Golden Age Of Piracy Thesis Statement

The Golden Age of Piracy

The Golden Age of Piracy appeared with the rise of new empires and the discovery of The New World. Though throughout history piracy has been a recurring problem, but none of those times compare to The Golden Age of Piracy. Generating from 1655 to the 1730s, the greatest acts of piracy were recorded in history, with 2,500 to 10,000 total active pirates during this era. Whenever there were unprotected trade routes and treasures to be captured, pirates prevailed. Many pirates expressed the earliest ideas of freedom and democracy. Thesis Statement.

Most pirates were originally seamen that severed for the British naval ships. When many of those men lost their jobs they turned to piracy to make a living (“Life Aboard Ship

in the Golden Age of Piracy”). Conditions on the naval ships were horrendous.Empowered ship captains treated their sailors poorly. The seamen worked extremely hard while putting their lives endanger. Handling cargo, working in freezing weather and contracting disease, caused many crew members to be killed. Water came to be vile and even transmitted disease. Many of the sailors reverting to drinking alcohol because diseases could not spread through it. Diseases still however, spread through rats, cockroaches, and other pests(“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of Piracy”). Such illnesses included Dysentery, and Typhus. To make matters worst, most food on board spoiled and became infested with maggots and germs. Since food was so disgusting and ships had no fresh fruits and vegetables, inducing sailors to lack vitamin C. Contributing to a disease that killed more sailors than anything else; Scurvy. Gums bled, fevers skyrocketed, and scars reopened if sailors contracted this disease. obviously men did not want to sign up to work for the naval forces. England reacted by forcibly recruiting its sailors (“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of Piracy”). The life of a seaman was a hard and tough one. This kind of life unquestionably prompted changing to the life of a pirate (“Golden Age of Piracy”).
Many pirate ships ran on a form of democracy.

This gave crew members a say and limited the captain's control. Countless sailors were ready to ditch the naval ships and join the pirates. When pirates raided ships, they gathered up the sailors and stood them in a straight line. They asked who would like to join them and many sailors immediately stepped forward (“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of Piracy”). Upon joining, all new crew members had to a sign The Pirate Code. This being set of articles that stated food and liquor were distributed equally, division of the treasure was equal, injuries would be paid for, and everyone had a vote. “There were three levels of authority on a pirate ship: the captain, the quartermaster, and the pirate council”(“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of Piracy”). The captain had complete control over the crew, but could be voted off if they found him unworthy. Then came the quartermaster who was in charge of everybody getting an equal share and treatment. Finally, was the ship's crew, they were the most important part of a pirate ship. They kept the ship in tack and were the manpower behind every attack. Without the crew, the captain could not have been able to hold a successful attack. The Golden Age of Piracy started somewhere, and it began with a famous explorer (“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of

Piracy”).
Christopher Columbus is well remembered for discovering the New World, but little do people know is that he was the first to practice piracy. Columbus sailed onward with pure ideas and his loyalty to Spain, in the beginning of his journey. Discovering lands full of wealth, Columbus became unjust. He resorted to murder and slavery of the natives, just for his own covetousness (“Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of Piracy”). Piracy consists of murder, robbery, and vandalization of property. Columbus committed every one of these acts. He failed to be a legalized explorer, and he disregarded the wishes of the Queen. Murdering the natives and destroying the land for riches caused him to become skilled in piracy (“Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of Piracy”) . After the discovery of the New World, trade between the colonies and Europe boomed causing The Golden Age of Piracy to take hold (Krysteck, Lee).
In 1494 Spain and Portugal were divided and the Spanish stole gold from the Aztecs. Other countries became infuriated and wanted a share of the gold to (Krysteck, Lee). European nations soon were at war with each other, known as the war of the Spanish Succession. Europe began attacking ships sailing through the Spanish Main that possessed treasure. The government issued letters of marque, which allowed privately owned ships to attack enemy ships for their riches (Krysteck, Lee).Men were called privateers who took part in this activity. Then the privateers would split the booty captured with the government. Privateers were legal pirates as long as they shared the loot with their employers. But many became greedy and attacked ships that their superiors were not at war with (Krysteck, Lee).
The Buccaneering Era rose when the Spanish Empire moved massive riches out of the Spanish Main (“Buccaneering Era”).

Spain colonized the Spanish Main in 1630. The main source of food on the island were pigs. Settlers cooked the pigs on an open fire which was referred to buccaning. This is how the settlers received their name the Buccaneers. As the population grew on the Spanish Main, the Spanish became nervous. They slaughtered the pigs and destroyed the only food source on the island. Many buccaneers turned to piracy to meet their needs (Krysteck, Lee). The buccaneers attacked ships in the Indian Ocean, West African Coast, Caribbean waters, and the Atlantic Sea (“Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of Piracy”). Pinnaces happened to be the main attack ship for the buccaneers. They were small and swift, so the buccaneers could sneak up on merchant ships and surprise attack them (Krysteck, Lee). Treasure was not just the only thing they were after. They would also steal food, water, alcohol, clothing, and weapons (“Golden Age of Piracy”).These men followed no rules, so whatever they wanted they got. Buccaneers soon found out it was difficult to attack Spanish ships crossing the ocean, and instantly captured the treasure before it was put on the ships. Weak and defenseless Spanish towns shortly became the buccaneers main source of attacks. As time went on, the buccaneers turned into pirates that were rough and reckless (“Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of

Piracy”).
Some pirates were cruel and merciless, but most were sailors trying to make a living. The life of a pirate was profitable, likeable, and allowed men to attack their enemies. Pirate ships were mostly run democratically. The crew usually discussed where they wanted to sail and who they wanted to attack (Krysteck, Lee). On each pirate ship they had rules of conduct for the crew. These referred to the Articles of Agreement, which was also known as the pirate code. If a member of the crew broke the pirate code, they were often punished with no remorse (“Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of Piracy”). As pirates grew in numbers they sought out places called safe havens. Places like these allowed pirates to rest, stockpile on food, gather supplies, and repair their ships without the threat of the nations (“Life Aboard Ship in the Golden Age of Piracy”). Some famous safe havens were Tortuga, Port Royal, New Providence, and Madagascar (“The Pirate Round”). As attacks became more frequent, Jamaica gave strict orders to break up the buccaneers and exterminate their operations (“Buccaneering Era”). Being driven away from their safe havens, the buccaneers spread themselves out. This caused them to become more vicious and crueler than they had ever been before (Famous Pirates and the Golden Age of Piracy”). The privateers got bored with peacetime and that brought on the start of the pirate round (“Buccaneering Era”).
“The pirate round was a sailing route created by sailing from the Western Atlantic to the northern part of Africa. There pirates would sail down the coast of Africa plundering vessels as they went” (“The Pirate Round”). In 1693, Thomas Tew had set the pirate round in motion. He sailed around Africa into the Indian Ocean. There he raided ships, which appealed to other pirates. Soon he had many followers that brought forth more pirates than ever seen in history (“The Pirate Round”). Though the pirate round trade route would not have been successful without the help of two merchants; Adam Baldridge and Frederick Philipse (“The Pirate Round”). These men supplied food, clothing, alcohol, and other essentials to the pirates. But most importantly, the merchants revealed the routes of ships filled with treasure. Giving the pirates the opportunity to retrieve these vessels (“The Golden Age of Piracy”).