Edward Low
Edward Low
c. 1690 – c. 1724
Capt Edward Low in ye Hurricane which He
and All the Crew had Like to Perish’d by J
Nicholls and James Basire, hanging in the
National Maritime Museum in London
Nickname:
Ned Low
Type:
Pirate
Place of birth:
Westminster, London
Place of death:
Disputed, probably
Martinique
Allegiance:
None
Years of service:
c. 1721 – c. 1724
Rank:
Captain
Base of
Operations:
Atlantic
Caribbean
Commands:
Rebecca
Rose Pink
Ranger
Fancy
Merry Christmas
Captain Edward "Ned" Low, also Lowe or
Loe, (c. 1690 – c. 1724) was a notorious Eng-
lish pirate during the latter days of the
Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th cen-
tury. He was born around 1690 into poverty
in Westminster, London, and was a thief and
a scoundrel from a young age. Low moved to
Boston, Massachusetts, as a young man. His
wife died in childbirth in late 1719. Two
years later, he became a pirate, operating off
the coasts of New England and the Azores,
and in the Caribbean.
He captained a number of ships, usually
maintaining a small fleet of three or four.
Low and his pirate crews captured at least a
hundred ships during his short career, burn-
ing most of them.[1] Although he was active
for only three years, Low remains notorious
as one of the most vicious pirates of the age,
with a reputation for violently torturing his
victims before killing them.[2] Sir Arthur Con-
an Doyle described Low as "savage and des-
perate," and a man of "amazing and grot-
esque brutality".[3] The New York Times
called him a torturer, whose methods would
have "done credit to the ingenuity of the
Spanish Inquisition in its darkest days".[4]
The circumstances of Low’s death, which
took place around 1724, have been the sub-
ject of much speculation.
Early life
According to Charles Johnson’s A General
History of the Pyrates, Edward Low was born
in Westminster, London, England, around
1690.[5] He was described as illiterate, hav-
ing a "quarrelsome nature", and always ready
to cheat,[6] running "wild in the streets of his
native parish".[7] As a young m