Piracy And Privateering In Caribbean

By Author: Henry Ford
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Piracy is defined as a warlike activity that mainly involves non-state actors. Pirates are sea thieves who attack and rob ship while on the sea (Burnett, 2002). While piracy is implemented for economic gains resulting from the criminal activity, history shows that piracy can also be carried out for different reasons including political reasons, like in the case of Caribbean piracy. The term piracy mainly encompasses different acts committed in water bodies or on the show. However, there is a strict definition of the world piracy because it only applies when another party, travelling in a different vessel attacks another vessel. This means that it does not include instances where one passenger traveling in the same vessel steals from another passenger. The term is therefore used to refer to raids that are carried out across land borders and by non-state actors.
There is a major difference between pricy and privateering because privateering is authorized by national authorities and therefore it becomes a legitimate form of war like activity that is carried out by non-state actors. Privateering was a form of commerce ...
... raiding which was however outlawed in the 19th century (Faye, 1997). Privateer can be defined as a private person or a private warship that is authorized by the state through issuing letter of marquee authorizing it to attack foreign shipping. Privateers were common between 16th and 19th century (Burnett, 2002). Privateers were entitled by state to attack and rob the enemy vessels especially during war time. However, it was also largely practiced in fight to control trade routs like in the Caribbean region. For some nation, privateers were part of the naval warfare which means that they received the same kind of training live the navy personnel. In such instances, privateering would in some instances cause war between the two countries. Privateering was a kind of government and private sector partnership because in most cases, privateers were borne by investors who hoped to gain from the returns on enemy merchants (Faye, 1997). Privateer was authorized by nation government in order to engage as commerce raiders. Their main aim was interrupting trade routes. They were of great benefits especially to small naval power or when facing an enemy that was more dependant on trade It was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or without commissioning naval officers. Throughout history, there were some privateers who were very influential. They captured only priced vessels and if it was serviceable, they would sell it through auction. Privateering in the Caribbean region was sanctioned by the government. for example, For instance, Edward Blackbeard Teach, the pirate, ransacked numerous British ports throughout his tenure enriching himself and his crew while Henry Morgan, the privateer, working under a commission granted by the British government attacked numerous Spanish ports in the Caribbean and the Spanish mainland in an effort to disrupt Spanish colonization efforts. While the acts of the two men were virtually the same, Teach was viewed as a criminal and Morgan was knighted by the British monarch.

Piracy and privateering was common in Caribbean region. The period of piracy in Caribbean region mainly began in the 16th century and died around 1830 with enactment of various laws that brought world powers together (Faye, 1997). This was after navies of nations from Western Europe and North America with different colonies that had been established in the region working together to fight pirates. However, piracy and privateering was most successful 1690s 1720s. Within this period, privacy excelled even in lawless British seaport like Port Royal in Jamaica and even French region at Tortuga. Privacy in Caribbean mainly resulted from diverged vested interest in trade. It resulted from rising competition between European nations that wanted to control trade in the region (Burnett, 2002). Most pirates in the Caribbean were English, Dutch, and French, who were mostly marooned or just shipwrecked off the coast of Hispaniola. Pirates in the Caribbean were also referred to as buccaneers, a word that was derived from French boucanier (to smoke meat). Buccaneers used to set up fire preparing meat through which they would attract vessel which would then be seized on the shore. Through such activities, they established lucrative and legitimate way for sea men to attack European merchant ships, most Spanish fleets that were sailed to Europe. They would seize these ships and their valuable cargo (Derek, 2004).
Piracy in the Caribbean began in the 16th century when trade in the region was gaining momentum. It was sometimes given a legal status. For example under King Francis I, French government gave legal status to piracy where it was practiced as privateering. Through legalizing piracy, French hoped that they would weaken the trade of their rivals. They established mare clausum policy in the Atlantic and Indian oceans in order to legalize piracy (Burnett, 2002). This gave rise to privateering in the in the Caribbean region. From around 1520, French Privateers acted alone to fight and weaken Spain crown and they hoped to benefit from raiding ships coming from vast commerce of Spanish Empire in the New World. Later, English and Dutch privateer also joined in (Derek, 2004).

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