Jack Ward

John Ward or Birdy ( 1553 – 1622), also known as Jack Ward or later as Yusuf Reis, was an English-Ottoman pirate who later became an Ottoman Corsair for the Ottoman Empire operating out of Tunis during the early 17th century. According to writer Giles Milton, Jack Sparrow, of the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, was inspired by the seventeenth-century English pirate Jack Ward. Biography Early life What little is known about Ward's early life comes from a pamphlet purportedly written by someone who sailed with him during his pirate days. Ward seems to have been born about 1553, probably in Faversham, Kent, in southeast England. Like many born in coastal areas, he spent his youth and early adult years working in the fisheries. After the failed invasion of England by the Spanish Armada in 1588, Ward found work as a privateer, plundering Spanish ships with a license from Queen Elizabeth I of England. When James I of England ended the war with Spain upon assuming the throne in 1603, many privateers refused to give up their livelihood and simply continued to plunder. Those who did were considered pirates because they no longer had valid licenses – called letters of marque – issued by the state.