Piracy in the Caribbean

The era of piracy in the Caribbean began in the 1500s and died out in the 1830s after the navies of the nations of Western Europe and North America with colonies in the Caribbean began combating pirates. The period during which pirates were most successful was from the 1660s to 1730s. Piracy flourished in the Caribbean because of the existence of pirate seaports such as Port Royal in Jamaica,Tortuga in Haiti, and Nassau in the Bahamas.

Pirates were often former sailors experienced in naval warfare. They were called buccaneers, from the French "boucanier" (one who smokes meat on a "boucan" (wooden frame set over a fire.)) By setting up smokey fires and boucans with the prepared meat of marooned cattle, these castaways could lure a ship to draw near for trading, at which time the buccaneers could seize the ship. The buccaneers were later chased off their islands by colonial authorities and had to seek a new life at sea, where they continued their ship raiding. Beginning in the 16th century, pirate captains recruited seamen to loot European merchant ships, especially the Spanish treasure fleets sailing from the Caribbean to Europe. The following quote by an 18th-century Welsh captain shows the motivations for piracy:

—Pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts

Piracy was sometimes given legal status by the colonial powers, especially France under King Francis I (r.1515–1547), in the hope of weakening Spain and Portugal's mare clausum trade monopolies in the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. This officially sanctioned piracy was known as privateering. From 1520 to 1560, French privateers were alone in their fight against the Crown of Spain and the vast commerce of the Spanish Empire in the New World, but were later joined by the English and Dutch.

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