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After their capture, both women stalled their death sentences (the punishment for piracy) by claiming to be pregnant; however, Read died of a fever in jail.
After their capture, both women stalled their death sentences (the punishment for piracy) by claiming to be pregnant; however, Read died of a fever in jail.

=== Barbary pirates ===
{{main|Barbary pirates}}
[[Image:Cornelis Vroom Spanish Men of War Engaging Barbary Corsairs.jpg|thumb|Cornelis Hendricksz Vroom, ''Spanish Men-of-War Engaging Barbary Corsairs'', 1615.]]

The Barbary pirates were pirates and [[privateers]] that operated from the [[North Africa]]n (the "[[Barbary coast]]") ports of [[Tunis]], [[Tripoli]], [[Algiers]], [[Salé]] and ports in [[Morocco]], preying on shipping in the western [[Mediterranean Sea]] from the time of the [[Crusades]] as well as on ships on their way to Asia around Africa until the early 19th century. The coastal villages and towns of [[Italy]], [[Spain]] and [[List of islands in the Mediterranean|Mediterranean islands]] were frequently attacked by them and long stretches of the Italian and Spanish coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants; since the 17th century, Barbary pirates occasionally entered the Atlantic and struck as far north as [[Iceland]]. According to Robert Davis,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/whtslav.htm|title=''When Europeans were slaves: Research suggests white slavery was much more common than previously believed''}}</ref><ref>Davis, Robert. ''Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800''.[http://www.amazon.com/dp/1403945519] </ref> between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as [[Arab slave trade|slaves in the Arab world]] between the 16th and 19th centuries.

The first half of the 17th century may be described as the flowering time of the Barbary pirates. More than 20,000 captives were said to be imprisoned in Algiers alone. The rich were allowed to redeem themselves, but the poor were condemned to slavery. Their masters would on occasion allow them to secure freedom by professing [[Islam]]. A long list might be given of people of good social position, not only Italians or Spaniards, but also German and English travelers in the south, who were captives for a time.<ref name=EB1911 />

[[Iceland]] was subject to raids known as the [[The Turkish abductions|Turkish abductions]] in 1627. [[Murat Reis the Younger|Murat Reis]] ([[Jan Janszoon]]) is said to have taken 400 prisoners; 242 of the captives later were sold into slavery on the [[Barbary Coast]]. The pirates took only young people and those in good physical condition. All those offering resistance were killed, and the old people were gathered into a church which was set on fire. Among those captured was [[Ólafur Egilsson]], who was ransomed the next year and, upon returning to Iceland, wrote a [[slave narrative]] about his experience. Another famous captive from that raid was [[Guðríður Símonardóttir]]. The sack of [[Vestmannaeyjar]] is known in the [[history of Iceland]] as ''[[Tyrkjaránið]]'' and is arguably the most horrible event in the history of Vestmannaeyjar.


==Effect on Popular Culture==
==Effect on Popular Culture==

Revision as of 14:56, 10 December 2008

File:Schooner-attacking-merchant.jpg
A painting depicting the era.

The Golden Age of Piracy is the common designation given the period roughly spanning from the 1650s to the 1720s. The decade of 1715–1725 experienced a substantial increase in the number of pirates operating throughout the Caribbean, the American coast, the Indian Ocean, and the western coast of Africa. It is also from this period that the modern conception of pirates as depicted in popular culture is derived.

During the early 18th century, many European and colonial American sailors and privateers found themselves unemployed. Factors contributing to piracy included the rise in quantities of valuable cargoes being shipped to Europe over vast ocean areas, reduced European navies in certain regions, the training and experience that many sailors had gained as conscripts in European navies (particularly the Royal Navy), and ineffective government in European overseas colonies.

Origins

Some historians mark the beginning of the Golden Age of Piracy at around 1650, when the end of the Wars of Religion allowed European countries to resume the development of their colonial empires. This involved considerable seaborne trade, and a general economic improvement: there was money to be made—or stolen—and much of it traveled by ship.

In 1713, a succession of peace treaties was signed, known as the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the War of the Spanish Succession (also called 'Queen Anne's War'). With the end of this conflict, thousands of seamen, including Britain's paramilitary privateers, were relieved of military duty. The result was a large number of trained, idle sailors at a time when the cross-Atlantic colonial shipping trade was beginning to boom. In addition, Europeans who had been pushed by unemployment to become sailors and soldiers involved in slaving were often enthusiastic to abandon that profession and turn to pirating, giving pirate captains for many years a constant pool of trained European recruits to be found in west African waters and coasts.

