In this article, readers are offered material that reveals some interesting details of such a phenomenon of human history as the "Golden Age" of piracy.
Rest only in our dreams
How long did the pirates manage to escape justice? How long did their careers usually last? And how often did they manage, having filled the treasure chests during the years of sea robbery, to retire? To answer these questions, you can cite some interesting moments in the biographies of twelve of the most famous sea robbers of the "Golden Age" of piracy (in the expanded sense), which lasted for about seventy years. The conditional date of its beginning can be considered 1655, when the British captured Jamaica (which allowed pirates to settle in Port Royal, as before on Tortuga), and the end date in 1730, when piracy in the Caribbean and Atlantic (and even earlier in the Indian ocean) was finally eliminated.
Tortuga Island. Citadel of pirates of the Caribbean from the 1630s to the early 1690s Map of the 17th century.
Edward Mansfield - was a privateer (received a patent from the governor of Jamaica) in the West Indies from the early 1660s to 1666. He headed the pirate flotilla. He died in 1666 from a sudden illness during an attack on the island of Santa Catalina, and according to other sources he died as a result of an attack by the Spaniards on his way to Tortuga for help.
Francois L'Olone - was a pirate captain in the West Indies. Pirated from 1653-1669. He died in 1669 in Darien Bay, off the coast of Panama, during an Indian attack.
Henry Morgan - was a pirate in the West Indies from the 50s of the XVII century, and from 1667-1671. privateer (received a patent from the Governor of Jamaica). He was the leader of a pirate flotilla and even received the unofficial title "Admiral of the Pirates". He died a natural death in 1688 (presumably from cirrhosis of the liver due to excessive consumption of rum) in Port Royal, Jamaica.
Thomas Tew - for several years (presumably since 1690) he was a pirate in the West Indies, and from 1692-1695. privateer (received a patent from the Governor of Bermuda). He is considered the discoverer of the pirate circle. Was a pirate captain in the Indian Ocean. He died in the Red Sea in the area of the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait in September 1695 during an attack on the Prophet Mohamed merchant ship. Tew suffered a terrible death: he was hit by a cannonball.
Pirate circle. This route was used by the British pirates of the West Indies and the Atlantic from the end of the 17th century. and until the beginning of 1720.
Henry Avery, nicknamed "Long Ben" - from 1694-1696. was a pirate captain in the Indian Ocean. After the capture of the merchant ship Gansway in the Red Sea in 1695, he sailed back to the West Indies. Then he ended up in Boston, after which he disappeared. A bounty of £ 500 was assigned to his head, but Avery was never found. According to some rumors, he moved to Ireland, according to others, to Scotland.
William Kidd - from 1688 he was a filibuster, and then a privateer in the West Indies (received a patent from the governor of Martinique). He went over to the side of the British and retired for a while. In 1695, he was hired by influential New England men to capture pirates, including Thomas Tew, and received a privatization patent for plundering ships flying the French flag. However, due to the outbreak of a riot, he was forced to engage in sea robbery, which lasted from 1697-1699.
Voluntarily surrendered to the hands of justice. Hanged (placed in an iron cage) May 23, 1701on the verdict of the court in London for the murder of the sailor William Moore and the attack on the merchant ship "Kedakhsky merchant".
Edward Teach, nicknamed "Blackbeard" - from 1713 he was an ordinary pirate with Captain Benjamin Hornigold, and from 1716-1718. he himself was the captain of pirates operating in the Caribbean and the Atlantic. He was killed in a skirmish with Lieutenant Robert Maynard on the deck of the sloop Jane on November 22, 1718, off Okrakoke Island, off the coast of North Carolina.
Fight on the deck of the Jane. In the center is Robert Maynard and Blackbeard. Painting of the early XX century.
Samuel Bellamy - Was a pirate captain in the Caribbean and Atlantic from 1715-1717. Drowned in a storm on April 26-27, 1717 aboard the Waida with most of the crew off the coast of Massachusetts, in the Cape Cod area.
Edward England - was a pirate in the Caribbean from 1717, and from 1718-1720. captain of pirates in the Indian Ocean. It was landed by a rebellious team on one of the uninhabited islands in the Indian Ocean. He managed to return to Madagascar, where he was forced to engage in begging. He died there, in 1721, in complete poverty.
