The Republic of Pirates ( English Republuc of Pirates ) - an island republic in the West Indies that existed in the Golden Age of piracy and nominally was the territory of the British Empire , although in fact it was not controlled. It was founded by pirates in 1706 and its entire existence was a stronghold and the main base of pirates around the world. Although in a formal sense it was neither a state nor a republic , it was regulated by its own code . Pirate operations wreaked havoc on shipping and merchants in the Caribbean until the British sailor Woods Rogers arrived in Nassau in 1718 with royal pardon and regained British control.
| Historical state | |||
| Republic of Pirates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| English Republic of pirates | |||
| |||
 | |||
←   →1706 - 1718 | |||
| Capital | Nassau | ||
| Languages) | English | ||
| Religion | Puritanism | ||
| Historical era | The Golden Age of Piracy | ||
| Area | 13 878 km² ( 1718 ) | ||
| Form of government | "Code of Conduct" | ||
Content
- 1 History
- 2 Nassau Pirates
- 3 Mentions in popular culture
- 4 See also
- 5 Comments
- 6 notes
- 7 Literature
- 8 References
History
Pirates first appeared in the Bahamas in 1696 , when the successful corsair Henry Avery brought his ship Nassau’s harbor. The ship was loaded with goods received by robbery on trade routes in the Indian Ocean , which allowed Avery to bribe the governor of the island, [item 1] : in exchange for a bribe, Trott secretly allowed Avery to be based in Nassau [par. 2] . As a result, the influence of pirates from among the English captains, who embarked on the path of illegal corsairry, increased on the island [p. 3] .
The days of true pirate rule came after Nassau was attacked twice in 1703 and 1706 by the French - Spanish fleet . Many immigrants left the island, Britain actually abandoned it and he was left without any presence of power. Most of the remaining inhabitants of the city became privateers in the service of England, but some of them began to attack any ships and gradually became illegal. In 1713, the War of the Spanish Succession ended, England no longer fought. Former legal privateers were left without work and started illegal robberies. By this time, the pirates had become independent and essentially created their own "republic" with their "governors".
In the republic, the most senior pirates were two irreconcilable rivals - Benjamin Hornigold and . Hornigold was a mentor to famous pirates such as Edward Teach , Sam Bellamy and Stead Bonnet . Jennings patronized Jack Rackham , Charles Wayne , Mary Reid and Anne Bonnie . Despite the rivalry, the pirates united and formed the so-called "Flying Gang." Later, Blackbeard was elected by the residents of Nassau as the “Magistrate,” to ensure law and order in the Republic.
After some time, pirates began to attack the British fleet, so Britain decided to completely suppress piracy [1] . On the morning of January 5, the famous navigator Woods Rogers arrived at Nassau Harbor on the orders of King George I. He announced a royal pardon to every pirate who voluntarily lay down his arms. Hornigold betrayed the Shore Brotherhood and accepted a pardon, subsequently becoming the most famous pirate hunter under the command of Rogers. The only ones who refused the amnesty were Edward Teach, Charles Wayne and Calico Jack, along with their mistresses Mary and Anne. As a sign of his disobedience, Blackbeard, right in the bay, raised the Jolly Roger over Queen Anne’s Revenge .
Nassau Pirates
Charles Wayne
Edward Teach
Jack rackham
Mentions in popular culture
The history of the pirate republic of Nassau, along with the memories of pirates about the times of Captain Flint , borrowed from Robert Lewis Stevenson ’s novel Treasure Island , formed the basis of the series Black Sails , 2014 . There was also a mention in the game "Assasins Creed: Black Flag" from the French studio Ubisoft.
See also
- Pirate code
- Coastal brotherhood
- Zaporizhzhya Sich
- Tortu
Comments
- ↑ Avery's mining included, among other things, 50 tons of ivory and 100 barrels of gunpowder .
- ↑ There is a version of events according to which Avery gave Trott not only goods, but also the ship itself, after which he returned to England.
- ↑ The Bahamas belonged to the British Empire and formally the governors of the islands were required to combat piracy. In fact, many governors turned a blind eye to the presence of British captains who embarked on the path of illegal corsairism , which, from the point of view of British laws, were pirates.
Notes
- ↑ Woodard, 2010 , p. 166–168, 262–314.
Literature
- Colin Woodard. The Republic of Pirates. - Harcourt, Inc, 2010. - ISBN 978-0-15-603462-3 .