Pierre Le Picard

THE HISTORY LOCKER · PIRATE PROFILE

Pierre Le Picard

From L’Olonnais to Morgan

Pierre le Picard was a French buccaneer who sailed first with François L’Olonnais and later with Henry Morgan. From Maracaibo and Gibraltar to Panama, his career placed him at the heart of some of the buccaneering age’s most audacious raids.

The Shrewd Sea Wolf

Born around 1624, Le Picard first emerged from historical obscurity in 1666 as an officer in François L'Olonnais's legendary fleet. The Norman had already proven himself in earlier raids, earning the respect of his crews and the confidence of his commanders through the brutal calculus of Caribbean warfare.

During the Maracaibo expedition, Le Picard witnessed the systematic terror that made L'Olonnais both feared and successful. He watched Spanish citizens flee inland rather than face the French pirates' wrath. At Gibraltar, he participated in the brilliant deception capturing an impregnable Spanish fort. When the fleet returned to Tortuga with holds full of Spanish silver and gold, Le Picard's share established him as one of the wealthier men among the brethren of the coast.

QUICK FACTS

Nationality
French

Born
c. 1624, France

Active
c. 1666–1680s

Rank

Captain

Base of operations
Tortuga and the Caribbean

Known for
Raids on Maracaibo, Gibraltar and Panama

Associated with
François L’Olonnais, Moïse Vauquelin and Henry Morgan

Commands

A brigantine with forty men; later the ten-gun Saint-Pierre

Died

Unknown; sometimes given as c. 1690

Dates and details are approximate. Accounts of Le Picard’s later career may combine the exploits of more than one Captain Picard.

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HISTORY MEETS FICTION

Le Picard in The Pirate’s Wake

Pierre le Picard sails among L’Olonnais’s captains in The Pirate’s Wake, placing Jacob Penjerrick’s fictional journey within the real buccaneering campaigns that ravaged the Spanish Main. As fortunes turn and loyalties begin to fracture, Le Picard must decide which course offers the best chance of survival.