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The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and phased out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1660s to 1730s. Piracy flourished in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica, Tortuga in Haiti, and Nassau in the Bahamas. Piracy in the Caribbean was part of a larger historical phenomenon of piracy, as it existed close to major trade and exploration routes in almost all the five oceans.
John Rackham, commonly known as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain operating in the Bahamas and in Cuba during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for "John".
Mary Read, fictionally known as Mark Read, was an actual English pirate about whom there is very little factual documentation. She and Anne Bonny were two famous female pirates from the 18th century, and among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy at the height of the "Golden Age of Piracy".
Anne Bonny, sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Captain Charles Johnson's 1724 book A General History of the Pyrates.
Stede Bonnet was a Barbadian-born pirate and military officer, known as the Gentleman Pirate for the reason that he was a moderately wealthy landowner before turning to a life of crime. Bonnet was born into a wealthy English family on the island of Barbados, and inherited the family estate after his father's death in 1694. Despite his lack of sailing experience, Bonnet decided he should turn to piracy in the winter of 1716 or spring of 1717. He bought a sailing vessel, the Revenge, and travelled with his paid crew along the Eastern Seaboard of what is now the United States, capturing other vessels and burning other Barbadian ships.
The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation for the period between the 1650s and the 1730s, when maritime piracy was a significant factor in the histories of the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
Although the majority of pirates in history have been men, there are around a hundred known examples of female pirates, about forty of whom were active in the Golden Age of Piracy. Some women have been pirate captains and some have commanded entire pirate fleets. Among the most powerful pirate women were figures such as Zheng Yi Sao (1775–1844) and Huang Bamei (1906–1982), both of whom led tens of thousands of pirates.
See also 1719 in piracy, 1721 in piracy and Timeline of piracy.
Caesar, later known as “Black Caesar”, was a West African pirate who operated during the Golden Age of Piracy. He served aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge of Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and was one of the surviving members of that crew following Blackbeard’s death at the hands of Lieutenant Robert Maynard in 1718. Myths surrounding his life - that he was African royalty and terrorized the Florida Keys for years before joining Blackbeard - have been intermixed with legends and fictional accounts as well as with other pirates.
True Caribbean Pirates is a documentary which aired on The History Channel in 2006.
The capture of John "Calico Jack" Rackham was a single-ship action fought between English pirate Calico Jack and British privateer Jonathan Barnet. The battle was fought in the vicinity of Negril, Jamaica and ended with the capture of Rackham and his crew.
Piracy was a phenomenon that was not limited to the Caribbean region. Golden Age pirates roamed off the coast of North America, Africa and the Caribbean.
The Republic of Pirates was the base and stronghold of a loose confederacy run by privateers-turned-pirates in Nassau on New Providence island in the Bahamas during the Golden Age of Piracy for about twelve years from 1706 until 1718. While it was not a republic in a formal sense, it was governed by an informal pirate code, which dictated that the crews of the Republic would vote on the leadership of their ships and treat other pirate crews with civility. The term comes from Colin Woodard's book of the same name.
George Cusack was an Irish pirate active in northern Europe and the West Indies in the late 17th century.
John Vidal was a minor Irish-American pirate briefly active near Ocracoke Inlet off North Carolina. He is best known for bringing the Farley family with him, causing wife Martha Farley to be one of the few women tried for piracy.
The Flying Gang was an 18th-century group of pirates who established themselves in Nassau, New Providence in the Bahamas after the destruction of Port Royal in Jamaica. The gang consisted of the most notorious and cunning pirates of the time, and they terrorized and pillaged the Caribbean until the Royal Navy and infighting brought them to justice. They achieved great fame and wealth by raiding salvagers attempting to recover gold from the sunken Spanish treasure fleet. They established their own codes and governed themselves independent from any of the colonial powers of the time. Nassau was deemed the Republic of Pirates as it attracted many former privateers looking for work to its shores. The Governor of Bermuda stated that there were over 1,000 pirates in Nassau at that time and that they outnumbered the mere hundred inhabitants in the town.
Thomas Hawkins was a pirate briefly active off New England. He was known for sailing with Thomas Pound.
John Philip Bear, last name also spelled Beare, was a 17th-century English pirate active in the Caribbean who also served with the Spanish and French.
Jonathan Barnet was an English privateer in the Caribbean, best known for capturing pirates Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, and Mary Read. The Assembly of the Colony of Jamaica gave him a financial reward, and a large estate in the parish of St James worked by African slaves.
The Proclamation for Suppressing of Pirates was issued by George I of Great Britain on 5 September 1717. It promised a royal pardon for acts of piracy committed before the following 5 January to those pirates who surrendered themselves to the correct authority before a deadline. Originally, the surrender had to occur on or before 5 September 1718; this was later extended by a second proclamation to 1 July 1719.
References
- 1 2 3 4 Fictum, David (13 May 2016). "Anne Bonny and Mary Read: Female Pirates and Maritime Women (Page Two)". Colonies, Ships, and Pirates. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- ↑ Appleby, John C. (2015). Women and English Piracy, 1540-1720: Partners and Victims of Crime. Rochester NY: Boydell & Brewer Ltd. pp. 222–223. ISBN 9781783270187.
- 1 2 Theophilus, Fox, Edward (2013). 'Piratical Schemes and Contracts': Pirate Articles and Their Society 1660-1730. Exeter: University of Exeter. pp. 225–226. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ↑ Rediker, Marcus (2011). Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Beacon Press. p. 112. ISBN 9780807095386 . Retrieved 20 July 2017.
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