The exact date of the birth of Olivier Levasseur is not agreed upon other than it was in the range of 1688 to 1690 in Calais, France. Some accounts state he may have been from a family of standing and was well educated but other than that only mentions of his later exploits are documented. During the time of the War of Spanish Succession which was in the years 1701-1714, Levasseur was a privateer for France after being able to secure a letter of marquee from King Louis XIV. When the war was over France requested his return along with the ship under his command but refused and allied himself with Benjamin Hornigold to become a pirate himself in 1716. His tactical prowess and swift acting in battle earned him the nickname of "La Buse" (The Buzzard) and concentrate his efforts from a headquarters in Sainte-Marie.

His alliances grew and he was known to plunder with other pirates of the time such as John Taylor, Jasper Seagar, and Edward England. One of his greatest achievements was attacking and plundering the Portuguese great galleon Nossa Senhora do Cabo. This was not difficult as the vessel sustained damage in an earlier storm and the treasure included gold and silver bars, coins, pearls, and diamonds. There were devotional items to one was the Fiery Cross of Goa contained precious gems and the weight was too heavy for one man to carry. Tiring of the pirate life he tried to obtain a pardon with his share of the treasure but at the cost he had to return most of what was plundered. This was not acceptable and he hid the treasure when he was taken into custody was tried and sentenced to hang which was carried out in 1730. Legend states that when was about to die threw a cipher he had written leading to his buried treasure and even now it has not been able to be translated.


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