Golden Age of Piracy

A painting depicting the era.

With the end of the seventeenth century approaching, the Caribbean, Indian Ocean, and the West Coast of Africa witnessed one of the greatest outbreaks of seafaring chicanery the world has ever seen. This era has been dubbed the Golden Age of Piracy, and began in 1715 and ended (roughly) around 1730.^[1] Due to the peace spreading across Europe, many Privateers found themselves unemployed. With the lack of a strong central colonial government, and a great number of valuables being shipped across the Atlantic, the American coast became the ideal area for pirates to prowl.

Preliminaries

'Buccaneers'

The original buccaneers were largely French, Dutch, and English mariners. To escape the harsh laws of their native countries, they made a home in Caribbean islands such as Haiti. They subsisted on poaching or hunting, and would use a process of preserving meat using frames called boucans. However, continued colonization by the European powers drove many back to the sea, united by anger at the Spanish or French.

Around 1650, this new breed of pirate began to terrorize both shipping and coastal towns in the West Indies.

End of Queen Anne's War

In 1713, a series of peace treaties were signed, known as the Treaty of Utrecht, which precipitated the conclusion of the War of the Spanish Succession ('Queen Anne's War'). With the end of this conflict, thousands of seamen were relieved of military duty. Britain's paramilitary privateers, skilled in sabotaging or plundering commercial shipping, also became redundant.

Britain had now gained the assiento^[2], the right to export slaves to the Spanish colonies. It was this trade that would fuel the Golden Age. Shipping to the colonies boomed, although the opening of the slave trade still left a lot of slack in the maritime labour market. This gave the employers the ability to drive wages down, cutting corners to maximize their profits.

Those crewing slave ships suffered from mortality rates up to 30%^{[citation needed]}. Living conditions were so poor that many sailors began to prefer a freer existence as a pirate.

Triangular Trade

The triangular trade reached its peak in the 18th century, and was the source of most the plundering. Trade ships sailed from Europe to the African coast, purchasing slaves. The traders would then sail to the Caribbean to sell the slaves, and return to Europe with agricultural goods such as sugar and cocoa. Sugar, rum, and slaves made up the majority of the trade goods.

The large volume of the triangular trade provided a huge number of trade ships for pirates to plunder and capture.

Pirates of the Era

Many of the most famous pirates in historical lore, originate from the Golden Age of Piracy.

Stede Bonnet, a wealthy Barbados land owner, turned pirate solely in search of adventure. Bonnet captained a 10-gun sloop, which is famously named the Revenge. Primarily raiding ships off the Virginia coast in 1717, he was eventually caught and hanged for piracy in 1718.

Edward Teach, more commonly known as Blackbeard, ruled the seas with an iron fist from 1716 to 1718. Blackbeard's most famous ship was titled the Queen Anne's Revenge, in response to the end of Queen Anne's War. In 1718 Blackbeard was killed by Lieutenant Robert Maynard.

Bartholomew Roberts, sometimes called 'Black Bart', one of the most successful and colourful pirates of the 'Golden Age'. He was killed off the coast of Africa in 1722.

Female Pirates

Though many of the most famous pirates of the Golden Age were men, women, too, entered into this profession. In some cases, the women disguised themselves as men. The two best-known female pirates were Calico Jack Rackham's cohorts, Anne Bonney (also sometimes spelled Bonny) and Mary Read, two of the fiercest pirates on his ship.

Bonney grew up fierce, and, unable to leave an earlier marriage, eloped with Rackham, with whom she was in love. Mary Read had been dressed as a boy all her life by her mother, and had spent time in the British military. She came to the West Indies (Caribbean) after the death of her husband, and fell in with Calico Jack and Anne Bonney.

After their capture, both women escaped death sentences (the punishment for piracy) by claiming to be pregnant. However, Read died of a fever in jail. Bonney disappeared. These two women exemplified the wide range of people who were involved in piracy during its Golden Age.

Footnotes

^ The time period the Golden Age of Piracy occurs is a highly debated subject, Alexander Winston claims it began in 1665, while Marcus Rediker proposes the year 1716.
^ A thirty-year asiento, or contract, to supply slaves to the Spanish colonies, providing British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the traditionally closed Spanish markets in America.

External links

[1] The time period the Golden Age of Piracy occurs is a highly debated subject, Alexander Winston claims it began in 1665, while Marcus Rediker proposes the year 1716.

[2] A thirty-year asiento, or contract, to supply slaves to the Spanish colonies, providing British traders and smugglers potential inroads into the traditionally closed Spanish markets in America.

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