Pirates. Since the beginning of human history, or at least since humans invented boats, Pirates have terrorized the seven seas. As far back as the ancient Sea People of the Mediterranean (SUPER interesting people I would absolutely recommend reading about them) to the Pirates off the coast of modern-day Somalia, these sea raiders have had a bigger impact on history than they are often given credit. No greater example of this comes to mind quite like the Golden Age of Piracy in the Caribbean Sea. To many people, I’m sure the fact that there even is a ‘golden age’ of Piracy comes as a surprise. It’s one of those subjects that’s usually summarized in the footnotes of whatever overpriced textbook your school made you buy, that is at least in the American education system, not sure how they do it abroad. My hope with this topic is to change that.
Now there are really three main ‘chapters’ of the Golden Age of Piracy: The Buccaneering Period (1650 – 1680), The Pirate Round (1690 – 1700), and the Post-Spanish War of Succession (1715 – 1726). Each of them is filled with unique and fascinating Pirates that pulled of incredible heists and devastating raids. One constant that you will find however is that most of the Piracy in the Caribbean was caused by European conflicts primarily that between England and Spain, it really is difficult to pinpoint a time when these two powers weren’t at each other’s throats. Before I jump into each of the three chapters there are a couple of terms I would like to share with you:
- Letter of Marque – a piece of paper from a government basically saying that you can attack the ships of another nation at war with the issuing government.
- Pirate – a captain / crew who attacks ships indiscriminately without the approval of a government via a Letter of Marque.
- Privateer – a captain / crew who attacks the ships of a nation at war with the issuing government of their Letter of Marque.
- Corsair – a French Privateer.
The Buccaneering Period
The Buccaneering period is where Piracy in the Caribbean really starts to pick up. The term Buccaneer comes from the French settlers/hunters on the island of Hispaniola (modern day DR and Haiti) that hunted boar native to the island for food. They would turn to Piracy over time as the Spanish navy tried to run them off the island. Eventually the Buccaneers would move to Tortuga and even Port Royal after the English captured Jamaica in 1655. With the English government basically throwing around Letters of Marque during this time it became very common for the hunters to launch raids against the Spanish mainland colonies, returning to flush the economy with their newly seized spoils. Famous Buccaneers from this time period include Captain Henry Morgan (yes like the rum), Pierre Le Grand, and François l’Olonnais.
The Pirate Round
The Pirate Round is where we really start to see more piracy rather than privateering. While most sailors during the Buccaneering period possessed Letters of Marque, that was no longer the case during the 1690s. The Pirate Round is the route that sailors from the West Indies (Caribbean) would sail to attack/raid ships and settlements in the Indian Ocean along the coast of Africa. Raids were typically launched from Madagascar and targeted Indian / English holdings. Though it was mostly popular in the 1690s there was some resurgence from 1719 to 1721 where pirates targeted the ships of the Portuguese and Mughal Empires. The most famous pirate from this time was Henry Every, otherwise known as Jack Avery.
Post-Spanish War of Succession
The period following the Spanish War of Succession is really where things start to get interesting for piracy in the Caribbean. Following what some would consider to be the first ‘world war’ in the Spanish War of Succession, the governments of England and Spain found that they no longer needed Privateers on their payroll, and many Privateers soon found themselves unemployed. As a result, many would turn to Piracy as it was a convenient career shift with the transatlantic slave trade hitting its peak. This era of piracy is home to the names of the most famous pirates of all time. Names like Charles Vane, “Black Sam” Bellamy, Benjamin Hornigold, and of course the infamous Blackbeard.
These pirates operated out of the port of Nassau in the Bahamas, which was the ‘capital’ – if you could call it that – Republic of Pirates from 1706 to 1718. Known as the “Flying Gang” they would sail out and raid the trade routes of the Caribbean and return to the port to spend their spoils.
The End of the Pirate Republic and a Golden Age
The end of piracy in the Caribbean really begins with the arrival of English Captain Woodes Rogers to the port of Nassau in July of 1718. Rogers had been appointed the Governor of the Bahamas and was there to put an end to piracy by enforcing the King’s Pardon. This was essentially a pardon granted by George I of England to all pirates in the Caribbean from September 5th, 1717 to September 5th, 1718, forgiving them of their crimes if they were to return to civilian life. All those who did not accept the pardon during this window were to be hunted by Rogers and other Privateers. The pardon would go on to split the pirates living in the Republic and turned many crews against one another. The infighting allowed for Rogers to take control of the port and to solve the ‘pirate problem’ without having to lay siege and destroy the port of Nassau.
Piracy would continue until the 1730s in the Caribbean but on a much smaller scale. Most pirates who did not accept the King’s Pardon were eventually hunted down either by the Royal Navy or their former colleagues turned Privateers. Without the power base of Nassau the Pirates of a Golden Age were eventually hunted to extinction.