Pierre Lafitte (c. 1770–1821) was a pirate in the Gulf of Mexico and smuggler in the early 19th century. He also ran a blacksmith shop in New Orleans, his legitimate business. Pierre was historically less well known than his younger brother, Jean Lafitte. While not as much of a sailor as Jean, Pierre was the public face of the Lafitte operation, and was known for his wit and charm, in addition to his handling of the sale of smuggled goods.

Pierre Lafitte also spied for Spain and commanded artillery units. He died in 1821 near Dzilam de Bravo in the Yucatán Peninsula.

Details of Pierre Lafitte's early life are scarce and often disputed. His younger brother Jean gave contradictory information about his birthplace, including the French cities of Saint-Malo and Brest. However, as Jean Lafitte's biographer, Jack C. Ramsay, stated, "this was a convenient time to be a native of France, a claim that provided protection from the enforcement of American law." Further contemporary accounts claim that Jean Lafitte was born in Orduña, Spain, or even Westchester, New York. Ramsay speculates that Lafitte was actually born in the French Caribbean colony Saint-Domingue (now Haiti).

It was common in the late 18th century for the adult children of the French landowners in Saint-Domingue to resettle in the Mississippi River Delta, which was also owned by France. Families with the surname Lafitte are mentioned in Louisiana documents dating as early as 1765. According to Ramsay, Lafitte, his younger brother, Jean, and their widowed mother sailed from Saint-Domingue to New Orleans, Louisiana (New Spain) in the 1780s. Approximately 1784, his mother married Pedro Aubry, a New Orleans merchant. Jean stayed with his mother while Pierre was raised by extended family elsewhere in Louisiana.

The biographer William C. Davis reports a different childhood. According to Davis's book, Lafitte was born in or near Pauillac, France and was the son of Pierre Lafitte and Marie LaGrange, who married in 1769. LaGrange died the following year, likely while she gave birth. The elder Pierre Lafitte remarried in 1775 to Marguerite Desteil; they had six children, including Jean Lafitte. The boys were likely given a basic education, and Pierre Lafitte later joined his father's trading enterprise.

The father died in 1796, and Davis speculates that the younger Pierre Lafitte journeyed to Saint-Domingue (later Haiti). In May 1802, Lafitte requested a passport so that he could go "to Louisiana to join one of his brothers." As the Haitian Revolution became more violent, French citizens began leaving the islands. Lafitte, probably accompanied by an infant son, left the island aboard a refuge ship in early 1803.

Lafitte's ship landed in New Orleans, which had originally been part of French Louisiana although it had become a Spanish possession for nearly 40 years. Records indicate that on March 21, 1803, Pierre Lafitte partnered with Joseph Maria Bourguignon to purchase a city lot, home, and outbuildings near Royal Street. The men were unable to pay their mortgage and returned the property three months later. In December 1803, Louisiana became a territory of the United States. The following year, Lafitte moved to Baton Rouge, which was in the Spanish-controlled West Florida.

Along with his 'crew of a thousand men' (the number that he commanded was quite small, but the loose confederation that he and his brother ran caused the number of men engaged in their affairs was substantial), Lafitte also receives credit for helping defend Louisiana from the British in the War of 1812, and Pierre is mentioned in several accounts of the Battle of New Orleans. His piracy was pardoned by President James Madison on February 6, 1815, by the aiding of Andrew Jackson during the battle.