Steed Bonnet - was a pirate captain in the Caribbean and Atlantic from 1717-1718. Hanged by court order on December 10, 1718 in Charleston, North Carolina, for piracy.
Hanging of Steed Bonnet on December 10, 1718 A bouquet of flowers in his hands means that the person being executed has repented of his crime. Engraving of the beginning of the 18th century.
John Rackham, nicknamed "Calico Jack" - was a smuggler for several years, and since 1718 a pirate captain in the Caribbean. In 1719 he was pardoned by the Governor of New Providence Woods Rogers. However, already in 1720 he began to work on the old. Hanged (and placed in an iron cage) by court order on November 17, 1720 in Spanish Town, Jamaica, for piracy.
Bartolomeo Roberts, nicknamed "Black Bart" - was a pirate captain in the Caribbean and Atlantic from 1719-1722. He died on February 10, 1722 from being hit by a grape-shot salvo off the western coast of Central Africa, in the area of Cape Lopez, during the attack of the British royal warship "Swallow".
As you can see, the life of pirates, even such notorious thugs, for the most part was short-lived. Any person who decided to connect his life with sea robbery in those harsh times was almost certainly going to die. And those lucky ones who managed to survive lived out their lives in poverty and fear for their lives. Of these famous pirates, only Morgan (and possibly Avery) ended his life as a free and wealthy man. Only a very few pirates managed to amass a fortune and retire. Almost everyone was waiting for the gallows, death in battle, or the deep sea.
What the pirates looked like
Fiction and cinema have created in the minds of most people the classic image of a pirate with a colorful bandana on his head, a ring in his ear and a black bandage on one eye. In fact, the real pirates looked very different. In real life, they dressed in the same way as ordinary sailors of their time. They did not have any specific clothing of their own.
Exquemelin, himself a pirate from 1667-1672. and who was directly involved in the famous pirate expedition led by Morgan to capture Panama (city), wrote:
"After walking a little more, the pirates noticed the towers of Panama, pronounced the words of the spell three times and began to throw up their hats, already celebrating the victory in advance."
Filibusters in the captured Spanish city. 17th century engraving.
In his book "Pirates of America" in 1678, Exquemelin never mentions that the pirates wore headscarves on their heads. It was only logical that in the tropical heat and scorching sun that are common in the Caribbean most of the year, wide-brimmed hats offered good sun protection. And in the rainy season, they helped not to get wet to the skin.
Pirate captains François L'Olone and Miguel Basque. 17th century engraving.
Did pirates wear wide-brimmed hats at sea all the time? Most likely not, since during a strong wind at sea they would probably be blown off their heads. Since the 60s. XVII century wide-brimmed hats are rapidly being replaced by the hugely popular cocked hats. It is in cocked hats that most of the pirates are depicted in ancient engravings of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
Henry Avery, nicknamed "Long Ben". Engraving of the early 18th century.
As a rule, sailors in those days had one set of clothing in which they wore until it was completely worn out. Then they bought a new suit. In addition, the people who hunted sea robbery always had the opportunity to take good clothes from their victims on the captured ship, unless, of course, the pirates decided to declare everything captured by common booty and sell them at auction to their dealers in the port. And clothing, before the era of mass production in the 19th century, was expensive. Although sometimes pirates dressed like real dandies. So, the famous pirate of the early 18th century. Before the battle, Bartolomeo Roberts wore a bright red vest and trousers, a hat with a red feather and a diamond cross on a gold chain.
Bartolomeo Roberts, nicknamed "Black Bart". Engraving of the early 18th century.
Judging by old engravings, many pirates wore mustaches and sometimes beards. For pirate Edward Teach, his thick and truly black beard has become an integral part of the image. Sometimes he weaved ribbons into it.
In addition, he put cannon wicks under his hat, which he burned before battle, which caused the pirate captain's head to be enveloped in clouds of smoke, which gave him an ominous, devilish look.
Blackbeard also wore crosswise, over his suit, two wide belts with six loaded pistols. He looked really frightening, given the insane, wild look that was still noted by contemporaries and well conveyed by old engravings.
Edward Teach, nicknamed "Blackbeard". Fragment of an engraving of the early 18th century.
Almost all engravings of the 17th-early 18th centuries. pirates are depicted with long hair or with then fashionable wigs - allonge. For example, Henry Morgan had thick and long hair, according to the fashion adopted at the time.
