Pirates

How it all started• In it’s infancy, piracy started with groups of rugged

men on the island of Hispaniola who lived off the land by hunting ox and boar. They were called buccaneers, from the French "boucaner" (to smoke meat) on a "boucan" (wooden frame set over a fire.) By setting up smokey fires and boucans with prepared meat of cattle, they could get a ship to draw near for trading, at which time the buccaneers would then seize the ship. The buccaneers were later chased off the island by colonial powers and had to seek a “life at sea”.

Boucaniers

The Spanish Main• The Caribbean had become a center for trade and

colonization after Columbus’ discovery of the New World. During the sixteenth century, the Spanish were mining

staggering amounts of gold and silver bullion. The huge Spanish shipments of this treasure from the New World

back to Europe attracted many pirates.

The Spanish Main• To combat piracy, the Spanish adopted a convoy system.

They would hire soldiers, guns and more ships to help protect the treasure. These were called treasure fleets. Despite being the richest nation in the world at this time, Spain was could not afford sufficient military presence to

control such vast amounts of ocean.

The Growth of Trade

• With the decline in native populations, Europeans were forced to rely heavily on slave labor. The slave trade offered new sources for profit other than gold and silver.

• Plantations produced tobacco and sugar which could make men very rich.

The Golden Age of Piracy• During the late 1600’s and

early 1700’s, as trade grew, so did the colonies. Many becoming very prosperous.

• During this time, Europe was also in turmoil.

• There was war waging between many of the “power” countries.

• This led to parent countries neglecting their colonies and thus leaving them a prime target for pirates to pillage and plunder.

The End of an Era• As the turmoil in Europe came to an end around 1720,

parent countries could finally turn their attention back to the colonies in the New World.

• Large navies were amassed, especially that of the Royal Navy (England) to combat and prevent piracy.

• These navies were so large and widespread that it was nearly impossible for any pirate to pursue an effective career for very long.

• It is during this time period that the popular Pirates of the Caribbean is set.

A Pirate’s Life for MePirates became pirates for many reasons:• Treasure! It was the quickest way to make it to the good life

of wine, food, and luxury. It’s all about the booty!

• An easy way to get money to spend in the brothels and taverns. It’s all about the booty!

• Some forced into it after pirate attacks—carpenters, surgeons

• There were no jobs for sailors during times of peace

• The drink drove them to it– John Archer, before his hanging in 1724, admitted that “strong drink had

hardened him into committing crimes that were more bitter than death to him” (Cordingly 193).

– William White, before his execution on the same day, said that “drunkenness had been his ruin, and he had been drunk when he was enticed aboard a pirate ship” (Cordingly 193).

Captains of merchant and military vessels were cruel and pushed the crews too far!

Edward Hamlin (crime unknown, date unknown) suffered flogging plus being fettered for 8 days to

the deck of the ship

Richard Baker (1734) became ill on Europa and became too weak to work on deck. The

captain forced him to spend four hours at the helm, then a

whipping, and 90 minutes of being tied to the mizzen mast.

He died a few days later.

• “I could wish that Masters of vessels would not use their men with so much severity, as so many of them do, which exposes us to great temptations.” John Archer, 1724, before his execution.

• “It was such dogs as he that put men on pirating.” John Phillips, 1722, at the trial of the crew of Bartholomew Roberts, regarding former officers known to starve the men. (Info taken from Cordingly, Under the Black

Flag)

Types of Pirates:Types of Pirates:Pirate or Privateer?

Privateer:

Has a legal commission from a government to attack and seize cargo from enemy vessels or villages

Pirate:

Illegal criminals who attacked and plundered any vessel or coastal village

Buccaneer: – Boucanier: French term

for process of curing strips of meat over a barbeque

– Buccaneers were thugs, outlaws, and hunters of wild oxen and pig on Hispaniola

– Eventually left island after food shortages and being pushed out by authorities: took to the seas

– Term used for pirates in Caribbean region

Corsair:

– Pirates in the Mediterranean and European areas

Pirate Myths and Legends

Fact or Fiction?• Did pirates have parrots?

– Sure. Monkeys were popular, too!

• Did pirates have peg legs and hooks?– Yes, many lost limbs, but few had

hooks.

• Did pirates “grapple” and swing from boat to boat? – Not really, usually ships would

launch the long boats. But it happened.

– They usually didn’t swing from boat to boat; it doesn’t work.

– They didn’t slide down sails with knives.

Fact or Fiction?• Did pirate ships get close together and fire cannons

from just feet away? It’s in all the cool pirate movies?– Sometimes, but that was a really dumb maneuver.

• Were there any crazy pirates like the weird, little dude with grenades? – Some may have been little, many were crazy, but they did have

grenades!

Fact or Fiction?• Did pirates make people

walk the plank?– No, there’s only one recorded

instance of this, and historians are skeptical about it.

• A pirate’s favorite sword:– Cutlass: short but practical

(keeps out of ropes)– Daggers were handy,

broadswords popular– Rapiers: good for duels– Boarding axes and pikes popular

as well

I t ’ s a l l a b o u t t h e b o o t y …

Practical and common plunder:Food and water suppliesCloth for sails and marketsSpare parts and pieces for the ship (masts, ropes, lumber, etc.)Slaves (to be sold or used)

The treasure:• Reales or Pesos:

– Silver Spanish coins– The “eight reales”

coin became known as “pieces of eight”

• Escudos:– Gold Spanish coins– The “eight escudo”

coin became known as “doubloon”

• Ingot:– Gold or silver cast

into a bar

Treasure recovered by Barry Clifford from “Black Sam” Bellamy’s Whydah

Fact or Fiction?• Did they shoot silverware

out cannons?– Silverware, probably not.

