ARRRR! Get ye on deck; weíre setting sail for ìThe Republic of Pirates.î Summertime, if you canít be sitting beside an ocean, the next best thing is indulging in a rip-roaring adventure, where the rum flows freely and the sea rages. Meet the real ìPirates of the Caribbean,î courtesy of journalist Colin Woodard. He scoured archives and journals on both sides of the Atlantic to reveal the history of ìthe Golden Age of Piracy,î a maritime revolt lasting from 1715 to 1725.No event happens in a vacuum, each is built upon past circumstances. Woodward sets the scene with vivid descriptions of everyday life in England at the end of the 17th century, showing a sailorís lot in life through Henry Avery, who enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1688. Subjected to beatings, substandard food and no salary for years on end, ìSailors said that prisoners led a better life.î Many of these men were ìconscriptedî into service by the British, French, Dutch or Spanish; and their social status was barely a notch above that of a slave. Their captains treated them as chattel, showing little concern for their safety, health or freedom.Monarchs ruled the world, leaving little room for the concept of ìindividual rights.î Even so, Avery, who loved sailing, thought he would receive better treatment by signing on with a group of wealthy English merchants, who were ìassembling a squadronî of heavily armed ships. Their plan was to trade with the Spanish in the Caribbean, and do battle with any French ships they encountered. Things didnít go exactly as planned. Avery hijacks a ship in Spain and sets course for the Cape Verde Islands, 350 miles off West Africa. He is destined to become the most famous pirate of his decade as he plunders the coasts of Africa and India before sailing to the Caribbean. When he lands in Nassau, Avery and his crew are wanted men. Here we read how corruption was another ìhistoric norm.î Crimes could be forgiven, for the right price. Finding ìno proofî against Avery, British Gov. Trott allows him to set sail for Northern Ireland, where Averyís exploits and ill-gotten gains became legendary.Woodard distinguishes between ìpiratesî and ìprivateers,î although, like Avery, most of the men mentioned in this book were both. Pirates have been around since boats first met in open seas, but when a government sanctions their actions, we call them ìprivateers.î A large portion of their captured loot was supposed to go to the ìCrown,î while the remainder was divided among the crew; based on their rank and the whim of their captain.At the turn of the 18th century, Europe was plagued with endless wars and internal rebellions. To defend their trade routes, all countries employed ìprivateersî who could legally attack military and merchant ships flying an enemy flag. When the Spanish War of Succession ended in 1714, these men were no longer needed, and were casually dumped in whatever port they found themselves in at the end of the war. Thus, the Caribbean became home to thousands of stranded sailors, with no income or way of making it back home.Finding himself ìstuck in Port Royal Harbor,î Benjamin Hornigold gathered a few of his drinking buddies, including Edward ìBlackbeardî Thatch, and decided to remedy the situation. All they needed were a few small ships and ìa secure nestî from which to continue attacking the Spanish. Hornigold picked the perfect spot, Nassau, on the western end of the Bahamas. It offered a snug hideaway with quick access to ìthe primary shipping channel for every Europe-bound vessel.î In an odd twist of fate, it was peace that actually gave rise to ìThe Republic of Pirates.îUnder the Republicís laws, all crew members were equal. Each member voted to determine who would become captain, what ships or ports would be raided and how the spoils would be divided. Although the men were a band of thieves, they created ìa zone of freedom in the midst of an authoritarian age.î In another 50 years, their democratic ideas were echoed by our FoundingFathers.English and Irish sailors made up the majority of the crews, but at least a quarter of the men were societyís castoffs: indentured servants and former slaves. Within six months, Hornigoldís men accumulated more wealth than the entire colony of Bermuda exported annually. Some of that booty came via a hurricane, which grounded Spanish ships off the coast of Florida in July 1715. Itís fascinating how quickly word of the wreck spread, especially when the only form of communication at the time was through direct contact or letters.Woodard now turns his attention to the activities of three pirates: Samuel ìBlack Samî Bellamy, Edward ìBlackbeardî Thatch and Charles Vane. All of these men knew each other and were associated with Hornigold. Bellamy, born in Devon, England, arrived in Boston around 1713. He called himself ìthe Robin Hood of the seas,î although there is little evidence that he enriched anyone other than his own relatives. He sailed along the eastern shore, from Maine to Delaware, as well as the Caribbean.Blackbeard hailed from Bristol, England, and favored the Carolinas for his home base. He and Bellamy became friends while serving together in Hornigoldís fleet. When they took command of their own ships, both used force sparingly. Blackbeard relied on his appalling appearance to instill terror in his captives. He wore three pistols slung across his chest; and, before boarding a ship, he would light fuses tied to his hat, creating ìa halo of smoke and fireî around his face. Itís reported the merchant crews took one look at him and decided to surrender without a fight. While that is no doubt an exaggeration, Bellamy and Blackbeard did manage to capture 300 ships without killing anyone.Charles Vane, on the other hand, had a sadistic nature. Little is known about his early life, but he was the protÈgÈ of Henry Jennings, ìa blustery privateer,î and rival of Hornigold. Vaneís treatment of his captives closely resembled what the British Navy routinely dished out to their enemies. Although Vane was an extremely capable captain, his violent tendencies undermined his authority with his crew. What is so remarkable about this story is how successful a few small bands of men were at plundering vessels on both sides of the Atlantic, bringing ìtransatlantic commerce to a standstill.î Building fleets capable of challenging any ìman-of-war in the Americas,î they targeted shipments of flour, lumber, cloth, wine, gold and slaves; leaving the financially intertwined economies of Europe and the Americas reeling.Something had to be done. Colonies from Maine to Florida were suffering at the hands of pirates, who controlled all the trade routes. A brazen Blackbeard was even reported to be walking the streets of Philadelphia. Enter Woodes Rogers, the ìPirate Hunter.î He was chosen by the Crown to ìconfront the pirates and pacify the Bahamas.î Rogersí story is truly amazing. He circumnavigated the globe as a privateer and managed to survive incredible battles. In one skirmish, half his jaw was blown away by a musket ball; in another, a foeís cannon ball sent splinters flying ñ one pierced Rogersí ankle, leaving his heel pinned to the deck. But perhaps the oddest thing about him was his character. He was one of the few men on earth at the time who didnít believe in taking bribes.Adventure oozes out of this book as Woodard retells the story of hurricanes, sea and land battles, castaways in forgotten villages, the blockade of Charleston and the never ending search for treasure. As youíre basking in the sun reading this book, ask yourself this. Given the way governments treated their citizens in the 1700s, what moral judgments can we make about the pirates? Were they good or evil? Woodard doesnít answer that question. But his history does make us understand why many men were happy to say, ìARRRR! Itís a piratesí life for me.îSadly, I must inform you of the most shocking fact in ìThe Republic of Pirates.î Woodard claims pirates never said, ìARRRR!î
