The Golden Age of Piracy
The Golden Age of Piracy
Though pirates have existed since ancient times, the Golden Age of piracy was in the 17th and early 18th centuries. During this time more than 5000 pirates were said to be at sea.
Throughout history there have been people willing to rob others transporting goods on the water. These people, known as pirates, mainly targeted ships, though some also launched attacks on coastal towns.
Many of the most famous pirates had a terrifying reputation, and they advertised this by flying gruesome flags, including the ‘Jolly Roger’ with its picture of skull and crossbones. Captives were famously made to ‘walk the plank’ – though this doesn’t appear to have been as common in reality as in fiction; in fact, it’s likely that most victims of piracy were just thrown overboard.
Pirates have existed since ancient times – they threatened the trading routes of ancient Greece, and seized cargoes of grain and olive oil from Roman ships. The most far-reaching pirates in early medieval Europe were the Vikings.
Thousands of pirates were active between 1650 and 1720, and these years are sometimes known as the ‘Golden Age’ of piracy. Famous pirates from this period include Henry Morgan, William ‘Captain’ Kidd, ‘Calico’ Jack Rackham, Bartholomew Roberts and the fearsome Blackbeard (Edward Teach). Though this Golden Age came to an end in the 18th century, piracy still exists today in some parts of the world, especially the South China Seas.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The explorer Christopher Columbus established contact between Europe and the lands that were later named America at the end of the 15th century. As he was working for the Spanish monarchy, these ‘new lands’ were claimed by the Spanish, who soon discovered them to be a rich source of silver, gold and gems.
From the 16th century, large Spanish ships, called galleons, began to sail back to Europe, loaded with precious cargoes that pirates found impossible to resist. So many pirate attacks were made that galleons were forced to sail together in fleets with armed vessels for protection. As Spanish settlers set up new towns on Caribbean islands and the American mainland, these too came under pirate attack.
Corsairs, buccaneers and privateers
Corsairs were pirates who operated in the Mediterranean Sea between the 15th and 18th centuries. Muslim corsairs, such as the Barbarossa (red beard) brothers, had bases along North Africa’s Barbary Coast, while Christian corsairs were based on the island of Malta. Both used to swoop down on their targets in oar-powered boats called galleys, to carry off sailors and passengers. Unless these unfortunates were rich enough to pay a ransom, they were sold as slaves.
Buccaneers lived on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola and its tiny turtle-shaped neighbour, Tortuga, in the 17th century.
At first they lived as hunters, but later the governors of Caribbean islands paid the buccaneers to attack Spanish treasure ships. Although raids began in this way, with official backing, the buccaneers gradually became out of control, attacking any ship they thought carried valuable cargo, whether it belonged to an enemy country or not. The buccaneers had become true pirates.
Privateers, meanwhile, were privately owned (rather than navy) ships armed with guns, operating in times of war. The Admiralty issued them with ‘letters of marque’ that allowed them to capture merchant vessels without being charged with piracy.
Why did pirates become pirates?
In England there was social disruption. Smaller farmers were forced off the land by ruthless landowners and smaller tradesmen were challenged by larger businesses. These displaced people flocked to urban areas looking for work or poor relief.
In London especially there was overcrowding and unemployment and funds for the poor could not meet the need.
People had to shift for themselves. Distressed people weren’t simply worse off, they had no hope of making a better life. Piracy tempted poor seamen because it offered them the chance to take more control of their lives.
In an age when few people travelled and young men might have to work seven-year apprenticeships before they could make an independent living, many were tempted to go to sea anyway, though the life was a tough one.
Adolescents who longed to escape could get a job on a sailing ship before they were fully grown: agility was needed as much as brute strength.
Yet ordinary seamen toiled for modest wages and were subject to strict discipline. In contrast, piracy not only offered them a chance to get rich quick but also a rare opportunity to exert a degree of power over others
Golden Age of Piracy — World History Encyclopedia
The Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730) refers to a period when robbery on the high seas and at colonial ports reached an unprecedented level.
