15 Famous Sea Captains of All Time

The maritime world has many legends and stories of brave sailors who crossed dangerous waters. Some of these myths have also inspired the creation of fictional characters who have become everyone’s favourites such as Captain Jack Sparrow, still others are not that widely known.

In this article, we bring you the 15 Famous Sea Captains of all time.

1. Christopher Colombus

Colombus introduced Europe to the New World. He was largely self-educated, with a curious bent of mind and travelled a lot even when he was young.

This Italian Explorer went on four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean, sponsored by the Spanish Crown.

Christopher Colombus

His discovery of the Americas led to widespread exploration of the region and its subsequent colonisation by the Europeans.

He made three more trips to the Americas and explored the Lesser Antilles, Trinidad, part of South America, and Central America.

He called the Indigenous people ‘Indos’ and, though regarded as an experienced captain who commanded his fleet of ships, he was brutal as a colonial governor who mistreated the Indigenous people and even captured them.

2. Zheng He

More than six centuries ago, a massive fleet of vessels from the Ming Dynasty of China crossed the Indian Ocean through the South China Sea under the command of Zheng He, the most renowned explorer of Asia. His maritime adventures preceded those of Colombus by more than 80 years.

Zheng He
Image Credits: Wikipedia

He was an admiral and diplomat who extended China’s maritime influence in the regions bordering the Indian Ocean. He was the commander of seven naval expeditions almost 100 years before the Portuguese arrived in India.

These voyages displayed China’s influence and were intended to accumulate foreign treasures for the Ming. He was a Chinese Muslim, and his family traced descent from a Mongol Governor of China’s Yunan Province.

3. Anny Bonny and Mary Read

These two female pirates broke all gender norms in days when women could not even think independently.

Anny Bony was a pirate in the Caribbean and one of the few female pirates in history. In 1720, she joined the crew of Calico Jack Rackham along with another female pirate, Mary Read.

Anny Bonny and Mary Read
Image Credits: Wikipedia

Little is known about their personal lives, but Read was probably born in England and dressed like a boy when she was pretty young, first at her mother’s insistence and then as a teenager to join the military.

Fate had different plans, and she became a pirate. Bonny and Read dressed as men, wore breeches, and carried pistols.

They were captured and convicted but were not executed as they claimed to be pregnant. Read died in jail, but nobody knows what happened to Anne.

4. James Cook

Said to be one of the finest explorers of his time, James Cook is known for mapping the eastern coast of Australia, paving the way for British settlement.

He was also a cartographer, navigator and naval officer who undertook three expeditions to the Pacific Ocean between 1768 and 1779.

James Cook
Image Credits: Wikipedia

He joined the Royal Navy in 1755 and mapped the entrance to the St.Lawrence River, which brought him to the attention of the higher authorities who commissioned him to command the HMS Endeavour in 1768.

He sailed across previously uncharted areas in his voyages and mapped places from New Zealand to Hawaii in great detail. He also named geographical features he found, including islands and coasts, on European maps.

He was a great captain and possessed immense courage and leadership abilities. James Cook died during a dispute with the inhabitants of Hawaii in 1779. Though he is celebrated by many, others highlight his violent encounters with the natives, and he is also held responsible for the British colonisation of these places.

5. Grace O’Malley

Grace is famously known as the Pirate Queen of Ireland. Interested in seafaring and piracy since she was 11 years old, she grew up to become a successful leader at sea and a smart politician on land. She defended her territories at a time when most of Ireland came under English control.

Grace O'Malley
Image Credits: Wikipedia

She was pregnant, and within an hour of giving birth to her son, her ship was attacked by Algerian pirates. She wrapped her child in a cloth and commanded the crew, ultimately capturing the pirate ship.

In 1546, she married the heir of the O’Flaherty clan and became active in politics. She even learned the art of pirating. After an enemy clan killed her husband, she won back her castle and defeated the enemies.