Nails, chains, other bits of shrapnel, sure.

• Did they use a lot of guns?

– Yes, but guns were very unreliable. They became wet easily and wouldn’t work. Most pirates carried several pistols. There were marksmen as well.

Buried Treasure and X-Marks the Spot!Pirates rarely ever buried

their treasure.• Most squandered their

shares with drink and prostitutes.

• Some hoarded their shares to live the good life, but…

most wasted it on drink and women only to have to ship out again for more loot.

There are three recorded examples of buried treasure:

• Captain Stratton

• Sir Francis Drake

• And the most famous case of Captain Kidd

There’s no such thing as a treasure map!

The one who inspired stories of buried treasure…Captain William Kidd:• Not a pirate, at least he

would say he wasn’t!• Became a privateer

– Wealthy businessmen and politicians paid for the outfitting of 34 gun Adventure Galley

– Even King William III got in on the deal

– Had permission to attack French pirate ships

– Kidd decided to sail to the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean

• Kidd was later captured and tried for being pirate.

• To avoid the evidence of his plunder being used against him, he had his treasure buried.

• Even today, the treasure is a myth and has yet to be found.

• Found guilty on all charges– “My lord, it is a very hard

sentence. For my part, I am the innocentest person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons” (Cordingly 189).

– Hanged at Execution Block in London, then his corpse was hung in chains at Tilbury Point on the Thames

• Kidd’s treasure amounted to nearly £400,000 but only £40,000 were found

Captain Kidd…Captain Kidd…

P i r a t e P i r a t e F l a g sF l a g s• The background colors of pirate flags were either red or

black. Although black is most associated with pirate flags, the very first pirate flags were in fact red!

• The early pirates sailed under the red flags. The color red in pirate flags symbolized bloodshed. Red pirate flags also symbolized a warning.

• The French name for the red flag was the Jolie Rouge ( a cynical term translated as Pretty Red ).

• This later became more well known as the “Jolly Roger”.• Typical Jolly Roger’s are black flags with a white skull

and crossbones.

The Jolly RogerThe Jolly Roger

P i r a t e P i r a t e F l a g sF l a g s• Black = Quarter given (We’ll be “gentle”)

• Red = No quarter given (We’ll kill and possibly torture everyone on board)

Two flags flown by Henry Avrey’s

M o r e P i r a t e Fl a g sM o r e P i r a t e Fl a g s

One of Christopher Moody’s flags• Typical skull and cross bones flown by Edward England

Edward Low’s FlagTypical skull and cross bones flown by Edward England

M o r e P i r a t e M o r e P i r a t e F l a g sF l a g s

Calico Jack’s flag

Notice the resemblance between this flag and the flag from Pirates of the

Caribbean

Blackbeard’s flag:

Devil skeleton holding an hourglass while stabbing a heart

P i r a t i c a l P i r a t i c a l D e m o c r a c yD e m o c r a c y

??

Pirates were democratic:• They elected captains!• They could rescind their

choice!• The crew determined the

course of action:– Fight, retreat, go to

Madagascar, go to New England: zig-zagged.

• The captain made sure the ship went smoothly: courses, battle positions, strategy, argument disputes, money, etc.

Famous Pirates

Captain Morgan (1635-1688)• Yes, that Captain Morgan!!!• His real name was Henry Morgan.• Was not actually a pirate, he was an

English privateer.• Not much is known about his early life. It

is thought the he crewed aboard many ships before becoming a captain himself.

• Led many attacks on Spanish ships and colonies.

• He most famously led a large navy to attack and destroyed Panama City.

• He was even appointed governor of Jamaica!

Blackbeard (1680-1718)• One of the most famous pirates ever.

• Real name was Edward Teach.

• Infamous towards the end of the Golden Age of Piracy.

• Was very tall and had a thick, black, platted beard. He would also place lit wicks in his hair or in his hat that would smoke to give him a more menacing appearance.

• Had one of the largest pirate ships, the 300 ton Queen Anne’s Revenge. It had 44 guns!

• His fleet had many ships and over 300 pirates.

Blackbeard (1680-1718)• According to records, Blackbeard was a

very good captain and did not mistreat his crew.

• He was also not as ferocious as he is portrayed. He mostly played off his own legend and menacing appearance to get what he wanted.

• He most famously blockaded Charleston, SC and ransomed the port.

• Was sought after by Robert Maynard. Maynard caught up to Blackbeard and a battle ensued.

• Maynard killed Blackbeard, decapitated him and hung his head from the bow of his ship.

Women piratesWomen pirates• Anne Bonny:Anne Bonny:– Left her husband for pirate

John Rackham (“Calico Jack”)

– Had a child with him• Mary Read:Mary Read:

– Raised as a boy, fought in land armies and on ships

– Joined with Anne and Calico Jack after her ship was captured

• Both sailed and fought dressed as men

• When their ship was captured, the rest of the crew wanted to surrender, but Anne and Mary urged them to fight

• Both found guilty of piracy– Both escaped hanging because of

pregnancy– Mary Read died of fever in prison– Anne Bonny’s and her child’s fate

are unknown