Portrait of "Admiral of the Pirates" by Henry Morgan. 17th century engraving.
As for wigs, this thing is impractical, and they are unlikely to be worn while swimming. Besides, wigs were expensive, were beyond the means of most pirates, and most likely they did not need them. Rather, a good wig was a symbol of status, the leaders of the pirates could afford it (before that, having taken the wig from some nobleman or merchant on a robbed ship). Captains could wear a wig (along with an expensive suit) when they disembarked at a major port to impress the assembled audience.
Edward England. Fragment of an engraving of the early 18th century.
Like all sailors of the 17th-18th centuries, pirates of the West Indies and the Indian Ocean wore wide trousers that reached just below the knees and were tied with ribbons. Many wore culottes - the so-called "women's pants". They differed from the usual volume, since they were very wide and rather resembled a woman's skirt divided in half. It is known that it was "women's pants" that Edward Teach wore (in the picture presented in the first chapter, the artist depicted Blackbeard in just such "women's pants").
Pirate of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Pants tied with ribbons around the knees are clearly visible. Drawing of the XIX century.
As for rings or other jewelry in the ears, in reality the pirates did not wear them, or at least there is no historical evidence of such a custom. They are not mentioned either in Exquemelin in "Pirates of America" in 1678, nor in Charles Johnson in "The General History of Robberies and Murders Perpetrated by the Most Famous Pirates" in 1724, or in other historical sources. In addition, in almost all engravings, pirates' ears are covered with long hair or wigs, according to the then fashion. However, it should be mentioned that a century earlier (in the 16th century), men in Western Europe preferred short haircuts and wore earrings (but not rings). But already from the beginning of the 17th century. long hair came into vogue, and with it jewelry in men's ears disappeared, which was also facilitated by the increasingly widespread puritanical views in England and Holland. At the same time, it was not customary for men to pull their hair into a bun at the back of the head. This was done only if they were wearing a wig.
Portrait of the first leader of the filibusters of Jamaica Christopher Mings. Painting of the 17th century.
And why, one wonders, wear rings in your ears, if no one will see them under long hair or under a wig anyway?
John Rackham, nicknamed "Calico Jack". Engraving of the early 18th century.
The myth of pirates wearing a black patch on a damaged eye turned out to be incredibly stable. There is no historical evidence that pirates with damaged eyes covered them with blindfolds. There is not a single written source or engraving of the 17th-18th centuries. with a description or image of bandaged sea robbers.
In addition, there are some written sources that testify to just the opposite - that the pirates deliberately flaunt their old wounds in order to further frighten the enemy.
For the first time, black headbands appear in fiction at the end of the 19th century, first in the form of colorful illustrations in books about pirates (Howard Pyle is considered the first illustrator to depict pirates in a colorful bandana and an earring in their ear), and later in the novels themselves about sea robbers. From there they enter the cinema, once and for all becoming an integral attribute of pirates.
Division of the loot
Pirate loot sharing laws were very different and changed over time. In the middle of the 17th century, when privateering was still widespread (sea robbery on the basis of a permit issued by any state - a marque, a privatization patent, commission, reprisals, robbing ships and settlements of hostile countries), a part of the booty, usually at least 10 percent, privateers (or privateers) were given to the government, which issued them permission to rob. However, the share of the authorities was often much higher. So, in the first privatization patent received by Captain William Kidd from the New England authorities, the share of the authorities in the extraction of the expedition was 60 percent, Kidd and the crew, respectively 40. In the second, received in 1696, the share of the authorities was 55 percent, the share of Kidd and his companion Robert Livingston, 20 percent, and the remaining quarter went to team members, for whom no salary was provided other than captured loot.
Private patent (original) issued to Captain William Kidd in 1696.
Of the remaining production, a part was given to suppliers of foodstuffs, weapons supplies, rum and other necessary equipment (if taken on credit). And finally, that part of the booty that remained with the pirates after these calculations (sometimes quite a bit), they shared among themselves. The captains received more, usually five to six shares.
With the disappearance of privateering in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. the pirates no longer made any payments to the government. There were exceptions, though. So, Blackbeard bribed officials in the ports, who provided him with information about the cargo and the route of merchant ships. Other captains simply gave the governors of the colonies expensive gifts from the loot (in other words, they gave bribes), for general patronage.
