JEAN LAFITTE ~ The Pirate King Of New Orleans

JEAN LAFITTE (1778 DEC 27 - 1823 FEB 5) ~ Jean Lafitte was a notorious pirate and privateer who operated along the coast of Louisiana and across the Gulf of Mexico between the years 1805 and 1823. His name was legendary even in his own day. Today, over 200 years later, Jean Lafitte remains one of the most enigmatic figures in American history—alongside Davy Crockett, Daniel Boone, Jim Bowie, Wyatt Earp, and Wild Bill Hickok.
He has been called "The King of Barataria," "The Gentleman Pirate," "The Terror of the Gulf" and "The Hero of New Orleans." At three separate times, U.S. presidents have condemned, exonerated, and again condemned his actions. He is known for his piracy in the Gulf of Mexico and lauded for his heroism in the Battle of New Orleans.
He was Jean Lafitte...The Pirate King!

JEAN LAFITTE (1778~1823)
Entrepreneur and astute diplomat, he took an island-full of bloodied seafarers, rovers and fishermen and turned them into an organization of buccaneers, smugglers, and wholesalers. From the ships, they plundered off the Caribbean Coast and in the Atlantic he and his "crew of a thousand men" kept a constant cargo of black-marketed and very necessary provisions moving through the Mississippi Delta to help feed and clothe a part of the nation that the government overlooked. As a result, he won the praise of the local rich and poor alike.
He respected the American constitution for freedom and hoped that what he called his "Kingdom by the Sea" might someday meld into like ideals. He prohibited his men from attacking American ships, naming death the penalty for violation of this rule. His ships sailed under letters of marque from Cartagena, a republic of Columbia then fighting for its independence from Spain. (A letter of marque allowed privateers to legally plunder ships of the country at war with the country who issued the letter of marque. Pirates attacked any ship without this legal document).
JEAN LAFITTE'S ~ KINGDOM OF BARATARIA ~ ISLAND OF GRAND TERRE, LOUISIANA
His self-made kingdom, from the Gulf of Mexico through the villages and plantations to and including New Orleans, was a part of an untamed wilderness that came as part of the package called the Louisiana Purchase of 1803. This delta was a new and lusty territory, overgrown with willows and wildlife. Within its miles and miles of marshlands a man could get lost and wander until he maddened and died of starvation. Unlike anything the government knew; the topography, coupled by its habitation of misunderstood Creoles (Half French and Half Spanish) and Cajuns (French Acadians), confused and perplexed Washington decision makers.
Much more, overcome with other, deepening international problems, the nation abandoned this wetland with its foreign cultures to fend for itself. Therefore, to facilitate a struggling New Orleans from economic collapse, Jean Lafitte created one of the country’s first and most successful retail outlets, boldly advertising on billboards and posters throughout New Orleans.
Known as America’s first great Laissez Faire entrepreneur, Jean Lafitte always provided the finest merchandise such as clothing, coffee, liquor, tobacco, spices, and trinkets, all sold at discount prices, avoiding high tariffs, to the grateful citizens of New Orleans. In short, Jean Lafitte's piratical methods, despite their negative connotation, proved to be a survival factor for what was to become a major American city and State of Louisiana.
And then came a new territorial governor, William C.C. Claiborne, who decided that it was not conventional to let, what he thought was an outsider, let alone a notorious pirate, become a part of the blossoming American texture. Harassment and imprisonment followed, even destruction of Jean Lafitte's Valhalla on Grande Terre’. But the governor and the rest of burgeoning America were to learn that Jean Lafitte's importance to this new territory meant much more to him than his own personal prosperity. When men were needed to keep New Orleans and the entire Mississippi River from enemy hands, Jean Lafitte, despite the chastisement and near ruination he faced from American mediators stepped forward to defend them.
Many stories have been told of Jean Lafitte. Some considered him a rapacious rogue, a man of unmitigated violence. Others, many of whom were young women, regarded him as a charming person. He was seductive, perhaps deceptive, but always elegantly gracious.
He was well-read, 'graceful and elegant in manners, well-dressed, very cultured gentleman for his young age who spoke four languages (English, French, Spanish, and Italian) fluently and could discuss the venues of politics and policies of New Orleans better than members of its founding families.
With his obviously French accent and decorum, Jean Lafitte melded well into the Creole and Cajun cultures, cultures he obviously knew as a native. And yet this was the man who was often described in very different terms as the 'Gentleman Pirate' or the 'ferocious' head of 'desperadoes.'
