Cutthroat. According to dictionary entries, it's someone so ruthless they would cut the throat of another.

A murderer, a person of a vicious nature. And believe me, in the world of piracy, there were plenty of cutthroats.

Sure, pirates lived on the fringes of the societal boundaries.

Many stole without conscience, justified murder, and weren't exactly the nicest people in the world.

But to most of them, there were rules and behavioral expectations, even among pirates.

Edward Lowe, however, didn't subscribe to any of that. If a fraction of the stories

about his cruelty are true, then it's a small wonder his crew didn't hang him. His meanness

and depravity, according to the tales, at least, could shame the devil. Lowe was born sometime in

the 1690s in Westminster, London. As a teen, he found work as a sailor on a ship,

heading to Boston in the New World. There he secured a job at a rigging house.

Accounts say that Lowe married in 1714. Tragedy struck when his son died in infancy,

and his wife died from complications during the birth of their second child,

a daughter. Lowe then lost his job and spiraled into a manic bout of depression. He returned to

the sea, abandoning whatever kindness and solace he possessed, along with his baby daughter.

During the ship's voyage, Lowe ended up in a brawl with the captain. Some of the crew said Lowe insisted on more breaks, while others claimed that he had grown

tired of manual labor altogether.

When life aboard the ship did not improve to his liking, Lowe convinced a handful of the

crew to attempt a mutiny.

He killed a crewman while trying to shoot the captain.

The coup failed, and Lowe and his collaborators fled in a mutiny. He killed a crewman while trying to shoot the captain, the coup failed,

and Lowe and his collaborators fled in a rowboat. The group joined forces with another pirate,

George Lothar. While in Honduras, the crew attacked the Greyhound. Lothor, and Lowe ordered

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