Information on Morgan's early life is sort of cloudy, as is the case with many pirates from history. However, it can be said for sure that he was the greatest English privateer of the era.
He was commissioned by Jamaica's governer to capture Spanish prisoners in Cuba, hoping to gain information on a planned attack on Jamaica. Leading roughly five hundred men, he sacked Puerto Principe and went on to take Portobelo, which was a well fortified Panama town. Doing far more than he had been orginally tasked to, Jamaica allowed the English the privelage to attack the Spanish whenever possible.
He went on to completely terrorize the coast of Cuba in his onslaught against the Spaniards. He later moved on to Venezuela, and eventually to Gibraltar where he managed to illicit some wealth. His adventures continued throughout the Caribbean where he sacked many ships and villages and gained lots of political support in England.
Morgan's exploits made him one of the few pirates who was actually well liked by English people. He lived at an opportune time for piracy and privateering, and his skills as a daring leader were unmatched. He had been appointed a nobleman and lived on an estate in Jamacia when he met his death in his bed. One of the few notorious buccaneers to not meet an end at see or by execution.