In all my misadventures on these lost islands, I haven’t seen a single ship of the Brethren of the Coast—only their wrecks, washed ashore by the sea. Blackbeard’s pirates, on the other hand, are everywhere.

In the old days, the head of the Brethren, Benjamin Hornigold, would have dealt with Teach easily—but these are hard times for him…

His crew loved the story about him robbing the Spanish galleon.

Back when he was a young pirate, Hornigold had his sloop fly the Spanish flag, posing as a merchant to avoid suspicion. After all, what Spaniard would imagine that some puny sloop would dare attack a galleon? Pure madness.

But for Hornigold it was a matter of honor. The galleon’s captain had been ordered by the King himself to rid the pirates of Tortuga.

Absorbed in the card game, the Spanish captain paid no heed to the reports of an approaching ship and ddin't even post a watch.

That was exactly what Hornigold was counting on. When he struck with his men, the Spaniards panicked and offered no resistance. Hornigold walked away with a fine haul—and the Spanish captain’s entire winnings, for by fate’s irony the man had been lucky at cards that day. Along with the winnings, Benjamin took his splendid, wide-brimmed hat, remarking that it alone had been worth the boarding.

Thus Hornigold became one of the West Indies’ most famous captains, and later the leader of the Brethren of the Coast.

I found a few useful trinkets in the wreckage. Pity it wasn’t the hat—I could have used it. But I’ll have to travel light from here on. I’ll bury the chest again beneath the tree marked with a strip of red cloth. Perhaps I’ll come back for it someday.
— from the diary of Alexandre Exquemelin, traveler