Although she was largely ignored in Irish history, she inspired many folk songs, books, and plays.

6. Francis Drake

This English explorer and privateer is popular for circumnavigating the world in a single voyage between 1577 and 1580.

He started his maritime career when he entered the household of his relative William Hawkins, a sea captain. He went on his first independent voyage in 1572 after training under Hawkins.

Francis Drake

In his circumnavigation, he entered the Pacific Ocean and plundered coastal settlements and ships for treasures. He reached England in 1580 and was awarded a knighthood for his achievements.

However, his voyage around the world led to conflict with Spain and the Anglo-Spanish War in 1585. He commanded an expedition to the Americas that targeted Spanish Ships and ports in the region.

7. Aḥmad ibn Mājid

He was a famous admiral and an arab Navigator born in a seafaring family.

He was said to have aided Vasco da Gama in finding the route from Africa to India; however, new research says this is highly unlikely, given that he would have been in his 70s when Da Gama decided to take this trip.

Aḥmad ibn Mājid

Ahmad Ibn Majid wrote several books on sailing and ship movements, which helped explorers reach India, Africa, and other places.

One of his books contains everything about seafaring, from the principles of navigation to geographical terms, different types of sailings, locations of harbours from Africa to Asia, prevalent monsoon winds, and other topics of interest.

He was called a teacher of navigation and was known to Europeans to be a man of excellence.

8. Erik the Red

This Norwegian Viking was known to have discovered Greenland. He was temperamental and clashed with his neighbours. After killing someone, he was banished from Norway.

He went to Iceland with his family and was accused of manslaughter, after which he was exiled in 982.

He then decided to sail westwards and stumbled upon an unknown land, which he named Greenland.

Erik the Red
Image Credits: Wikipedia

Many years later, he returned to Iceland and urged people to settle in the land he had found. For this purpose, he arranged a fleet of 25 vessels, of which only 14 reached their destination.

Two settlements were founded in Greenland in 986, and at its zenith, the Greenland settlements had around 5000 inhabitants.

After Erik died, these Norse settlements flourished till the 14th and 15th centuries, after which they were abandoned probably because of the harsh conditions and lack of trade opportunities.

9. Bartolomeu Dias

This Portuguese mariner sailed around Africa’s southern tip, i.e. the Cape of Good Hope, in 1488.

His voyage confirmed that the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean were linked. This finding proved Ptolemy wrong, as he said that the Indian Ocean was landlocked.

Bartolomeu Dias

His discovery established a sea route between Europe and Asia and paved the way for Vasco Da Gama’s trip to the Indian subcontinent.

He was born into a maritime family, and one of his ancestors had explored the coast of Africa in the 1440s. In 1481, he went on a naval expedition to construct a trading post in the Gulf of Guinea.

King Joao II of Portugal financed his voyage. He was part of the Cabral expedition that found Brazil, but his ship sank in a storm.

10. Horatio Nelson

A celebrated naval officer in the Royal Navy, Horatio Nelson is widely remembered for his many naval victories during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic Wars, as well as his naval tact and leadership qualities.

He was a great naval commander whose victory in the 1805 Battle of Trafalgar established British naval control for another 100 years. The battle was one of the greatest victories for Britain. However, Nelson was seriously injured.

Horatio Nelson

His body was brought to England, and he was given a state funeral.

He participated in many battles before this one. In 1801, he was sent to the Baltic Sea, where he defeated Denmark at the Battle of Copenhagen.

11. Ernest Shackleton

Shackleton explored Antarctica on four voyages, the most famous of which was his Trans-Antarctic voyage. Although he failed to achieve his goal, it is remembered as a tale of great perseverance.

Shackleton

On his Nimrod voyage between 1907 to 1909, he explored the farthest areas of the South Pole and climbed an active volcano, Mount Erebus. Upon his return, he was appreciated and awarded by the King.

