by Jamaica Rose
1718: Blackbeard is killed in battle at Ocracoke Inlet, North Carolina.
1720: The famous female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read are captured.
1720–22: Bartholomew Roberts threatens the Guinea Coast and West Indies.
1750
1776–80: More than two thousand American privateers aid the American Revolution and harass British shipping.
1800
1804: In the First Barbary War, Stephen Decatur blows up the captured American ship Philadelphia so the Barbary corsairs could not use her.
1805: A handful of U.S. Marines capture Derna, Tripoli (part of modern-day Libya) from Barbary pirates. This event is honored by the line “To the shores of Tripoli” in the “U.S. Marines’ Hymn.”
1807: Chinese pirate chief Zheng Yi dies. His wife Ching Shih takes over as leader and becomes even more powerful. Soon she is leader of the largest fleet of pirate ships ever assembled.
1810: Ching Shih accepts an offer of amnesty from the Chinese government. She keeps her loot and opens a gambling house.
1815: Pirates Jean and Pierre Lafitte assist Andrew Jackson in the Battle of New Orleans.
1815: The Second Barbary War: Stephen Decatur “persuades” the Dey of Algiers to sign a peace treaty.
1818: Hippolyte de Bouchard attacks the coast of California.
1850
1832–1865: England establishes the Far Eastern Command of the British Navy to suppress piracy in the South China Sea and Southeast Asia.
1861–1865: During the American Civil War, the Confederacy commissions privateers to battle Union naval forces. The U.S. refuses to recognize the Confederate Navy ships and considers them pirates. Confederate blockade runners that smuggled goods into the South are also sometimes considered pirates.
1900
1920s–1930s: In China, civil war and widespread corruption creates an ideal breeding ground for pirates in the South China Sea. Pirates operate out of most of the ports and waterways in the region.
2009: Four Somalian pirates seize the Maersk Alabama and hold the captain hostage until rescued by U. S. Navy SEALs.
Pirates of the Caribbean
The dots on a map that represent the Caribbean Islands look like pearls strung on a necklace. They start along the Venezuelan coast, first heading east. The necklace curves north and then west. The islands get larger and larger as they head toward the tip of Florida, ending in the largest of them all, Cuba. All together, they are called the Caribbean Islands. They curl around the Caribbean Sea on the east and north. On the west is Central America. To the south are the countries of Colombia and Venezuela.
Together the four largest islands—Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola (which is now split into two countries: Haiti and the Dominican Republic), and Puerto Rico—are the “Greater Antilles.” So guess what the rest of the islands are called? You’ve got it—the “Lesser Antilles.” The Lesser Antilles were also called the Caribbee Islands, named for the Carib Indians who lived there (a fierce, cannibalistic tribe).
Where did the name “Antilles” come from? Antilia was a mysterious land shown floating out in the ocean on some old maps, long before Columbus made his voyages. After Columbus found the islands in the New World, they were named for this mythical land.
Together, the Caribbean Islands (Greater and Lesser Antilles) combined with the Bahamas (north of Cuba) are called the West Indies. This is because Columbus was confused. He was looking for a new way to Asia. When he arrived in the Bahamas, he thought he had come to the Spice Islands of the Indies (near Indonesia) from the other way around the world. Once people realized Columbus made a mistake, they called these new islands the West Indies, and the original Indies became known as the East Indies.
Sea Dogs Put the Bite on the Spanish
As soon as Europeans discovered the New World with Columbus’s voyage of 1492, a whole new “playground” opened up, and pirates were soon there.
Spain and Portugal divvied up the New World as their own territory and tried to keep all the other European nations out. They even got the Pope to declare this in the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494. The treaty gave most of the New World to Spain. Portugal got the area that is now Brazil. This is why Brazilians now speak Portuguese, while most other South and Central Americans speak Spanish.
