This video is about history of piracy in the Caribbean.
During the reign of Carol I of Spain, Spain and Portugal have signed a treatise of Tordesillas, with support from the pope allowing only Spanish and Portuguese ships to travel to the Americas.
As a result, Great Britain, France and Netherlands encouraged pirates to take any Spanish or Portuguese gold or riches brought by their ships from overseas.
In 1522 a French pirate Jean Fleury attacked and plundered three Spanish ships in the Atlantic. To his surprise these ships were transporting a huge treasure: the treasure of the Aztec emperor Montezuma.
After that the kings of France and Great Britain have authorized and supported pirates to attack Spanish ships coming from Americas. They were giving them letters of marque.
They have become privateers or buccaneers. Some of them became famous such as the Englishman Sir Francis Drake.
Sir Francis Drake
was the second to circumnavigate the globe after Elcano and he attacked many Spanish ships.
Another famous privateer was the Englishman Henry Morgan. He did raids against Puerto Principe in Haiti, Maracaibo in Venezuela and Panama. He became so powerful that he made the Englishmen to be afraid of him and they arrested him and put him in the tower of London.
As a result of the pirate threats Spain invented de convoys of ships, ships to protect the transport and many harbors were fortified.
In 1665 pirates occupied the island of Jamaica and created a base for them in Port Royal which became the capital of all the Caribbean pirates. Port Royal became a sin city with taverns, gambling and any type of illegal activity.
In 1692 an earthquake and a tsunami destroyed Port Royal. Thousands of pirates were killed, many thought it was a punishment from God for all the debauchery.
In between 1700-1715 the European countries faced each other in war. At the end they had the treatise of Utrecht As a result the Spanish have lost their monopoly to travel to Americas.
After that the pirates were not necessary to England and they became a nuisance. They have lost their protection.
There have been women pirates such as Anne Bonny or Mary Read. They were very courageous, and they were dressed as man.
In this new era the most famous pirate was an Englishman Black Beard. He had spread terror and fear across the seas.
He wandered the seas from 1717-1719 but he had a large fleet capable to defeat the English fleet. Apparently, he had acquired his fame in only two years of being a pirate.
The British governor who defeated him cut his head and hanged it on his ship as an example.
Little by little the British ships were more performant and better armed and pirates were suffering more and more defeats in the XVIII -th century. They were caught and hanged or imprisoned on a ship on Thames in London. They were kept there in horrifying conditions to be seen by other ships entering the harbor so they were an example of what would happen to someone should he embraced the path of being a pirate.
Few other facts
Pirates existed in all times. Julius Cesar was captured by a pirate ship.
Piracy was practiced by Vikings as well.
They have invented the grog a drink with Rhum, water and lemon juice to prevent scurvy. From the word grog is derived the term groggy.
Two other famous pirates never sailed in the Caribbean: Hayreddin Barbarossa, a Turkish pirate from XV th century and Zhang Shi , a Chinese woman pirate who had a large fleet in the XIX century.
The pirate flag was called the Jolly Roger.
Most pirates never buried their treasures on remote islands as depicted in movies or literature but rather they would spend the money in Port Royal.
19 September is the International Day of Pirates language .
They would wear eye patch to accommodate well while passing from sunny deck to their dark cabin.
Sir Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake was an English privateer. He is known for his circumnavigation of the world from 1577 to 1580. He is the first European to reach the California shore which he called the New Albion. He commanded a ship called Golden Hind. He is listed number 2 on Forbes top earning pirates. Due to his accomplishments, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1581 on his ship Golden Hind. He was a herp for the English, and the Spanish nicknamed him El Draque (The Dragon) and king Philip II of Spain offered a reward of 20,000 ducats for his capture or death (which is about 8 million USD).
Sir Henry Morgan
was a Welsh privateer. He was given a letter of marque by the UK, which was like a license to attack and seize Spanish vessels. As a result, he conducted raids on Puerto Principe, Porto Bello, Maracaibo and Gibraltar and Panama City which e sacked. Because the English had signed peace treaty with the Spanish and because he became too powerful the English arrested him in 1672. In 1674 he was freed and then knighted by the king and sent back to Jamaica as Lieutenant Governor. He was again asked to work for the English.
Anne Bonny
was an Irish female pirate operating in the Caribbean. She was one of the few female pirates in history.
She was the pirate partner and lover of another pirate Calico Jack Rackham. She was captured alongside Rackham and Mary Read in 1720. All three were sentenced to death but Bonny and Read were pregnant so their execution stayed. Calico Jack was captured while he and his crew were drunk on their ship. His partner last words towards him were: Had you fought like a man you did not need to be hanged like a dog.
Mary Read
was along Anne Bonny among the few women known to have been convicted of piracy during the Golden Age of Piracy. She would dress like a boy as a child and then as a teenager. Both Anne Bonny and Mary Read would dress as men. When Calico Jack was captured and hanged, they both received delayed sentences claiming they were pregnant.
Black Beard
was an English pirate, and he was the captain of Queen Anne Revenge. He became a renowned pirate, and his nickname was derived from his thick black beard and fearsome appearance. He was reported to have tied lit fuses (slow matches) under his hat to frighten his enemies.