Most physical descriptions of Jean Lafitte seem to agree that he was tall, with light skin, and he had large dark eyes. He was clean shaven except for a beard extending part-way down his cheeks. Jean Lafitte was first seen sporting a mustache when he returned to New Orleans from a survey expedition of the Mississippi River, during the winter of 1816. Additional others said he was "remarkably handsome" with Gallic features and possessed a "brilliancy of teeth". "When he walked the streets of the city, he exhibited an aire of gentlemanly self-confidence".
However, his temper was ferocious, and most accounts support that; a man who could be kind and serene but turn panther-like when pushed. When a small group of armed and boisterous Baratarians gathered outside his home threatening mutiny, Jean Lafitte appeared on the porch, pistol in hand, and shot their leader at point-blank range. The mutiny ended.
He devised laws to protect the men and their women from lawless rampages. Retribution was swift: cast adrift for molesting a woman, hanged for murdering a Baratarian. Any man that went against Jean Lafitte's orders were dealt with accordingly. Hangings were his favorite disciplinary action. The bodies of men who had been hanged were left dangling for weeks as a grim reminder that Jean Lafitte was in charge.
But this need for violence to maintain order was rare. To lead, he depended on and honed his innate flexibility; he knew how to adjust to the moment — to be the gentleman, the rascal, the radical, entrepreneur, the patron of the arts, the lover or the pirate to fit the situation at hand.
Women loved Jean Lafitte. That he was aware of his seductive qualities is evidenced in the manner by which he sought and won female company. A regular at the formal balls in town, usually a guest of some rich merchant or landowner, he tantalized the belles in the room with his courtly demeanor and fine-cut figure, which he primped in the finest cloths and silks of the day. He waltzed as well as the high society crowd.
It is said he preferred the company of the quadroons, dark-eyed beauties one-quarter African-American who in Southern society were demanded by wealthy men as mistresses. Jean Lafitte had several and would provide for them well-furnished apartments in town. One of these women whom he visited regularly was Catherine Villard, whose sister Marie Villard lived with and gave children to Jean Lafitte's older half-brother Pierre.
In no other field of activity is early New Orleans more identified with than that of dueling. Both Creoles and Americans practiced the sport to avenge their name or sometimes merely to impress their women. Insulted by a statement made by a congressman, Governor Claiborne was once compelled to cross swords, as were many other members of the gentry. Two popular dueling spots were the gardens behind the St. Louis Cathedral after Mass on Sundays or under the weeping willows of a park near Bayou St. John outside of town.
One frequent practitioner was Jean Lafitte, adding the term swashbuckler to his romantic image. Jean Lafitte excelled in the art of the rapier and never lost a bout, although he was "called out" many times by men testing his skill. One evening, legend has it that, while dining with his lady at what later became the famous restaurant Courtyard of Two Sisters, he fought three separate unrelated duels beneath the magnificent oak that centered the open-air inn. Unscathed and unflustered, he finally sat down to eat his dinner.
But...pirate, thief, swordsman, businessman or savior, Jean Lafitte's legend has grown exponentially over the last two centuries. Complex in nature, shrouded in mystery, and often painted in splashes of color, he lives on in the role of auspicious hero.
LAFITTE or LAFFITE? Jean Lafitte spelled his last name with two f’s and one t—“Laffite”— but English-language documents of the time often used the spelling “Lafitte.” This variant has become the common spelling in the United States, including in cities and landmarks named after him.
Pictured above is a very rare, authentic signature of the pirate Jean Laffite
Who was Jean Lafitte (Laffite), and where was he really born?
The infamous pirate Jean Lafitte was born Jean Henri Laffite on December 27, 1778, at the home of his maternal grandparents on Royal Street in the French Quarter of New Orleans—Henri Roche dit Belaire, a master cobbler, and Catherine (Catalina) Laurendine Roche. He was baptized on January 17, 1779, at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Jean Henri Laffite was the son of Jean Louis Laffite, a native of Bayonne, France, and Elizabeth Ysabel (Isabel) Roche, a native of New Orleans. Jean Louis Laffite married his second wife, Elizabeth Ysabel Roche, on September 15, 1777, at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans.

Pictured above is the first page of a fifteen-page document titled “Marriage Contract of Jean Laffite and Elizabeth Roche.” This page includes the names of the paternal and maternal grandparents of Jean Henri Laffite, the pirate. The paternal grandparents are listed as Louis Laffite and Marguerite Ardi of Bayonne, France, and the maternal grandparents as Henri Roche and Catherine (Catalina) Laurendine Roche of New Orleans.

