Caribbean Influence

Their contemporaries described them as “Robbers, Opposers, and Violators of all Laws, Humane and Divine.” Many viewed themselves as a more selfish reincarnation of Robin Hood, stealing from wealthy merchants, foreign traders, and abusive captains, and in doing so, threatening the hierarchical status quo of seventeenth and eighteenth English society by declaring “war against the world.” The Law considered them hostes humani generis, enemies of all mankind. In reality, Anglo-American pirates were none of those things, or perhaps more accurately, were not one but a combination. They were all robbers, since piracy in its most elementary definition is nothing more than a robbery at sea, something the English Admiralty recognized from its establishment in the fourteenth century. There was certainly also some relevance for their self-perceptive image of stealing from the rich and giving to themselves in order to escape the unjustness of a hierarchical society.

History generally depicts piracy as a radical system of violent practices and unconventional beliefs. This version of piracy is certainly more thrilling and romantic, and is arguably more entertaining, than the reality. Unbeknownst to most people, pirate society was a very well thought out system with strict rules, a judiciary body, and even social security benefits. In his book, Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates In the Golden Age, author Marcus Rediker attempts to convey these truths and disprove the many common misconceptions surrounding piracy. He outlines the structure of pirate society as an egalitarian invention used to combat the unfair wages, mistreatment of workers, and poor labor conditions present aboard merchant vessels. In fact, pirate culture exemplifies the very beginnings of modern-day capitalism. Take, for example, the very promotion of freedom of the seas against the state monopolies that claimed ownership rights on sea routes. This capitalistic behavior would unknowingly contribute to today’s standards of a capitalistic society.

The Atlantic pirates were after gold or booty as Disney producers portray it to be, but this wasn’t there main goal, instead the Atlantic pirate’s main goal was revenge. After several centuries of poverty and being in the bottom social rank people took to themselves to solve their economic problems by going against king and machinists. Many of these pirates either had worked for this mechanist or for the kingdom’s fleet. As stated by Dr. Marcus Rediker “Merchant seamen got a hard, close look at death: disease and accidents were commonplace in their occupation, rations were often meager and discipline was brutal… Some pirates had served in the navy where conditions aboard ship were no less harsh” (Rediker 206-207). These severe conditions were the driving force for revenge at whatever the cost maybe. The previous experience of being at sea made these pirates very knowledgeable because they also knew that the American colonies were doing their own thing. Even though they were

Authors present similar information in different ways. In the golden age of piracy, despite being disputed when it actually happened. Despite sometimes being worlds apart, the similarities in all these people and their dastardly deeds is incredible. Their paths frequently intersected either through direct contact or other things. Both Rediker and Greene talk about similar situations and people, but they discussed it quite differently. From showcasing the hardships to glorifying their short and fast paced lives, their arguments are as different as night and day, but give us a solid insight into the average life of a pirate in the golden age of piracy.

This book uses a lot of literature and fabricated stories, but the reason for this is because there is not a lot of documentation of pirates. Some facts have been changed around while the stories were being retold, and this is the main point of the book; to get back to the root of who pirates really were. One example of pirate mentality is when Captain Cary’s ship was attacked by

The Ottoman Empires blockage of the once popular trade route to the east, led to the exploration of the America’s. In the late 15th century, with the European’s goal to find a new trading route, the Portuguese, with their strong maritime power, were the first to venture out. Not only was the establishment of a new trade route crucial, but so was the discovery of resources to exploit for European gain. Land empires formed, bringing about the enslavement of native populations, and control of production and labor. No more was this evident than in the Caribbean Islands. Small but crucial assets to Europe, why did the Caribbean islands have such a big impact on the slave trade? Many European countries had colonized several regions in North and South America, yet there was something about the Caribbean’s that made them indispensable to their respective economies. The politics in Europe, the Caribbean’s fertile soil, and its demographics were key factors in the Caribbean’s importance. All three factors were essential in the Caribbean becoming a staple in the slave trade.

They were referred to as “Buccaneers”. Buccaneer comes from the word boucanier which means “one who smokes meat on a boucan”. Pirates would set up fires and smoke meat on them. The smoke would attract ships to come, thinking it was a spot to trade. When the ships would come to the smoke, these “Buccaneers” would steal their ships. After this became common, pirates were chased off of the Islands. Though they were chased off, they continued to raid ships and live an even more barbaric lifestyle on the sea. The pirates at sea would raid ships in hope to find valuables and treasures. They sailed the Caribbean because after Columbus’ discovery of the new world, the Caribbean became a huge trading

What Rediker is showing is not only the European empires desire for more wealth, but also the ruling classes ability to control the working class to gain more wealth. Furthermore, he shows that as soon as the ruling class finds a more profitable way to make money, their attitudes would change regardless of the concerns of the working class. He also points out that “the sailors knew that these wars were fought, for the most part, over wealth, a substantial portion of which was based on the key commodities of the Atlantic trades in which he worked – gold, silver, fish, furs, servants and slaves, sugar, tobacco, and manufactures” (Rediker 21). Once privateering was outlawed, and combined with the downsizing of European navies, many sailors found themselves out of work. This led to the rise of piracy, and in my opinion directly challenged the notion that European empires were strong and powerful.

