Henry Every, also known as Henry Avery or "Long Ben," was an English pirate active in the Atlantic and Indian oceans during the mid-1690s. Born in 1659, Every began his maritime career aboard the warship Charles II, serving as its first mate. In 1694, while anchored in Corunna, Spain, the crew mutinied over unpaid wages and a lack of letters of marque. Every was elected captain of the vessel, which they renamed the Fancy, marking the beginning of his brief but historic pirate career.
Every's most notorious exploit occurred on September 7, 1695, when he led a small squadron of pirate ships to intercept a Grand Mughal convoy returning from Mecca. The pirates successfully captured the treasure-laden dhow Ganj-i-Sawai and its escort, securing loot valued at up to £600,000. This raid severely strained England's diplomatic relations with the Mughal Empire. In response, the Privy Council and the East India Company offered a massive bounty for his capture, sparking the first recorded worldwide manhunt in history.
Despite the global pursuit, Every managed to evade capture. He vanished from historical records in June 1696, and his ultimate fate remains a mystery, with theories suggesting he either retired under an alias or died in poverty. Though his active piracy lasted only two years, Every's status as one of the few pirate captains to escape with his wealth intact captured the public imagination, cementing his legacy as the "King of Pirates" and inspiring a wealth of contemporary and later literature.
