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among them. Blackbeard, born Edward Teach, gained his pirating skills through successful privateering for the queen of England. He eventually commandeered a ship, named himself as the captain, and became known as Blackbeard, titled such from his long, dark, braided beard. As a pirate, Blackbeard was so feared that ships often surrendered as soon as they saw his flag. One story told of a man who refused to give up his diamond ring, so Blackbeard cut off his entire finger. In 1718, Navy Lieutenant Robert Maynard shot Blackbeard and another navy officer cut off his head. Legend says that Blackbeard had a large treasure that he buried for safe keeping, and no one but Blackbeard himself and the Devil knew where it was hidden. Since his death, the location of his treasure is still unknown.

Jack Rackham was not known for his amazing fighting skills or bloodthirsty pirate attitude. Calico Jack, as he was called, was recognized mostly for the colorful muslin outfits he wore. Also adding to his fame was the fact that he had two female crew members. Mary Read and Anne Bonny both dressed as men in order to work as pirates on Jack's ship, where he began an affair with Bonny, whose husband was also on the ship. The relationship led to an illegitimate child who was left with pirate families somewhere in Cuba. Nonetheless, Calico Jack did have a petty career as a pirate hitting the coast of southern Florida and ultimately being hanged in Jamaica. His persona was the inspiration for Disney's Jack Sparrow.

Jose Gaspar, later known as Gasparilla, is largely famous as a buccaneer of Floridian lore. Though there are several stories about Gaspar's rise to piracy, some more romanticized than others, it is mostly agreed that he began serving in the Spanish Navy and entered piracy after he collected sailing skills and a hunger for wealth. Gasparilla ruled the beaches and waters of southwestern Florida. From Tampa to Miami, he raided every ship that passed, gathering an insurmountable treasure over some 38 years, and storing the booty on what is now called Gasparilla Island. About to be captured by the USS Enterprise, Gasparilla tied an anchor to himself and jumped off his ship.

Modern Piracy

As the Golden Age of Piracy came to an end, European regulators were more plentiful than those men who had yet to become bored with the pirate life. Piracy decreased but did not disappear. The IMB Piracy Reporting Center claims a rise in pirating acts around the world since 2006. Today, pirates yield sailing and tracking technology and small weapons like knives and hand guns, rather than simple maps, cannons, and swords. They still try to gain wealth through stealing or illegal trade in the waters off Florida, but are generally stopped by the United States Coast Guard. Nonetheless, the history of piracy in Miami and throughout Florida's coastal regions will remain the swashbuckling stories of childhoods past, present, and future.

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