The 'Golden Age' of Piracy Explained: Privateers, Pirates and Blackbeard

[Music] what do you think of when you hear the word pirate you might imagine men who sail the high seas fire to Rob and loot any ships that cross their path after buing chests of gold in a secret location they splash the rest of their cash in taverns on booze and women with a groggy hangover they return to their ship to continue their plundering but is there much historical truth in this idea of piracy what's the difference between a pirate a Buccaneer and a privateer when did this age of piracy actually happen in this video I'll be exploring the Golden Age of piracy interrogating the myths and uncovering what life at Sea was really like if you want to know more drop us a pirate question in the comments and if this video gets a million views then we we will definitely be making more videos about Pirates don't forget to like And subscribe now then let's sail into the Golden Age of [Music] piracy throughout history there have always been people who stole Goods at Sea known as pirates back in ancient times Pirates threatened the trading routes of ancient Greece and seized cargos of great and olive oil from Roman ships a young Julius Caesar was even captured by csian pirates in the aian sea in 75 BC it didn't end well for the Pirates let's put it that way the most infamous pirates of the medieval period were the Vikings who attacked shipping and raided Coastal settlements in Europe but the so-called golden age of piracy came much later on it is generally bracketed in the Years between 16 50 and 1730 with a growth of several European Empires in the Americas including the French Spanish Dutch and British the quantity of shipping across the Atlantic spiked this was a dangerous time to be on the high seas with the rise of trade came the opportunity to plunder Pirates were able to prey on Merchant vessels in order to make a living piracy became focused around the Caribbean and the coast of the Chesapeake and southern colonies of North America the Caribbean with its many islands and thousands of Bays was ideal for raiding and smuggling the weather was nice too whether it was the sugar and rum originating from the slave plantations in Jamaica or Haiti or the Staggering quantity of silver and gold being mined in New Spain prized shipments of precious Commodities were hugely attractive Target [Music] targets now I simply cannot go on until I address some pirate myths it's time to burst a bubble Pirates wearing eye patches wooden legs and hook hands is largely the stuff of myth now I can already hear you keyboard Warriors bashing away there were some exceptions but there's very little evidence to support the picture book portrayals and Pirates you see in movies one Legend is that eye patches were worn by Pirates so they could automatically adjust to the above and below deck lighting but this has been tested with inconclusive results eye patches might have been worn to cover empty eye sockets eye injuries on a sailing ship were not uncommon and Suare could be damaging to eyesight but there is not much real evidence of Pirates wearing eye patches and showing one's scars was a way of denoting experience and fearsomeness it's also been said that pirates wore gold earpieces in order to pay for a funeral on land rather than to be buried at Sea not true earrings were regarded as a feminite Elizabeth and courtiers were the only men sporting such jewelry and were often mocked as a result similarly wooden legs and hook hands would not have been seen very often on pirate ships Pirates Who had lost the limb were way more likely to be paid benefit out of the ship's operating fund if available so they could retire comfortably Long John Silva a pirate in Robert Lou Stevenson's Treasure Island and Captain Hook in Disney's version of Peter Pan helped perpetuate this myth walk the plank from walking the plank SC to having a parrot as a companion on your shoulder there are many more tropes to cover and some are more true than others we'll cover them as we go along this is right now we've debunked a few myths let's explore who these men and occasionally women were and where they came from during wartime Sailors of all ilk were called upon to fight in their respective navies some Sailors often those who owned a private vessel could be given letters of mark from the crown official documents that gave them permission to attack and Rob enemy ships under a commission of War they would essentially be paid in whatever Loop they could steal the most famous of all privateers is probably English Explorer Sir Francis Drake who made a fortune plundering Spanish settlements in the Americas after being granted a private teering commission by Elizabeth the in 1572 the use of privateers allowed states to project Maritime power beyond the capabilities of their regular navies but there were some tradeoffs the letter of Mark was a contract at the end of the day it had an expiration date that was usually at the end of