Pirates and Privateers

When one of the oldest and richest of the treasure galleons sank in 1641, more than forty years passed before the wreck was discovered.

Dec 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

After the flota reassembled in Havana, Cuba for the return trip to Spain, they sailed north and east until they reached the latitude of forty degrees before crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The journey lasted approximately two months. The later they departed the New World for Spain, however, the greater their risk of encountering a hurricane somewhere along the narrow passage between Bahama Bank and the Florida reefs.

Nov 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

With Christopher Columbus’ discovery of the New World, Spain gained control of a vast overseas empire with great riches. The king needed this treasure to fund the frequent wars that depleted the royal coffers. In time the area Spain controlled became known as the Spanish Main. Between 1492 and 1830 the New World produced 4,035,156,000 gold and silver pesos. Carried in the holds of the treasure fleets, these riches drew pirates to them like a magnet draws metal.

Oct 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

Clumsy and slow, but seaworthy, this ship above all others fired a pirate’s imagination. Galleons guarded the treasure bound for Spain and the king’s coffers. A single captured prize could make a pirate rich--if he caught her. Yet as stalwart as the galleon appeared, she was actually quite fragile when pitted against Mother Nature, who succeeded in wrecking the galleons, which sank to the ocean floor with their precious cargo.

Sep 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

What are the origins of the word "viking?" Why did the Norse plunder? What did they wear? What weapons did they favor? Are the written accounts of their raids accurate? How did they impact history? Did women become pirates?

Aug 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

With names like Ivar the Boneless, Eric Bloodaxe, and Thorfinn Skullsplitter, the Norse raided far and wide, instilling fear in their victims and plundering lands where many eventually settled. Who were these pirates and what did it mean to go í víking? Why did the litany "A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domini" - From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord - sum up the terror their victims felt?

Jul 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

Pirates didn't fear death. Rather they expected it. Many died from disease or in battle, while others faced an executioner. A gruesome death (dancing the hempen jig) awaited condemned pirates. They often joked about hanging, but only until they stood on the gallows.

Jun 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

Although often seen as lawless, pirates sailed under agreements that included methods of punishment should they disregard the oaths they signed. They also inflicted various forms of punishment and torture on their victims. Some of these accounts appear brutal in the extreme, but people of the past lived in a harsh and violent world. Torturing and maiming people to extract information was a common practice, perhaps best illustrated by the Spanish Inquisition. Men and women who refused to enter a plea in English courts found themselves stretched on their backs in Newgate Prison's Press Yard where the jailer placed weights on their chests until they acquiesced. If they didn't, they were crushed to death. (WARNING: This article contains graphic accounts of violence.)

May 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

While Blackbeard was perhaps the most notorious of the pirates of the Golden Age, he wasn't the only pirate whose name has survived. Among those recorded in the annals of history are women and gentlemen who chose to follow a different calling than the one society deemed appropriate.

Apr 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

For forty years from around 1690 until 1730, the most famous pirates sailed the High Seas. Writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson and J. M. Barrie, painters like Howard Pyle, and Hollywood in films like Captain Blood made these pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy immortal. They, themselves, were legends in their own time.

Mar 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

The war that demonstrated the superiority of privateers over naval ships was the American Revolution. This third article in a series examines the American privateers.

Feb 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

The French considered "la course," their word for privateering, a family business where sons followed in their fathers' footsteps. Known as corsairs, French privateers plagued English shipping for more than a century. This second article in a series examines the French privateers.

Jan 1, 2003 - Cindy Vallar

"Know that we have granted and given license…to [person's name]…to annoy our enemies at sea or by land…so that they shall share with us half of all their gain." With these words, Henry III of England paved the way for the legalization of piracy.

Dec 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

The original buccaneers were hunters who lived on Hispaniola in the Caribbean. Driven from the island, they turned to piracy and formed a brotherhood that went in search of Spanish prey. At first they attacked small ships, but eventually they preyed on larger prizes. Escaped convicts, outlaws, and slaves joined their ranks. These Brethren of the Coast obeyed no laws but their own, and their leaders maintained discipline through brutal acts of violence.

Nov 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

Once pirates had a ship, they sailed the High Seas in search of prey. How did they capture another ship? How did they defend themselves? What did they search for once they boarded that ship?

