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Pirates

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Bloody Pirates

Stephensonia

I guess we're lucky no reviewers thought of calling Kinakuta Treasure Island. It's odd that Half-cocked Jack's admission of being a failed buccaneer doesn't get more of a reaction from plucky Eliza. Daniel Waterhouse may have seen pirates marched past the Tower of London from Marshalsea Prison to Execution Dock. Former Navy Boffin Daniel identifies Blackbeard as a former Royal Navy officer which Dappa confirms.

Authored entries

Pirates in the Atlantic

A pirate is a robber attacking from a ship or boat. Pirates usually attack other vessels, usually with the intention of looting their cargo, but may also attack targets on shore. They were termed buccaneers if they operated in the West Indies. Kidd-Bucc-MW.jpg
Two Romantic Images of Pirates: Captain Kidd and a Colorful Buccanner
Illustrated by Howard Pyle

Pirates of the Carribean

The era of 'classic' piracy in the Caribbean extends from around 1560 up until the 1720s. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1640s until the 1680s.

Piracy in the Caribbean came out of the interplay of larger national forces. The Caribbean was a centre of European trade and colonization from the late 15th Century. In the Treaty of Tordesillas the non-European world was divided between the Spanish and the Portuguese along a north-south line 270 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. This gave Spain control of the Americas, a position they reinforced with a papal bull. The land around the Caribbean was called the Spanish Main, the key early settlements were Cartagena, Panama, Santiago, and Santo Domingo. Economically, the Spanish were mining staggering amounts of silver bullion from New Spain and Peru. Other trade was largely hides -- the Spanish preferred herds to plantations. The huge silver shipments attracted pirates and privateers both in the Caribbean and across the Atlantic, all the way to Seville. To combat this, from the 1560s the Spanish adopted a convoy system - a flota (fleet) would sail annually from Seville, carrying passengers, troops, and European goods to the colonies of the new world. This cargo was effectively make-weight as the purpose was to transport a year's worth of silver and specie to Europe, that bullion arriving in a major port on the Silver Train. This made the returning fleet a tempting target. Although, pirates were more likely to shadow the fleet to attack stragglers than try and seize the main vessels. The classic route in the Caribbean was through the Lesser Antilles to the ports along the Spanish Main, then northwards into the Yucatan Channel to catch the westerlies back to Europe.

The Netherlands and England were defiantly anti-Spanish for much of the time from the 1560s, while the French government was seeking to expand its colonial holdings (the French had the first non-Spanish hold in the Caribbean at St. Augustine, although it was short-lived). Aided by their governments English, French and Dutch traders and colonists ignored the treaty to 'invade' Spanish territory - "No peace beyond the line". The Spanish could not afford a sufficient military presence to control the area or enforce their trading laws. This led to constant smuggling and colonization in peacetime and if a war was declare there was widespread piracy and privateering throughout the Caribbean.

The Spanish Caribbean empire was in decline from the 1600s. The silver had been a double-edged sword, its arrival in Europe providing only a temporary and self-destructive boost to Spain. While in The Caribbean the arrival of European diseases had more than decimated the local populations - the native population of New Spain had fallen by 96% between 1500 and 1600. The Spanish presence in the Caribbean was based on a 'masters and slaves' model, so while their expansion suffered along with the decline in peons the newly 'empty' lands were attractive to the more dynamic European nations like the Dutch United Provinces and England. Also the restrictive Spanish trading regulations came to be more openly flouted, Trinidad became a significant port for all nations.

In the 1620s and following the outbreak of the Thirty Years' War in 1618 the Spanish presence in the Caribbean began to decline at a faster rate, becoming more dependent on African slave labour and with a reduced military presence. While other nations began to become more established - Barbados, the first truly successful English colony was established as was a colony on Providence Island, which soon became a haven for pirates.

The end of widespread conflict in Europe left most of the nations in a dreadful state, especially Spain which had bankrupted the state. This was reflected in the Caribbean with both a constant influx of European refugees and the shrinking of Spanish power. While the major cities of the region were still Spanish the peripheries were being over-run by other nations more aggressive expansion. The English had expanded beyond Barbados, with successful colonies on St. Kitts and Nevis, Antigua, Montserrat, and Bermuda. The French were well established on Guadeloupe, Hispaniola and Martinique and they nominally held Tortuga, a noted pirate base from the 1640s. The Dutch had remained an almost baseless trading presence in the area but following the Spanish decline they became established at Curacao and St. Eustatius.

