Olivier Levasseur

Olivier Levasseur, nicknamed La Buse for his ferocity in attack, was a French pirate active in the Caribbean and later the Indian Ocean around Madagascar. He is credited, alongside John Taylor, with the 1721 capture of the Portuguese ship Nossa Senhora do Cabo, one of the richest prizes in pirate history. He was captured and hanged on Réunion Island in 1730; a cryptogram he allegedly threw to the crowd before his execution has fueled enduring, unverified treasure legends.