Pirates: Did you mean...?

Captain Stede Bonnet was a plantation owner in Barbados who turned to piracy and privateering in 1717. Known as the 'Gentleman Pirate', Bonnet embarked on a life of crime relatively late in life, reportedly in order to escape his nagging...

Hamaxia (now known as Sinek Kalesi or Sinekkalesi, near the modern Alanya) was a city in western Cilicia in southern Turkey known for its lush landscape, cedar forests, and thriving timber export business. It was located on a high hill near...

The revolt of the gladiator Spartacus in 73-71 BCE remains the most successful slave revolt in the history of Rome. The rebellion is known as the Third Servile War and was the last of three major slave revolts which Rome suppressed. The story...

The treasure ports of the Spanish Main such as Cartagena, Portobelo, Panama, and Veracruz were used to collect the riches the Spanish Empire had extracted from the Americas, ready for transport in the two annual treasure fleets back to Europe...

The Jolly Roger, a flag used by pirates and first documented c. 1700. The term 'Jolly Roger' actually referred to any design of pirate flag using macabre imagery. These flags were designed to instill terror into victims and bring immediate...

The Ottoman Sultanate (1299-1922 as an empire; 1922-1924 as caliphate only), also referred to as the Ottoman Empire, written in Turkish as Osmanlı Devleti, was a Turkic imperial state that was conceived by and named after Osman (l. 1258-1326...

Saint Patrick (5th century) is the best-known patron saint of Ireland and one of the most successful Christian missionaries in history. He is credited with expanding literacy in Ireland through the monastic orders he established, revising...

Dionysos (Roman name: Bacchus, also known as Dionysus) was the ancient Greek god of wine, merriment, and theatre. Being the bad boy of Mt. Olympus, Dionysus was perhaps the most colourful of the Olympian Gods. Son of Zeus In Greek mythology...

Sir Francis Drake (c. 1540-1596 CE) was an English mariner, privateer and explorer who in 1588 CE helped defeat the Spanish Armada of Philip II of Spain (r. 1556-1598 CE) which attempted to invade the kingdom of Elizabeth I of England (r...

Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus, also known as Pompey or Pompey the Great, was a military leader and politician during the fall of the Roman Republic. He was born in 106 BCE and died on 28th September 48 BCE. His father was Gnaeus Pompeius Strabo...