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ABOVE: The letter of marque given to Captain William
Kidd by King William III for his privateering commission,
1696 LEFT: The city of Nassau on the island of New
Providence remains the capital of the Bahamas
“A cold wind was blowing
across the republic,
unsettling the pirate flag
that flew from the hill fort”
which allowed the increasing number of
privateers active in the area to move in.
PRIVATEERS & PIRATES
The Spanish succession war – sparked
by the death of Charles II, last Habsburg
king of Spain, who died childless –
pitted the forces of the Holy Roman
Empire (Austria, Prussia, Hanover),
England and Scotland (joined in the
Union of Great Britain in 1707, Portugal,
the Dutch Republic and one faction of
Spain against France and Spain (loyal to
Philip). The conflict was fought across
Europe and the New World, and was
bigger than anything seen before.
A tactic long employed by the English
during wartime was to skimp on the
cost of a maintaining a big, expensive
navy by issuing ‘letters of marque’ to
private captains, authorising them to
attack any ships flying the flag of an
enemy nation and to capture the cargo
(on the understanding that they should
send a percentage of profits back to the
Crown). Possession of this piece of paper
was the sole difference between being
a privateer (a legal occupation, actively
encouraged by Crown and government)
and a pirate (a criminal act, punishable
by death).
During the succession war, lots of
letters of marque were issued, and
attacks on ships flying Spanish and
French flags as they sailed in American
waters were highly encouraged. When
Britain pulled out of the conflict in 1713,
however, shortly before the Treaty of
Utrecht, these letters were suddenly
worthless, and privateers faced a choice:
give up their lucrative life of violence
and robbery on the high seas, or carry
on beyond the law and become full-time
pirates. It wasn’t a hard decision.
Most of these men – captains and crew
– were lifelong mariners who’d served
in the regular navy, and weren’t about
to rush back. Conditions were appalling,
with draconian rules and horrific
punishments, years at sea with little
reward and scant opportunity to meet
women, lots of discomfort and danger,
and a high probability of early death.
Until the 19th century, the Royal
Navy regularly paid sailors’ wages up
to two years late, and it was common
practice to hold back six months’ pay
simply to dissuade men from deserting
or mutinying. And even when they
were paid, mariners’ salaries remained
unchanged for nearly 150 years, between
1653 and 1797.
By contrast, as privateers and
subsequently pirates, they could
typically expect a proper share of any
spoils blagged from boats they helped
to plunder, could play an active role
in a surprisingly inclusive system, and
enjoy plentiful shoretime in places like
Nassau with its taverns and women. The
GANGSTERS’ PARADISE
The island of Tortuga
Due to their position (perfect for plundering ships
travelling between the New World and Europe),
topography (plentiful coves to hide in) and climate,
the cays of the Caribbean and islands of the Bahamas
made ideal bases for buccaneers, privateers and
pirates. Nassau’s Pirates’ Republic was the biggest
criminal conurbation, but it wasn’t the first. In the
1630s, buccaneers (French, Dutch and English
fortune hunters, mostly former sailors, settlers and
indentured servants) began inhabiting the French
island of Tortuga, which stars as the pirate town in
the Pirates of the Caribbean films. From here they
launched attacks on Spanish ships in the Windward
Passage, and within a decade they’d formed a
community and culture known as the ‘Brethren of
the Coast’. This rogue settlement was constantly
interrupted by Spanish invasions and reclamations
by the French, but in 1657, the Governor of Jamaica,
Edward D’Oley, invited the Brethren over to help him
protect Port Royal, in return for safe harbour.
Tortuga features as the base of
Captain Jack Sparrow in the
Pirates of the Caribbean series