Born in Southeastern Wales, Callice moved to London as a youth, became a retailer and later joined the navy in about 1571. In early 1574, while commanding a royal ship, he seized an Italian merchantman and sold her cargo in Cardiff and Bristol. For the next four years, Callice plundered mercilessly with other captains who sailed under his leadership. In 1...

Born in Southeastern Wales, Callice moved to London as a youth, became a retailer and later joined the navy in about 1571. In early 1574, while commanding a royal ship, he seized an Italian merchantman and sold her cargo in Cardiff and Bristol. For the next four years, Callice plundered mercilessly with other captains who sailed under his leadership. In 1577, Callice was imprisoned in London and sentenced to hang for 6 counts of piracy. With a pardon from the Queen, Callice was paroled in 1578, but soon fled and became a pilot for Sir Henry Knolly's in Sir Humphrey Gilbert's expedition. Gilbert planned to plunder the Spanish Caribbean, but Knollys and Callice instead attacked ships in English waters. In 1580, Callice plundered in the north and captured two ships near Hamburg, Germany. In 1582 he was commissioned by Captain William Fenner to help him arrest pirates at sea. In 1583 Callice instead looted two Scottish merchantmen and took their cargo to Portsmouth. He kept one Scottish prize renamed the Golden Chalice but abandoned her soon after to avoid arrest. The ship passed to Sir Humphrey Gilbert and formed part of his 1583 Newfoundland expedition. In 1584 William Fenner was licensed to take Spanish and Portuguese prizes and Callice served as his lieutenant. In December Callice took command of a captured French warship and was separated from Fenner in foul weather. Although he was arrested in Ireland, he soon was released (or escaped) and captured several French ships. By 1585, Callice left Wales to avoid an outstanding judgment against him and operated along the Barbary coast. He was eventually killed in the Mediterranean circa 1586.

an English military and naval commander. In 1588, he was appointed constable of Carrickfergus, County Antrim, and later, he was governor of Ulster. In 1590, he wrote to Lord Burghley, requesting a commission from the queen to seize for lawful prize any goods which might be found in England belonging to Spanish subjects, and complaining of his monetary losses...

an English military and naval commander. In 1588, he was appointed constable of Carrickfergus, County Antrim, and later, he was governor of Ulster. In 1590, he wrote to Lord Burghley, requesting a commission from the queen to seize for lawful prize any goods which might be found in England belonging to Spanish subjects, and complaining of his monetary losses in her service. He is the author of ‘A Brief Summary Discourse upon a Voyage intending to the uttermost parts of America.’ and several unpublished manuscripts.

governor of the Spanish province of Nuevo León in present-day Mexico, an alleged slave trader, and the first Spanish subject known to have entered Texas from Mexico across the lower Rio Grande. The territory granted to Carvajal included some portions in the south that had been settled by other Spaniards who refused to accept the terms of the grant and sued ...

governor of the Spanish province of Nuevo León in present-day Mexico, an alleged slave trader, and the first Spanish subject known to have entered Texas from Mexico across the lower Rio Grande. The territory granted to Carvajal included some portions in the south that had been settled by other Spaniards who refused to accept the terms of the grant and sued Carvajal before the highest court in New Spain. The suits were decided in favor of Carvajal, but Álvaro Manrique de Zúñiga, marqués de Villamanrique, viceroy of New Spain, ordered the arrest of Carvajal in 1588, charging that Carvajal was enslaving Indians.

a French naval officer and privateer. In 1700, Cassard became a merchantman captain. The next year, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, and Cassard converted to a privateer. In 1705, he captained the privateer Saint Guillaume, capturing 12 merchantmen and raiding Cork. Two years later, he captured 13 merchantmen with the Duchesse Anne, earning a ran...