Although not all historians agree on the precise time frame, it is generally applied to those pirates who operated in the Caribbean, the east coast of America, the eastern Atlantic, and the Indian Ocean.
Infamous names associated with the period include Captain Kidd (d. 1701), Blackbeard (d. 1718), and Bartholomew Roberts (d. 1722). These men, and some women like Anne Bonny and Mary Read, targetted merchant shipping and, much more rarely, well-armed treasure ships. The period ended when the Royal Navy, the British East India Company, and colonial governors took a much more active and aggressive stance against piracy, resulting in the capture and public hanging of hundreds of pirates from London to the Carolinas.
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Defining an Era
The ‘Golden Age of Piracy’ is rather an odd name to attach to a period when crime was rife, but this is of secondary concern to the problem of defining what exactly this period covers.
Most historians would not include the period of the buccaneers who targetted the Spanish Main and treasure ships earlier in the 17th century (c. 1650-1680). The close of that century is the most common starting point of the Golden Age for scholars, but some would restrict it to the first two or three decades, or even only the second decade of the 18th century. Here, then, in order not to omit certain points of interest pertinent to the subject of piracy, we will adopt a wider view and treat the ‘Golden Age’ as being approximately 1690 to 1730. It is also important to note that piracy has been conducted since antiquity and is still ongoing in many parts of the world so that an insistence on specific time frames is inherently problematic: piracy, it seems, has neither a starting nor a finishing point.
The first weapon pirates used was terror, & this took the form of the Jolly Roger flag.
Finally, there is, too, a question of geography. While piracy in our period was rife in many other parts of the world, the term ‘Golden Age’ in this context is usually restricted to those pirates who operated on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Indian Ocean.
and off the coast of West Africa. Pirates such as those on the Barbary Coast and in East Asia are usually treated separately. The majority of the pirates in the Golden Age, therefore, are British or American, but there were significant numbers of other nationalities involved, notably Dutch and French, and pirate crews could, in fact, include anyone from just about anywhere, including former African slaves and indigenous peoples.
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The Jolly Roger
WarX (CC BY-SA)
The question remains why piracy flourished in this particular period. Men and some women were tempted into a life of piracy by the harshness of life at sea on a merchant or naval vessel — the vast majority of pirates were experienced seamen — or because they could not find meaningful employment following the end of the wars between England and France. Following the Age of Exploration, the European colonies beyond the Mediterranean were now blossoming.
These were communities growing in size and wealth and with a corresponding increase in merchant shipping to serve them. There was still, though, a lack of firm governance and military protection so far from the home nation so that many ports and ships were easy targets for pirates who cared not for the consequences of their crimes.
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The Captains
While some pirate crew members have gained fame (or infamy) in their own right, the names most strongly attached to the period are those of captains. While most pirates wore the clothing that any other type of mariner wore, the captains were more wont to make a fashion statement and wear the flashy apparel the gentry of the period sported. Bartholomew Roberts (aka ‘Black Bart’ Roberts) was famous for wearing a scarlet silk coat, a matching damask waistcoat, and a diamond necklace. Blackbeard (aka Edward Teach) wore black ribbons in his beard, carried six pistols, and had lit fuses under his hat whenever he went into battle.
Doubtless, these pirate captains were keen to create a legend about themselves that helped make sure a target vessel surrendered immediately and their own crews remained loyal.
Other captains went for a more brutal approach to gaining notoriety. Charles Vane (hanged 1721) once fired his cannons at the ship of the governor of the Bahamas, while Edward Low amassed a long list of heinous crimes such as mutilating, burning, and hanging his victims between 1721 and 1724. Captain Stede Bonnet (hanged 1718), the ‘Gentleman Pirate’, was unusual because he chose a life of piracy as a change of pace from running his own plantation in Barbados. Piracy, it seems, attracted all sorts.