In addition, such captains provided the governors of friendly colonies with intelligence information about the state of affairs in the enemy's territory and the movement of his fleet.
In 1694, Thomas Tew (left) presented the Governor of New York Benjamin Fletcher (right) with gems captured in the Red Sea. Drawing of the XIX century.
Gradually, the division of the booty became more and more democratic. At the beginning of the 18th century. captains usually began to receive no more than two or three shares, and officers even less.
Here is how the distribution of booty before the expedition of pirates led by Henry Morgan to Panama in 1671 is described by Exquemelin, who himself participated in this campaign:
After putting things in final order, he (Morgan - Approx. Author) called all the officers and captains of the fleet to agree on how much they should receive for their service. The officers got together and decided that Morgan should have a hundred people for special assignments; this was communicated to all the rank and file, and they expressed their agreement. At the same time, it was decided that each ship should have its own captain; then all the lower officers-lieutenants and boatswains got together and decided that the captain should be given eight shares and even more if he distinguished himself; the surgeon must be given two hundred reais for his pharmacy and one share; carpenters - one hundred reais and one share. In addition, a share was established for those who distinguished themselves and suffered from the enemy, as well as for those who were the first to plant a flag on the enemy's fortifications and proclaim it English; they decided that another fifty reais should be added for this. Anyone who is in great danger will receive two hundred reais in addition to his share. Grenadiers who throw grenades into the fortress should receive five reais for each grenade.
Then compensation for injuries was established: whoever loses both hands must receive, in addition to his share, another one and a half thousand reais or fifteen slaves (at the choice of the victim); whoever loses both legs must receive eighteen hundred reais or eighteen slaves; whoever loses his hand, whether left or right, must receive five hundred reais or five slaves. For those who lost a leg, it did not matter left or right, five hundred reais or five slaves were supposed. For the loss of an eye, one hundred reais or one slave was due. For the loss of a finger - one hundred reais or one slave. For a gunshot wound, five hundred reais or five slaves were supposed to. A paralyzed arm, leg, or finger was paid the same price as for a lost limb. The amount required to pay such compensation was to be withdrawn from the general booty before it was divided. The proposals were unanimously supported by both Morgan and all the captains of the fleet."
The following should be clarified here. Spanish silver coins were called reals. 8 reais is 1 silver piastre (or peso) weighing approximately 28 grams, which the English pirates called the octal.
In 1644, 1 Spanish piaster was equal to 4 English shillings and 6 pence (that is, it cost a little more than one-fifth of an English pound, which consisted of 20 shillings). Economists have calculated that a piastre would be worth about £ 12 today. about 700 rubles And one real accordingly - 1.5 pounds sterling, i.e. approximately 90 rubles
The same Spanish silver piaster of the 17th century, which the English pirates called the octagon
Naturally, to a large extent, these calculations for modern money are speculative, taking into account the past centuries, inflation, changes in the value of inventories, precious metals and stones, the industrial revolution, etc. But in general, for lack of a better, they give a general idea.
To better understand the cost of pirated booty, one can cite as an example the average prices of some goods in England in the 17th-18th centuries. (at the same time, prices did not change significantly throughout almost the entire 17th century; slight inflation began in the last decade of the 17th century and remained so at the beginning of the 18th century):
a 2 pint mug of beer in a pub (a little over 1 liter) - 1 penny;
a pound of cheese (a little less than a pound) - 3 pence;
a pound of butter, 4p;
pound of bacon - 1pen and 2 farthing;
2 pounds of beef - 4p
2 pounds of pork tenderloin - 1 shilling;
a pound of herring - 1 penny;
live chicken - 4p.
A cow cost 25-35 shillings. A good horse cost from £ 25.
All the captured booty was placed before the division in a certain place on the ship under the protection of the quartermaster (the captain's assistant who monitored the discipline on the ship). As a rule, the loot was divided at the end of the voyage. First of all, even before the division, a predetermined compensation was paid from the general fund to the pirates who received wounds and mutilations during the battle. Then they received additional shares for those who distinguished themselves in battle. Also, out of turn, remuneration (service fee) was paid to the surgeon, carpenter and other team members who helped in the voyage. Naturally, all of the above could also receive shares in the production due to them on a common basis.
