, the natives of the island attacked he was killed.

Benjamin Hornigold
British Pirate
Active 1716 - 1717

Hornigold's ship was the starting point for many of the more famous pirates.

Captain Hornigold left New Providence Island in the Bahamas with Captain Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) among his crew. He captured a sloop, which Captain Teach made captain of. They plundered six ships in 1717 off the American coast and raided in the Caribbean. By the years end they seized a French ship laden with gold, jewels and other booty and then parted company. Teach went to America and Captain Hornigold to New Providence. When Woodes Rogers was appointed governor of the Bahamas Captain Hornigold asked for and received a pardon. Rogers thought highly of Hornigold and commissioned him to hunt pirates. Hornigold pursued John Auger among others. Circa 1719, Hornigold was sent to Mexico on a trading voyage. Captain Hornigold's ship struck a reef far from land, all hands were lost.

Sir James Houblon
Privateer

Thomas Howard
British Pirate
Active 1698 - 1703

Howard inherited a great deal of money but managed to squander every penny, then fled to Jamaica where he stole a canoe with a motley crew. Howard and his small band seized one ship after another until they ended up with a 24-gun ship. The crew elected Howard as her quartermaster. The pirates raided off North America in 1698, then crossed the Atlantic where they plundered many more ships along the West African coast.

In Circa 1700, their ship was wrecked on a reef off Madagascar. While they were trying to dislodge their ship from the reef, Howard and others stole all the treasure.

A time later, Howard became the victim. He was marooned while hunting when his companions made off with the treasure. Finally George Booth came along and Howard was rescued and joined the crew. After Booth's death, Howard sailed under John Bowen. In 1701, Bowen wrecked his ship, the Speaker. They eventually went to Augustine's Bay and Howard stayed behind and took up residence there for awhile.

Howard recruited another band with which he took the Prosperous, a 36 gun ship. Howard was elected her captain and in 1702 rejoined Bowen. In March 1703 they plundered the British merchantman Pembroke off Johanna Island in the Comoros Islands. In August, 1703, the two were found in the Red Sea where they captured two Indian ships with more than £70,000 in booty.

They sailed to Rajapura, India and divided the booty, then the crews united on board the largest of the Indian ships. Howard did not stay with them however, retiring a very wealthy man on the Indian coast.

Daniel Defoe states: "Howard married a Woman of the Country, and being a morose ill natured Fellow, and using her ill, he was murdered by her Relations."

Victor Hugues
Active 1790's

Born in Marseille, this Frenchman lost his business in Haiti when the slaves there demanded freedom. So he turned to piracy and made a fortune by raiding shipping out of Guadeloupe.