whatever conflict was taking place at that point the sailors were required to stop their privateering and return to a legitimate line of work but because privateering was generally a more lucrative occupation than milit service it tended to divert Manpower and resources away from the regular navies privateers sometimes went beyond their commissions attacking vessels that didn't belong to the targeted country this extracurricular raiding and pillaging was indistinguishable from piracy at other times outlaw Pirates could operate with the encouragement of a government but without written legal authorization given to privateers the line between Privateer and pirate would become increasingly blurred I should also mention Buckaneers at this point because it's another distinction of pirate terminology a Buccaneer refers primarily to Pirates who attacked Spanish shipping in the Caribbean during the early Golden Age ship AO but it later referred to privateers as well there are other words for pirates too like free booters and cor SS and they all largely mean the same thing Sailors who attacked shipping for plunder many Pirates came from poorer urban areas across Europe in search of a way to make money and reprieve major Wars across the continent including the 30 Years War and English Civil War both took place in the early Golden Age period leaving many destitute the opportunity to escape such a life could be an attractive proposition now the Royal Navy along with other European navies didn't have the best reputation for employee satisfaction ordinary seamen toiled for modest wages and were subject to incredibly strict discipline in contrast privateering and piracy not only offered a chance to get rich quick but also a rare opportunity to exert a degree of power over others what would you choose to do the world's most notorious Pirates terrorized the seven seas and amassed huge riches millions of pounds by today's standards they continue to capture the imagination today so who were they active at the turn of the 18th century William kid or Captain kid as he is often remembered was one of the most renowned privateers and pirates of the Golden Age like so many Pirates before and after him kid had originally begun his career as a privateer commissioned by the British during the 9 years war to defend its trade routes between America and the West Indies he was later employed on a pirate Hunting Expedition in the Indian Ocean but as was the case with many other pirate Hunters The Temptations of plunder and booty were too great to ignore SC kid's crew threatened Mutiny on multiple occasions if he did not commit himself to piracy which he succumbed to doing so in 1698 kid's relatively short career as a pirate was very successful he captured numerous ships including a vessel called the quader which they found to have a cargo worth 70,000 pound one of the biggest halls in the history of piracy unfortunately for kid it was now 2 years since he had begun his original voyage and whilst his attitudes towards piracy had evidently softened attitudes in England had become a lot stricter piracy was to be stamped out and was now declared a criminal act what ensued was one of the most notorious pirate hunts in all of history kid finally arrived in the West Indies in April 1699 only to find that the American colonies were gripped by pirate fever up and down the coast everyone was on the hunt for pirates and his name was at the top of the list the hunt for Captain kid was the first to be documented in newspapers around the Atlantic world the Scottish pirate managed to negotiate a pardon from the English authorities for his actions yet he knew his time was up kid sailed for Boston claiming that he stopped along the way to bury booty on Garder Island and Block Island the New England Governor Lord Richard bellamont himself an investor in kids Voyage had him arrested on the 7th of July 1699 in Boston he was sent to England aboard the frigate at Vice in February 1700 Captain William kid was hanged on the 23rd of May 1701 the first rope put around his neck broke so he had to be strung up a second time his corpse was placed in a jibit at the mouth of the temps River and left to rot as an example to other wouldbe Pirates the story of Captain kid brings along what is probably another pirate myth that of buried treasure for this I tuned in to Rebecca Simon speaking on our podcast Dan Snow's history hit I am in the camp very much that pirate treasure is not a thing we get the rumor from Captain kid because when he was arrested he tried to bribe Lord bellamont saying I hid all the treasure I captured on Gardener's Island bamong sends people there and they don't find anything this really set off the idea especially in the 1800s after the publication of Treasure Island which was all about trying to find buryed treasure people have excavated for Treasure all over the place in the Caribbean as far north as Canada throughout the North American Eastern cboard but nothing has ever been found