History of Pirates

Leaflet about pirates

Pirates have always had a great place in children’s imagination. If they really existed, many myths still exist about them. Join us to discover the Golden Age of Piracy !

The history of pirates in the Caribbean

Piracy is very old : it exists since navigation exists ! But, it was between the 17th and 18th centuries that the phenomenon entered the legend. The context is indeed particularly favorable. Since the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 and throughout the 16th and 17th centuries, Spain had the monopoly of trade in Central America, a territory full of wealth : cocoa, sugar, indigo, gold, coffee, etc. Rivalries developed between the different European powers that also coveted these territories and wanted to profit from it.

Thus, many governments hired privateers, who were lawful pirates, to attack and plunder Spanish or enemy ships. Privateers had to give a part of their booty to their government. Spanish ships were also targeted by Buccaneers, former sailors living on the island of Hispaniola. Buccaneers limited their attacks to Spanish ships and towns in the Caribbean. While most pirates attacked everyone and returned to Europe after their incursion, Buccaneers preferred to stay and live in the Caribbean. Both Privateers and Buccaneers played an important role during the Queen Anne's War (1702-1713) in which France, England and Holland fought against Spain's monopoly in the Caribbean. Indeed, it was cheaper for these governments to rely on privateers than to send warships. In 1913, after 9 years of conflict in the Caribbean, peace was signed. As a result, European nations demobilized their navies and stopped providing "letters of marque" that authorized privateers to plunder enemy ships. Many former privateers became pirates. This was the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy".

Piracy thrived in safe places where crews could rest, repair their vessels, stock up on water, fish, turtles, shells and prepare for new expeditions. This is why the Caribbean, dotted with hidden coves and uninhabited islands and keys, became a favorite place and a natural protection : it was difficult to be pursued by enemy warships. Larger pirate hideouts were soon established in ports such as the island of Tortuga, off the coast of Hispaniola. Later, Tortuga was replaced by Port Royal, the main port of Jamaica. The main center of the golden age of piracy was Nassau. A powerful pirate republic developed there. In 1717, more than 2000 pirates were present in the Caribbean.

Myths and Reality about pirates (may/might, “although”)

If I tell you treasure, rum bottles, parrots and wooden legs, you immediately think of pirates. Yet many of these clichés are false. Popular culture has given us a specific image of pirates that is far from reality. It's time to sort out the truth from the lies !

First, you probably think that pirates were exclusively men. Well, you're wrong. Even though men were still in the majority, some pirates were women. We can mention Anne Bonny, of whom we will talk about later.

Then, you may have thought that pirates buried their treasure on a desert island. In reality, they didn't hide or bury it, and spent their earnings without waiting. Pirates were happy to seize all sorts of riches. But it wasn't always gold they were after. Tobacco, sugar and cocoa were highly prized.

Then, you might not have asked yourself why pirates wore eye patches. These accessories allowed them to keep their eyes adjusted to the darkness as they frequently moved between the ship's deck and the below deck.

Prosthetics are another common trait attributed to pirates. Some of them certainly had a wooden leg or a hook for a hand, but this was not the norm. Most of the time, being amputated was synonymous with certain death.

You could have in mind the image of the parrots clinging to the shoulder of the pirates and serving them as pets. Although the pirate ships carried parrots, they were not pets but goods that would be sold in the markets.

Finally, you are unlikely to think that pirates were racist. Despite the presence of some black pirates in the crew, most of them were racist like many people in the 18th century. They stole slaves from Spanish or Portuguese ships to sell them to Jamaican planters and thus participated in the slave trade.

...