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Henry Every
Naughty Dog/Sony (Copyright, fair use)
Finally, there are those pirates who were not particularly famous in their day but who have since grabbed the public’s imagination for one reason or another. Captain John Rackham (aka ‘Calico Jack’, hanged 1720) was a small-time pirate now famous for his crew members of Anne Bonny and Mary Read, as well as his Jolly Roger with its crossed cutlasses.
Captain Benjamin Hornigold (d. 1719) was notable for giving up piracy and becoming, instead, a pirate hunter for the governor of the Bahamas. Captain Samuel Bellamy died in relative anonymity in 1717 when his ship Whydah was sunk in a storm off Cape Cod, but his name has been revived following the underwater exploration of this wreck and its invaluable contribution to our knowledge of Golden Age pirates, their loot, and their ships.
The Pirate Ship
Although novels and films often have pirates sailing large galleon-type ships, the reality during the Golden Age was rather different. The vast majority of pirates preferred something like a sloop, which was fast, highly manoeuvrable, and capable of sailing through shallows where larger naval ships could not follow. In addition, pirates typically went after easy targets such as merchant vessels armed with no more than a handful of cannons. However, there were some notable exceptions as some pirates preferred a larger ship capable of matching a lower-rated naval vessel in firepower.
Prestige was also a factor, and it is significant that the more notorious and successful pirates did possess the largest ships.
Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge had a crew of at least 300 men, necessary to man the 40 cannons on board.
Captain Kidd sailed the purpose-built Adventure Galley. This was a 287-ton three-masted ship, which could pursue a target in all conditions thanks to its mix of square-rigged sails, lateen sail (triangular), and banks of oars (46 in total). The Adventure Galley was crewed by over 150 men and was well-armed with 34 cannons. Edward England captured a fine ship off Madagascar in 1720, which he renamed the Fancy. This vessel also boasted 34 cannons and had a crew of around 180 men.
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Perhaps the most famous of pirate ships is Blackbeard’s Queen Anne’s Revenge, another captured vessel, this time a French slaver. The Queen Anne’s Revenge had a crew of at least 300 men, necessary to man the 40 cannons on board.
The most powerful pirate ship of all in this period was Bartholomew Roberts’ Royal Fortune. The former French warship bristled with at least 42 cannons, and Roberts used it well, adapting it for speed and becoming the most successful of all Golden Age pirates in terms of ships captured, well over 400.
Pirate Sloop
Starz Entertainment (Copyright, fair use)
Methods of Attack
Pirates typically targeted lone merchant vessels, usually when they were negotiating a narrow straight or were near shallows and islands so that a pirate ship could seemingly arrive out of nowhere. A pirate vessel might also get close to a target by flying a certain friendly national flag. Approaching from the stern was always a good idea since ships of the period had far fewer cannons there.
The first weapon pirates used was terror, and this took the form of the Jolly Roger flag. When this flag was hoisted — usually black with a human skull and crossbones, although many variations existed — a merchant vessel was being warned that pirates were approaching, and the sensible thing to do was not to put up any resistance.
A red flag might also be hoisted, which signalled that no quarter would be given if an attack began. As most pirate victims were poorly-armed, the pirates usually boarded their target with ease.
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For those ships that resisted, the pirates had an array of weaponry to choose from. Pirate ships, as we have seen, carried many cannons of various sizes, and the pirates themselves carried grenades, muskets, pistols, cutlasses, axes, and clubs. Firing cannons was not so common since pirates did not want to damage the target ship or its cargo, both of which might be useful to them. For this reason, when cannons were fired, it was typically as warning shots or to fire chain shot (two bars or balls connected by a short chain) which was designed to destroy rigging and masts and so temporarily disable the target vessel. Some pirate captains were tempted into attacking well-armed treasure ships, especially if they commanded a fleet of pirate ships and so enjoyed a great numerical advantage in cannons and men.
As naval vessels almost always outgunned a pirate ship, these were avoided by pirates.
