10 Most Violent Pirates In History

Edward 'Ned' Lowe was born and raised in Westminster, England. He began his criminal career as a small-time pickpocket and would work his way up to becoming a pirate captain.

Lowe was a sneaky man who had a collection of flags from various nations. He would fly the flag of whatever country he believed a ship was from, in order to get close and take it. Those who were unfortunate enough to be captured by Lowe were often subjected to brutal treatment.

The captain was known for a torture method that involved tying a rope between his captives' fingers. He would then light the rope and watch their hands burn to the bone.

His most famous act of cruelty involved cutting a Portuguese captain's lips clean off. He then had the lips cooked, and fed them to the man, while they were still boiling hot. He also had a cook he captured tied to a mast and set on fire because Lowe thought the man looked greasy and would burn well.

His brutality was so renowned that the New York Times claimed that his tactics would have "done credit to the ingenuity of the Spanish Inquisition in its darkest days."

There are several conflicting reports regarding the infamous pirate's fate. He may have died in a shipwreck, been betrayed by his own men, or lived out his days as a retiree in Brazil.