Pirates had no reason to bury anything they went after Goods such as wine spices textiles medicines anything they could sell in fact back in the 1700s the word treasured simply meant valuable there weren't very many ships carrying those sorts of things there was one case of a Spanish ship carrying gold that was wrecked on the coast of Florida but other than that we don't really have records of any major golden jewels as big findings for pirates so I don't think fairy treasure actually exists sorry to disappoint you all but it doesn't look like there's much pirate gold out there anyway back to famous pirates Edward Teach is arguably the most famous pirate to have ever Liv lived you probably know of him as Blackbeard although it is unclear exactly when teach arrived in the Caribbean it is likely he disembarked as a sailor on Privateer ships during the war of Spanish succession otherwise known as Queen an's War at the turn of the 18th century also known as thatch teach was born in the English Port City of Bristol around 1680 teach may have remained a privateer during the war War however it was not long before the Sailor found himself on the Sloop of the pirate Benjamin hornigold who had also launched raids off Jamaica the main difference now was that teach was stealing and killing from his old employers the British teach clearly made a name for himself his ruthless nature and unrivaled courage led to his quick promotion up the ranks until he found himself equal to Horn gold level of notoriety while his mentor accepted an offer of amnesty from the British government Blackbeard remained in the Caribbean in November 1717 he stole a French slaving vessel La Concord and set about converting it into a fearsome pirate ship of which he would be Captain when he was done with his Renovations The Vessel had the 40 cannons on board and bore the name Queen an's Revenge that winter was a high point of Blackbeard's career with several ships and over 300 crew Men to his name he terrorized the Caribbean and the American Coast capturing numerous Rich prizes and even blockading the Port of Charleston and holding it to Ransom in May 1718 Blackbeard became the most notorious and feared Pirate of the Caribbean according to the Legends he was a giant man with a dark Dusky beard covering half his face dead man tell no he carried two swords at his waist and had banders full of pistols and knives across his chest some reports even say that during a fight he stuck sticks of gunpowder into his long hair to make him look even more terrifying we will probably never know exactly what he looked like but there's no doubt that he was successful as Recent research has discovered he captured over 45 vessels despite his relatively short career as a pirate his reign of terror would not last much longer on the 22nd of November 1718 with an enormous bounty on his head Blackbeard was eventually killed in a sword fight with Royal Marines on the deck of his ship as a powerful symbol to any who dared to follow in his footsteps Blackbeard's severed head was brought back to the governor of Virginia other famous pirates include Charles vain who was involved in a famous attack on the Salvage camp for the wrecked Spanish 1715 treasure Fleet Benjamin hornigold the man who established the Republic of pirates in Nassau Bartholomew Roberts who captured over 200 ships in his career more than any other Pirates combined and and Calico Jack rackam who became famous for his connection to Vain and two of the most famous female pirates in history more on them later as you might have noticed we've used mid Journey for some of our representations of pirates that's because there aren't that many good pictures of the key people why have an image like this when we can have this we simply don't know what Blackbeard or Jack rackam really look like meanwhile a lot of the tales of piracy do blend fact with fiction for example an inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island came from an 18th century Source there was a book published called the general history of the Pirates in 1724 by Captain Charles Johnson it was two volumes of biographies of pirates that was a huge sensation it's never gone out of print you can order a copy online it's an interesting Source because a very much Blends fact with fiction a lot is embellished But it includes really really vivid descriptions of piracy if you've seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean films then a consistent theme is keeping to the pirate code first mentioned by Elizabeth Swan according to the code of the Brethren set down by Pirates Morgan and Bartholomew you have to take me to the captain she says while the idea of one elaborate pirate Cod is fictional real 18th century Pirates did lay out their own specific set of ground rules in the 1720s captain Edward low and Bartholomew Roberts emerged with a set of rules and regulations which set the standards for partical conduct on ships despite their reputation for Anarchy a form of