What was the age of piracy

However, it was in the early 18th century, when the pirates were the most overwhelming and influential in history of the world. It was a time, in which almost all important sea-trade routes were constantly impacted by enormous number of notorious sea-robbers. That period is idealistically called Golden Age of Piracy. The Golden Age of Piracy began in mids, just as the last buccaneers disappeared from the Caribbean.

Would you have that era come to an end on your watch? I aim to bring it back. But for that, I need the Brethren Court. All the Court. Categories History Piracy Add category. Cancel Save. Cite this book. Request an exam or desk copy. Skip to Description Reviews Contributors. From historical accounts to today's pop culture, this volume paints a broad picture of piracy during its 'Golden Age.

The Golden Age of Piracy is a provocative, scholarly, and entertaining book on a topic we only think we know about. This superb collection harnesses the best and most innovative scholarship on Atlantic piracy, ranging from the real and material to the pirate's troubled public image.

Historians, literary scholars, and economists all weigh in on why piracy took off in American waters after the English seizure of Jamaica and why it was largely suppressed within a few generations. Navy "press gangs" roamed the streets when sailors were needed, beating able-bodied men into unconsciousness and putting them on board a ship until it sailed. Comparatively, life on board a pirate ship was more democratic and often more profitable. Pirates were extremely diligent about sharing the loot fairly, and although punishments could be severe, they were rarely needless or capricious.

Perhaps "Black Bart" Roberts said it best, "In an honest service there is thin commons, low wages, and hard labor; in this, plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power; and who would not balance creditor on this side, when all the hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a sour look or two at choking.

No, a merry life and a short one shall be my motto. Translation: "In honest work, the food is bad, the wages are low and the work is hard. In piracy, there is plenty of loot, it's fun and easy and we are free and powerful. Who, when presented with this choice, would not choose piracy? The worst that can happen is you can be hanged. For pirates to prosper there must be a safe haven where they can go to restock, sell their loot, repair their ships and recruit more men.

In the early s, the British Caribbean was just such a place. Towns like Port Royal and Nassau thrived as pirates brought in stolen goods to sell. There was no royal presence, in the form of governors or Royal Navy ships in the area. The pirates, possessed of weapons and men, essentially ruled the towns.

Even on those occasions when the towns were off-limits to them, there are enough secluded bays and harbors in the Caribbean that finding a pirate who did not want to be found was nearly impossible.

Around or so, England decided to put an end to the pirate plague. More Royal Navy ships were sent and pirate hunters commissioned.