Pirates are sailors, thieves who attack, hijack or destroy any ship on the high seas, and sometimes even carry them ashore. Pirates are sea robbers who hunt other ships and plunder their property, sometimes hijacking ships for their own purposes. Pirates have existed since ancient times: they threatened the trade routes of ancient Greece and snatched grain and olive oil from Roman ships. The largest pirates in Europe in the early Middle Ages were the Vikings.
Pirates became pirates because of a lack of employment. Most pirates were sailors who had specialized in naval combat, yet they found themselves unemployed when peace was established between countries. So they turned to piracy in order to provide for the material means of their existence.
Thousands of pirates were active between 1650 and 1720, and these years are sometimes referred to as the golden age of pirates. It is called the “Golden Age” because the conditions here are very suitable for pirates to thrive. Many people we associate with pirates, such as Blackbeard, “Tricolor Bujak” Rackham, and “Black Bart” Roberts, Very active during this period.
An Overview of Pirate Behaviors
Here are some facts you might not know about these ruthless sea bandits. Combined with the misconception that pirates are outlawed by society, the belief that pirates bury their treasures all over the coast, which has never happened, fuels this misconception of piracy as a get-rich-quick scheme. In part, the popularity of the classic Treasure Island novel, which follows the treasure hunt of buried pirates, explains the persistence of this legend. There are many stories of pirate adventures, but in reality, piracy was a well-organized activity.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, piracy was eradicated by many maritime powers. When, after the War of the Spanish Succession, pirates began recklessly attacking colonial merchant ships, it was then that the colonists said it was enough because piracy was taking its toll on their profits. It was until the early 1700s that local traders began plundering that colonial attitudes towards pirates became stronger.
The Golden Age of Piracy
Although piracy has existed since ancient times, the golden age of piracy was in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Pirates at that time mostly went to different places to find their prey. Although there were few riots in piracy in the 19th century, piracy in the Caribbean stopped. Because of all piracy in the Caribbean, 1660-1726 marked the golden age of piracy.
Although Spain remained a weak power until the end of the colonial period, pirates generally disappeared in large numbers after 1730, driven from the seas by a new squadron of the British Royal Navy based in Port Royal, Jamaica, and a small group of Spanish corsairs who sailed from the Spanish principal known like Costa Garda (Coast Guard in English).
Beginning in the 16th century, large Spanish ships called galleons began returning to Europe with precious cargo that pirates could not resist. There were so many pirate attacks that the galleons were forced to sail together in a fleet of armed ships to protect themselves. The pirates attacked all ships, regardless of where they came from or under the flag of the country in which they sailed.
In the late 1600s, pirates attacked ships of the Muslim Mughal Empire, including convoys carrying wealthy pilgrims to Mecca. The governments of the Caribbean and American colonies often did not have the money or manpower to deter piracy, and some accepted bribes from pirates.
This made Nassau a base where pirates could operate safely, although various governors regularly staged anti-piracy demonstrations. Then Nassau was captured by English privateers, who eventually turned into lawless pirates. Although pirates initially avoided attacking British ships, over time this limitation disappeared, and at their peak, pirates were able to command a small fleet of ships that could withstand the frigates of the Royal Navy. After the conquest of Jamaica in 1655, Port Royal became a famous haven for pirates led by Henry Morgan, whose attacks on the Spaniards were defended by the governor and council of the colony.
This change in attitude led to what we call the “War with the Pirates” – from about 1716 to 1726 – and the emergence of naval raiders who, without much hope of settling on land, attacked their country. Some men and women have turned to piracy to take revenge on ship captains and quartermasters who have mistreated them in the past. Few became famous, though their lack of sailing experience hindered them, but many ex-slaves found freedom in the ocean with a crew of pirates.
Pirates and Pressganging
Of course, pirates also used coercion to bring people closer to their way of thinking; when they hijacked a ship, they offered people the opportunity to live (more or less) by joining their ranks. Most of the pirate crews were ex-slaves; when pirates hijacked slave ships, they often freed people and recruited them into their crews.
Believe it or not, there were also many freed slaves among the pirate crews around the world; freed from the thugs who attacked the ships that transported them, some of these former slaves became respected and feared by pirates. Few of these pirates became famous because of their lack of sailing experience, but they made up a large percentage of many pirate crews.
These people, known as pirates, primarily attacked ships, although some of them also attacked coastal cities. No matter how pirates they were, piracy was in their blood. A pirate ship is not a place for the weak, but piracy gives them complete freedom to do what they want, what they want, when they want.
He was known as Blackbeard because of his long black beard, which he braided into. Like many pirates of the Golden Age, Blackbeard was a privateer before becoming a pirate. He turned to piracy after he was unable to find wealth while on a treasure hunt in Florida. He went to the West Indies, collecting the loot from more than 50 ships.
After they left, he and the other pirates traveled to Bath Town, received a pardon from the governor, and renounced piracy. However, he knew that too many pirates were accompanying him, so he devised a plan to get rid of them. He offered forgiveness to the pirates and then hired anyone to hunt other pirates.
Sometimes pirates released passengers and crew of ships, and sometimes they detained them to demand ransom. On the ship, the pirates waved the Jolly Roger, a flag bearing a skeleton-like image such as a skull and crossbones. There were not many female pirates, as sailors believed it was a shame to have women on board.
Female Pirates
It was considered unfortunate for women to be on ships, so very few became pirates. During this time, becoming a pirate was triggered by the transition to an account, as they had to agree to live by the rules of the ship. Another important change in attitude is the policy that if your ship is attacked by pirates, you must fight back and try to resist the capture of their ship so as not to get six months in prison. In this context, signs of piracy have been banned to match the notion that pirates are bloodthirsty and ruthless criminals.