democracy was actually practiced on board pirate vessels captains were elected by their crew it is one of the first rules of Bartholomew Roberts Every Man Has a vote in the Affairs of the moment securing at the start a pirate's right to participate in the selection of the captain the crew also had the right to depose their leader and again this was done through a vote and checks on the captain's power his second in command the quartermaster who was also elected was one such Czech who served as an intermediary between the pirate cre and the captain the quartermaster was the primary executor of punishment if pirates engaged in banned practices such as gambling prostitution or theft and was trusted with the fair distribution of loot this was another surprisingly enlightened aspect of pirate life all treasure secured was distributed with the crew although not completely evenly but even so it was often a better and more lucrative deal for them than receiving a low wage in the Navy where they'd received no share of the spoils diversity was also common on a pirate ship whether it was intentional or not many ships had black crew members who could be escaped enslaved people or Freedman they were just as valued as the rest of the crew members and received their fair share of plunder as payment between 1715 and 1726 it's likely that at least a quarter of pirate Crews were black of Bartholomew Roberts's crew of 152 men at least 25 were black according to trial transcripts Edward Teach was also known to have many fredman and escaped enslaved people as members of his crew up to 60 at one point in his career how well they were treated is unknown Life as a pirate was no Utopia many innocent Sailors were pressed into piracy to replace others who had been killed in battle to be held for ransom or to be brought on as skilled workers such as Physicians Carpenters Navigators musicians and others when put on trial as many Pirates eventually were the most common defense was simple that they had been threatened with death unless they had signed the Articles which implicated them in the first place and if they were lucky enough to avoid capture life at sea could also be extremely rough surprisingly Pirates were generally healthier and less malnourished than other Sailors thanks to their plundering of other ships only a proportion of the items stolen by Pirates were for their monetary gain while the other half was for their survival including items to replenish their own supplies tools and food this also meant they had access to fresh food more frequently lowering their chances of Contracting scurvy but other diseases such as typhus and dysentry still wiped out many sailors at Sea that's not to mention the threat of sunstroke heat exhaustion and severe punishment which would include heavy beatings and whippings not walking the plank walk the plank fresh water was sparse and injuries often led to infections spreading quickly on ships amputations were common and in rare cases there may have been a person with with medical knowledge on board acting as the surgeon in most cases the surgeon was simply someone willing to perform amputations with no anesthetic patients were made to get as drunk as possible to pass out yet obviously this was far from effective the Pirates Life is starting to sound a bit less [Music] alluring now when it came to downtime and there was a lot of it at Sea a pirate had limited options on ships gambling and excessive drinking was banned that isn't to say they didn't do this anyway Pirates nonetheless kept themselves busy cleaning making repairs and playing music music was an essential part of the entertainment and culture on board a pirate ship with an array of Fiddlers harpists Pipers and drummers performing sea shanties that have remained popular ever since ballads were also used to tell stories about pirates in an entertaining fashion the elergy of Captain kid remains one of the most famous ballads to date I can't mention downtime without talking about liquor taverns located in virtually every small to large Port across the globe were a great way to let one's hair down alcohol namely rum was widely available in the Caribbean in the 17th and 18th century and safer to drink than water and if you you consider that the daily rum ration on board Royal Navy vessels was one pint a day where's me I can only imagine the scenes on board a pirate ship with taverns came the broel and other seedy establishments where Pirates could relieve and he built up sexual frustration for months at Sea remember no children or women were allowed on board and I quote If any man were found seducing any of the latter sex and carried her to see disguised he was to suffer death some Pirates had families on Shore should they be lucky enough to be docked at home but often they were no more than character Witnesses in a tactful ploy to evade prosecution historically women were not allowed to remain on ships once they had set sale old-fashioned sailor superstitions fought that