Notorious Places of Pirate Lore

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The Bahamas & Nassau were originally inhabited by a group of Arawak Indians known as Lucayan. Originally from the South American continent, some of the Arawak had been driven north into the Caribbean by the Carib Indians. Unlike their Carib neighbors, the Lucayan were generally peaceful, more involved in fishing than agriculture, and not cannibalistic.
When Columbus reached the New World in 1492, he is thought to have landed on San Salvador (also called Watling Island) or possibly Samana Cay, both in the Bahamas. The Spaniards made no attempt to settle but operated slave raids on the peaceful Arawak that depopulated the islands, and by the time the English arrived the Bahamas were uninhabited.

In 1629 Charles I of England granted the islands to one of his ministers, but no attempt at settlement was made. In 1648 William Sayle led a group of English Puritans from Bermuda to, it is thought, Eleuthera Island. This settlement met with extreme adversity and did not prosper, but other Bermudan migrants continued to arrive. New Providence was settled in 1656. By 1670 the Bahamas were given to the Duke of Albemarle and five others as a proprietary colony. The proprietors were mostly uninterested in the islands, and few of the settlements prospered. Piracy became a way of life for many.

When the earthquake destroyed Port Royal, Nassau on the island of New Providence became more important as a pirate hide out. With the end of the Queen Anne's War and the peace that followed, Great Britain started to crack down on piracy but for awhile the Bahamas remained relatively ignored. However, in 1715 Henry Jennings and his crew was forced to leave Port Royal and decided to make their home in Nassau on the island of New Providence. When they first arrived, Nassau was a small shanty town of tents, taverns and transients. The community consisted of a few taverns, the occasional whore and small but thriving pirate community. Jennings brought with him enough Spanish gold to make the sleepy town, a boom town and beacon for other pirates looking for safe haven. Piracy and smuggling began to thrive and Nassau became the new de-facto capital of piracy in the Caribbean with Jennings the unofficial Mayor.

The situation became so bad that the British Crown took notice and in 1717 serious efforts were made to end the piracy. The first royal governor, Woodes Rogers, succeeded in controlling the pirates but mostly at his own expense. He came with royal pardons for the pirates who would accept them. While many accepted the pardons others did not. Despite Rogers efforts, the island remained poorly defended from pirates and other enemies of England so even Rogers had to rely on privateering for some time as a means of defense.

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Still, Rogers proved an exceptional governor, administrator, and pirate hunter. He offered pardons to pirates in an effort to get them to turn. While most were skeptical, they soon found him to be sincere and eventually 2,000 pirates accepted the pardons and made the Bahamas virtually pirate free. Rogers knew the habits of pirates and he was certain that many of the pardoned pirates would go back to their evil ways. But this concerned him little. Rogers recruited men from among those pardoned to hunt down those who returned to their old ways. The move was quite successful and eventually many of the brethren of the coast were "dancing the devil's jig" on the gallows.

By 1722 much of the organized piracy had died down.

The Bahamas were held for a few days by the U.S. Navy in 1776, and for almost a year by Spain in 1782-83, the islands reverted to England in 1783 and received a boost in population from loyalists and their slaves who fled the United States after the American Revolution. For a time, cotton plantations brought some prosperity to the islands, but when the soil gave out and slavery was abolished in 1834, the Bahamas' endemic poverty returned.

Two other periods of prosperity followed: the years 1861-65, when the Bahamas became a center for blockade runners during the American Civil War, and in 1920-33, when bootlegging became big business during the years of American Prohibition. But these were economic accidents; not until the tourist industry was developed after World War II did any form of permanent prosperity come to the islands.

The need to secure political representation for the islands' black majority led to the formation of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), which was able to form a government in 1967. The PLP worked to end racial segregation and secure independence for the islands, which was granted in 1973. Among the problems the government had to cope with after independence were drug trafficking in the Out Islands and the illegal entry of many Haitian refugees.

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Bermuda is also known ad the Devil's Island. As Pirate havens go, Bermuda played a small role, compared to islands closer to the Spanish Main. Bermuda consists of seven main islands and over 150 smaller islets. It was first charted by the Spaniards around 1515 and pretty much ignored until, by chance, an English ship with over 150 people aboard were blown off course and ship wrecked by a hurricane. Having no way off the island, they decided it was as good a place as any to settle.

While not along the trade route between the Main and Spain, it did work nicely as a stop over between the Azores and North America, particularly South Carolina. This being the case, the British made it a permanent colony. Assuming the Spanish may not like this, they also put a temporary military garrison there. In the 1600's and up to 1734, Bermuda was intrumental in the African slave trade. On more than one occasion, slaves in Bermuda out numbered settlers and violent rebellions were put down. In 1734, England outlawed slavery and the colony of Bermuda followed the Crown. However, slaves were still smuggled through Bermuda on their way to the American colonies.