In general, the laws of pirates of the XVII-XVIII centuries. were surprisingly progressive for their time. Those injured and wounded were entitled to a predetermined compensation, and out of turn. And this at a time when social security legislation, even in the most advanced countries of Europe, was still in its infancy. A simple worker who lost his ability to work due to an industrial injury, in most cases, could only rely on the goodwill of the owner, which did not always happen.
When dividing the spoils, everyone took an oath on the Bible that he did not hide anything and did not take anything unnecessary.
Naturally, only gold and silver could be accurately distinguished. The rest of the cargo, and it could be anything: spices, tea, sugar, tobacco, ivory, silk, precious stones, porcelain, and even black slaves, were usually sold to dealers in ports. In general, the pirates tried to get rid of the bulky cargo as soon as possible. The proceeds were also shared among the team. Sometimes, for various reasons, the seized cargo was not sold, but also divided. In this case, the property was estimated very approximately, which often entailed quarrels and mutual grievances.
In the West Indies, when attacking Spanish settlements, pirates always tried to capture as many prisoners as possible for whom a ransom could be obtained. Sometimes, the ransom for the prisoners exceeded the value of other valuables captured during the campaign. They tried to get rid of the prisoners for whom it was not possible to get a ransom as soon as possible. They could be abandoned in the plundered city or, if the prisoners were on the ship, landed on the first island that came across (so as not to feed in vain), or simply thrown overboard. Some prisoners for whom ransom was not given could be left to serve on a ship for several years or sold into slavery. At the same time, contrary to the now widespread opinion, in that era, not only black Africans, but also completely white Europeans, who were also bought and sold, could become slaves. It is curious that Morgan himself was sold in his youth for debts in Barbados. True, unlike Africans, whites were sold into slavery only for a certain period. So, the British in the colonies of the West Indies in the 17th century. there was a law: anyone who owes 25 shillings is sold into slavery for a year or six months.
Henry Morgan and the Spanish prisoners. Painting of the early XX century.
It is curious that sometimes pirates exchanged prisoners for the goods they needed. So, Blackbeard once exchanged a group of prisoners with the authorities for a chest with medicines.
The most coveted prey of pirates in the Indian Ocean was the large, heavily laden, East India Company merchant ships, which transported a variety of goods from India and Asia to Europe. One such ship could carry 50 thousand pounds worth of cargo in the form of silver, gold, precious stones and goods.
Ship of the East India Company. Painting from the beginning of the 18th century.
In general, historians suggest that the Indian Ocean brigands were the most successful in the history of piracy. So, when it came time to divide the spoils, rarely did any of them receive less than £ 500. Whereas for filibusters of the Caribbean it was considered good luck to get at least 10-20 pounds.
The following examples illustrate this.
In 1668, about five hundred pirates led by Morgan attacked Portobello, a Spanish port on the coast of Panama. Having plundered Portobello and taking the townspeople as hostages, Morgan demanded a ransom from the Spaniards who fled into the jungle. Only after receiving a ransom in the amount of 100 thousand reais, the pirates left the plundered city. The next year, 1669, Morgan, at the head of a whole pirate flotilla, attacked the Spanish cities of Maracaibo and Gibraltar in New Venezuela. The pirates prey on gold, silver and jewelry totaling 250,000 reais, not counting goods and slaves.
Morgan's filibusters storm Portobello. 17th century engraving.
This catch of the filibusters of the Caribbean, although it seems large, cannot be compared with the catch of the pirates of the Indian Ocean.
For example, when Thomas Tew in 1694captured a merchant ship sailing to India in the Red Sea, each member of the team received from 1200 to 3 thousand pounds in gold and precious stones - a lot of money at that time. The share of Tew himself was 8 thousand pounds.
Henry Avery in 1696 seized gold, silver and precious stones in the Red Sea on the Gansway merchant ship for a total of 600,000 francs (or approximately 325,000 pounds).
Madagascar. The small island of Sainte-Marie off the east coast has been a haven for pirates of the Indian Ocean since the late 17th century. and until the 1720s. Map of the 17th century.
The pirates of the Indian Ocean also hold the record for capturing the largest loot in the history of piracy of all times and peoples. In 1721, near the coast of Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean, the English pirate John Taylor captured the Portuguese merchant ship Nostra Senora de Cabo, which was carrying a cargo worth 875 thousand pounds! Each of the pirates then received, in addition to gold and silver, several dozen diamonds. It is difficult even to imagine how much this cargo would cost now.
To be continued.