women on Merchant and Military vessels were bad luck and could spell disaster at Sea in October 1990 during the Gulf War HMS brilliant Carri the first woman officially to serve on a functioning warship historically women who remained on ships at Sea would have to do so illicitly and in Disguise they would also need to learn the vital skills necessary for seafaring life prior to setting sail without this education it would have proved very challenging to be a female sailor let alone a pirate but they certainly existed born in County Cork in 1697 the female pirate an Bonnie has become an icon of the golden age of piracy in an era when women had little rights of their own Bonnie had to show enormous courage in order to become an equal crew member and respected pirate the illegitimate daughter of her father and a servant Bonnie was taken as a young child to the new world after her father's infidelity was made public in Ireland there she was brought up on a plantation up until the age of 16 when she fell in love with a private soldier named James Bonnie after marrying James much to the disapproval of her father Bonnie established herself in the pirate Hideout of New Providence the extensive network she built with various Pirates soon began to to compromise her marriage as James Bonnie had become a pirate Informer her feelings towards the notorious pirate Jack rackam didn't help matters either and the two ran off together in 1719 aboard rackham's vessel Revenge Bonnie developed an intimate and personal relationship with Mary Reid another female pirate who disguised herself as a man Legend has it that Bonnie fell in love with Reed only to be bitterly disappointed when she revealed her true gender rakam was also thought to have become extremely jealous of the two's intimacy after becoming pregnant with rakon's child and delivering it in Cuba Bonnie was reacquainted with Reed in October 1720 Revenge was attacked by a royal Navy ship whilst most of Ram's crew were drunk Bonnie and Reed were the only crew to resist the crew of Revenge were taken to Port Royal to stand trial in court the true genders of the female prisoners were revealed Anna and Mary did manage to avoid execution by pleading their bellies claiming to be pregnant Reed was to die of fever in prison whilst the fate of Bonnie remains unknown we only know that she was never executed by the late 1720s the Golden Age of piracy was waning far fast mass executions were being carried out and many Infamous pirate leaders were dead in 1739 with the outbreak of the war of Jenkins ear which took place mostly at Sea Britain called upon former Pirates and provided them with an amnesty should they join the Royal Navy or work as a privateer all crimes would be forgiven and there'd be no risk of hanging former Pirates now had a safety net to fall on it would almost be as if their life as a pirate had never existed piracy still exists today the international Maritime bureau's annual report recorded 115 incidents of piracy and armed robbery against ships in 2022 with the majority occurring in Southeast Asia and West Africa yet these acts of piracy do not receive or warrant the same level of Interest as those which occurred during the Golden Age age from Hollywood Blockbusters and theme parks to best-selling video game franchises Pirates have and will always capture our imagination why do we consider those to have sailed under the Black Flag to be so cool I think it's simply because they are thanks again for watching this video I'd really like to recommend all of Rebecca Simon's books on 18th century piracy including her newest book on the real history behind the pirate code I also watched some pirate movie reviews on the history Hit YouTube channel and I listen to a lot of podcasts from across the history hit Network on shows like Dan Snow's history hit and betwix the sheets I've linked all of them in the description below so you can find out more about the Golden Age of piracy also don't forget to ask us any question you want about Pirates and we might well make another video like this video And subscribe to our YouTube channel and you can also watch more pirate mentaries get all of our podcasts ad free and more by subscribing to our app head to history hit.com subscribe or look us up in the App Store and you can use the code Pirates and you'll get 50% off your first three [Music] months night

Channel: History Hit

Views: 141,426

Keywords: history hit, history hit youtube, real pirates of the caribbean, real pirates documentary, real pirates history, golden age of piracy, famous pirates in history, famous pirates documentary, famous real pirates, real blackbeard pirate, real life blackbeard pirate, blackbeard real face, william kidd pirate, golden age of piracy explained, golden age of piracy history, golden age of piracy documentary, anne bonny, pirate history, black flag, assassins creed black flag

Id: ZR7sjMftYmQ

Length: 30min 21sec (1821 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 09 2023