Pirates: Behind the Legends

The true stories behind famous pirates, beginning with Francis Drake, famous for an expedition that was the start of England's challenge to Spain and Portugal's empires

The story of Grace O'Malley, the Pirate Queen of Ireland, who defied gender conventions to become the most feared and respected leader of both the land and the sea

The story of Englishman John Ward who, at the age of 50, started a remarkable ascent from petty pirate to notorious menace on the Mediterranean Sea

The story of pirate-turned-colonial governor Henry Morgan, revealing the circumstances that led him to imprisonment in the Tower of London

After switching from pirate hunter to unpopular pirate captain, William Kidd chased treasure until his fateful trial - where he was charged with murder

The story of history's most notorious pirate, Blackbeard, who gained momentum through the Caribbean, before blockading Charleston and fighting a bloody battle

The voyages and exploits of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, revealing them to be more ferocious than some of the male pirates they sailed with

The voyages and exploits of Bartholomew Roberts, aka Black Bart, whose piracy almost brought the West Indies trade to a standstill until he was hunted down

The voyages and exploits of Bartholomew Roberts, aka Black Bart, whose piracy almost brought the West Indies trade to a standstill until he was hunted down