Sure, We Stole It, but that Doesn’t Mean You Can Steal It from Us
Spanish treasure ships were bringing a vast wealth of silver, gold, and jewels back to Spain. This wealth was stolen plunder from the Aztecs in Mexico, the Incas in Peru, and other natives in the New World. The natives did not use gold and silver as money, but made beautiful jewelry and artwork out of the precious metals. The Spanish did not care about the beauty of the artwork. They melted the gold and silver down into bars, bricks, and coins. In 1521, the first Spanish Treasure Fleet sailed to Spain. The Spanish had learned it was better if several ships sailed together for protection and safety. This was because the other European countries wanted a piece of the New World pie. They had sent their pirates and privateers to grab what they could of the New World’s treasures.
The French were the first to intercept the treasure galleons. In fact, it was in 1521 when French privateers captured two Spanish ships returning to Spain filled with treasure. Right away, the king of Spain sent a small fleet to rescue his ships. After a brief battle at sea, the French privateers got away but had to leave the Spanish treasure ships behind. They may have been unsuccessful, but they had seen the treasure with their own eyes, and word spread fast. Soon many other Frenchmen were trying to capture Spanish treasure ships.
A few years later, in 1523, the Frenchman Jean Fleury cruised the waters of the Atlantic Ocean between the Canary Islands and the Azores (off the west coast of northern Africa and Spain). He was hoping to head off a returning treasure ship just before it got back to Spain. Luck was with him! He captured two such ships loaded with fabulous wealth. The treasure included “gold and silver jewelry, pearls the size of filberts, jade figures, ceremonial costumes, feathered headdresses, mosaic masks, even three live jaguars.”
We Are Going to Trade, Whether You Like It or Not
The English privateers, called Sea Dogs, joined the French in the quest for New World treasure. John Hawkins made three voyages to Spanish America starting in 1562. He first stopped in West Africa to fill his ship with African slaves. He kidnapped about four hundred Africans and forced them aboard his ship. Then he sold them at a handsome profit to Spanish plantation owners in Hispaniola, trading them for pearls, ginger, sugar, and hides. The plantation owners were eager to buy, even though Spanish laws had forbidden trading with non-Spanish traders.
After his first success, everyone wanted to invest in Hawkins’ second voyage—even Queen Elizabeth I. Stopping again in West Africa, he filled his ship with another four hundred slaves. This time, the Spanish ports in the New World were closed to him since people got in trouble for trading with Hawkins the first time. However, with a little forceful arm-twisting, plus his charm, Hawkins was able to sell all his slaves again.
On his third trip to sell slaves, a storm forced him to take shelter in Veracruz. He captured the island fort of San Juan de Ulua to use as a base while he made repairs. The very next day, the Spanish Treasure Fleet showed up! He was trapped and outnumbered. The Spanish attacked. Only two of Hawkins’ ships escaped: his own and the one commanded by his cousin Francis Drake. Hawkins’ ship, the Minion, barely limped home to England. He only had fifteen men left when he arrived. Drake arrived home with few problems but vowed revenge on the Spanish for killing so many Englishmen.
A Pirate Queen and Her Dragon
Drake was a man of his word. He soon began a series of destructive raids on several Spanish colonies. He ignored the fact that Spain and England were officially at peace. All he cared about was his driving need for revenge and treasure. His attacks during peacetime meant he was no longer a privateer—he was a PIRATE.
Soon, the Spanish just called him “El Draque.” It was a play on his las
t name. It meant “the Dragon.” He lived up to this name. Years after his death, naughty Spanish children were threatened with a visit from “El Draque,” just as children now fear the bogeyman.
From 1577 to 1580, Drake sailed around the world in his famous ship, the Golden Hind. Along the way, he plundered Spanish colonies and captured a very wealthy Spanish galleon off the Pacific Coast of South America. When he returned to England with his plundered wealth, Queen Elizabeth granted him a private audience for over six hours to listen to all of his adventures. He gave her a large portion of the stolen riches, and she fondly called him “her pirate.” Soon after, in a ceremony aboard the Golden Hind, Drake was knighted. After this, Queen Elizabeth was called “The Pirate Queen.”
