"Last Stand of the Gentleman Pirate" Topic

Penniless, bereft of options, devoid of opportunities—such are the usual conditions that steer a soul toward a life of outlawry. So it was for any who dared set forth (most likely in a stolen vessel) to seek an ill-gotten fortune as a pirate on the high seas. But among that infamous roster of cutthroats from the golden age of piracy, there was one distinctly different from the rest—an heir to landed wealth and prosperity, a man with a wife and children and a plantation on Barbados, a person knowing no hunger or neediness: Stede Bonnet…

USNI: link

Bonnet is an interesting case. It's one thing to crave adventure and a change in circumstances— but to desire to harm others just from ennui? Still, "golden boy gone bad" has been a thing for eons in human history. But Bonnet's story is particularly pathetic.

H.L.Mencken probably said it best: "There comes a time
in everyman's life when he wishes to hoist the Jolly
Roger and begin slitting throats."

For those who want a bit of a chuckle, there is this:

link

Bonnet was definitely "out of his depth" when he decided to "go on the account." Rich boy couldn't play pirate for real and ended strung up by the neck until dead. At least the thoroughly incompetent Jack Sparrow of today is lucky!