The Caribbean continued to reflect European policy shifts. As England, France and Holland became stronger they moved from fighting the Spanish over religion to fighting each other over economics. The English began economic sanctions against the Dutch in the 1650s and the two nations were at war three times in the next two decades. Louis XIV was pursuing a aggressive expansionist policy in France. In the 1660s the Spanish Empire had a brief revival with boosted silver output. Basically everyone was fighting all the other nations present in the Caribbean on-and-off. These vagaries were apparent in the Caribbean - St. Eustatius changes hands ten times between 1664 and 1674 and many other settlements were damaged by repeated conquest and reconquest. While the warring European nations provided almost no military support for the colonies, a bonanza for privateers and pirates. Port Royale in Jamaica joined the piracy bases, following the islands capture by the English in 1655.

While European warfare continued towards the end of the 17th century affairs in the Caribbean became more settled. The colonies were more important and the adverse economic effects of piracy were more apparent. The English were becoming a much more significant presence and stationed a naval squadron at Port Royale from the 1680s. Privateering was becoming rarer and naval pirate-hunting more common, although the Spanish established a Costa Guarda of privateers.

Privateers

In the Caribbean the use of privateers was especially popular. The cost of maintaining a fleet to defend the colonies was beyond national governments of the 16th and 17th Centuries. Private vessels would be commissioned into a 'navy' with a Letter of marque, paid with a substantial share of whatever they could capture from enemy ships and settlements, the rest going to the crown. These ships would operate independently or as a fleet and if successful the rewards could be great - when Francis Drake's captured the Spanish Silver Train at Nombre de Dios (Panama's Caribbean port at the time) in 1573 his crews were rich for life. This substantial profit made privateering something of a business, wealthy businessmen or nobles would be quite willing to finance this legitimized piracy in return for a share. The sale of captured goods was a boost to colonial economies as well.

Buccaneers

Specific to the Caribbean were pirates termed buccaneers. Roughly speaking they arrived in the 1630s and remained until the effective end of piracy in the 1730s. The original buccaneers were escapees from the colonies, forced to survive with little support they had to be skilled at boat construction and sailing and hunting. The word "buccaneer" is actually from the French boucaner, meaning smoked meat, from the hunters of wild oxen curing meat over an open fire. They transferred the skills which kept them alive into piracy. They operated with the partial support of the non-Spanish colonies and until the 1700s their activities were legal, or partially legal and there were irregular amnesties from all nations.

Traditionally buccaneers had a number of peculiarities. They were a democracy - the captain was elected by the crew and they could vote to replace him, the captain had to be a leader and a fighter - in combat he was expected to be fighting with his men not directing operations from a distance. Spoils were evenly divided into shares, while the officers had a greater number of shares it was because they took greater risks or had special skills. Often the crews would sail without wages, "on account" - the spoils would be built up over a course of months before being divided. There was a strong corps spirit among pirates. This allowed them to win sea battles: They typically outmanned trade vessels by big ratio. There was for some time a social insurance system, guaranteeing money or gold for battle wounds at a worked out scale. One undemocratic aspect is the fact that sometimes the pirates would force specialists like carpenters to sail with them for some time, though they were released when not needed any longer, had they not volunteered by that time. Note also, that a typical poor man did not have much of a fun carreer opportunity at the time other than joining the pirates, and it may be difficult to refute the notion that pirates just stole from thieves. They were egalitarian and liberated slaves when taking over slave ships. Their island communities however did not sustain this model of society in the long run.

In combat they were considered ferocious and were reputed to be experts with flintlock weapons (invented in 1615), but these were so unreliable that they were not in widespread military use before the 1670s.

The end of the classic age of Piracy

The decline of piracy in the Caribbean mirrored the decline of mercenaries and the rise of national armies in Europe. Following the end of the Thirty Years War nation power expanded - armies were codified and brought under Royal control and privateering was largely ended, the navies were expanded and their mission was stretched to cover combating piracy. The elimination of piracy from European waters expanded to the Caribbean in the 1700s, West Africa and North America by the 1710s and by the 1720s even the Indian Ocean was a tough place to pirate in. The famous pirates of the early 18th century were a completely illegal remnant of a more buccaneering age, they could expect no more than eventual capture while Henry Morgan got a knighthood and became governor of Jamaica.

