Very little information on the birthplace and date of Jean Lafitte other than it was possibly 1780 or 1781 in some parts of France. His early life is also absent of details one account speculates it could have been Basque-France or the French colony of Saint-Domingue. The first record that mentions him was in 1805 when he supposedly was a broker for stolen items procured by his older brother Pierre Lafitte in New Orleans. The Embargo Act of 1807 hindered the operation causing them to relocate to Barataria Bay, Louisiana which proved to be prosperous and eventually escalated to piracy in 1810. With the war between the United States and Britain now in full swing in 1812 Lafitte relayed to his fellow pirate to vacate the area which proved to be feasible as the fleet was overtaken in 1814.

In a bargain for freedom, Laffite accepted the terms of Andrew Jackson to combine his ships and forces to defend New Orleans. With the success of this action Laffite, his brother, and others that were responsible were given pardons for their participation. He later returned to his old ways of piracy and chose Galveston, Texas as his headquarters which only lasted 5 years, and was forced to vacate. It was in 1823 with the thought of plundering 2 Spanish ships he thought to be loaded with treasure was instead well-equipped privateers in the ensuing battle Lafitte was mortally wounded and died. His crew gave him a final farewell as they rendered his body to the deep.