First worldwide manhunt for a pirate

Born c. 1653 in Newton Ferrers, UK, Henry Avery aka “Long Ben” became a pirate after service in the Royal Navy. He achieved fame not only for his exploits after seizing a Spanish ship, the Charles II, on 7 May 1694, renaming it the Fancy and proceeding on a two-year career of successful piracy (which included the most profitable single raid), but also for being one of the few famous pirates who retired with his treasure and was not arrested or killed in action. In 1695, in an attack on 25 ships of the Indian Mughal government, he succeeded in capturing a bounty of precious metals and jewels estimated at a value of £600,000 (around £52.4 million at today’s rates), making him the richest pirate in the world at that time. As a result, a huge reward of £1,000 was offered for his capture by the UK Privy Council and the East India Company, leading to the first recorded worldwide manhunt for pirate. He continued to evade arrest and all records of him cease after 1696.