The reefs and numerous small islands made a nice safe haven for pirates but its location was not exactly on the trade route beween Spain and the Main. This caused a few problems for the settlers in Bermuda, in that pirates, being a lazy lot, would occasionly sack Bermuda rather than venture out to the trade lanes. However from 1701 onwards, Britain considered Bermuda vital to its New World intersts and therefroe made it a permanent military post of the Royal Navy and Army. From that point on, this made Bermuda a place where Pirates were more likely to be hanged than welcomed. For this reason, the pirates around Bermuda were more likely to turn to smuggling rather than sacking and plundering.
Bermuda would later act as a staging area for blockade runners during the American Civil War and still later as rendevous for Rum-Runners during the Prohibition era.

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Cartagena (Carthagene, or Cartagena de Indias), a is a large port city on the north coast of Colombia. Founded in 1533 by Don Pedro de Heredia it was named after the port of Cartagena in Spain's Murcia region. Cartagena was major port of the Spanish Main but was located near the beginning of the trade route instead of the end. As such it was not normally the best candidate for pillaging. Today it continues to be an economic hub as well as a popular tourist destination for Colombia.

At the time of its founding Cartagena the area was populated by the Calamarí people. This native population was part of a native tribe called the Mocanáes; they were believed to be fierce and warlike and it is claimed that even women in battle.

Within a few years of the Spanish arrival a walled military fortress was erected to protect the city against the plundering of English, Dutch and French pirates. Despite the precautions, the city was attacked many times.
One of the early attacks came in 1551 when the French pirate Roberto Baal forced Governor Pedro de Heredia to flee. The pirates demanded an unspecified ransom of gold and silver and left upon payment.

Eight years later another French pirate, Martín Cote arrived in Cartagena demanding a ransom to prevent a total destruction of the city. It is said Maridalo had put up a stiff resistance but the plunder taken by Cote was enormous.

The most famous privateer/ pirate to attack Cartagena was Francis Drake. Drake attacked the city in 1572. As he attacked a large number of Spaniards fled to Turbaco, a nearby village leaving the rest of Cartagena unprotected and helpless. It is claimed that Drake burned the houses and destroyed a nave of the Cathedral in Cartagena. The ransom for the city was estimated 107,000 ducats, an unknown amount of gems and jewels, 80 artillery pieces and other assorted goods.

Also in 1568, the English pirate, John Hawkins attempted for seven days to take the city but left empty handed.

By the 1600s, the Spanish began improving the defenses of the city and many of the fortresses built at this time, remain intact today. The improved fortifications did much to stop the continual attacks by organized large scale attacks by pirates and privateers of nations at war with Spain.

Probably the most serious threat to Cartagena after Drake was Captain Henry Morgan’s aborted attack in 1668.

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Fearing an expected invasion of Jamaica in October 1668 Governor Modyford gave Morgan permission to make pre-emptive attacks on Spanish ships and ports. Modyford and Morgan agreed that Cartagena, Spain's biggest harbor would be a good choice.

Unfortunately while Morgan was at Cow Island his ship the Oxford exploded under mysterious conditions. The explosion was estimated to have killed between 300 and 900 of Morgan’s men. With the loss of the ship and so many men Morgan felt that Cartagena would be too large a target. He decided to instead attempt the harbor town of Maracaibo.

The raid on Maracaibo while successful yielded little booty. Most of the city had fled before the buccaneers had landed. Morgan sent out search parties to track down some of the citizens hiding in the forests. They found at least some people, but still not much money was to be had. So Morgan instead decided to take his fleet further into the Lagoon of Maracaibo towards the town of Gibraltar at its southern end. But once again, the people were already gone.

There has been a lot of speculation on how the Oxford blew up and the lack of results during this voyage of Morgan. It has also been a stain on his career as a buccaneer.

After Morgan’s aborted attack, the Baron of Pointis was finally able to break into the city again in 1697. Slaves in the city revolted when Pointis attacked which aided in his ability to breech the city walls. When the slaves realized the Pointis wasn't going to stick around they quickly dropped their support, concerned more with what retribution they would face once Pointis left.
The last real attack came in 1741 and was led by Admiral Edward Vernon, this time a regular English Navy attack. Cartagena was able to resist the 350 bombs that the English dropped onto the city. After a bloody fight and numerous loses, Vernon suspended the attack and left for Jamaica.

Cartagena was famous (or infamous) as being on of only two Spanish colonial cities that possessed a Slave market; the other city being Vera Cruz Mexico. The first African slaves were brought by Pedro de Heredia were forced to open roads so the Spaniards could raid the tombs of the Sinu in search of silver and gold. They also were used for cutting sugar cane and building of fortresses.

