Jean Lafitte, 1780 - 1823

About this episode

This episode explores the life of Jean Lafitte, a pirate and smuggler, and his impact on American history during the War of 1812.

Today on Murderhobos: Jean Lafitte. A pirate, smuggler, and American hero of the War of 1812. Together with his brother Pierre, he became one of the most popular folk heroes of the American South in the 19th century, a popularity which waned over the course of the century to his relative obscurity today. What can his ambitious diverse criminal career show us about crime, piracy, slavery, and revolution in the age of American expansion? Submit questions to murderhobospodcast@gmail.com or on our Patreon discord by December 2nd 2025. We'll be hosting a year-end Q&A for all of our pirate episodes too - please submit questions for that by December 16th. Subscribe to the show on Patreon: bit.ly/murderhobospatreon . Donate to the show at bit.ly/donatetomurderhobos .

People in this episode

Host: Adam Franti

Topics covered

• piracy
• crime
• American history
• slavery
• revolution
• 19th century

Keywords

• Jean Lafitte
• pirate
• smuggler
• War of 1812
• American history
• crime
• slavery
• revolution

Mentioned in this episode

Places: American South

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