A factor that pushed many patriot privateers into outlaw piracy was the peace treaties between England, France and Spain that came in 1697. Although low-grade hostilities never stopped, it would be another 40 years before war was declared again against Spain. Without official war, there was a surplus in mariner labor, since the Royal Navy was no longer needed to fill its ranks. Wages for sailors dropped in times of peace and many mariners had become accustomed to the financial gains that could come from plunder. These factors lead many to a career in piracy.

The Jolly Roger

The Jolly Roger is the traditional flag of European and American pirates, envisioned today as a skull over crossed bones, on a black field. However, there were many variations and additional emblems on actual Jolly Rogers. Calico Jack Rackham and Thomas Tew used variations with swords. Edward Teach (a.k.a. Blackbeard) used a skeleton holding an hourglass in one hand and a spear or dart in the other while standing beside a bleeding heart. Bartholomew Roberts (a.k.a. Black Bart) had two variations: a man and a skeleton, who held a spear or dart in one hand, holding either an hourglass or a cup while toasting death or an armed man standing on two skulls over the letters ABH and AMH (a warning to residents of Barbados and Martinique that death awaited them). Dancing skeletons signified that the pirates cared little for their fate. Jolly-roger.png
The Jolly Roger

William Kidd

Captain Kidd was born as William Kidd (1645 -May 23, 1701 ), was born in Greenock, Scotland . He later immigrated to America settling in New York. There he married Sarah Bradley Cox Oort. They had two daughters: Elizabeth and Sarah Kidd. The marriage brought to Kidd a considerable amount of property and before becoming a pirate he lived as a respectable merchant.

During a trading trip to England, Kidd was offered a privateer's commission for the purpose of attacking pirates. Four-fifths of the cost for the venture was paid for by noble lords, who were amongst the most powerful men in the kingdom; the Earl of Oxford, The Earl of Romney, the Duke of Shrewsbury and Sir John Somers. Kidd and an acquaintance, Colonel Robert Livingston paid for the rest. Kidd had to sell his ship the Antigua to raise funds.

The new ship, the Adventure Galley , was well suited to the task of catching pirates; it was equipped with 36 cannons and 70 men. However Kidd’s enterprise was not a success. He became desperate to cover the costs of his enterprise and under pressure from his men he started taking any vessels which were not English. Legally he was only allowed to take French and pirate vessels. As the voyage progressed Kidd’s actions became increasingly more like those of a pirate than an agent of the King.

On October 30, 1697 a dispute broke out with one William Moore. In a subsequent fight Kidd threw an ironbound bucket at Moore which killed him.

On January 30, 1698 he took an English ship called the Quedah Merchant. While approaching the Ship he raised French colours. The merchant ship on seeing his French colours pretended to be French. Kidd took his prize and only later realised that he had in fact captured an English ship. Kidd tried to persuade his crew to return the ship to its owners but they refused.

On April 1, 1698 Kidd reached Madagascar. Here Kidd found the first pirate of his voyage, Robert Culliford and his crew sailing the Mocha Frigate . Kidd ordered his men to capture the Mocha Frigate. Instead his men mutinied and joined the pirates of the Mocha Frigate . Only 13 of Kidd’s men remained loyal to him.

Kidd decided to return home, he left the Adventure Galley behind ordering her to be burnt and returned home in the captured Quedah Merchant . When Kidd returned to New York City, he was arrested and placed in Stone Prison. He was later sent to England to stand trial for piracy and the murder of William Moore. Whilst awaiting trial he was imprisoned in the infamous Newgate Prison (somehow not ending up in Marshalsea Prison). He was found guilty on all charges and was hanged on May 23, 1701 in London. His body was left to hang in an iron cage over the river Thames, London, as a warning to future pirates. Kidd's Whig backers were embarrassed by his trial.

Mythology and legend

The belief that Kidd left a buried treasure somewhere contributed considerably to the growth of his legend. This belief made its contribution to literature in Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug and Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It also gave impetus to the never-ending treasure hunts on Oak Island in Nova Scotia .

