William Read (pirate)

William Read (died 1701, last name occasionally Reed) was a pirate active in the Indian Ocean near Madagascar.

Thomas White and John Bowen had been aboard a French pirate ship which wrecked nearby and had been in the care of the king for over a year.

[3] Read took them aboard and proceeded around the Madagascar coast, picking up stranded European sailors to increase his crew.

[4] Now with 40[1] to 60[3] men they sailed to the Persian Gulf and took a 200-ton grab loaded with bale goods.

[5] William Read of Alexander should not be confused with William Read of Ranger, a pirate who served under Captain Charles Harris until Harris was abandoned by Edward Low and captured by HMS Greyhound in 1723.