He was known as the “Gentleman Pirate.” More than once, he docked at a spot in the Cape Fear Inlet to careen periodically his Revenge. Becomming the 'gentleman' pirate, he took prizes as well as any other pirate. In the golden age of piracy (1670-1720) Charleston S.C. was a hub for pirates such as Blackbeard, and Stede Bonnet to sell their stolen goods, and was the adolescent home of Anne Bonney! A former planter turned brigand, Stede Bonnet was a second generation Barbadian who sailed throughout the Caribbean and the North Atlantic committing piracy. He turned to piracy for no obvious reason and was known as “pirate gentleman” because of his cultured background. The name Royal James that Bonnet conferred on his sloop was presumably a reference to the younger Prince James Stuart, and may suggest […] On this date in the Barbados buccaneer Stede Bonnet was hanged for piracy in Charleston, S. Bonnet had few of the typical swashbuckler's resume-builders during this Golden Age of Piracy: he. Stede Bonnet (1688 – 10 December 1718) was an early eighteenth-century Barbadian pirate, sometimes called "The Gentleman Pirate" because he was a moderately wealthy land-owner before turning to a life of crime. A landlubber, he didn't know how to operate a ship. They were desperate but skilled sailors and brawlers who either could not find honest work or who were driven to piracy by the inhuman conditions onboard merchant or navy ships at the time. After marital problems in 1717, he used inherited wealth to purchase an armed sloop and turned pirate. Bonnet was one of the most interesting and unique pirates in the Caribbean history. Some of the most famous pirates known throughout the world, even in … Bonnet was captured and was executed by hanging at White Point Garden, in Charleston, South Carolina on 10 December 1718. L ike P aulsgrave Williams, Stede Bonnet was an unlikely pirate. Major Stede Bonnet was a most unlikely pirate. 1718: Stede Bonnet, gentleman pirate December 10th, 2010 Headsman On this date in 1718, the Barbados buccaneer Stede Bonnet was hanged for piracy in Charleston, S.C. Although one of the least successful, he became very famous for some of his not-so-pirate actions. He is probably the only pirate in history to ever buy his own ship: in 1717 he outfitted a ten-gun sloop he named the Revenge. Its inscription reads: “Near this point in the autumn of 1718, Stede Bonnet, notorious “gentleman pirate,” and twenty-nine of his men, captured by Colonel William Rhett, met their just deserts. Bonnet was born and raised near Bridgetown, Barbados, where he … The scion of an influential family of Barbados sugar planters, Bonnet had a wife, children, and estate on that island. On this date in the Barbados buccaneer … Stede Bonnet was an ex-army major and the Barbados plantation owner. Why was stede bonet a famous pirate? Becomming the 'gentleman' pirate, he took prizes as well as any other pirate. He was sentenced to death, and begged for clemency, even offering to cut off all his limbs as assurance he would not return to … Although one of the least successful, he became … 1688 – 10 December 1718 Hoping to preserve his pardon, Bonnet adopted the alias "Captain Thomas" and changed the Revenge’s name to the Royal James.Butler (2000), p61. His leadership and management styles were atypical for a buccaneer. One of the sea’s strangest, and most unlikely pirates, from the Virginia coast. Stede was one of the three children raised by Edward and Sarah Bonnet. Recognized as a "pirate gentleman" because of his cultured background, Bonnet was one of the most interesting and unique pirates in the Caribbean history. The pirates were tried and sentenced to death. After a trial and charge, famous in American history, by Chief Justice Nicholas Trott. He was born to wealthy English parents in Barbados back in 1688. Major Stede Bonnet (1688-1718) was known as the Gentleman Pirate. Stede Bonnet : biography ca. At Bonnet’s trial, the judge cited his privileged upbringing and liberal education as factors that should have stopped him from choosing a life of crime. Stede Bonnet's career as the "Gentleman Pirate" may represent the worst midlife crisis on record. Stede Bonnet is famous for his exploits with Blacbeard and his unique upbringing. He was originally a high ranking individual, known as Major Stede Bonnet. Bonnet came from an upright French family. Most of the men associated with the Golden Age of Piracy were reluctant pirates.