Welcome
to the Golden Age of Piracy. In this section, you can learn
about who the pirates were, how they operated and the types
of ships and weapons they used.
If you have listened to the Pirate Jack book, this
area will expand on the book's historical setting and many
aspects of life among the pirates.
The pirate area is for ages 13 and higher.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Introduction
to Pirates
The Romantic Image of Piracy
Treasure Island
From Books to Film
The Appeal of Piracy
The Spanish Main
The Spanish Galleons
The Buccaneers
Pirate Ships
The Jolly Roger
Attacking Merchant Ships
Pirate Code of Conduct
A map
of the Caribbean, where the Golden Age
of Piracy occurred.
Introduction
to Pirates
We most often think of pirates together with tropical islands
in the Caribbean. This is because the Caribbean, which is
comprised of the islands of the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica,
Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico and the Cayman
Islands, was the perfect place for pirates to hide or to
attack merchant vessels.
There were hundreds of safe anchorages where pirates could
clean and repair their ships. There were many islands with
fresh water streams, turtles, fish, hogs and cattle to provide
pirates with food and water. Merchant ships from Africa,
loaded with ivory, gold and slaves passed through. Spanish
treasure ships loaded with silver from Central America made
their way out into the Atlantic and were the greatest prize
for a pirate crew. The Caribbean was a pirate paradise and
was home to at least two thousand of them in the 1700's.
Piracy
was not limited to the Caribbean waters. It was practiced
throughout the world. In the Mediterranean, shipping was
at the mercy of the Barbary Corsairs who sailed out from
the African coast. In Northern Europe, wherever merchant
ships sailed between islands or through straights, pirates
were ready to pounce.
Many pirates were very fine seamen and often made long voyages
across oceans to try their luck in new areas. Their charts
were usually inaccurate, so they relied on good lookouts
and their knowledge of local waters to stay clear of reefs.
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