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The Killigrews of Falmouth

Falmouth, Cornwall

A gentry family who ran piracy from their own front door.

The Killigrews held high office in Falmouth while quietly backing pirates who used the harbour. In the 1580s, Lady Mary Killigrew was accused of leading a raid on a Spanish ship anchored nearby, taking its cargo.

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When
16th century
Where
50.1500, -5.0700
Group
Pirates

Visiting

Arwenack House is near Falmouth's Events Square.

Cover of Blood and Gold by Cale Mills
Read the full story in the book

Blood and Gold

Sixteen true stories of mutiny, mercy, treasure and the gallows from the Golden Age of Piracy: Henry Every, Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts, Edward England, Howell Davis, Christopher Moody, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Charles Vane, Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet, Israel Hands, Calico Jack, Edward Low, Captain William Kidd and Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy. Where the record is uncertain, the book says so.

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