Nassau, Bahamas French allied forces briefly occupied Nassau. From 1703 to 1718 there was no governor in the colony and by 1713, the sparsely settled Bahamas had become a pirate haven. The Governor of Bermuda stated that there were over 1,000 pirates in Nassau and that they outnumbered the mere hundred inhabitants of the town. They proclaimed Nassau a pirate republic, establishing themselves as "governors". Examples of pirates that used Nassau as their base are Charles Vane, Thomas Barrow (who declared himself "Governor of New Providence"), Benjamin Hornigold, Calico Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and the infamous Edward Teach, better known
George Raynor (pirate) George Raynor (pirate) George Raynor (1665–1743) was a pirate active in the Red Sea. Before he was briefly a pirate captain, he was a sailor on the "Batchelor’s Delight" which circumnavigated the globe with William Dampier. In 1683 near Guinea, privateer John Cook captured the Dutch merchantman "Batchelor’s Delight", which itself had been the "Portsmouth" when captured by Dutch privateers from its English owners. With Cook were William Dampier and Edward Davis, who would later captain the ship after Cook died in 1684, as well as sailor George Raynor. They sailed around South America raiding Spanish shipping and towns in