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What It Was Like to Witness a Pirate Execution
Oct 30, 2025
During the Golden Age of Piracy, the growing British Empire went to great lengths to prevent lawlessness on the high seas. For centuries, pirates, privateers, buccaneers, and corsairs had taken to the water to wreak havoc against fellow seafarers, taking whatever they could find of value regardless of who suffered along the way.
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In the 17th and 18th centuries, piracy became a major threat to European empire building
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To curb such behavior, Britain took to executing such marauders and putting their bodies on display
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The message was clear. Regardless of how much loot a pirate had or if they followed pirate traditions
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once captured, they were destined for the end of a noose. So today we're going to take a look at what it was like to witness a pirate execution
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As early as the 15th century, pirates condemned by England's High Court of Admiralty were taken
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to the River Thames to perish. Others met their fates elsewhere, but pirates faced their end at
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the appropriately named Execution Dock, which is somewhere best to never dock at when boating
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Punishments were doled out at the dock during low tide because the scaffold site needed to be
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within the jurisdiction of the court, the sea. To make sure it took place properly
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admiralty officials adopted measures to ensure the condemned person's feet would be covered with
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water while on the gallows. The site of the dock was near Wappin in London, north of the tower
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This was also adjacent to the so-called Pool of London, where ships from around the world
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would bring cargo. The spectacle was meant to discourage all sailors from committing similar
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acts as the offenders. To humiliate the pirates as much as possible, they were made to complete
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a walk of shame along a well-populated path on their way to the dock. The prisoner would be taken
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out of confinement early in the morning, usually carried in a cart with a coffin, chaplain, and on
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occasion, the executioner who would seal his fate. The event, led by the Admiralty Marshal or his
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deputy, holding a silver oar as a symbol of authority, could take a few hours to complete
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The processions were intended to humiliate and condemn, though they didn't always achieve that
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goal. Many times, the crowd sympathized with the men and instead plied them with liquor and
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portrayed them as heroes. Public punishments at the time were considered a form of entertainment
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so spectators typically wanted to make sure they had a good view. On the day of the event
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crowds would gather along the procession route to catch a glimpse. These onlookers could have
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mixed reactions to the condemned men, often offering them drinks and cheering them as heroes
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while simultaneously expressing pity and judgment. It was also common for people to take to the water
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for the occasion. Observers boarded boats along the river to witness the spectacle
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So what if you wanted to watch the pirate execution but weren't fond of crowds
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Well, there was always a telescope. Yes, at the taverns along the shores of the River Thames
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spectators could use spy glasses to watch the proceedings from afar The Greenwich pensioners naval retirees who lived in the Royal Hospital Greenwich reportedly viewed the gibbeted pirates on the opposite side of the river in the Isle of Dogs
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through telescopes. The telescopes allowed more people to see what was going on
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which was helpful because, for whatever reason, people were absolutely fascinated with the lifeless bodies
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of pirates. In fact, when a legislative act brought the practice to an end in 1834, newspapers lamented the end
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of spectacle and entertainment. After being marched out to the scaffold, pirates were given the chance to address the large crowds
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that gathered to see them hang. Some of the condemned used the platform to lament their
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situation. Others tried to declare their innocence, and a few just wanted sympathy
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from the spectators. When one George Cusack was being prepared for the noose in 1674
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he used his final speech to declare his innocence. He claimed his transgressions were only committed
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during a time of lawful war, and thus were permitted. Following his plea, however, he warned others
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against committing immoral and unlawful acts. Captain William Kidd reportedly told onlookers
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that he was innocent prior to his demise in 1701, but romanticized versions of his final words
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were later put to song. Pirates were given religious counsel before their sentences were carried out
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and a chaplain often accompanied them to the scaffold. On his last morning, Captain William Kidd
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had a visit from a preacher who gave him a final sermon. After the first rope broke at the dock, the same churchman reportedly prayed with Kidd
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one more time before the second attempt. Prayer and the chance to repent weren't always welcomed by the condemned
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Captain D.L., a Scotsman convicted in 1715, was so annoyed with his chaplain's overtures
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for him to repent that D.L. threatened to kick the chaplain down the stairs
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This did not stop the chaplain from traveling with D.L. and praying along the way, though
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it is possible the chaplain was just trolling him at that point. Pirates commonly received alcohol as they made their way to the gallows
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Captain Kidd was reportedly given a flask before leaving confinement and imbibed rum
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during his entire procession. Other prisoners often received drinks along the way
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As early as the 12th century, men and women condemned to the noose were allowed to drink
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on their way to the platform. In 1750, ale houses started providing the booze
