Dark Tides Legends · No. 06

Stede Bonnet

The Gentleman Who Chose Piracy

Barbados, c. 1688 — Charles Town, 1718

Born into privilege. He purchased a ship,
hired a crew, and deliberately sailed into piracy.

Explore His Story View the Evidence

Modern reconstruction

The Course of a Gentleman Pirate

The Gentleman Pirate

Barbados Revenge Blackbeard Cape Fear Charles Town

Stede Bonnet lived as a gentleman of means until the call of the sea drew him into infamy. His short career left an outsized mark on pirate history—and a legend that endures.

Begin the chronology

Chapter One · Barbados

A Man With Everything to Lose

Before the Revenge, before Blackbeard, and before the name “Gentleman Pirate,” Stede Bonnet was a wealthy planter, militia major, husband, and father.