The Death of Red Ranjish

"Under sails of blood red cloth-
The blood of seven hundred men-
Stands Red Ranjish his face all wroth-
Soon to kill hundreds again!"
Verse 1 of 19 of The Ballad of Red Ranjish

Summary

The most famous pirate legend varies from country to country, but in globally the most famous pirate is undoubtedly Red Ranjish.
Ranjish was not the most profitable pirate, nor did he have the highest body count. But the account of his death has stuck in the public consciousness like no other pirate.
It was the dead of night as Ranjish's ship, The Boundless Revenge, was spotted quietly sailing along the coast by a military fort. Not engaged in any acts of piracy at the time, it was simply returning to port after a large haul. The deck was only occupied by a skeleton crew keeping things running while the rest slept.
The night was still when the naval vessels slipped out to meet the ship, but by the time they pulled alongside a storm was brewing. Eager to capture such a notorious criminal as Ranjish, or perhaps simply feeling they'd be safer on board the larger vessel, the military crew immediately climbed aboard without caution.
But while the crew on the deck had been small, they were shrewd, and had alerted the sleeping sailors to the potential threat. Once the military men were entirely aboard, from below sprang a tired but vicious crew, headed by Ranjish and his first-mate and lover Marcus Ingeles.
The military crew were better armed, and better rested, while Ranjish's crew were still recovering from taking a prize. The tide of battle turned quickly against the pirates, and so Ranjish took wild and disastrous action.
He took charge of the helm and steered his ship into the increasingly violent storm.
The wind began to tear the sails, and the rain pounding down on the combatants on the deck nearly knocked several of them overboard instantly.
While this caused great distress and destruction, it was not enough to stop fate from claiming the lives of Ranjish and Ingeles. A naval officer shot the former point blank in the chest in self defence - and as the body fell from the ship into the churning waters below, Ingeles was seen to dive overboard, unable to stand the thought of living without his lover.
That goal achieved, the military crew fled to the few small vessels still alongside, in a frantic attempt to escape the storm. The Boundless Revenge was torn apart, as were several military ships, and the coastline the next morning was littered with the bodies of the dead.
A bullet took Ranjish, and the storm took Ingeles, down to the bottom of the ocean.

Historical Basis

The event of the legend happened roughly as told, though the preparedness of Ranjish's crew is exaggerated, and the size of the naval vessels diminished. Down to the bottom of the ocean is also technically poetic licence, as a body wearing Captain Ranjish's clothes was discovered several days later and put on public display as a warning against piracy. The bloated and battered corpse was near unrecognisable - and around five decades later the repercussions of this became clear as an autobiography detailing the life and times of Red Ranjish was released upon the author's death.
Ranjish and Ingeles lived the rest of their lives in relative comfort, by some means, and only revealed their identities when the former finally died of natural causes.