Pirate Booty
Pirates were first and foremost after portable loot, preferably gold, silver, and gems. Coins were the most easily disposed of and so a treasure chest of Spanish silver pesos (aka pieces of eight) or gold doubloons was most desirable. The next best thing was a valuable cargo. Items that could be easily sold included rolls of silk, spices, indigo, tobacco, rum, furs, hides, sugar, and other foodstuffs. The crew and any passengers were stripped of any valuables and fancy clothing. Weapons, navigational instruments, and medicines were always useful. Even humdrum nautical items like ropes, sails, and anchors were taken to replenish the pirates’ own equipment. Finally, the attacked ship could itself become the prize. Pirates were loath to spend time and effort repairing their own ship and so swapping for a more seaworthy vessel was quite common, as was upgrading to a bigger and better ship capable of carrying more cannons.
Pieces of Eight from the Whydah
Theodore Scott (CC BY)
While most captures brought only dry goods or liquor and perhaps a few coins, there were some truly staggering captures in the Golden Age. The English pirate Henry Every (b. 1653) captured the Ganij-i-Sawai in 1695, a merchant ship of the Mughal emperor, which was carrying cargo worth over $95 million today. The share for each crew member was more than a lifetime’s wages. Wisely, Captain Every sailed over the horizon with his loot and was never seen or heard of again.
In 1721, the biggest ever single prize was captured by John Taylor and Olivier La Bouche. Together, the two pirate ships boarded the Portuguese treasure ship Nostra Senhora de Cabo at Réunion Island. There was £500,000 in diamonds, gold, and other valuables, and a general cargo worth £375,000 (a total of over $250 million today).
Booty was supervised by the quartermaster until such time as it could be shared out or sold and the proceeds divided.
Crew members typically got one share each, the quartermaster and captain received two shares each, and the various ‘officers’ or more experienced seamen and skilled workers like the carpenter and gunner got something in between one and two shares. Crew members were also compensated for any injuries they had sustained during an attack. Few pirates ever kept hold of their ill-gotten gains long enough to think about hiding it away somewhere. Tales of buried treasure may appear frequently in pirate fiction, but there are few historical records of such behaviour. Captain Kidd did bury treasure, perhaps on Long Island, but treasure-seekers have remained frustrated at their lack of success in finding any of it.
Pirate Havens
Once loaded up with booty, pirates retreated to their haven. The main havens were Port Royal (Jamaica), Tortuga (Hispaniola), New Providence (Bahamas), and Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Havens were chosen for their secluded and safe harbours and easy access to freshwater, fruit, meat, and timber in the island’s interior.
Being close to the main shipping routes but not too close to the colonial authorities were distinct advantages, too.
The Spanish Main and Caribbean Pirate Havens c. 1670
Simeon Netchev (CC BY-NC-SA)
Traders to buy looted cargo were essential, and they were attracted to havens because they could buy goods cheaply and then smuggle them into legitimate ports at much higher prices. The pirates lost out on the deal, but they got what they wanted: ready cash and plenty of booze. Some pirate captains were more ambitious and tried to deal directly with colonial ports where officials could be bribed and goods sold at better prices. Some of these officials, the most notorious being Charles Eden, governor of North Carolina, and Colonel Benjamin Fletcher in New York, even gave out pardons to pirates.
Many pirate havens soon grew into large towns with inns, brothels, merchant stalls, and everything else mariners needed and desired when resting their sea legs. New Providence Harbour (Nassau) hosted some 600 pirates at its peak c.
1700, while at the same time, Madagascar had 1,500 pirates using the island as a base. Port Royal was a favourite of the buccaneers, but Golden Age pirates continued to make good use of its 100 taverns and other dubious facilities which gave rise to its nickname as the ‘Sodom of the New World’. Port Royal was used in this way until its destruction during an earthquake in 1692.