Pictured above is an official transcription of the baptismal record of Juan Enrique Lafito, also known as Jean Henri Laffite, from St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans, Louisiana. The original entry, dated January 17, 1779, reads: “Juan Enrique (son of Juan and Isabel Lafito), baptized Jan. 17, 1779; born Dec. 27, 1778; godparents Enrique Roche and Catalina Laurendine Roche” (SLC, B9, 42, #194). The baptism was performed by Father Josef Hernandez Duque and the entry was signed. Certified true copy of the original by L.S. Martin, New Orleans, January 19, 1915.
Historical note: The Louisiana Territory was under Spanish rule from 1763 through March 1803. During this time, all legal documents and church records were recorded in Spanish. As a result, Jean Henri Laffite appears as Juan Enrique Lafito in his baptismal record, which is preserved in the Sacramental Records of the Roman Catholic Church of the Archdiocese of New Orleans, Volume 3, 1772–1783, p.172 (SLC B9, 42).
Correcting the Misidentification of Jean Louis Laffite
For decades, scholars, authors, historians, and Laffite researchers have consistently misidentified Jean's father, Jean Louis Laffite, as Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet), a native of Damon, Bishoponie, France, who was married to Louise Langlois. Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet) and his family resided at 3 Rue Chartres and owned a small plantation in what is now Audubon Park. He was a merchant and militia officer who died in New Orleans on September 25, 1789, and was interred at St. Peter Cemetery.
Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet) was the son of Jean Lafitte Sr. and Jeane Goze Lafitte, and had no familial connection whatsoever to Jean Henri Laffite, the pirate. This longstanding error has irreparably damaged the credibility of the New Orleans theory—not due to any deficiency in the theory itself, but because it was built on a crumbling foundation of mistaken identities and false assumptions.
The root of this confusion stems from Jack C. Ramsey, Jr.’s book *Laffite, Prince of Pirates*, in which he recklessly suggests Elizabeth Roche was a recent refugee from Santo Domingo who arrived in New Orleans with her two sons, Pierre and Jean Lafitte. This fictional narrative directly contradicts archival records, which establish that Elizabeth Roche lived in New Orleans her entire life and, most critically, was not the biological mother of Pierre Laffite. — Note: Pierre Laffite was born in Bayonne, France in 1770 and was the older half-brother of Jean Laffite.
To further complicate matters, Robert C. Vogel of The Laffite Society amplified the error by writing the following synopsis: “Jean Laffite, the pirate, is occasionally confused with Jean Lafitte, father and son, of New Orleans. Lafitte pere came to Louisiana in the 1760’s and settled in New Orleans, where he was a respected merchant. In 1777 he married Isabelle Roche. Their son, baptized Jean on February 7, 1779, was a mariner and immigrated to the French West Indies before the Louisiana Purchase. The Lafitte home was located at 3 Chartres St. and they had a small plantation in what is now Audubon Park. Old Jean Lafitte died in New Orleans on September 25, 1789, and is buried in Saint Louis Cemetery No. 1; Isabelle died in 1806. Their son Jean appears to have died in a storm at sea around 1817–[Vogel.]” — Note: In addition to multiple false claims that will be addressed below, Robert C. Vogel also makes a glaring error by asserting that Jean Henri Laffite was baptized on February 7, 1779. This claim is unequivocally refuted by the official baptismal record cited above, which clearly documents the correct date as January 17, 1779.
Not only do these claims lack foundation in primary records they have been repeated so often they now echo as true. Both Ramsey and Vogel failed to recognize that there were two individuals named Jean Lafitte of nearly identical age living in New Orleans during the same time period— Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet) residing at 3 Rue Chartres, and the other, Jean Louis Laffite, at 144-146 Rue Royal.
Had primary source documents—baptismal records, succession papers, marriage contracts, and census listings—been consulted with even a modicum of scholarly discipline this decades-long misidentification would have been avoided. It is time the historical record be corrected to reflect the authentic New Orleans origins of Jean Henri Laffite, and to hold accountable those who blurred the line between legend and fact.
Supporting Evidence: Distinguishing Jean Louis Laffite from Jean Lafitte Jr.
Jean Henri Laffite's father, Jean Louis Laffite, was a ship captain who died on August 1, 1782, aboard the privateer vessel *El Postilion* during a hurricane en route from Port Royal (Jamaica) to Cap-Français (present-day Cap-Haïtien, Haiti). His body was never recovered. He is listed in the Spanish Census of 1778 as Juan (Jean) Lafitte, a ship captain and son-in-law of Henri Roche, residing on Rue Royale in the French Quarter.
Jean Louis Laffite was a native of Bayonne, France, and the son of Louis Henri Laffite and Marguerite Ardi Laffite.
Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet) was a merchant and militia officer who died in New Orleans on September 25, 1789, and was interred at St. Peter Cemetery. He was married to Louise Langlois and had five children: Feleciana, Celeste, Francisco, Victoria, and Jacques. He is listed in the Spanish Census of 1778 as Lieutenant Juan (Jean) Lafitte of the Second Company Militia, residing on Rue Chartres in the French Quarter. Jean Lafitte Jr. (Cadet) was a native of Damon, Bishoponie of Dae, France, and the son of Jean Lafitte Sr. and Jeane Goze Lafitte.
Note: St. Peter Cemetery served as New Orleans’ primary burial ground throughout most of the colonial era, from 1724 until 1789, when it was officially replaced by St. Louis Cemetery No. 1. This was one of the city’s earliest formal cemeteries, occupying the entire city block bounded by N. Rampart, St. Peter, Burgundy, and Toulouse Streets. St. Peter Cemetery no longer exists, as the land was expropriated by the Spanish and subsequently developed — thereby disproving Robert C. Vogel’s claim that Jean Henri Laffite’s father is buried in St. Louis Cemetery No.1.

