(Jewish Group) The Dread Jewish Pirate Jean Lafitte

Visitors to the Caribbean island of Jamaica are often regaled by their guides with tales of famous and infamous pirates, like Henry Morgan, Calico Jack, and Blackbeard (Edward Thatch), as well as female pirates such as Anne Bonny, Grace O’Malley, and Mary Read, who spent most of her life pretending to be a man. Another group, less well known, who also contributed to Caribbean pirate history and folklore were Jews.

Piracy is defined as an act of robbery or criminal violence by men on a ship or boat who attack another ship or coastal area with the goal of stealing a cargo or other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, and the ships they use to perpetrate their attacks are referred to as pirate ships. The era of piracy began in the 1500s and ended around the 1830s. The pirates’ most successful period extended from the 1660s to about 1730. Jews allegedly made their greatest impact during this era.

However, so much undocumented and doubtful information exists about the Jewish pirates that it is almost impossible to separate fact from fiction. As a historian, I am careful to document what I write about—so when it comes to writing about Jewish pirates, I exercise great caution due to the lack of verifiable sources and documentation. Nonetheless, despite the uncertainty surrounding Jewish pirates, tales about them make for such a fascinating narrative that it is still worth recounting them.

One Jewish pirate who has been proved to be genuine is Jean Lafitte. Jean was born in 1780 and died around 1823. He was a French pirate and privateer who operated primarily in the Gulf of Mexico. A privateer is defined as a private person or ship that engages in maritime pseudo-warfare under a government commission of war.

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I have been to Café Lafitte, which is a historic building in the French Quarter, as well as, just up the street, the gay bar, Café Lafitte-in -Exile.