Golden Age Of Piracy

Pirates are those who take to the sea to rob and raid. Piracy is a punishable offence and a pirate is classified as a criminal. The money or goods looted were usually split among the crew mates, more given to those of 'higher rank' such as the captain and first mate. Some famous pirates include Calico Jack, Ching Shih and Captain Kidd.

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 Villains of All Nations is book written by Marcus Rediker that follows the origins of the pirate boom before and after the War of Spanish Succession. The book covers infamous pirates like Bartholomew Roberts, William Fly, and Edward Teach also known as Blackbeard.It discusses the grim environment of working the seas for the government, what lead many people to turn to piracy, the tale of the first women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, how piracy impacted slavery, the pirates bonds of brotherhood under the Jolly Roger, and the events that lead to the death of the pirate era itself.

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.

During the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries, piracy was rampant in the Atlantic, specifically in the West Indies. Piracy has existed since the earliest days of ocean travel, for a range of personal and economic reasons. However, one of the major reasons why piracy was wide spread and rampant in the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries was Great Britain’s endorsement and usage of piracy as an asset; in wars fought in the New World. Great Britain with its expanding power and conflicts with other nations would make piracy a lifestyle and lay down the foundation for the Golden Age of Piracy and eventually bring what it created to a screeching halt.

Have you ever watched the movie Pirates of the Caribbean? If you have you may or may not think that’s how the life of a pirate was in the 1700s. This is necessarily true though. I believe that the life of a pirate is not as glamorous as Hollywood portrays it.

Under The Black Flag , a book written by David Cordingly expressed the reality and myths behind piracy. He clearly states in the introduction of the book that his aim “is to examine the popular image of pirates today, to find out where this image came from, and to compare it with the real world of the pirates” (Cordingly xiv). Along with his aim his thesis is also stated in the introduction of his book, which essentially states that the views by everyday people of pirates consists of a mixture of facts, and many other things such as romantic novels and films. He successfully informs readers of the history behind many important misconceptions of common beliefs. Although some of the things every person has learned about a pirate growing up may

For years and years the leaders of Tripoli which is located in the Middle East had been taking over merchant ships from either the Americans or the or the Europeans. The Tripoli pirates would take over ships and sell

Although some pirates were not as barbaric as others, they were all criminals who broke the law.

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.

The pirates who sailed the Atlantic and frequented the New England coast were made up of several different groups of men, and a few women, who attacked ships off the New England coast and had a rather large effect on parts of colonial America. Although the pirates who frequented these areas came from many different countries, many of those that that targeted the New England area and the waters around it, came from England during the rule of King James I

Pirates are people we think of living in the eighteenth century, attacking ships in the open seas. One that may come to mind is Blackbeard. The most common definition of pirates is a person who steals or robs at sea. Although it may not seem like it, there are still pirates today such as the Somali pirates.