The Great Pirate Era started when Gol D. Roger, the King of the Pirates, announced the existence of the One Piece to the world prior to his death. Every big and small pirate set out to see in search of the Final Island, known as Laugh Tale, to get their hands on Roger's treasure.
During this age, piracy spiked through the roof in the One Piece world and countless strong contenders emerged to conquer the oceans. Here are the 10 strongest known pirates in the Great Pirate Era of One Piece.
10 Charlotte Katakuri
A man with a bounty of 1,057,000,000 Berries, Charlotte Katakuri is the leader of the Three Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates and a legendary figure who has only ever lost one battle in his whole life.
He's a user of the Special Paramecia Mochi Mochi no Mi, but his biggest specialty is his ability to see the future using Observation Haki. Katakuri also has phenomenal control over the other two Haki types and is one of the strongest pirates alive right now.
9 Monkey D. Luffy
The captain of the Straw Hat Pirates, Luffy is one of the Worst Generation members and the man known as the Fifth Emperor of the Sea. Currently, he's one of the most menacing characters in the story and he aims to bring down Kaido and Big Mom in Wano Country.
Luffy is an incredible user of Haki and with the powers of the Gomu Gomu no Mi, he's become a menacing pirate against all the odds. It goes without saying that he's one of the strongest in the world right now.
8 Pirate Empress Boa Hancock
Boa Hancock is the leader of the Kuja and one of the most powerful pirates in the One Piece world. She wields the power of the Mero Mero no Mi, a Devil Fruit that allows her to turn people who lust after her (and also some that don't) into stone.
Hancock is a powerful user of all the Haki types. She's one of the few Shichibukai who are known to be strong enough to handle the dissolution of the Shichibukai system.
7 Marco The Phoenix
The former First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates, Marco the Phoenix ranks among the most threatening One Piece characters even after the fall of Whitebeard's forces. Although he's no longer a part of any pirate crew, he's still as strong as ever.
He has great control over Haki but his biggest specialty is to regenerate from any wound instantly thanks to his Devil Fruit powers. Marco was considered to be a pirate capable of stopping Blackbeard from becoming a Yonko by the Gorosei.
6 Dracule "Hawk Eyes" Mihawk
A former member of the Shichibukai, Dracule Mihawk is the strongest swordsman in the world of One Piece. He wields Kokuto Yoru, one of the Saijo o Wazamono grade swords.
Mihawk is quite skilled with Haki usage and although he's barely ever been seen going all out, his reputation alone makes him one of the strongest in the series right now. Like Hancock, he was unfazed by the dissolution of the Shichibukai system.
5 Marshall D. Teach (AKA Blackbeard)
One of the Four Emperors of the Sea, Teach is a pirate who stepped up quite fast after the events of the Summit War unfolded. He has a bounty of over 2,200,000,000 Berries on his head, something that's quite impressive given the fact that he's only been one of the Yonko for less than two years.
He's a user of two Haki types and has access to two Devil Fruits. Teach is already very powerful but he doesn't seem like he's planning to stop growing stronger anytime soon.
4 "Red-Haired" Shanks
One of the Four Emperors, Shanks rose to the ranks six years before the current storyline of the series and has continued to make great progress ever since. Right now, he's accumulated a bounty that is slightly over the 4,000,000,000 Berries mark.
Shanks is quite powerful and was able to clash with Whitebeard on an equal footing before the time-skip. Without a doubt, he's one of the strongest in the world currently.
3 Kaido of the Beasts
Like Shanks, Kaido is also one of the Four Emperors of the Sea and is known to be the strongest creature in the world. He's lost seven fights as a pirate and has been captured by his enemies eighteen times and yet he has always survived encounters that would've killed anybody else.
He's capable of turning into an eastern dragon at will and holds tremendous power. Kaido is especially known for his incredible durability, and his activities over the years have earned him a bounty of 4,611,000,000 Berries.
2 Charlotte Linlin (AKA Big Mom)
Charlotte Linlin is one of the few Great Pirates who is also known as the strongest woman in all of One Piece. She's one of the Yonko and also possibly the strongest among their ranks right now.
As of now, Linlin is known to be an equal to Kaido, as stated and seen several times in the story. Unlike Kaido, though, she doesn't seem to have ever been defeated by her enemies.
1 Edward Newgate (AKA Whitebeard)
The man who conquered the Great Pirate Era with his name, Whitebeard was the strongest man in all of One Piece during this particular age of piracy. He was called the King of the Seas by Garp, and was described by Sengoku as "the man who could even destroy the entire world if he wished." Up until the time of his death, Whitebeard was equal to Roger in terms of power and it goes without saying that after Roger, he was the only person capable of controlling the seas.
Whitebeard died during the Summit War where he fought like a monster and destroyed all his enemies, proving to the world why he was the strongest in the first place. Not only that, but his death only emboldened the new generation of pirates instead of demoralizing them, as he used his last breaths to confirm that the mythical One Piece was real.