Henry Every

Henry Every materializes from the fog of history as a ghost who achieved mythical status in a breathtakingly short career. In 1694, he was a first mate on a British privateering vessel bound to harass Spanish ships. Instead, Every led a mutiny, seized the ship, renamed it the *Fancy*, and sailed for the Indian Ocean—a decision that would rewrite pirate legend. His masterstroke came in 1695, intercepting the *Ganj-i-Sawai*, a treasure ship belonging to the Grand Mughal of India. The haul was astronomical: gold, silver, jewels worth over £600,000, a sum that dwarfed the annual revenue of many kingdoms. The attack provoked an international crisis, with the East India Company threatened and the British government issuing the first worldwide manhunt in history. Every and his crew vanished, with rumors placing him everywhere from the Caribbean to a secret retirement. He was never captured, his fate unknown, which only fueled ballads and plays that cemented him as the archetypal pirate king.