Jean Lafitte (c. 1780 – c. 1823) is a French pirate and privateer in the Gulf of Mexico in the early nineteenth century.
He and his elder brother, Pierre, spell their last name Laffite, but English-language documents of the time use "Lafitte".
The latter has become the common spelling in the United States, including for places named after him.
Lafitte is believed to have been born either in Basque-France or the French colony of Saint-Domingue
By 1805, he operates a warehouse in New Orleans to help disperse the goods smuggled by his brother Pierre Lafitte.
After the United States government passes the Embargo Act of 1807, the Lafittes move their operations to an island in Barataria Bay, Louisiana.
By 1810, their new port is very successful; the Lafittes have a profitable smuggling operation and also start to engage in piracy.
Though Lafitte warns the other Baratarians of a possible military attack on their base of operations, a United States naval force successfully invades in September 1814 and captures most of Lafitte's fleet
Later, in return for a legal pardon for the smugglers, Lafitte and his comrades help General Andrew Jackson defend New Orleans from the British in the final battle of the War of 1812.
The Lafittes become spies for the Spanish during the Mexican War of Independence and move to Galveston Island, Texas, where they develop a pirate colony they called Campeche.
Lafitte continues attacking merchant ships as a pirate around Central American ports until he dies circa 1823, trying to capture Spanish vessels.
Speculation about his life and death continues among historians.
