Stede Bonnet
Born into plenty and wealth on the island of Barbados, Stede Bonnet seemed destined for a life of pleasure and ease. The son of a successful and influential plantation owner, his early life was marked by tragedy when his parents died suddenly, leaving seven-year-old Stede orphaned and in a perpetual state of melancholy.
His inheritance of some 400 acres of land softened the blow caused by the loss of his parents, and by the time Stede was in his late teens, he had already restored the sugar plantation to a profitable state. He married young and set about starting a family as soon as possible, but, owing to what some called a "disorder of the mind," he never found solace or comfort in these domestic trappings.
To further complicate his unease, his firstborn son died in infancy, amplifying his grief and stirring his restlessness. As a means of coping, he dreamed of going to sea and sailing the world, meeting new people and living life as a man free from the obligations thrust upon him.
When Bonnet's ship was apprehended by the British Navy on suspicion of piracy, he was rescued by the pirate Edward Kenway, who, with the help of Blackbeard and others, eventually influenced the affable and impressionable merchant to take up the pirate's life himself.
