Privateers, Buccaneers And Pirates

Privateers, Buccaneers and Pirates

Privateers  During war, countries gave permission called “Letters of Marque” to owners of private vessels to wage war against enemy ships .  The first group of Privateers were the French, and were called “Corsaires” They regularly attacked Spanish Ships in the Florida Channel and boldly attacked settlements in Cuba, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico.  Privateers were allowed to keep most, and sometimes all, of the captured ships and the valuables on them.

 England joined France as she too was still very jealous of the wealth and power Spain had assumed through her expanding empire. England relied heavily on privateering in her attempt to break Spain’s stronghold, encouraging Privateers to attack Spain’s ships.

Buccaneers  In addition to Privateers roaming the seas of the Caribbean, Buccaneers also sailed throughout the islands.  The original “boucaniers” were based on northern Hispaniola. They were considered wild men from France, Holland and England, who hunted wild cattle and dried the meat over open fires called “boucans.” They sold this meat, along with hides to passing ships.  Sir Henry Morgan was probably the best known of all the buccaneers. He was born in Wales and travelled as a sailor to Jamaica. He began to mix with the buccaneers and eventually moved up the ranks, assuming the position of Commander. He had a crew of seven hundred, many of whom came from The Bahamas. Morgan is well known for his expedition to Panama in 1670 where he destroyed the city and left with a large booty including 433,000 pounds of silver! Following a mutiny from his crew, Morgan turned to living honestly, and eventually became Governor of Jamaica.

 As time went on, the decline of the wild herds, overcrowding, and the opposition of the Spaniards led the buccaneers to live less of hunting and more off the riches from Spanish ships they robbed in retaliation for Spain’s opposition to them. Eventually they moved to Tortuga, off the coast of Hispaniola.  Meantime, the Privateers who had originally been given permission to attack ships through Letters of Marque, found that there were fewer enemy ships sailing the Caribbean, so they took matters into their own hands and attacked any ship without permission. This action made them pirates.

Pirates in The Bahamas

 “As surely as spiders abound where there are nooks and crannies, so have pirates sprung up whenever there is a nest of islands offering creeks and shallows, headlands rocks and reefs – facilities, in short, for lurking, for surprise, for attack, for escape.”

Craton, A History of The Bahamas

 Pirate communities were almost exclusively male (though we do have the reports of the activities of Ann Bonney and Mary Read) with pirates being on average between 25 and 30 years of age. Pirates were, for the most part, volunteers who were recruited from the lower ranks of sailors on merchant and naval ships. Most of these men were badly treated and were rejected by society, so a life of piracy, with its promise of instant wealth, was very attractive. It is believed that some 1400 pirates roamed the seas of The Bahamas during the height of piracy.

 Pirates operated under strict codes of honour and did not tolerate too much drunkenness, sex, gambling, and fighting on board the ships. These were essentially on shore activities. Pirate captains were elected and ruled by consensus. They did not enjoy very many extra privileges over the other pirates. Allocation of the shares of booty was equal and was far more fair than that on naval ships.

Some well known pirates  Edward Teach  He was born in Bristol, England  Known as Black beard who plaited his beard and tied it up with red ribbons. Also, as a scare tactic, had burning cords under his hat.  His ship was known as “Queen Anne’s Revenge” which he had captured from the French  He died in a battle on 21st November, 1718

 Black Beard’s ship the Queen Anne’s Revenge

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 Stede Bonnet Was an army officer and never commanded a ship Lived in Barbados on his plantation Obtained a ship, the “Revenge” and fitted it with guns and men, telling everyone that he was going to trade legitimately and simply had the guns for protection. Left home and never went back. He plundered the Caribbean coasts as far as Virginia. He later became known as Captain Thomas. He accepted a pardon but this was short-lived. He returned to a life of piracy on a new ship, “The Royal James.” He was captured in South Carolina and hanged in November, 1718 Other pirates who frequented The Bahamas were Benjamin Hornigold, John Augur and Charles Vane

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 Anne Bonney Was born in Ireland and moved to America when her father took over a plantation in Carolina Disowned by her father because she secretly married a young sailor Husband left when he found out she was penniless. Anne joined up with John Rackham “Calico Jack” and became a pirate Eventually was caught and sentenced to hang but was spared because she was pregnant.

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 Mary Read Lived most of her life as a boy Was born in London and worked as a foot soldier at age of 13 Later ran away and stole on board a man-o-war ship. Eventually she would join Calico Jack and become a pirate on his ship. She, along with Calico Jack and Anne Bonney terrorized the Caribbean Eventually she was taken prisoner along with Calico Jack and sentenced to hang. She died of fever while in prison before the sentence could be carried out Some historians believe she was a fictitious character.

Effect of Piracy on The Bahamas  Prosperity was short lived – “easy come easy go” Poverty was always just around the corner  Rise in crime, violence and moral decay  Lack of stable economy  Political instability  No level of security and stability  No law and order