JOHN WARD aka Ysuf Reis Nationality: British The first mention of Ward is in 1602 when he was jailed for plundering a Danish ship in the Caribbean. In 1603 he was forced into the royal navy which some considered a fate worse than death. Shortly after his impressment he along with 30 other deserted at Plymouth and stole a small bark. With the bark they captured a larger ship and then were able to capture a 6 gun French ship. Ward established himself as the bands leader and took them to the Mediterranean. Over the course of the next two years the pirates captured a 32 gun warship which they renamed the "Gift" they also plundered several merchantmen loaded with spices and silks. In 1605 Ward was at Sale Morocco where he was joined by several Englis and Dutch sailors including Richard Bishop and Anthony Johnson. By August 1606 Ward had worked a deal with Uthman Dey the ruler of Tunis. The pirates were able to use Tunis as a safe haven from which they could strike out in hunt for prey. In return Uthman Dey would buy their booty for a fifth of its true value: From their base, they took several rich prizes including the Reniera e Soderina which was a 600 ton vessel loaded with L100,000 worth of cargo. Ward returned to Tunis in June 1607 assured of fame and wealth. The winter of 1607 was very harsh for Ward. The Reniera e Soderina rotting had begun to sink. ward deserted his men, taking only some close friends and secretly transferred to a French ship they had taken. The Reneria sank off Greece and 250 muslim and 150 English sailors perished. Soon after Ward lost the french ship at sea and two of his warships were captured by Venetians. The Tunisians were outraged at Wards actions concerning the Reneria and the loss of Muslim sailors, but Uthman Dey having been made very wealthy from his dealings with Ward offered him protection. Ward however not feeling very secure in returning to Tunis offered King James I in 1608, L40,000 for a pardon. King James refused the pardon and Wardwas forced to return to Tunis. Uthman Dey ws good to his word and Ward had nothing to fear in the way of retaliation at Tunis. Ward converted to muslim and took on the name of Yusuf Reis. It was as Yusuf Reis that he took part in several raids until 1622 when he neared the age of 70. He married an Italian woman and also sent money to his Englis wife. He lived out his life in luzury and was known to free captured Englis sailors as well as lavishly entertain guests. It is thought he died of the plague but at his age which was quite old during these times its anyones guess. ********************************** Friends are angels who lift us to our feet when our wings have trouble remembering how to fly........