Justice & the Decline of Piracy
The British government, pressured by legitimate merchants, colonists, and rulers such as the Moghul emperor was eventually obliged to act against piracy. The government was also greatly concerned that piracy was so rife it was driving out honest settlers from its colonies and leaving them so unpopulated they were becoming a great temptation for foreign powers to take over. From 1701, colonies were permitted to try and hang pirates themselves rather than ship them to England. In the 1710s, colonial governors like Woodes Rogers (1679-1732) in the Bahamas were sent out from London specifically to replace the often corrupt government apparatus in the colonies and wipe out piracy in their jurisdiction.
These new governors had both a carrot and stick to achieve their brief. The stick was naval warships and the hangman’s noose, while the carrot was a royal pardon from King George I of Great Britain (r. 1714-1727) and the promise of land and work in the colonies. Many pirates did accept a pardon, and those who did not were eventually hunted down. An additional strategy which worked well was to offer cash rewards for those who informed on and captured pirates; many of these informers were former pirates themselves.
Captain Kidd
Unknown Artist (Public Domain)
New Providence was shut down as a pirate haven in 1718. The Royal Navy became an ever-more powerful presence in the western Atlantic, and when the colonial governors heard of illegal trade going on in any new havens, they moved in swiftly with their warships. There was also a change of tactic with the navy, like the pirates themselves, opting for fast sloops instead of heavy gunships to pursue these criminals of the high seas.
At the same time in the Indian Ocean, the East India Company began to use convoys and more aggressively protect its assets at sea. With their havens under attack and with far fewer possibilities to sell on stolen goods, a life of piracy became a very difficult one. It was also now much more dangerous as capture became more likely and the punishments harsher.
The old days of letting off most pirate crews with a flogging as a warning and hanging only the captain were over. Now, entire crews were being brought to justice in show trials that ended in mass executions. In 1722 at Cape Coast Castle, Guinea in West Africa, 52 of Bartholomew Roberts’ crew were hanged in one day. At places like Execution Dock in Wapping, London, or Deadman’s Cay near Port Royal, the sight of hanged pirates swaying in the sea breeze became a familiar one to locals and passing ships. The most notorious pirates had their corpses hung in an iron cage, left to rot in the open air for one or two years. Even those who escaped the death sentence often only had their fate delayed as they were either given lengthy sentences in disease-ridden prisons or transported to penal colonies for a short sharp life of hard labour.
Piracy was never entirely stamped out, it is, after all, one of those crimes that seems to have always bedevilled humanity. However, as colonies came to establish themselves with more robust institutions of government and justice, so more people had a cause to see the end of piracy. Even the pirates themselves, those who had escaped the hangman’s noose, often settled down to a more respectable living on plantations or operated as honest merchants, the very targets they had once terrorized.
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«Golden Age» of piracy
Buccaneer pirate. Illustration by Howard Pyle.
1905
The most romanticized time in the history of piracy is precisely the Golden Age, which still inspires writers and directors to this day. Actually, according to books (“Treasure Island”, “Odyssey of Captain Blood”, “Black Swan”) and films (“Pirates of the Caribbean”, “Peter Pan”), many of us have formed our own idea of \u200b\u200bpirates and their free life.
But what actually happened in the «golden era» of pirate history?
The period that was called the «golden age» of piracy actually lasted a little less than 80 years — from 1650 to 1726. The last 10 years, perhaps, constituted one of the brightest outbreaks in the history of piracy. The War of the Spanish Succession, the heyday of privateering (the use of a warship by private individuals), the instantaneous transformation into owners of countless treasures — such was this last period of the «golden age». Often, only the last 10 years were considered to be the «golden age», since they were distinguished by eventfulness and courage.
It is important to understand that the very term «golden age of piracy» is, of course, a fiction of historians. Neither in the 17th nor in the 18th century no such name existed.
New philosophy
A feature of medieval piracy was the departure from traditional foundations. European privateers were not just interested in profit and religious issues — sea robbery was a reflection of interstate conflicts that unfolded between France, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and Great Britain.