a French naval officer and privateer. In 1700, Cassard became a merchantman captain. The next year, the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, and Cassard converted to a privateer. In 1705, he captained the privateer Saint Guillaume, capturing 12 merchantmen and raiding Cork. Two years later, he captured 13 merchantmen with the Duchesse Anne, earning a rank in the Navy.

an English peer, naval commander and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I. He helped to prepare an expedition with Walter Raleigh which led to the Battle of Flores in 1592 and the capture of richly laden carrack Madre de Deus off Flores, Azores. He commissioned the bui...

an English peer, naval commander and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I. He helped to prepare an expedition with Walter Raleigh which led to the Battle of Flores in 1592 and the capture of richly laden carrack Madre de Deus off Flores, Azores. He commissioned the building of his own ship, the 38-gun Scourge of Malice. During the Battle of San Juan in 1598 he achieved fame for having briefly captured Fort San Felipe del Morro, the citadel protecting San Juan, Puerto Rico. Clifford and his force of men had arrived in Puerto Rico on 15 June 1598 but by November of that year had fled the island due to harsh civilian resistance. All the great wealth he gained from his buccaneering he lost in jousting and horse racing and was eventually obliged to sell his inherited lands.

a Royal Navy officer and politician. Benefiting from the patronage of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle he served as a naval captain during the 1720s and 1730s. Clinton went on to be Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland, Commodore and Command...

a Royal Navy officer and politician. Benefiting from the patronage of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle he served as a naval captain during the 1720s and 1730s. Clinton went on to be Governor of the Colony of Newfoundland, Commodore and Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet and then Governor of the Province of New York where he had to deal with the threat of a French attack during King George's War. He could not cope with the liberal politicians of the New York assembly who were led by James De Lancey and resigned in 1753.

a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion and a close friend and advisor to King Charles IX of France. Following the death of Henry II he placed himself with Louis, Prince of Condé, at the forefront of the Huguenot party, and demanded religious toleration and certain other reforms. In 1560...

a French nobleman and admiral, best remembered as a disciplined Huguenot leader in the French Wars of Religion and a close friend and advisor to King Charles IX of France. Following the death of Henry II he placed himself with Louis, Prince of Condé, at the forefront of the Huguenot party, and demanded religious toleration and certain other reforms. In 1560, at the Assembly of Notables at Fontainebleau, the hostility between Coligny and François of Guise broke forth violently.

a Flemish admiral who served as privateer and one of the Dunkirkers in Spanish Habsburg service during the Dutch Revolt. He was responsible for the capture of destruction of at least 150 fishing vessels, bringing 945 captured sailors back to his base in Dunkirk for ransom. A leading admiral over the next decade, he would have later encounters with other Dutc...

a Flemish admiral who served as privateer and one of the Dunkirkers in Spanish Habsburg service during the Dutch Revolt. He was responsible for the capture of destruction of at least 150 fishing vessels, bringing 945 captured sailors back to his base in Dunkirk for ransom. A leading admiral over the next decade, he would have later encounters with other Dutch corsairs of the period including Captain Claes Compaan who escaped from him after sighting the corsair off the Spanish coast.

an Irish-born American merchant sea captain, an officer in the Continental Navy and a privateer. As a commissioned captain fighting the British in the American Revolutionary War, he captured 24 ships in the eastern Atlantic between May 1777 and May 1778, bringing the expenses associated with British shipping to a then all-time high. He has been called "the m...

an Irish-born American merchant sea captain, an officer in the Continental Navy and a privateer. As a commissioned captain fighting the British in the American Revolutionary War, he captured 24 ships in the eastern Atlantic between May 1777 and May 1778, bringing the expenses associated with British shipping to a then all-time high. He has been called "the most successful of all Continental Navy captains".

a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. Explored ...

a British explorer, navigator, cartographer, and captain in the Royal Navy. Cook made detailed maps of Newfoundland prior to making three voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during which he achieved the first recorded European contact with the eastern coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian Islands, and the first recorded circumnavigation of New Zealand. Explored Australasia and Oceania.