Teach AKA Blackbeard

Daniel's pursuer Blackbeard (1680? - November 22, 1718) was the nickname of Edward Teach alias Edward Thatch, a notorious English pirate who had a short reign of terror in the Caribbean Sea between 1716 and 1718.

Little is known about his early life, though it is believed he was born in Bristol, England in 1680. His career began as a seaman on privateers sailing out of Jamaica during the War of the Spanish Succession ( 1701-1713), and later served aboard a Jamaican ship commanded by the pirate, Benjamin Hornigold. He was eventually made a captain while serving under Hornigold when they captured the French merchant ship the "Concorde" which he renamed the "Queen Anne's Revenge."

Other forms of his last name were commonly cited in letters of the day - "Thatch," "Tach," "Tash," and even "Drummond" to list a few. It is believed that he was a well educated man since he could read and write and papers were found on him after his death. It is reasonable to believe that he wished to keep his true identity secret to protect his relatives at home, so "Edward Teach" may have been just an alias. Personally Teach was said to be a somewhat amiable man, who was almost forgiving and genorous to those that cooperated with him, but at the same time he did not waste time with those who fought him or did not cooperate with him.

There is a story of a man that refused to give Blackbeard his jewelry so rather than fighting with him, Blackbeard simply cut the man's hand off. Unlike some other pirates, Teach was not known to be a very barbaric and demented pirate who tortured victims for fun, but instead he usually just went after valuables. His demonic image he created actually added to the stories of his wickedness.

Teach was also apparently a ladies man, as it is said that he had around 14 wives. He treated women kindly and fell in love easily and treated each like his first love. Only his last marriage to a 16 year old young lady (thought to be Mary Ormond) is believed to be legitimate since he was properly married, but this happened during his last year of his life. His previous marriages were conducted on board his ship and were almost a common-place ritual to the crew. One wife, he left on one of New Hampshire's Isles of Shoals, where he also is rumored to have buried one of his treasures, although to this day only a few silver bars have been recovered.

He was nicknamed Blackbeard because of his massive beard, and in 1716–1718 he acquired a fearsome reputation for cruelty after repeatedly preying on shipping and coastal settlements of the West Indies and the Atlantic coast of North America.

Blackbeard kept headquarters in both the Bahamas and the Carolinas. The governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden, received booty from Blackbeard in return for unofficial protection and gave him an official pardon.

Despite this Blackbeard went back to piracy after a few weeks. As his violent raids increased, the governor of North Carolina lost patience and sent troops to hunt him down. Blackbeard was later cornered and then shot and stabbed more than 25 times by a British boarding party off the coast of Virginia.

Legend has romanticized Blackbeard, and he has been the subject of book, movies, and documentaries. His ship was discovered near Beaufort, North Carolina in 1996, and is now part of a major tourist attraction.

Dread Pirate Roberts

Bartholomew Roberts, also known as Black Bart, was easily one of the most successful and deadly pirates in all of history. He went to sea at a young age and quickly assumed the position of Third Mate. After his ship was taken by pirates, and he was made to join their ranks, Roberts proved himself and was elected captain in 1719. He later stated that "It is better to be a commander than a common man, since I have dipped my hands in muddy water and must be a pirate." Most figure that he was the inspiration for William Goldman's The Princess Bride's Dread Pirate Roberts. Roberts_ImprovementMW.jpg
Bartholomew Roberts AKA Black Bart Set on Improving His Crew

Two years after Roberts was made captain he had accumulated over 51 million pounds worth of treasure and had taken close to 400 ships throughout the Americas, Africa and Europe. His skill had nearly halted Spanish importing and exporting while having lasted this time traveling the Navy Plagued waters, the Caribbean. By this time he had renamed himself Bartholomew Roberts and acquired the nickname "Black Bart."

He decided to return across the Atlantic in order to sell his stolen goods. From there he then proceeded to pillage the African Coast where he took several slaves. This eventually led to a confrontation with the Royal Navy patrol in February of 1722. After catching Robertís consort, the Great Ranger, a British warship, the HMS Swallow, commanded by Captain Chaloner Ogle, caught up to the pirates off the coast of Cape Lopez (present day Gabon). In an attempt to escape, Roberts tried to flee, sailing before the wind to gain the advantage. Ogleís ship arrived at dawn and Roberts headed his sloop back towards the pursuer in hopes of sailing past then out to the open sea. As the ships passed each other, Ogle released cannon fire on the pirates. When the smoke cleared, Roberts was found dead. He had been killed instantly and his body lay slumped over a cannon. To prevent Roberts' corpse from being seized, his crew threw his body overboard into the sea. The rest of the crewís hopes were shot, so the pirates decided to flee. However, the topmast was damaged and they had to surrender after three hours of ineffective sailing.