The beginning of prosperity
The first period of the «golden age» began with the resumption of colonization. The international economy and maritime trade began to develop, but, alas, not everything was so rosy. Fearing extermination by the Spaniards, buccaneer hunters moved to Tortuga, a small island off the coast, and a pirate haven was already developing there. After Great Britain captured Spanish Jamaica before, a new round of the spiral began — letters of marque could be freely obtained from the governor himself, and the close location of Port Royal made it possible to sell the stolen goods faster and more profitably.
For the first 30 years, the buccaneers belonged undividedly — natives of the French and English settlements, who robbed ships plying between Europe and the Spanish colonies.
The Spanish «Man-o-Var» enters the battle with the Barbary corsairs.
Painting by Cornelis Hendrix Rum. 1615
Times of the «pirate circle»
The period from 1680 to 1716 was called the time of the «pirate circle».
The term itself denoted a nautical route that ran from the western Atlantic to India. Pirates followed the same trajectory, capturing the ships of the East India Company and Muslim ships. The Stuarts fell, the hostility between France and Great Britain boiled up with renewed vigor, and the long-standing partnership between French Tortuga and English Jamaica ended at the same moment. And when the earthquakeYear 2 destroyed Port Royal, the pirates finally realized that it was time to start looking for other profitable routes.
New places of extraction
The fact that the Spanish Empire by that time was already almost completely plundered played a significant role in the expansion of pirate geography — Maracaibo alone was robbed three times in just a year, Rio de la Acha — five times, Tolu — eight. But the less wealthy British colonies (New York, Bermuda, Rhode Island) not only did not resist the pirate invasion, but, on the contrary, supported it in every possible way. One of the exploiters uttered the following words in defense of the bandit: «It is too cruel to hang people who bring gold to these provinces.
» However, many pirates were much more attracted to the Indian coast than the British colonies in America.
Party at the port tavern
Silk, chintz and other luxury goods, which were produced in abundance in India, were ideal loot. At the same time, the Indian Ocean was not guarded by anyone, which left merchant ships defenseless against the greed of robbers. It was at this time that such pirate stars as William Kidd, Robert Culliford, Henry Avery and Thomas Tew were lit. We will meet some of these legendary personalities a little later.
HISTORICAL FACT. At the Battle of Vigo by the Dutch
and the British destroyed the Spanish fleet carrying silver
in the equivalent of more than 1,000,000 pounds
sterling.
Pirates out of work
In 1713, a series of peace treaties was signed, marking the end of the War of Spanish Succession. Thousands of sailors (including privateers) were released from military duty. And so many trained servants of the watery deserts, who do not know what to do with themselves, is a serious problem.
Having no means for subsistence, forced to earn by slave labor, they, of course, accepted the proposals of the captains with great enthusiasm, providing an endless replenishment of pirate crews. And the worst thing is that they are already trained people, skilled both at sea and in handling weapons.
United campaign
In 1715, perhaps the largest piracy campaign of the entire «golden age» was organized. A combined force of explorers consisting of Edward England, Samuel Bellamy, Charles Vane and Henry Jenning attacked the Spaniards, who were trying to salvage the treasures of a galleon that sank near Florida. The operation was successful, but the governor of Jamaica, to the surprise of the pirates, forbade them to spend booty on the island. Seeing no other choice, Jennings and his «partners» established a new base in the Bahamas on the island of New Providence. For three years, this base has been a true pirate oasis, open to any «gentleman of fortune.»
Hunting for pirates
By the end of the first third of the 18th century.
the pirates realized that the excess of sailors was for them not only a blessing, but also a curse. Repeatedly frequent cases of robbery overflowed the patience of the European states, which began to hastily organize naval protection in order to track down the bandits and ensure the safety of merchant ships. The surplus of unemployed sailors made it possible to recruit crews for a pittance on government ships.
