Dr Rebecca Simon

Historian, author and piracy expert

Dr Rebecca Simon is a historian of early modern piracy. She is the author of Why We Love Pirates: The Hunt for Captain Kidd and How He Changed Piracy Forever (Mango Press, 2020)

Recent articles by Dr Rebecca Simon

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An engraving of the pirate Henry Avery with his ship in a notorious raid that almost pushed England and India to war (Photo by Culture Club/Getty Images)

Hell on high water: the rise and fall of the golden age of piracy . This is a premium piece of content available to subscribed users.

Female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read holding cutlasses

Anne Bonny and Mary Read: the deadly female pirate duo

A pirate ship flying the Jolly Roger closes in on another vessel during a storm

The golden age of piracy: when pirates ruled the waves

The Jolly Roger, a black flag showing a skuyll and crossbones. (Photo by Henry Guttmann Collection/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

Q&A Did all pirates fly the Jolly Roger?

A pirate uses his cutlass to force a bound and blindfolded man to walk the plank

Q&A Was walking the plank a real pirate punishment?

Pirates burying a treasure chest on a beach as their captain looks on

Q&A X marks the spot: did pirates bury their treasure?

A 17th century sketch of a peg-legged pirate walking with the aid of crutches

Q&A Did any real pirates wear eyepatches or have peg legs?