The Spanish Inquisition also operated from Cartagena beginning in 1610. The Inquisition Palace was finished in 1770 and is still there with its original features of colonial times.

Cartagena declared its complete independence from Spain on November 11th, 1811. At this point the inquisitors were urged to leave the city. The Inquisition returned after the Re-conquest in 1815, but it disappeared for good when Spain surrendered six years later when Simón Bolívar led Colombia to complete independence. . During its two centuries of existence, the Inquisition carried out twelve autos-da-fé (Public announcement of the sentences imposed by the Inquisition). In total 767 defendants were punished with at least six being burned at the stake.

In colonial times, the Spaniards also built a series of constructions and fortresses to defend the city, such as San Sebastian de Pastelillo Fort, in Manga neighborhood, and the Saint Philip of Barajas Castle, in honor of the King Philip IV.

In the 18th century, the Vaults were constructed by the Spanish engineer Antonio de Arévalo. Outside the city, San Fernando and San José forts were located strategically at the entrance of the bay to entrench the pirate vessels that attacked the city.

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Charleston (Charles Town) was founded on the banks of the Ashley and Cooper rivers in the 1600's. Charlestonwas and is major sea port in North America. (South Carolina) It is sometimes hard to associate it with the Caribbean, but it was a port of call for Blackbeard and at one time found piracy economically beneficial. It could be considered the Northern border for piracy in the Caribbean. Charleston also had a very active smuggling trade during its colonial days and even later during prohibition in the 1920s.

Charleston ran hot and cold with piracy, depending on the Governor of the time. For the most part, however, pirates were not welcome. Charleston most important pirate moment was the blockading of the city by Blackbeard. Blackbeard kidnapped several notable people from Charleston and held them for ransom, not for money but for medicine. Because of poor hygiene, poor diet, bad living condition, and a tendency to rumming and whoring, pirates would often needed medicine more than money. When the chest of medicine was brought to Blackbeard he released the prisoners.

Another important pirate operating around Charleston was William Lewis. The Charleston governor most responsible for ridding the town of piracy was Robert Johnson. governor Johnson dispatched pirate hunter, Colonel William Rhett with the command of two ships, the Henry and the Sea Nymph. Rhett managed to chase Vane out of Charleston's water. Rhett captured Stede Bonnet who was eventually hanged on November 1718 along with 30 members of his crew. This marked an end to piracy as a problem in Charleston.

Despite the end of piracy, smuggling continued for some time. Charleston was a major port for smuggling during both the American War of Independence and during the Civil War. It was also a destination for rum-runners during prohibition.

It is also rumored that Anne Bonny was smuggled from Jamaica to Charleston by wealthy relatives who paid a ransom for her release. It is believed that she then married a rich landowner and lived out her life.

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The Isthmus of Darien

Today, the Isthmus of Darien is better known as Panama. During the Golden Age of Piracy, Darien could arguably be called the heart of the Spanish Main. This narrow strip of land was about 40 miles (65 km) wide at its narrowest point making it the strategic link between the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean. All of Europe knew this by the 1600s. All of Europe probably wanted to control it. The control of the Isthmus fell into the hands of the Spanish. Unfortunately for Spain, the rest of Europe decided to raid what they couldn’t control.

Today, Panama is still principally a jungle once you get outside its major cities. The Panama Canal, which was first attempted by the French and later realized in 1903 by the Americans, cuts through the center of the country as it travels in a north-south direction across the Isthmus. In the middle of the country is a large lagoon which was formed when parts of the lowlands were flooded as the canal was made. Three hundred years ago, long before the canal was dug and any mosquito abatement had taken place, Darien was a disease infested strip of land connecting North and South America.

The low lands were mosquito infested swamps divided by ridge line running more or down the center of the isthmus. Rivers and stream flow from the dissecting ridge lines down to the oceans but there was no river passage from one side to the other. The only way to cross the isthmus was on foot.

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The Cities

The focal point of Piracy in Darien would have to be Porto Bello, Panama City and the Camaro Real or Kings Highway that, connected the two cities.
Porto Bello, on the Atlantic Coast was named by Columbus in 1502, the name meaning “good port”. Despite being discovered in 1502, it did not become a major port until 1597, when the settlement of Nombre de Diós would be abandoned and moved to the “good port”.

Panama City became an active Spanish settlement in 1519 only a few years after Martin Fernandez de Enciso established the colony Santa María de la Antigua del Darien in 1510. A rumor through out the new colony told of large body of water to the south. On September 1, 1513, Vasco Nuñez de Balboa set of from Antigua, with a force of 190 Spaniards and about 1,000 natives searching for a sea that was told to him. After 28 days of walking, Balboa and his men finally reached the Pacific Ocean. As was the custom, Balboa claimed the new ocean in the name of Spain, along with all the land that touched its coast. He called the ocean, the Mar del Sur or South Sea.