Name: Sir Francis Drake
Alias: El Draque (The Dragon)
Dates: 1540–1596
Country: England
Ship: Golden Hind
Flag: The flag of England
Best known for: Circumnavigating the earth in the Golden Hind, claiming the west coast of North America for England and naming it Nova Albion, and defeating the Spanish Armada.
This Means War!
Spain was furious and soon declared war on England. This eventually led to the attack of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Both Drake and Hawkins helped defend their country, along with many other Sea Dogs. Through a combination of bravery and cleverness on the part of the English, and bad luck and bad weather for the Spanish, the Armada was defeated. Hawkins was knighted for his actions during the invasion of the Spanish Armada.
English privateer John Oxenham, who accompanied Francis Drake on his sack of Panama.
For another fifteen years, Elizabeth’s Sea Dogs continued to raid Spanish colonies and ships. They also explored new territories and tried to set up new English colonies in the New World. (For more details on buccaneers, see Sea Dogs.)
Upon the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603, James I of Scotland became king. He disbanded much of the navy that Elizabeth had built up. Many of the privateers and sailors were put out of work and had little hope of getting jobs on shore since they had few other skills. Starving, several of them found a solution by joining the Barbary corsairs and becoming pirates. (For more details on buccaneers, see Corsairs.)
The Sea Beggars Make Beggars of the Spanish
In the late 1500s and early 1600s, the Dutch were fighting for their independence from the Spanish. The Dutch forces that fought at sea were called the Sea Beggars. At first they fought mainly in the English Channel, but the Sea Beggars soon carried the war against the Spanish to the New World. (For more on the Sea Beggars’ activities in Europe, see Sea Beggars.)
In 1624, Pieter Schouten, with a small fleet of three ships, ransacked Spanish colonies on the Yucatan Peninsula (a part of present-day Mexico). A few months later, he captured one of the rich Spanish galleons from the Honduras Treasure Fleet. Towing his rich prize back to Europe, his own ship ran aground in the Dry Tortugas. He abandoned his own ship, and he and his crew sailed home aboard the Spanish galleon. The rich cargo he brought back convinced other Dutch privateers to try their luck against the Spanish in the Caribbean.
A few years later, Piet Heyn followed Schouten’s example. He would be very glad he did. Heyn had little love for the Spanish. Early in his privateer career, the Spanish had captured him, chained him to an oar, and forced him to row as a galley slave.
Being a galley slave was brutal backbreaking labor. Men generally didn’t survive it for very long. Somehow, Heyn managed to survive for more than four years before he was finally released in a prisoner exchange.
Piet Heyn may have started as a common sailor, but he was smart, he was ambitious, and he had developed a burning hatred of the Spanish. Piet Heyn would have his revenge. The Spanish would soon regret letting him go.
In 1628, Heyn had worked his way up to the rank of admiral. He was put in charge of a huge fleet of 31 ships and 3,300 men. This Dutch fleet set out for the Caribbean, eagerly looking to capture Spanish treasure ships.
Their plans were almost spoiled. A Dutch cabin boy got lost while ashore on an island near Venezuela. The Spanish captured him and got him to tell about the Dutch fleet lying in wait for them. So warned, the Venezuelan Treasure Fleet did not leave port.
However, the treasure fleet from Veracruz, Mexico, did not know about the Dutch waiting to ambush them. The treasure-filled galleons arrived at Havana, Cuba, only to find Heyn’s ships waiting for them. Entrance to the harbor was blocked! The Spanish commander Juan de Benavides panicked.
Not knowing what to do, Benavides ran his ships aground without firing a shot at the Dutch. He was hoping to unload the silver and take it inland to safety, but the Dutch caught up with them too quickly.
It turns out that Benavides was not much of a seaman. He had gotten his job mostly because his sister was one of the Spanish king’s girlfriends. Up till now, he had gained a lot of wealth by smuggling illegal goods on his ships. Oh, by the way, he had been the captain of one of the ships where Heyn had been a galley slave.
