# Benjamin Hornigold: The Pirate Who Stole Only Hats

*History & War · Eleanor Hartwell · 2026-08-10*

## TL;DR

Benjamin Hornigold was a pirate captain active in the Bahamas around 1715 to 1718. He mentored Edward Teach, later known as Blackbeard, and became famous for stealing only hats from captured crews. After accepting a royal pardon in 1718, he turned pirate hunter until a hurricane wrecked his ship in 1719.

## Key facts

- Benjamin Hornigold operated out of Nassau, Bahamas, during the height of the Golden Age of Piracy around 1715.
- He mentored Edward Teach, who would become the infamous pirate Blackbeard, serving as his captain and teacher.
- Hornigold earned the nickname "the gentleman pirate" for his policy of taking only hats from captured vessels, never robbing passengers outright.
- In 1718, he accepted a royal pardon from King George I and switched sides to hunt his former pirate allies.
- Hornigold died in 1719 when his ship was destroyed by a hurricane near the Bahamas, ending his remarkable career.

## The Pirate Who Stole Only Hats

Benjamin Hornigold was a pirate captain who once attacked a ship and stole nothing but the crew's hats, explaining that his own men needed them. That moment captures why historians still talk about him today, because he built his reputation in the early 18th-century Caribbean as a "gentleman pirate" who shunned bloodshed. His career began around 1713, when the seas had become a free-for-all.

Spain, England, and France were at war, and their conflicts turned the Caribbean into a chaotic hunting ground. Merchant ships sailed as easy targets, and Hornigold saw his opening. He started with a small vessel he barely managed to get sailing, yet his talent and quick thinking soon grew both his crew and his fleet.

While other pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy looted and killed, Hornigold drew a moral line. He typically let captured crews go free and avoided violence whenever he could. His hat-stealing stunt was pure Hornigold: theatrical, practical, and oddly polite. When asked why he had taken only the hats, he reportedly answered that his men needed more of them.

His exact birth in England in the 1680s remains uncertain, and little is known about his childhood or youth. What is clear is that by 1713 he had stepped into a world where war had made pirates bolder and merchants more vulnerable, and he turned that chaos into a career.

## From Small Ship to Pirate Mentor: Teaching Blackbeard

Benjamin Hornigold's piracy career began around 1713, and his first vessel was a small ship that could barely stay afloat. Yet within a remarkably short time, his crew and his fleet grew, driven by his sharp mind and genuine skill on the water. The man who would one day command respect across the Caribbean started with almost nothing seaworthy beneath his feet.

What set Hornigold apart from other pirates of his era was a moral line he refused to cross. While many of his contemporaries slaughtered crews and burned ships, Hornigold typically let captured sailors go free and avoided bloodshed whenever he could. His contemporaries even called him the "gentleman pirate" for this restraint. One famous incident captures his wit perfectly: he once attacked a vessel solely to steal the crew's hats, and when asked why, he replied that his own men needed more hats. The story survives in contemporary accounts of pirate history.

That same ship became a classroom for one of history's most feared pirates. Edward Teach, the man the world would come to know as Blackbeard, served as a member of Hornigold's crew and launched his piracy career at Hornigold's side. Hornigold taught Teach how to handle a ship, how to read the sea, how to devise strategy, and how to command men. In essence, the most famous pirate in history learned his craft from Benjamin Hornigold, and that mentorship stands as a central piece of his legacy.

Hornigold's influence on Blackbeard went beyond simple seamanship. The young Teach absorbed lessons about leadership, intimidation, and the delicate balance between violence and mercy that Hornigold practiced so carefully. When Teach eventually struck out on his own, he carried those lessons with him, even if he chose to amplify the terror rather than the restraint.

## The Royal Pardon and the Turn to Pirate Hunter

By 1718, King George I of Britain had had enough. The crown issued a royal proclamation offering a full pardon to any pirate who surrendered, and Benjamin Hornigold, the man who had once commanded the seas around the Bahamas, took the deal.