Oct 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

No matter the time period, pirates required three things from their ships: (1) speed and maneuverability, (2) space for prize crews, armament, and plunder, and (3) shallow drafts. This article explores the various ships pirates used throughout history.

Sep 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

After four and a half years marooned, Alexander Selkirk was rescued when Woodes Rogers dropped anchor off Juan Fernandez Island. Their meeting proved fortuitous, and Selkirk gained a form of immortality when Daniel Defoe based his most memorable character on Selkirk's experience.

Aug 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

Alexander Selkirk departed England aboard the Cinque Ports, one of William Dampier's privateers. Bound for the Pacific to prey on Spanish treasure galleons, problems soon surfaced between Selkirk and the ship's incompetent captain. This conflict eventually resulted in the captain marooning Selkirk on an uninhabited island.

Jul 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

While Robinson Crusoe was a fictional character, Daniel Defoe based him on a real man. Alexander Selkirk never dreamed he would live on an uninhabited island. Yet when he signed aboard William Dampier's privateering expedition, Selkirk found himself caught up in circumstances that would eventually lead to his marooning.

Jun 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

Pirates never work alone. Whether in the past or the present, they require people to sell their plunder. Sooner or later, this illegal trade results in government intervention to suppress piracy.

May 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

Tortuga was one of the earliest safe harbors pirates used in the Caribbean. New Providence was one of the last. Together these two havens played host to some of the most infamous pirates to sail the High Seas.

Apr 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

My first introduction to Port Royal came when I saw Errol Flynn in Captain Blood. That depiction of a bustling seaport was a far cry from reality. For a time, Port Royal was a haven for pirates, who helped it gain a reputation of being one of the most vile and evil cities of the seventeenth century.

Mar 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

The fourth largest island in the world was another locale that attracted pirates. Thomas Tew, Henry Avery, and William Kidd were several who visited Madagascar. Today, underwater excavations are under way to recover at least one pirate ship, Kidd's Adventure Galley, which sank in the harbor at Île Sainte Marie.

Feb 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

In a series exploring pirate havens, this article examines safe harbors located around the world, from those favored by the Barbary Corsairs to American havens frequented by pirates and privateers.

Jan 1, 2002 - Cindy Vallar

Webster's Dictionary defines 'haven' as any port that provides shelter. Pirates required such harbors in order to survive. Why did pirates favor certain spots over others? What sites in the Ancient World harbored pirates?

Dec 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

To contemporaries he was known simply as L'Ollonais, "the man from Olonne." His success at piracy attracted many pirates eager to sail with him in spite of the brutality he showed his prey, particularly the Spanish, who called him "Fléau des Espagnois." **Warning to readers: This article contains explicit examples of L'Ollonais' ruthless torturing of prisoners.

Nov 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Literature and Hollywood have given us an image of pirates that is far different from the realty. How do they differ and why do we prefer to believe in the fictional version rather than the truth?

Oct 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Once portrayed as frightening villains, pirates have become daring heroes we yearn to emulate. If real pirates were and continue to be bloodthirsty violent men, why do we romanticize them?

Sep 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

If life at sea was so dangerous, why did men become pirates? Was it the lure of treasure or were there other reasons for making a choice that might lead to death by hanging if caught?

Aug 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Sand sifting through an hourglass symbolizes the swiftness with which time passes. For pirates, it meant life was fleeting so they played with the same ferocity as they preyed. Yet the dangers they faced were not so different from those of others who sailed during the Age of Sail. The beauty of the sea belied the danger it possessed, for in the blink of an eye a ship became a wreck or a storm swept the ablest of seamen from the deck. If by chance they survived those perils, they might fall victim to disease.

Jul 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Hollywood's depiction of a castaway on a deserted island is a far cry from the reality of a pirate sentenced by his fellow mates to be marooned. In most cases it was a death sentence.

Jun 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

When asked about the flag most commonly associated with pirates, most people will describe a white skull and crossbones on a black field. The Jolly Roger wasn't the only flag pirates used, but the sight of it made seamen tremble. The most feared of the pirate flags, though, was the red flag, the jolie rouge, for it meant death to all. (Please note this article is graphic intensive, making it slow to load.)