Triangular trade

Trafficking on shipping lanes between Africa, the Caribbean, and Europe began to soar in the 18th century, a model that was known as triangular trade, and was a rich target for piracy. Trade ships sailed from Europe to the African coast, trading manufactured goods and weapons for slaves. The traders would then sail to the Caribbean to sell the slaves, and return to Europe with goods such as sugar, tobacco and cocoa. Another triangular trade saw ships carry raw materials, preserved cod, and rum to Europe, where a portion of the cargo would be sold for manufactured goods, which (along with the remainder of the original load) were transported to the Caribbean, where they were exchanged for sugar and molasses, which (with some manufactured articles) were borne to New England. Ships in the triangular trade made money at each stop.[1]

As part of the war's settlement, Britain obtained the asiento, a Spanish government contract, to supply slaves to Spain's new world colonies, providing British traders and smugglers more access to the traditionally closed Spanish markets in America. This arrangement also contributed heavily to the spread of piracy across the western Atlantic at this time. Shipping to the colonies boomed simultaneously with the flood of skilled mariners after the war. Merchant shippers used the surplus of sailors' labor to drive wages down, cutting corners to maximize their profits, and creating unsavory conditions aboard their vessels. Merchant sailors suffered from mortality rates as high or higher than the slaves being transported (Rediker, 2004). Living conditions were so poor that many sailors began to prefer a freer existence as a pirate. The increased volume of shipping traffic also could sustain a large body of brigands preying upon it.

Pirates of the era

Blackbeard's severed head hanging from Maynard's bowsprit

Many of the most well known pirates in historical lore originate from this Golden Age of Piracy.

Female pirates

Women entered the career of piracy as well (most usually disguised as men). Some of the best-known female pirates were Calico Jack Rackham's cohorts, Anne Bonney (also sometimes spelled Bonny) and Mary Read.

Bonney grew up ferocious, 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. [citation needed]

When their ship was assaulted, the two women were the only ones that defended it. The other crew members were too drunk to fight. In the end they were captured and arrested. [citation needed]

After their capture, both women stalled their death sentences (the punishment for piracy) by claiming to be pregnant; however, Read died of a fever in jail.

Barbary pirates

Main article: Barbary pirates
Cornelis Hendricksz Vroom, Spanish Men-of-War Engaging Barbary Corsairs, 1615.

The Barbary pirates were pirates and privateers that operated from the North African (the "Barbary coast") ports of Tunis, Tripoli, Algiers, Salé and ports in Morocco, preying on shipping in the western Mediterranean Sea from the time of the Crusades as well as on ships on their way to Asia around Africa until the early 19th century. The coastal villages and towns of Italy, Spain and Mediterranean islands were frequently attacked by them and long stretches of the Italian and Spanish coasts were almost completely abandoned by their inhabitants; since the 17th century, Barbary pirates occasionally entered the Atlantic and struck as far north as Iceland. According to Robert Davis,[2][3] between 1 million and 1.25 million Europeans were captured by Barbary pirates and sold as slaves in the Arab world between the 16th and 19th centuries.

The first half of the 17th century may be described as the flowering time of the Barbary pirates. More than 20,000 captives were said to be imprisoned in Algiers alone. The rich were allowed to redeem themselves, but the poor were condemned to slavery. Their masters would on occasion allow them to secure freedom by professing Islam. A long list might be given of people of good social position, not only Italians or Spaniards, but also German and English travelers in the south, who were captives for a time.[4]

Iceland was subject to raids known as the Turkish abductions in 1627. Murat Reis (Jan Janszoon) is said to have taken 400 prisoners; 242 of the captives later were sold into slavery on the Barbary Coast. The pirates took only young people and those in good physical condition. All those offering resistance were killed, and the old people were gathered into a church which was set on fire. Among those captured was Ólafur Egilsson, who was ransomed the next year and, upon returning to Iceland, wrote a slave narrative about his experience. Another famous captive from that raid was Guðríður Símonardóttir. The sack of Vestmannaeyjar is known in the history of Iceland as Tyrkjaránið and is arguably the most horrible event in the history of Vestmannaeyjar.

Although the details are often misremembered, the effect upon popular culture of the Golden Age of Piracy can hardly be overstated. Such literary works as Treasure Island and Peter Pan, while romanticized, drew heavily on pirates and piracy for their plots. In turn, they helped implant an (often inaccurate) image of old-time pirates in contemporary minds.[5]

More recently, even-less-accurate depictions of historical-era pirates (e.g., Jack Sparrow and Talk Like a Pirate Day) have advanced to the forefront. However, these phenomena have only served to advance the romantic image of piracy and its treasure-burying swashbucklers in popular culture.[6]

Decline

By the early 1700s tolerance for privateers was wearing thin by all nations. After the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, the excess of trained sailors without employment was both a blessing and a curse for all pirates. Initially the surplus of men had caused the number of pirates to multiply significantly. This inevitably led to the pillaging of more ships, which put a greater strain on trade for all European nations. In response European nations bolstered their own navies to offer greater protection for merchants and to hunt down pirates. The excess of skilled sailors meant there was a large pool that could be recruited into a nation’s navy as well. Piracy was clearly on a strong decline by 1720. The Golden Age of Piracy didn’t last the decade.

References

  1. ^ Mark Kurlansky, Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World. Penguin, 1998.
  2. ^ "When Europeans were slaves: Research suggests white slavery was much more common than previously believed".
  3. ^ Davis, Robert. Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast and Italy, 1500-1800.[1]
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference EB1911 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ E.g., Cecil Adams, "Did pirates bury their treasure? Did pirates really make maps where "X marks the spot?"
  6. ^ Cecil Adams, "Why are pirates depicted with a parrot on their shoulder? What's the origin of the skull and crossbones pirate flag?"
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