The offer was simple: lay down your cutlass, walk away from the Jolly Roger, and your crimes vanish. Hornigold, ever the pragmatist, accepted without hesitation. It was a smart move, and it changed everything.

What happened next was the strangest twist in his already odd career. Contrary to the popular version of the story, he did not join the British Royal Navy. Records show he became a privateer instead, a licensed raider commissioned directly by Governor Woodes Rogers, the man Britain had sent to clean up Nassau. A privateer was essentially a pirate with paperwork, authorized to attack enemy ships for profit while flying the British flag.

And who did Hornigold hunt? His own former crewmates. The same men who had sailed beside him, shared his rum, and followed his orders were now his quarry. It was a brutal reversal, and he pursued it with the same cunning that had made him a legend among pirates in the first place. The man who had once spared captives and stolen only hats now chased down his old brothers in arms, trading one kind of outlaw life for another that wore a crown's seal.

## A Hurricane Ends the Story in 1719

Benjamin Hornigold's life ended just as dramatically as it had been lived, reportedly in 1719 when his ship struck rocks during a hurricane near the Bahamas. The exact circumstances remain cloudy, as the story goes, with few reliable records surviving from that chaotic era. What is clear is that his death closed a remarkable chapter in maritime history.

By then, Hornigold had already traded his pirate flag for a privateer's commission. After accepting the royal pardon in 1718, he had begun hunting his former comrades, including men he once commanded. The man who had taught Blackbeard the art of seamanship had become the terror of his old crewmates, a reversal that stunned the Caribbean.

His passing in that 1719 hurricane marked the end of an era for the "gentleman pirate" of the Golden Age. The same waters that had witnessed his clever raids and his famous hat-stealing prank now swallowed him whole. In death, as in life, Hornigold remained an enigma, a man who set rules for pirates, broke them for a pardon, and then chased the very outlaws he once led.

His legacy is a strange one. Benjamin Hornigold gave the world its most legendary pirate in Blackbeard, then spent his final months hunting him. He built a fleet from a barely seaworthy sloop, only to lose everything to wind and stone. The sea that made him eventually took him, leaving behind a story that still sparks curiosity centuries later.


## Frequently asked questions

**Who was Benjamin Hornigold?**

Benjamin Hornigold was a prominent pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early 18th century, known for his unusual moral restraint and for mentoring the infamous Blackbeard. He began his piracy career around 1713 in the Caribbean, rising from a small vessel to command a formidable fleet while avoiding unnecessary violence.

**Why did Benjamin Hornigold steal only hats from a ship?**

In one recorded incident, Hornigold attacked a ship and took only the crew's hats. When asked why, he reportedly replied that his own men needed more hats. This anecdote, preserved in contemporary accounts, perfectly captures the wit and peculiar sense of honor that set him apart from bloodier pirates of his era.

**How did Benjamin Hornigold mentor Blackbeard?**

Edward Teach, who would later become legendary as Blackbeard, served as a member of Hornigold's crew and launched his piracy career under Hornigold's command. Hornigold taught Teach the essential skills of ship handling, strategic planning, and the art of seamanship, effectively making him the teacher of history's most famous pirate.

**What happened to Benjamin Hornigold after accepting the royal pardon?**

In 1718, the British government offered a royal pardon to pirates, and Hornigold accepted it. After receiving the pardon, he became a privateer commissioned by Governor Woodes Rogers and began hunting his former pirate colleagues. He had transformed from a pirate into a pirate hunter.

**How did Benjamin Hornigold die?**

Hornigold died in 1719 when his ship struck rocks during a hurricane near the Bahamas. According to the original account, the exact circumstances of his death remain poorly documented, but this storm claimed the life of the man once called the "gentleman pirate" of the Caribbean.

**Was Benjamin Hornigold a successful pirate?**

Yes, Hornigold was remarkably successful by any measure. He started with a small ship he could barely sail and grew it into a powerful fleet, becoming a respected leader among pirates. His success came not through brutality but through intelligence and strategy, proving that a pirate could thrive without leaving a trail of blood.

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