Page 25 - The Virgin Islands

his was a lengthy and expensive pro- revived Caribbean trade provided rich new on the ship before departure, which was a

T cess so to make it quicker seven com- pickings for a wave of piracy. Also contrib- very abstract process compared to the au-
missioners were created from colonial and uting to the increase of Caribbean piracy at thoritarianism that occurred in the Royal

naval officers to try all piracy-related cases. this time was Spain’s breakup of the English Navy. In further contrast to the society of

These new and faster ‘trials’ provided no le- logwood settlement at Campeche and the Britain’s colonies, on board a pirate vessel

gal representation for the pirates; and ulti- attractions of a freshly sunken silver fleet off racial divisions were usually unknown and

mately led in this era to the execution of 600 the southern Bahamas in 1715. in some instances pirates of African descent

pirates, which represented approximately T his early 18th century resurgence of even served as ships’ Captains.
10 percent of the pirates active at the time piracy lasted only until the Royal Navy
in the Caribbean region. and the Spanish Guardacosta’s presence in A nother activity that had to be engaged
the Caribbean were enlarged to deal with in before the ship left the dock was
P iracy saw a brief resurgence between the the threat. Also crucial to the end of this swearing an oath to not betray anyone in
end of the War of the Spanish Succes- the entire crew, and to sign what was known

sion in 1713 and around 1720, as many un- era of piracy was the loss of the pirates’ last as the ship’s Article, which would determine

employed seafarers took to piracy as a way Caribbean safe haven at Nassau. It is in this the percentage of profit each crew member

to make ends meet when a surplus of sailors period that the popular Pirates of the Carib- would receive. Furthermore, some of the

after the war led to a decline in wages and bean film series produced by the Walt Dis- ways for deciding disagreements amongst

working conditions. At the same time, one of ney Company is loosely set. pirate crew members were fighting till first

the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht that ended A board a pirate vessel things were fairly blood or in more serious cases abandon-
the war gave to Great Britain’s Royal African democratic and there were “codes of ing an individual on an uninhabited island,
Company and other British slavers a thirty- whipping them 39 times, or even execut-

year asiento, or contract, to furnish African conduct” that reflect modern laws. Some ing them by firearm. Despite popular belief,

slaves to the Spanish colonies, providing of these rules consisted of a dress code, however, the punishment of “walking the

British merchants and smugglers potential no women, and some ships had no smok- plank” was never used to settle disputes

inroads into the traditionally closed Span- ing. The rules, the punishment for breaking amongst pirates.

ish markets in America and leading to an them, and even the staying arrangements

economic revival for the whole region. This would be decided amongst everyone going