May 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

By definition a privateer is either the ship, the crew, or the captain of a vessel licensed by a particular government during times of war to prey on enemy ships. Canadian privateers played an important role in several wars, especially during the 18th and 19th centuries. Most sailed from Nova Scotia because of its close proximity to the United States and the North Atlantic. Often considered little more than legal pirating, "by mid 1700s [privateering] was carefully regulated, respectable and as law abiding as the navy," according to Daniel Conlin, Curator of Marine History at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Apr 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Most historical accounts written in the past were penned by men. Women were largely ignored or gained mention because of their husbands or charitable deeds. On occasion, though, a few women defied the roles often assigned them to gain prominence in their own rights. Grace O'Malley was such a woman. While Sir Francis Drake and other Elizabethan Sea Rovers gained notoriety as pirates, Granuaile would have drifted into obscurity if not for Irish bards and poets. She dared to enter a man's world, and in the process proved to be a successful sailor, chieftain, and pirate.

Mar 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Pirates frequented the waters of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia. Most were English, but some were French or Dutch. The earliest account of piracy occurred in 1582 when Henry Oughtred and Sir John Perrot attacked Portuguese and Spanish fishermen near Avalon. During the 17th and 18th centuries, a few notorious pirates left their calling cards, yet most faded into the annals of history.

Feb 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Among the brethren who prowled the seas in search of treasure were men, and some women, of many nationalities. One group, however, that seems to get short shrift are the pirates who came from Canada or who committed acts of piracy against Canada. This month and next we'll look at some infamous and not so infamous pirates who by birth or deed are forever linked to Canada's maritime history.

Jan 1, 2001 - Cindy Vallar

Anti-piracy training offers seamen a way to detect and deter pirate attacks. While such tactics have proven successful, history shows that piracy will continue to escalate unless law enforcement authorities strike back at the pirates' weakest point-the land.

Dec 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

Modern pirates ply their "trade" for the same reasons their predecessors did. Although their hunting grounds may differ, some regions are more geographically and politically suited to favor the pirates. Depending on where they hunt, pirates favor different means to acquire their plunder. Take a closer look at the pirates of today.

Nov 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

A pirate's main objective is to acquire money. To that end he chooses a target that will provide him the greatest success with the least danger to himself. He may find it lucrative, but what do those losses mean to commerce and the world?

Oct 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

During the Golden Age of Piracy, piracy attracted some because of promised riches with little fear of prosecution. The likelihood of being brought to justice is the same if not greater today. Why? The legal definition of what makes a crime an act of piracy and the perpetrator of said crime a pirate.

Sep 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

Pirates today are far from being the romantic images portrayed by Hollywood. In this five-part series I'll examine modern piracy in more detail: pirate hot spots, their methods, what constitutes piracy, what's being done to combat piracy, the economic effects of piracy, and anti-piracy techniques.

Aug 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

Time and distance separated Murat Rais, Kanhoji Angria, and Howell Davis, but each of these men employed audacious cunning to become successful pirates. Although probably an Albanian by birth, Murat Rais rose high in the ranks of the Barbary corsairs. The African Kanhoji Angria terrorized British ships in the Indian Ocean, and the Welsh seaman turned pirate, Howell Davis, hoodwinked governors into believing that he hunted pirates for a living.

Jul 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

Pirates were notorious for their lawlessness and brutality. Yet they adhered to the ideals of the French Revolution-liberty, equality, and brotherhood-a century before that country's monarchy fell. Their Articles of Agreement set them apart from other naval and governmental institutions of the time because they incorporated principles of democracy.

Jun 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

At the height of her power, Cheng I Sao commanded a pirate fleet that surpassed the navies of many countries. In addition to more than 200 oceangoing junks armed with 20-30 cannon and manned by up to 400 pirates each, she controlled 600-800 coastal vessels (12-25 cannon, 200 men) and dozens of river junks (20-30 men). She set up a network of spies who watched the harbors and reported potential targets.

May 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

How many different synonyms can you think of for pirate? Buccaneer, corsair, marooner, swashbuckler. These are just a few, but do they really mean the same thing as pirate?

Apr 1, 2000 - Cindy Vallar

Six feet tall. Coal black hair. Piercing dark eyes. Clean-shaven with sideburns. Handsome. Benevolent and cool-headed. Frightful temper. Debonair. Chivalrous. Swashbuckler. Rogue. Enigma. This was Jean Laffite, a privateer who operated a vast smuggling network in and around New Orleans during the first two decades of the Nineteenth Century. Some called him pirate. Others called him friend. After the Battle of New Orleans in 1815, all called him hero.

Feb 18, 2000 - Cindy Vallar