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
  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
 Female Pirates
 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.
 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