Edward Low was the pirate captain known as Ned Low during the Golden Age of Piracy.
Low was an English pirate active mainly in the Atlantic during the early 1720s. Before turning pirate, he worked in the rigging trade and later joined a group of sailors who seized a small vessel. He soon became captain and developed a reputation for violent treatment of captured crews.
Low operated around the Azores, the Canary Islands, the Caribbean, and the coast of North America. His fleet captured merchant ships and fishing vessels, and contemporary accounts portrayed him as exceptionally cruel. Some details in those accounts may be exaggerated, but his notoriety was widely reported.
The ending of Low’s career is uncertain. Historical sources disagree about whether he was executed in Martinique, escaped to Brazil, or met another fate. He should not be confused with Edward Teach, whose pirate name was Blackbeard. Both were active in the same broad era, but they were separate captains with different careers.