10 Most Violent Pirates In History

Bartholomew Roberts, better known as 'Black Bart', was a Welsh pirate who was active from 1719 to 1722. Though he was only in the pirating game for about four years, the legendary seaman still managed to capture around 400 ships, which is more than any of his contemporaries.

Roberts wasn't as outwardly cruel as many of the pirates on our list. He certainly didn't go out of his way to torture people for fun. However, he was still a ruthless killer in his own right.

The Welshman, like most pirates, had a tendency to burn many of the looted ships he captured. Unfortunately, he was also known to do so with some of the occupants still on board.

In one instance, 'Black Bart' seized a slave ship and didn't want to take the time to unshackle the unfortunate captives, prior to setting the vessel ablaze. As a result, some eighty slaves were burned alive.

Roberts would meet his own violent end in 1722 when he was shot in the throat during a skirmish with the British Royal Navy.