Page 23 - The Virgin Islands
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he era of piracy in the Caribbean began to loot European merchant ships, especially mines due to increased availability of slave
T in the 16th century and died out in the the Spanish treasure fleets sailing from the labor (the demand for sugar increased the
1830s after the navies of the nations of West- Caribbean to Europe. number of slaves brought to the Caribbean)
ern Europe and North America with colonies
in the Caribbean began combating pirates. began a resurgence in the fortunes of Span-
The period during which pirates were most T he late 17th and early 18th centuries ish America.
successful was from the 1660s to 1730s. Pi- (particularly between the years 1716
racy flourished in the Caribbean because of Bto 1726) are often considered the “Golden y the late 17th century, the great Span-
the existence of pirate seaports such as Port ish towns of the Caribbean had begun
Royal in Jamaica, Tortuga in Haiti, and Nas- Age of Piracy” in the Caribbean, and pirate
sau in the Bahamas. ports experienced rapid growth in the areas to prosper and Spain also began to make
P irates were often former sailors used in and surrounding the Atlantic and Indian a slow, fitful recovery, but remained poorly
to naval warfare. They were called buc-
caneers, from the French “boucanier” (to Oceans. Furthermore, during this time peri- defended militarily because of Spain’s prob-
smoke meat) on a “boucan” (wooden frame
set over a fire.) By setting up smokey fires od there were approximately 2400 men that lems and so were sometimes easy prey for
and boucans with the prepared meat of ma-
rooned cattle, these castaways could lure were currently active pirates. pirates and privateers. The English presence
a ship to draw near for trading, at which
time the buccaneers could seize the ship. T he military power of the Spanish Em- continued to expand in the Caribbean as
The buccaneers were later chased off their pire in the New World started to decline England itself was rising toward great pow-
islands by colonial authorities and had to er status in Europe. Captured from Spain in
seek a new life at sea, where they contin-
ued their ship raiding. Beginning in the 16th when King Philip IV of Spain was succeeded 1655, the island of Jamaica had been taken
century, pirate captains recruited seamen
by King Charles II (r. 1665–1700), who in 1665 over by England and its chief settlement of
became the last Habsburg king of Spain at Port Royal had become a new English bucca-
the age of four. While Spanish America in the neer haven in the midst of the Spanish Em-
late 17th century had little military protec- pire. Jamaica was slowly transformed, along
tion as Spain entered a phase of decline as with Saint Kitts, into the heart of the English
a Great Power, it also suffered less from the presence in the Caribbean.
Spanish Crown’s mercantilist policies with
its economy. This lack of interference, com-
bined with a surge in output from the silver
