Badass Pirate Ship Names

In ancient times, pirates were classed amongst the world’s most notorious men, alongside terrorists, thieves, and the worst of the worst in society. So bad that the punishment for being a pirate was the capital death penalty. In this article, we are looking at some of the Badass Pirate Ship Names ever known.

In all truth, many members of the pirate’s league were outcasts from the society, murderers for hire, sailors with a dishonorable discharge from the navy, wayward sons who have left no inheritance, and others who couldn’t survive in a society where the strong ate the weak.

There are arguments, however, that seem to dispel these stories and discredit the authenticity. To be sure of which side the truth is on, it is important to take a walk down history.

A majority of the stories about pirates originate from recordings made in the 19th century, which are popularly criticized for their biased account of events to please the public.

Many of the history books were written by fiction authors, including Daniel Defoe, Robert Louis Steenson. As a result, such recordings cannot be trusted to tell the actual events as they occurred.

Books like Treasure Island, Peter Pan, and classic movies like the Pirates of the Caribbean and Captain Blood, on the other hand, seemed to showcase Pirates as heroes to pique the minds and interests of young children.

To get real accounts of Pirates, archaeology needs to be studied.

Archaeology of Ships Belonging to Pirates

As against the tradition where ancient archaeologists studied cultures and times, without pinning them out. Archaeologists of history depend heavily on books of history to frame up their records.

Read up on the location of a sunken ship or artifact resembling a belonging of an alleged pirate, and up goes the hunt for a pirate adventure.

Because of the confusion arising when differentiating a pirate shipwreck from that of a normal sailor, a patron of archaeology based on history, Stanley South, came up with a system that will help tell the differences between the normal sailor ship and that of a pirate.

He did this using a known tradition of one to separate it from the other.

A telling factor is determined by the number of weapons found on the ship, the quality, and the manufacturer.

Another factor is that a pirate ship has more international goods and weapons because they’re hijacked or stolen and not purchased or obtained legally.

Distinct Feature of Pirate Ships: Flags

Pirates have always been known for the kind of flags they display while on the sea. Also known as Jolly Rogers, the flags served as an identification mark, with each pirate ship having a unique flag that differentiated it from the other.

A part of the design of the pirate’s flag was to instill fear in its opponent, for them to surrender without putting up a fear.

For example, red flags on a pirate ship meant they were out for blood, to fight to the death. They were known to the French as “Joli rouge”, which was reported to have coined the name, Jolly Roger.

As time went on, Black colored flags, and other symbols distinguishing them were integrated, like the skeletons, hourglass, bleeding hearts, and swords.

List of the Most Popular Badass Pirate Ship Names Known

#1. The Adventure Galley

One of the best pirate warships to ever grace the seas was the Adventure Galley, which was captained by Captain William Kidd.

This ship had 34 cannons in its weapons catalog, weighed about 284 tons, and was popular at the time because of the widely publicized victory against a ship from Armenia in January 1698. The ship had close to 100 pirates, all skilled in the art of war.

After the infamous war against the ship from Armenia, Kidd switched warships with the Quedah, and burnt down the Adventure Galley, possibly for fears of other pirates taking over and because the ship was beginning to lose its effectiveness.

#2. The Golden Hind

This ship was famous for undertaking one of the most dangerous voyages of all time and returning in one piece. It took the ship almost 3 years to complete the journey where it went around the globe.

Because of that dangerous, yet successful endeavor, many ships have been named after The Golden Hind. The ship had different sizes of guns, naming about 18, and weighed over 100 tons.

It was captained by Sir Francis Drake who changed its original name from “The Pelican ” to “The Golden Hind”.

#3. Fancy

Fancy was a tough and successful warship that had a popular pirate, Henry Every as its Captain. Henry changed its name to “Charles II”.

Fancy had a crew of 140, all skilled in the art of war on the sea, with 46 guns as part of its weaponry. Because of its fast nature, everyone went on a spree, attacking ships all through the Indian Ocean, and getting away from the authorities at the speed of light.

A popular victory the ship recorded was against Gang-i-Sawai, another top warship with 40 guns.

#4. Queen Anne’s Revenge

This ship comes last on the list because of the history books listing it as the most successful and popular ship of all time.

Captain Benjamin Hornigold was its first captain of the ship after he captured it from merchants who named it “Le Concorde de Nantes”. It had 26 guns on board.

Soon after, he handed over the reins of the ship to his friend, Blackbeard who became the second captain, and upgraded the weaponry to 40 guns, and increased the workforce to 150 crewmen.

Blackbeard changed its name from “Le Concorde” to “Queen Anne Revenge”. Among the victories Blackbeard recorded with this warship, the victory of HMS Scarborough was the most popular, and the capture of 8 vessels from the Charleston.

In 1718, Blackbeard lost his ship as it sank in North Carolina.

Other Badass Pirate Ship Names worthy of mention include:

Captain Charles Vane’s sloop: The Ranger
Captain Calico Jack’s sloop: The William
Bartholomew Roberts’ ships: The Royal and Great Fortune, and the Great Ranger
Captain John Gow: The Revenge (known previously as the Caroline)
Captain Edward England’s galleys: The Fancy, Royal James, and The Victory.

Badass Pirate Ship Names Known to Man