Benavides later claimed he tried to attack the Dutch. However, when the Dutch captured the grounded ships and came aboard, they found so much silver and gold aboard that many of the gun ports were blocked. Heyn had captured the entire Mexican Treasure Fleet unchallenged! It included NINETY TONS of silver and gold!
On the way back to Europe, two of the captured Spanish vessels sank in a storm with some of the treasure aboard. Despite the loss of the two vessels and their treasure, and despite having so many men in the Dutch fleet, there was plenty of loot to share around and still leave a profit of more than seven million guilders for the Dutch West India Company. Some estimate the treasure Heyn captured was worth more than $15 million! Piet Heyn was a national hero. On the other hand, the Spanish commander Benavides was beheaded for having lost so much treasure and bringing such shame to Spain.
Cap’n Michael says:
I just love the smell of black powder in the morning! It smells like PLUNDER!
Just a Bunch of Jerky Makers
Throughout the 1500s, the pirates and privateers who raided the New World came from the Old World, or Europe. During the next century, that was to change. Over time, many of the pirates and privateers came from the Caribbean itself.
As more people came to the Caribbean, there were more castaways living on the islands. Some of these were sailors who jumped ship. A few might have been shipwrecked. Others were runaway slaves, indentured servants, and convicts. And more were just disgruntled colonists who wanted to get away. They were a mix of French, English, Scottish, Irish, Dutch, and other peoples.
These island castaways became the first buccaneers. From the middle 1500s, they could be found on many of the islands, including Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, but most of all on Hispaniola. (For more details on buccaneers, see buccaneers.)
The “Turtle” Shelters the Buccaneers
Tortuga is not much of a place—just a small island shaped like a giant turtle floating on the water (thus its name), located a few miles off the northwest coast of Hispaniola (an area that is now part of the country of Haiti). Despite its size, Tortuga’s reputation has gone down through the ages as one of the greatest pirate strongholds of all time.
The location was good for pirates: it was close to the Windward Passage (between Cuba and Hispaniola), which became a main route for the Spanish ships. It was easy to defend: there were few places on the island where an enemy could land in force. Food and fresh water were plentiful: there were lots of animals to hunt and a profusion of yams, bananas, pineapples, and other fruit. On the nearby big island of Hispaniola, there were hordes of wild boars, flocks of pigeons, and semi-wild cattle abandoned by the Spanish. It was an ideal base for buccaneers. The Spanish rarely ventured to the northern and western shores of the island, preferring to stay near their city of Santo Domingo in the southeast.
A buccaneer holding his long-barreled musket with his hounds at his feet.
The English first
settled the island of Tortuga around the year 1630. The original village was attacked several times by the Spanish, who did not want foreigners living in their territory. Once, while most of the buccaneers were on Hispaniola hunting the semi-wild cattle, the Spanish launched an attack. The old men, women, and children of Tortuga were all slaughtered. Their bodies were left hanging as a warning to the buccaneers.
The Spanish also sent hunters to slaughter all the wild cattle on Hispaniola. They thought they could starve the buccaneers out and easily drive them away. Instead, they got the opposite result. Angered by the killing of their families and the slaughter of the wild animals, the buccaneers thirsted for revenge. They turned to piracy and started attacking Spanish ships. The Spaniards had created their own worst enemy!
In 1642, Jean Le Vasseur, along with a band of one hundred men, arrived to claim Tortuga in the name of France. Finding the island sparsely settled (because the Spanish had run out most of the English), Le Vasseur quickly succeeded in making himself master of the island. Using his skills as a military engineer, he built Fort de Rocher (the “Rock Fort”) on a flat-topped hill overlooking Tortuga’s main harbor. He put twenty-four cannons in the fort. Protected by the fortress, a town quickly grew on the east side of the harbor. The town, called Basse-Terre, soon became a major center where buccaneers brought their dried meat, cowhides, and plunder.
Fort de Rocher, the Rock Fort built by Le Vasseur