Pictured above is an excerpt from the Succession of Catherine Laurendine Roche, dated September 11, 1782, which identifies her daughter, Elizabeth Roche, as the widow of Jean (Juan) Laffite — thereby disproving Robert C. Vogel’s claim that Jean Henri Laffite’s father died on September 25, 1789. Additionally, the document confirms the correct historical spelling of the Laffite surname.
Childhood Home of the Pirate Jean Laffite
After the death of her husband on August 1, 1782, Elizabeth Ysabel Roche Laffite married Jean Pierre Nicolas Bruno Aubry on October 28, 1784, at St. Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. On March 12, 1785, Henri Roche dit Belaire sold the family home on Royal Street to his son-in-law, Jean Pierre Nicolas Bruno Aubry.
Jean Henri Laffite was six years old at the time of the sale but had lived at that location since his birth on December 27, 1778.

Pictured above is 610–614 Royal Street (formally 144-146 Rue Royale), the site of the childhood home of the infamous pirate Jean Laffite. The original structure was destroyed in the Great Fires of 1788 and 1794. Jean Henri Laffite was ten years old during the first fire and sixteen at the time of the second.
Who was Francois Mayronne and what was his Relationship to Jean Laffite?
Jean Henri Laffite and his older half-brother Pierre (Note: Pierre Laffite was born in Bayonne, France, in 1770 and was the older half-brother of Jean Laffite) established their base of operations on Grand Terre Island in 1805. Although they operated from the island, they did not hold legal ownership of the land or any permanent property within the Barataria region. The first documented owner of Grand Terre was Joseph Andoeza, who received a land grant in 1794. The following year, Francois Mayronne purchased the island and became its sole proprietor. Mayronne held ownership of Grand Terre from 1795 until he subdivided the land in 1821. The Laffites occupied the island from 1805 until 1817, after which they relocated to Galveston.