The famous island of Tortuga
End of the «Golden Age»
By 1720, piracy had already declined. The «golden age» didn’t really last even a decade. By the beginning of the 1720s. most of the sea robbers were in the past and only a few were still on the run. But in history, the names of the captains of the “golden age” still sound the loudest.
HISTORICAL FACT.
In the XVIII century. a model of the so-called
triangular trade — the ships sailed
from Europe to Africa to exchange
goods and weapons for slaves, then left
to the Caribbean to sell slaves and buy
cocoa, tobacco and sugar.This route was
especially advantageous for pirates, as
merchants received money on each
such a stop and you could safely
rob any ship passing by
by, not being afraid to be left without a profit
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«The golden age of piracy» — Gvozdik Maria on vc.ru
Eh! This romance: the taste of adventure on parched lips from the salty wind, the danger that awaits at every turn, freedom, passion, mysterious treasures and uncharted shores … Smelly bunks infested with fleas and lice, hard work in holds up to the knee in waste. All this is about the life of sea robbers. What was she really like? Who embarked on the path of outrage and robbery, and most importantly, what horrific laws and rules were welcomed by piracy?
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1650-1720 — the heyday of piracy. At this time, Spain and Portugal were considered the most powerful maritime powers. They owned almost the entire sea surface. Anyone who is at least a little familiar with geography and history knows that this is the «age of geographical discoveries.
» Columbus discovers America. and at the same time the road to untold riches. From there, a stream of gold and silver begins, which turns into doubloons and piastres. This flow went through the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Yes, yes, from here the well-known «Pirates of the Caribbean» went to all of us. The Caribbean has become a tasty morsel for anyone who was waiting for easy money. Of course, England, France and Holland could not stand aside. They have long wanted to throw Spain and Portugal off the «sea throne». Probably, it is with this desire that the era begins, which is proudly called the «Golden Age of Piracy». True, it never made it to the century, or rather, it lasted about 70 years, and some researchers even estimate this period at 30 years.
This century has given us such names as: «Blackbeard», Henry Morgan and «Lanky Ben». By the way, characters such as Jack Sparrow and Captain Flint also lived around this time.
There were peculiar «castes» among piracy.
It’s worth starting with Forbanov — a free sea robber. This is a criminal who will be hanged on the gallows by any country of that time in case of capture. Fugitive prisoners, deserters, and ordinary poor people, whose fate was already destined and they had nothing more to lose, were «signed up» in forbans. It is clear that they could not simply enter the port and sell the loot, and therefore, if you ask yourself what type of pirates the movie Jack Sparrow belonged to, then it is most correct to assume that they were forbans.
The next type of piracy is buccaneers. The first buccaneers were the French settlers of the islands of the Caribbean. In their initial stage, these robbers generally looked little like their brothers in craft. If only because most of them were spent not at sea, but in the forest. They ran around the island, hunted for everyone, harvested meat, which would then be sold on ships returning to Europe. It is worth noting that they got their name from the word «bukana» — a grill for smoking.
In this situation, nothing prevented them, if they wished, from robbing some random ship, which, to their misfortune, dared to stop in an unfamiliar bay. The buccaneers preferred to sneak up unnoticed and steal cargo, preferably without noise or great casualties. This cargo can be quickly sold by smuggling and make a good profit.
At first, the Spanish authorities did not pay attention to the «wild homeless», but each time there were more and more of them, and then it became simply impossible to turn a blind eye to them. It was necessary to urgently solve something with this, and Spain came up with the most controversial way. They began to exterminate those animals that the buccaneers hunted. Only this led to even more disastrous consequences. The impoverished pirates began to organize raids and robberies more often and more severely, and then completely populated the entire empty island and turned it into a «pirate haven». The island was named — Tortuga.
There was only one punishment for piracy — execution.
