A Pirate by Any Other Name

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Many legendary pirates used the Caribbean for their greatest exploits, attracted by the riches and easy pickings that the New World had to offer. More often than not they attacked ships for food, rum, medical stores or for sought-after crew like doctors and carpenters. Today pirates of the golden era are glorified and romanticized thanks to Disney films like Pirates of the Caribbean, however, these swashbuckling characters were anything but. The great days of piracy began during the 1600s but had petered out by the 1830s when European and North American colonies began their fight against them. Pirates were a brutal bunch living in harsh, squalid conditions. Many did not live to see old age.

A pirate in simple terms is anyone who robs and attacks at sea outside the laws and jurisdictions of a country. There are many terms used to describe pirates. Privateer was the name given to men who sailed on an armed ship under papers, known as a letter of marque, from a government or person. These papers often only gave a vague outline of duties so that captain and crew were left to their own devices to raid and plunder as they wished. Their pay came from the spoils they collected and they gave some to the crown in return for safe harbor. Unauthorized attacks were often overlooked and even welcomed if they were upon enemy ships. Corsaire is the French name for privateer. A privateer fighting for the opposing side would invariably be considered a pirate.

Buccaneers (most likely came from the French word boucanier – which means to smoke) were European settlers in the Caribbean, mostly French, who had jumped ship trying to avoid the harsh naval life at sea where conditions could be pretty grim. They adapted to island life hunting wild animals and smoking the meat. The Spanish became afraid of their growing numbers and decided it best these men were killed. This ruthless treatment by the Spanish made it easy for the British to recruit them as privateers who were more accustomed to life in the tropics then their crews from home.

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Perhaps one of the most famous pirates or privateers—depending on your point of view—was Captain Henry Morgan. Originally from Wales, he operated with the unofficial support of the English Government, ransacking Spanish ports in the Caribbean, including Cuba and Panama, for 30 years. He was briefly arrested in 1672 but was later released and knighted and made deputy governor of Jamaica where, ironically, an anti-piracy law was passed during his administration. He died in Jamaica a rich and respected man.

Edward ‘Blackbeard’ Teach was a notorious pirate originally from Bristol in England who frightened his enemies by putting lit matches in his long twisted beard and hair, which smoked around his face giving him the appearance of a demon in battle. He terrorised Atlantic shipping between 1717 -1718 before he was killed in battle by pirate hunters.  It was said he was an imposing, fearsome figure always armed with pistols, knives and cutlasses which he wore strapped across his chest.  Despite his terrifying nature—or perhaps because of it—he ran a tight ship and was a successful pirate.

‘Calico Jack’ Rackham was almost as famous for his colourful calico shirts as he was for having two female pirates on board and Anne Bonny and Mary Read were said to be as fearsome and as violent as their male counterparts.

‘Black Bart’ Roberts, another well-dressed pirated of his time, racked up a lot of success in his two or so years plundering hundreds of ships. Revered by his crew and feared by everyone else, he was renowned for his bloodthirsty methods of torture.

‘Black Sam’ Bellamy set up base in Trellis Bay in the BVIs and ransacked over 50 ships.

Not all pirates were as brutal and bloodthirsty; ‘Red Leg’ Greaves was a pirate of a different nature. Suffering at the cruel hands of a captain on whose ship he had stowed away as a young boy, Greaves became a proficient pirate. He later quarrelled with the captain who ended up dead.  The crew quickly elected Greaves their new leader.  Although ships were still captured and plundered, slaves and prisoners were treated fairly.  Greaves amassed enough of a fortune to buy a plantation in Nevis.  But being a pirate there was a bounty on his head and he was sentenced to hang in Port Royal, Jamaica. As luck would have it an earthquake shook the island and Greaves was one of the few who managed to escape. Allegedly, he lived out his days on his plantation doing good deeds.

These are just a few of the more colourful characters that roamed the high seas and ransacked the Caribbean. Myth, folklore and Hollywood have twisted their tales and turned these fearsome fellows into glamorous legends of a bygone era – a far cry from the bloodcurdling reality.

Rosie Burr has written for ALL AT SEA since 2010.

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