Pictured above is an 1813 map of Grand Terre Island by Barthélemy Lafon, a notable French architect, engineer, city planner, and surveyor in New Orleans. Lafon led a double life—publicly known as a respected professional, but secretly engaged in privateering, smuggling, and piracy. In later years, his connection to piracy, particularly with Jean and Pierre Laffite, became publicly known.
Grand Terre Island ~ A Strategic Stronghold
The islands of Grand Terre, Grand Isle, and Cheniere Caminada shield Barataria Bay from the Gulf of Mexico. Grand Terre was a vivid landscape of palm trees, oaks, lagoons, and foaming surf. Its deep-blue waters were rich with speckled trout, pompano, black drum, flounder, shrimp, and crab. Brown pelicans strutted its shores, flapping their wings to the rhythm of the roaring surf. In places, thick oaks provided protection from the fierce winds that often preceded a storm. Hurricanes were a constant threat from June through October, frequently flooding parts of the island under several feet of seawater.
In a bold move, Laffite invited all members of his contracted ships—seamen he had hired to smuggle goods—to live on the island with him. He declared it their official base of operations. Many had already settled there with their women and praised the freedom its isolation provided.
Toward the Gulf, Laffite's siege guns stood aimed, oiled, packed, and ready to sink any threat approaching from the sea. He scoffed at the idea of his empire being dismantled. As a newly acquired U.S. territory, Louisiana lacked a standing army large enough to secure its own coast—let alone challenge Laffite’s pirate kingdom.
Almost overnight, Grand Terre became home to 1,000 men—privateers, pirates, ship carpenters, cooks, sailmakers, riggers, gunners, and navigators. Many were wanderers from France, Italy, Portugal, the Caribbean, Germany, Russia, and beyond, men who had forsaken their homelands for a life of freedom and fortune.
By 1808, Laffite’s operations were valued at over $2,000,000—equivalent to roughly $50 million in 2025. He built a grand two-story brick house facing the Gulf of Mexico. When not in New Orleans, Laffite entertained guests on his palm-shaded verandah, surrounded by luxury and adorned with treasures gathered from his ventures.
Why Would Francois Mayronne Allow a Pirate from a Foreign Country to Establish a Large Base of Smuggling Operations on His Property?
The answer is quite simple: he wouldn’t. As detailed above, Jean Laffite was not a foreigner. He was not from France, Spain, or Santo Domingo. Jean Henri Laffite was born in New Orleans on December 27, 1778, and lived at the home of his grandfather, Henri Roche dit Belaire, located at 144-146 Rue Royale, from 1778 to 1791. That home was adjacent to the residence of Francois Mayronne at 148-150 Rue Royale. Mayronne, a ship merchant, was not only Laffite's neighbor but also a business associate of his stepfather, Jean Pierre Nicolas Bruno Aubry (also a ship merchant), and his uncle, Arnaud Magnon (a shipbuilder). Mayronne is also mentioned in the succession records of Henri Roche dit Belaire, Laffite’s maternal grandfather, further confirming a close personal connection between the Mayronne and Laffite/Roche/Aubry families.
Conclusive Evidence: Mayronne, Grand Terre, and the Pirate Jean Laffite
In conclusion, these irrefutable facts establish a direct and longstanding relationship between Francois Mayronne, owner of Grand Terre, and the Pirate Jean Laffite and his extended family. This personal and professional connection clearly explains how Laffite was able to operate with such freedom and authority from Grand Terre Island. Furthermore, the documented fact that Jean Laffite was born in New Orleans—not France, Spain, or Santo Domingo—cements his intimate knowledge of Louisiana’s geography and culture. It also directly supports his well-documented command to his men never to attack American ships—a conviction rooted in patriotic allegiance, not foreign interest.

Pictured above is 616–618 Royal Street (formally 148-150 Rue Royale), the site of the former residence of Francois Mayronne—owner of Grand Terre Island and neighbor to Jean Henri Laffite. Mayronne’s property was directly adjacent to the childhood home of Laffite and underscores the personal connection that preceded Laffite’s establishment of his base of operations on Grand Terre.
Was Dominique You (Youx) the Brother of Jean and Pierre Laffite?
Contrary to the spurious claims in the so-called Journal of Jean Laffite, Dominique You was not the brother of Jean and Pierre Laffite. According to records provided to the Masonic Lodge in New Orleans, Dominique You was born in Cette (now Sète), in Languedoc, France, in 1775.
He served as an artilleryman in the French Revolutionary Army. In 1802, he joined General Charles Leclerc’s expedition to suppress Toussaint Louverture’s Haitian Revolution. Following the failure of that mission, You made his way to Louisiana and aligned himself with Jean and Pierre Laffite as a privateer. He commanded the schooners *Le Pandoure* and *Le Tigre*, and was known to French Creoles as “Capitaine Dominique.”
According to historical records, he earned a reputation for boldness and courage. His men fought in the Battle of New Orleans on January 8, 1815, and were praised in General Andrew Jackson’s order of January 21, 1815, as “having shown uncommon gallantry and skill in the field.” After the war, You settled quietly in New Orleans, becoming a politician and ardent supporter of Jackson.
Feared across the Caribbean and the Americas, You was eventually pardoned by special proclamation of President James Madison. He adopted a life of peace and public service following the pardon. Though he never married, he later served as a member of the New Orleans City Council. Many of his colleagues were unaware of his past as a feared privateer who had helped defend the city from British forces during the War of 1812.
Dominique You died on November 15, 1830, at age 55, at his home at the corner of Love Street and Mandeville Street (now N. Rampart and Mandeville in the Marigny neighborhood). Though his death occurred in private, it was widely noted in the local press. New Orleans writers and editors honored his legacy, never forgetting the name of Dominique You or his role in the city's defense.
He was buried with full military honors at St. Louis Cemetery No. 2. His grave reads: “Intrepid warrior on land and sea. In a hundred combats showed his valor. This new Bayard without reproach or fear could have witnessed the ending of the world without trembling.”

Pictured above is the Grave of Dominique You ~ St. Louis Cemetery #2, New Orleans, Louisiana