He also served in the British Army during the First World War and decided to go on another expedition to the Antarctic in 1921, onboard the Quest, to circumnavigate the Continent.

12. Bartholomew Roberts

One of the most successful pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy, Bartholomew Roberts, looted and plundered over 400 ships for treasures.

He was a famous pirate captain whose areas of operations were America and West Africa, where he was pretty active in the early 1700s.

His flagship was the massive Royal Fortune, which had a crew of 200 men and 40 cannons. It could easily stand before a Royal Navy Vessel of that time.

Bartholomew Roberts
Image Credits: Wikipedia

Popularly called Black Bart, he inspired many fictional protagonists in movies, stories and plays.

Born in 1682 in Wales, he first went to sea when he was 13. He also served as a second mate on a slave vessel that pirates later captured. The vessel’s pirate captain recognised his navigating talent and confided in Roberts.

Pirate Captain Howell Davis urged Roberts to join him. Though initially hesitant, he saw the benefits of being a pirate and decided to pursue this new opportunity.

13. Henry Morgan

Born in 1635, Henry Morgan was a privateer who captured and plundered over 400 Ships, mostly Spanish vessels in two decades. In the late 17th century, he raided Spanish settlements and ports in the Caribbean and Central America.

In the 1660s, he was the captain of the ships in the Myng’s fleet, which attacked Santiago de Cuba. He attacked Panama City with over thirty ships and two thousand sailors.

Henry Morgan
Image Credits: Wikipedia

The authorities also contacted him to protect Britain’s naval interests in the Caribbean region.

With all his accumulated wealth, he bought three sugar plantations in Jamaica. How he went to the West Indies or began his career remains unknown. His father was a farmer, and he left school early.

14. Edward Teach

This English Pirate, popularly called Blackbeard due to his thick beard and scary appearance, dominated the waters of the West Indies and North America.

He was a sailor before he joined the crew of pirate Benjamin Hornigold in 1716, who made him the commander of a sloop. After gaining experience and confidence, he set out on his course.

Edward Teach

Blackbeard took a French vessel, La Concorde, under his command and named her Queen Anne’s Revenge. He also fitted the ship with 40 guns and a crew of 300 sailors.

He blocked the coastal settlement in South Carolina and demanded ransom from the people of Charles Town.

He then ran his ship aground and bid farewell to his companions. He settled for some time in Bath but went back to sea, ultimately being killed by British Royal Navy Officer Robert Maynard and his men in 1718.

15. William Kidd

Captain Kidd was Scottish and was born in Dundee and then came to New York. In 1690, he established a reputation for being a successful sailor and was asked to protect the English naval interests in the West Indies and North America.

In 1695, he was commissioned to track down pirates and French vessels in the Indian Ocean. On his first voyage, he could not find many enemy ships and also faced mutiny by his crew.

William Kidd
Image Credits: Wikipedia

He became a pirate himself and hit a jackpot when he captured a ship, Quedagh Merchant, loaded with muslin, satin cloth, silver and gold.

He was arrested when he arrived in Boston, and after being declared guilty in the trials in London, he was hanged.

Conclusion

The famous sea captains discovered new lands, new sea routes, islands and channels which led to an increase in maritime trade, and subsequently colonisation of the newly found regions, like the Americas.

These individuals were experienced navigators, explorers and seafarers who brought significant changes to the world map and altered the course of history. While celebrated for their naval prowess and victories, some of them also had a cruel and violent side which culminated in slavery and mistreatment of the natives.

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About Author

Zahra is an alumna of Miranda House, University of Delhi. She is an avid writer, possessing immaculate research and editing skills. Author of several academic papers, she has also worked as a freelance writer, producing many technical, creative and marketing pieces. A true aesthete at heart, she loves books a little more than anything else.

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The information contained in this website is for general information purposes only. While we endeavour to keep the information up to date and correct, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the website for any purpose. Any reliance you place on such information is therefore strictly at your own risk.


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