The crew was taken prisoner and later tried for their crimes in what was the largest pirate trial and execution of that time. Close to 55 were hanged and 37 more were sentenced to be prisoners. The remaining few were acquitted. 70 other African pirates were sold into slavery. After this incident piracy almost completely died out.

Despite his brief career, Roberts created a reputation that can never be surpassed. Along with his success and bloodthirstiness, he was said to have been "an unusual character for this age, described as tall, good-looking, teetotal, and always well dressed. He possessed a ruthless skill in the piratical arts of intimidation and seamanship, and was highly regarded by his crew."

Calico Jack Rackham

Jack Rackham (aka Calico Jack) was a pirate captain during the 18th century. He earned his name from the colourful Calico clothes he wore. Rackham had been the quartermaster on an English warship called the Neptune under the command of Captain Vane. When Vane subsequently refused to engage a French vessel in battle, the crew were so disgusted that they mutinied and appointed Rackham as leader. Rackham immediately turned, engaged the French vessel and defeated it.

Following this victory and spurred on by the riches aboard the captured ship, Rackham suggested to the crew that they should turn to piracy. Perhaps in part due to the spectre of mutiny already hanging over their heads, the crew readily agreed.

Later Rackham decided to take an offer of the King’s Pardon and sailed to the shore of New Providence. During this time Rackham met and fell in love with a married woman called Anne Bonny. Rackham was infatuated by Anne and lavished much of his plunder on her. He then joined the crew of Captain Burgess, who was himself a former pirate turned privateer roaming the Caribbean in search of Spanish ships.

When the affair between Rackham and Anne Bonny became public, the Governor of New Providence threatened to have Anne whipped for her adultery. Rather than leave Anne behind to be flogged, the pair resolved to assemble a crew and steal a Sloop. Fearing that the crew would refuse to sail alongside a woman, Anne dressed up as a man and took the name Adam Bonny. She became a respected member of the crew and fought alongside her male counterparts in numerous successful engagements.

After several more successful voyages the governor of the Bahamas sent out a heavily armed ship to capture them. Rackham and a few his crew were forced to flee. They were subsequently captured by a Spanish ship but managed to escape sailing around Jamaica and taking possession of several fishing vessels and a Sloop. The governor resolved to capture Rackham and despatched the pirate-hunter Captain Barnet who pursued and captured them.

It is reputed that Rackham had earlier tried to strike a deal with the governor under which he would surrender himself if clemency was given to Anne and another female pirate called Mary Read. Whether or not this is true, the two women actually escaped the noose by claiming to be pregnant.

Rackham and his crew were finally brought to trail at St. Jago De La Vega in Jamaica on 16th November 1720. He and the remaining members of his crew were found guilty of piracy and hanged the next day.

John Clipperton

Clipperton originally sailed under Captain Cook on his voyage of discovery. It was on this voyage that Clipperton discovered Clipperton Island in 1705 in the eastern Pacific, 900 miles off the coast of Mexico. It is said that Cook named the island for him and granted it to him.

Clipperton later became a privateer, serving as mate under Captain Dampier and later became captain of the Success under a different privateering syndicate, in which he also held under his command Captain Shelvocke of the Speedwell. In his activities attacking Spanish targets on the west coast of the Americas, he used Clipperton Island as a base from which to stage his attacks and store loot and supplies, fortifying Clipperton Rock and expanding its cave network.

On the voyage around the Cape, he dallied in the islands there hoping that the Speedwell, which had been separated from the Success in a North Atlantic storm, would catch up. When the Success departed the area, Clipperton left two men marooned as punishment on the same island which John Selkirk (who was the basis of the Robinson Crusoe story) had been marooned on years before.

Clipperton's enterprise was to attack a Manila Galleon, however in this goal they failed, although they took many other prizes along the Americas as well as in the East Indies.