Wooden Legs & Parrots

• Modern pirate image is largely fictionalized
• Most were seamen (merchant sailors, navy, privateers)
• Most were multinational young men
• Few came from aristocracy
• Captains were often elected and valued for navigation and leadership
• Injuries were common and treated brutally in makeshift ways
• Animals (especially parrots) were kept as exotic souvenirs
• Henry Avery was born in Plymouth, not aristocratic
• In 1694, Avery led a mutiny over delayed pay and turned to piracy
• In 1695, he captured a major Mughal ship carrying immense wealth
• He later retired and disappeared from historical record

Plundering The Ports

• 1492 – Christopher Columbus landed in the Bahamas
• 1502 – Spanish settlement established on Hispaniola
• 1519 – Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs
• 1532 – Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas
• 1600 – Spain imported vast wealth from the New World (~$774M)
• 1523 – French captured Spanish ships, revealing Aztec treasures
• France and Britain began raiding Spanish holdings in the Americas
• Francis Drake raided Spanish in Panama, began circumnavigation, returned after 2 years 9 months raiding, knighted

Sir Henry Morgan

• Widely admired and later socialized with elite British society
• Knighted and appointed Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica
• Owned large estates and sugar plantations
• 1635 – Born in Wales
• 1654 – Joined military forces and helped capture Jamaica for Britain
• 1665 – Began raids on Spanish settlements and rose as a naval leader
• 1667 – Became admiral among the “Brethren of the Coast”
• 1668 – Ransomed Portobello, Panama in a major raid
• 1669 – Escaped a Spanish trap using a gunpowder decoy tactic
• 1670 – Led a large fleet to Panama City and defeated ~1,200 defenders
• 1671 – Arrested in England for violating peace; later moved within court circles
• 1674 – Knighted and made Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica
• 1687 – Died after years of illness and heavy lifestyle

Women Pirates

• Women were considered unfit for sea life, though some joined disguised
• Ching Shih commanded a pirate confederation of ~50,000
• Calico Jack was a minor pirate, known for associating with women
• Anne Bonny was born illegitimately and raised partly as a boy
• She married a sailor and later abandoned him to join Calico Jack
• Mary Read was raised as a boy and served in military roles
• After her husband’s death, she moved to the West Indies and joined Calico Jack
• 1720 – Calico Jack was executed
• Read died in prison from fever
• Bonny’s fate is unknown; she reportedly claimed pregnancy to delay execution

Life at Sea

• 1717 – Major shipwreck off Cape Cod killed ~144 men
• Navigation was difficult; longitude could not be reliably calculated
• Pirate life combined structure with relative freedom
• Heavy drinking, gambling, rough language, and occasional cruelty
• Democratic elements, including electing captains and choosing targets
• Captains held absolute authority during battle and pursuit
• Quartermasters managed disputes, discipline, and boarding actions
• Pirate crews used written articles signed by all members
• Regulated plunder distribution, injuries, and punishment
• Some included compensation for injury (e.g., payouts for lost limbs)

Pirate Attacks

• Pirate attacks were often unresisted, as intent was usually clearly signaled
• Typically looted goods, supplies, and sometimes skilled individuals
• Most involved single ships; only top captains commanded fleets
• Large crews like Black Bart and Blackbeard had ~500 men
• Bartholomew Roberts was among the most successful, capturing 400+ ships
• He was unusually disciplined, avoiding drinking and discouraging gambling
• Pirate flags often used symbols like hourglasses, skeletons, hearts, and weapons
• Black flags signified piracy and death
• Red flags signified battle and no mercy

Violence

• Pirate violence is often romanticized
• “Walking the plank” was extremely rare (only one recorded case, 1829)
• Black Bart whipped men to death
• Henry Morgan burned and boiled women
• Montbars tied trailing guts to a stick and made them dance to death
• Common tortures included limb-stretching and beatings
• Knotted rope was tied around the head until eyes burst
• Marooning was a common execution method

Pirate Haunts

• Port Royal founded in 1655
• By 1680, Port Royal had 3,000 residents with churches, taverns, and shops
• Port Royal was destroyed by a major earthquake; Kingston became capital
• A pirate settlement formed in Madagascar, trading as far as New York
• Disease, rivalries, and harsh conditions ended the colony
• Bay of Campeche/Honduras had harsh swamp conditions and disease
• Nassau became the largest headquarters
• Pirates there were Hornigold, Blackbeard, Bellamy, Vane, Bonnet, Calico Jack
• British warships eventually moved to suppress them

Pirate Ships

• Pirate ships were often faster and better armed than merchant vessels
• Schooners became common only after the Golden Age of Piracy
• Bartholomew Roberts sailed the Royal Fortune (230 men, 51 guns)
• Henry Avery sailed the Fancy (150 men, 46 guns)
• William Kidd sailed the Adventure Galley (152 men, 34 guns)

Buried Treasure

• Most pirates did not bury treasure; wealth was usually spent quickly
• William Kidd was born in Scotland and known for being volatile
• Worked as a privateer in the Caribbean
• Lived in New York, married a wealthy widow, built political ties
• Departed New York with 152 men on a privateering mission
• Later attacked ships outside his commission and was accused of piracy
• Engaged in violence against captured crews
• Declared a pirate by the British government
• Was arrested near Gardiners and Block Islands (fueling buried treasure legend)
• Ultimately tried and executed by hanging

Hunting Down Pirates

• 1718 – Final battle of Edward Teach
• Virginia governor organized an anti-piracy expedition
• Lieutenant Maynard ambushed Blackbeard by hiding men below deck
• Blackbeard was shot and stabbed multiple times but continued fighting
• By 1720, ~2,000 pirates operated in the Caribbean and North America
• Piracy rapidly declined due to pardons, naval patrols, bounties, and executions
• By 1726, fewer than 200 remained
• The Royal Navy had 67 ships-of-the-line, 63 warships, and ~13,000 seamen
• Even smaller naval vessels had 50 guns, comparable to Queen Anne’s Revenge

Trials & Executions

• For ~400+ years, pirates were executed at Execution Dock
• Bodies were often disposed of in unmarked graves, dissection, or hung in chains
• 1716–1726: ~400 pirates were hanged
• Trials typically lasted only 1–2 days, even for large groups
• Pirates had no legal representation and were often uneducated
• Witnesses rarely testified in their defense