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It was quite lucrative for establishments like the Bowel Inn, where crowds gathered to participate in the event while paying for personal drinks
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When three pirates were taken to the dock on February 4 1796 it appeared as though at least one of them was in a state resembling that of a man stupidly intoxicated and scarcely awake And who wouldn want to be tipsy especially when sentences were made to prolong the whole ordeal In order to prevent their necks from breaking
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when they were dropped from the stage, pirates were reportedly hanged using shorter ropes
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than that of other condemned people. This was the length in their suffering
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as they slowly succumbed. The last minutes of the pirate's life, where he flailed from a rope, came
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to be called the Marshall's Dance. and it could last for 30 minutes or more
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The short drop pirates were subjected to often resulted in spectators, or even authorities
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speeding the process along by pulling on the pirates' legs to help them expire more quickly
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This could also work against the condemned by breaking the rope, which would lead to a second
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attempt. Before becoming a pirate, Kidd was a privateer hired by the British to target French
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ships. After a series of struggles, including less than profitable gains and rampant disease
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Kidd assailed an Indian vessel with an English captain, but when he took the ship, he inadvertently killed a crewman
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making him both a pirate and a slayer. He was taken into custody and sent back to England
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where he was tried and sentenced to the noose. Captain Kidd met his fate at the dock alongside three others
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on May 23, 1701. As we mentioned before, the first attempt to hang Kidd
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failed because his weight broke the rope. The second attempt, however, got the job done
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More than two decades later, Captain John Gow experienced a similar fate. Gao was subject to double hanging in 1725. When he was first left on
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the noose, onlookers pulled his legs to try to speed up his passing, but they ultimately broke
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his rope, pulling him down and subjecting him to a second turn. Arr! Hey guys, thanks
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In the immediate aftermath of a hanging, the pirate's lifeless husk would remain on the noose
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until the water rose three times, washing over it to symbolically wash away the offense
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The man was then cut down. When it was part of the Admiralty's sentence, the cadaver was taken
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to a surgeon for dissection. Some expired pirates were given to the College of Physicians and
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Surgeons. Others could be sold to surgeons in London. It is possible that those sentenced to
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dissection were not submerged in the river for the requisite cleansing process to prevent bloating
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and rotting. This three-tide rule, however, was out of use by the end of the 18th century
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The bodies of the most notorious pirates were often put back along the River Thames as a warning
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to passerbys. When Captain James Lowry met his fate in 1752, he was transported directly from
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the dock to the galleons to be strung up in chains. Pirates chosen for this type of display
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were coated in tar to preserve the flesh and hoisted into the air The British government was strategic in deciding where to put the gibbeted remains In 1725 the remains of Captain John Gow and his
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lieutenant were split up. One was raised over Greenwich, while the other went to Detford
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The guiding principle was that it was more important to send a message to all who may
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potentially commit similar offenses than it was to put a cadaver near where a transgression had
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taken place. Records show that most people were pretty unnerved by the site. According to 19th
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century archaeologist Albert Hartshorn, belated wayfarers were grieved by the horrid grating sound
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as the body in the iron frame swung creaking to and fro. Watermen usually tried to avoid passing
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such sites, but on some occasions, they went close by to chase away birds that pecked the remains
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Calico Jack, born Jack Rackham, is known for having two women on his crew, including the famous Anne
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Bonnie. Rackham and Bonnie became lovers, even though she was married, and together they pirated
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through the Caribbean during the early 18th century. You heard right, they were pirates of
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the Caribbean. Bonnie didn't hide her gender, but Mary Reed, the second woman on Rackham's boat
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William, dressed as a man when she joined the crew during the 1710s
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Calico Jack's exploits were well known to officials at Port Royal in the Bahamas
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but authorities captured him and his crew in 1720 and tried them for piracy in Jamaica
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All of the men were sentenced to capital punishment, but Bonnie and Reed both claimed to be pregnant and were allowed to live
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Until the late 17th century, all pirates captured by British authorities went to London for trial
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But after the passing of the Piracy Act of 1698, admirals were allowed to try pirates at sea
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According to the Act of 1698, all piracies, felonies, and robberies committed in or upon the sea
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or under the jurisdiction of the admiralty in any way, could be heard in any place at sea or upon the land
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in any of His Majesty's islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories
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The act empowered admiralty officials to appoint commissioners to take into custody and hold a trial for anyone accused of such lawlessness
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The act also expanded what could be considered piracy to anyone who
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wittingly or knowingly set forth any pirate, or aid and assist or maintain, procure command, counsel
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or advise any person or persons whatsoever to do or commit any piracies or robberies upon the seas and such person
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and specified procedure to be used in the name of justice. Long story short, these people did not like pirates