But the longer the confrontation between the major powers grew, the more they thought about how to weaken their rivals. And one day someone came up with a brilliant idea: “why not take pirates into your service?” Pirates, of course, remain vile bastards, but when these bastards rob another country, they are already useful bastards — legalized pirates. It got to the point that the government began to issue special certificates to pirates, with the permission of which you can rob ships of enemy countries with absolutely impunity. Such pirates are called privateers. It becomes a kind of public service. In order to become a privateer, one had to go through a difficult stage: first, sell the petition, then pay the state duty, and only then receive the long-awaited letter of marque.
The privateer was obliged to share part of the booty with the state, and if this did not happen, then severe punishment followed. The state also dictated which ships could be attacked and which could not.
In general, the freedom of a pirate in the full sense of the word was, in cases of privateering, lost.
How did an ordinary sailor decide to go into piracy? On legitimate merchant and warships, the life of an ordinary sailor was unbearable. The strictest discipline, sometimes reaching the point of absurdity, low wages and severe corporal punishment for the slightest offense. And the only way a sailor could protect himself was to go to another ship. The second way, when privateers became not needed by their state. And no one wanted to give up easy prey. And sometimes they became pirates by force, when an ordinary sailor was taken prisoner and recruited. This happened to one of the most famous pirates of the time, Bartholomew Roberts. The ship where Roberts was was captured by pirates and forced to work for himself, because he was an excellent navigator.
The ships were racially diverse. The place was everything! But gender was a little different. But, as in any situation, there are always exceptions.
For example, the well-known Ann Boni ran away from a fairly wealthy parental home in order to first marry one pirate, then change him to a planter, and then leave him, for the sake of the third pirate, Jack Rackham. He was already a captain and had his own ship. So Ann, with the help of her beloved, got on the ship. Then another girl named Mary got on their ship, who from childhood was passed off as a boy and trained in military affairs. soon they were all caught. Jack was hanged, Mary died pregnant in prison, but Bonnie’s fate is unknown.
Democracy rules on a pirate ship. For that time it was something of a kind of fantasy, which is why many were attracted to such a life. The captain was chosen by popular vote. He had to reckon with his people, because his power directly depended on this. In addition to the captain, they chose his deputy — the quartermaster. He kept order and housekeeping on the ship. And the phrase «no booty, no reward» was a common pirate rule. The booty was divided equally among all members, and the captain and his entourage received little more.
But there were probably more downsides to the life of a pirate. The first and most significant is that you are already dead. If caught, they will hang; if they don’t catch, they will kill in battle. The conditions on the ships also did not differ in comfort. They ate corned beef, hard as a sole, and never drank rum in huge quantities — it was too expensive, and it was forbidden to drink on the ship, contrary to many myths. The smell below deck was disgusting from mold and unwashed bodies, and the pirates hadn’t washed in years! The sailor’s working day lasted at least 16 hours, during which time the robber washed his hands to the point of blood. Thousands of rats and fleas scurried around the ship, and it was simply impossible to fight them. They were not bred because of favorable conditions for life. In other words, during the famine, rats turned into an object of food.
And the sophisticated torture and punishment of robbers deserve a separate article. Walking the plank, scourging, throwing overboard or dragging under the keel.
And they punished the sailors for the slightest misconduct or disobedience. The code of piracy was above all for them.
The romanticization of piracy has been influenced by a huge amount of literature. They began to write about the «noble» robbers at the beginning of the 18th — 19th centuries. Only one novel, Treasure Island, gave us such heroes as Captain Flint, John Silver, blind Pugh, Billy Bones. These and many other images gave us a wonderful childhood and a peculiar idea of brave, honest and noble pirates. But we should not forget that this is just the author’s fiction, because in fact these people were ruthless sailors who, for the sake of great profit, were ready to kill, rob, torture and even betray. There were no one-legged, one-eyed cripples on the ship and could not be, because such people were only a burden for the entire team. Most likely, these were simply landed in the first harbor that came across, and what happened to them next can only be assumed.
Piracy disappeared as quickly as it appeared.