The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, especially a personal God or gods is what is defined as Religion. In many religions text is believed to have scriptural status and moral authority. In some religions like Voodoo, there are no moral authority or text. It is a community centered around individual experiences, empowerment, and responsibility and is practiced by people who are imperfect and may use religion for their own purposes. It is a religion that originates from Africa. Voodoo is thought to be a various combination of African, Catholic, and Native traditions.

When people think of the golden age of piracy many things come to mind. From buried treasure, sword fighting, stealing loot and drinking rum, the golden age of piracy is one of the most exciting elements of the restoration period. Along with those elements there were many famous pirates that highlighted the restoration. Although there were many famous pirates of the restoration period one name usually comes to mind, Blackbeard. His iconic image has shaped the way that the world has viewed the history of pirates. From hollywood movies to video games, his fearsome personality and ruthless behavior has made a huge impact on popular culture. Although some believe that Blackbeard was greatly romanticised after his death, Blackbeard was the most feared pirate of the restoration period because he instilled fear in the hearts of people who happened to cross his path by taking what he wanted, and utilizing his fearsome image to establish his reputation as the most iconic pirate of the restoration.

Many people of the time became pirates because they believed pirate ships had better conditions than other sea services, but this was a misconception. “Privateers were not always happy ships. Some captains ran their ships like naval vessels” (44). Furthermore, “Enslaved Africans … sought to escape slavery; fishermen sought to escape peonage; transported felons sought to escape … servitude; and sailors sought to escape impressment or deadly conditions aboard a ship” (58). Rediker claims people also became pirates because they were greedy and wanted money. According to Stephen Smith, a pirate during the Golden Age of piracy, “Money meant simply getting a living” (56). Pirate ships were comprised of both genders and many races and ages, however, the average pirate was between the ages of 15 and 40, and originated from Great Britain. Rediker states, nationalities included, “British, French, Dutch, Spanish, Swedish, Native American, African American, and … Africans” (53). Pirates were a diverse group and had strong bonds of

     Another famous group of pirates were the Buccaneers. “Buccaneers were initially hunter’s of cattle and pigs on the island of what is now known as Haiti and the Dominican Republic (http://www.piratesinfo.com/fact/famous.html).” The buccaneer’s main source of food was the pigs found on the islands. They got their name from the French word “boucan” which meant barbecue. Often at times, these men were seen barbequing the pig meat on grills. They learned this style of cooking from the Arawak Indians. The buccaneers were men driven out by the Spanish, runaway slaves, deserters, and others who just hated the Spanish. “The word buccaneer soon became common, and by the 17th century was used to describe pirates and privateers who had bases in the West Indies (http://www.piratesinfo.com/fact/famous.html).”

The majority of the life of a pirate is spent at sea. Most pirates’ made their money from taking over ships of other people and selling illegal goods which were usually stolen from the ships. Pirates needed to be able to travel on sea and explore new areas, they would have encounters with the ships they are trying to capture, and they would exchange illegal goods and slaves. One infamous group of pirates, the Barbary Pirates, was so good at their job that they were seen as a threat to the major governments of the world.

Though many of the stories told of pirates, by hollywood and authors alike, are full of electrifying adventures and enthralling characters, they are also filled with historical fallacy. From treasure to talking birds, media has been skewing the historical accuracy of pirates since Stevensons Treasure Isalnd. By doing this the media forever changed how adults and children alike view pirates. This of course, agravates historian to no end, as the struggle to elaborate fact from fiction continues still. Stevensons novel started many trends of no histortical merit still seen in todays movies, such as Pirates of the Caribbean.

When the word pirate is mentioned, many people think of ship carrying men across the seas as they pillage other ships. While this is true to some extent there was much more to the lives of the men that were known as pirates. Pirates were mostly men from French, English or Dutch heritage, and were privateers or merchants. Many of these men were sanctioned by their government. By the Spanish they were call piratas or unsanctioned sea-raiders, and would have a heavy influence of trade in the Caribbean and on the Spanish Empire.