Two years later, in 1515, Captain Antonio Tello de Guzmán, set out along the coast of the South Sea and came upon a fishing village inhabited by people who called themselves “Panamas”. Panama City would be established in the vicinity of this village in 1519. Surprisingly, the people of the village knew of a jungle trail that led through the swamps and would lead to the Spanish town of Porto Bello. Guzmán ordered Diego de Alvitez to take a party of 80 men and explore the route. They became the first Spaniard to cross the Rio de los Cocodrilos. This route became the King’s Highway; also known and the Gold Road because it was the route used to transport Gold from Peru across the isthmus to the waiting plate fleets.
Surprisingly enough, thanks to the geography of the isthmus, Panama City was the further most east of the two principal cities even though it was located on the Pacific side of the land mass. The city was founded on August 15, 1519, by Pedro Arias de Ávila, when first founded; Panama City became the jumping off point for the Spain’s conquest of Peru.

Of course the only way to get large sea going craft to the Pacific side of Darien was to sail a ship around the Horn of South America or around the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and then across the Pacific. But once the ships were in the area, they could use Panama City as an excellent staging area. But this would mean that the only way to get stuff out of Peru was to sail back around the Horn or back across the Pacific. It became obvious that it would be more economically sound to keep a Pacific fleet at Panama to exploit Peru and then simply move the new found treasures and supplies across the thin strip of land over to the Atlantic side. From there, the goods could loaded in Galleons moving up the coast of South America, then heading north to Havana and eventually back to Spain.

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Spain knew that moving large sums of gold along the King’s Highway would be a dangerous affair. They knew for instance many of the Natives were not happy with the Spaniards conquering them so the native were willing to attack them. They were also the Cimarrona, a loose band of escaped African slaves and deserters from the Spanish navy and army would also cause them trouble The Cimarrona would later be called marooners by the English and the word would become synonymous with pirate..

They also assumed that Porto Bello and other Atlantic ports would be easy targets if attacked form the Sea and took necessary precautions against this type of invasion. They figured Panama was not such a likely target at first, assuming it was just too difficult to reach. They considered the cimarrona and the natives a nuisance. It made no sense to track them down in the swamps and kill them so they ignored them unless they caused trouble.

The Raids

One of the earliest successful attacks on the Isthmus of Darien was by the English privateer Sir Francis Drake. Near the end of 1595 he launched a successful raid against Nombre de Diós but then pushed his luck and headed up the King’s Highway in the hopes of also taking Panama City. Spain met his force along the King’s Highway and pushed his privateer army back to the Atlantic Ocean. After destroying Nombre de Diós Drake and his men retreated to the poorly secured Porto Bello. Drake fell ill at this point and died of fever. He was placed in a casket of lead and buried in the harbor at Porto Bello.

The English then left Darien and despite not taking Panama City, the raid on Nombre de Diós proved to be quite successful. Spain quickly realized the poor defenses at Nombre de Diós and decided to move the settlement to Porto Bello in 1597. However they did amange to fight off the attack on Panama, because the difficulty of crossing the isthmus gave themy plenty of time to react, as they had thought it would. Five year later in 1602, another English buccaneer, Captain William Parker slipped into Porto Bello Harbor and sacked the city; slipping off before the Spaniards could put up a good fight. Have learned from Drakes failure to reach Panama, no attempt was made.

The most noted of all attacks on Porto Bello was that of Sir Henry Morgan’s in 1668. Morgan avoided the sea batteries and attacked the city from the landward side. He sacked the entire city and remained in the city for two weeks. Depending on the accounts, anyone of importance was killed, most of the women were raped and all the treasure was stolen. Spain failed to respond, possible worried about an impending attack on Panama City.

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Two years later Morgan returned and attacked El Castillo de San Lorenzo and then proceeded to cross the isthmus in order to sack Panama City. The buccaneers managed to sack Panama City despite having lost most of their men from disease and starvation. It is often reasoned that three major factors led to the easy capture of Panama City. First most of the gold had been hidden or shipped out of the port before the buccaneers arrived, second the Spanish defenders were ill trained militia and finally the fearsome reputation of the buccaneers. Once again the difficulties of crossing the isthmus made it possible for the Spaniards to protect their wealth even though the city was sacked.

While few men died in the capture of the city many of the buccaneers died from disease and starvation. The lack of any real treasure led to speculation that Morgan had struck a deal and taken most of the gold for his self. This led to a mutiny among the buccaneers.

In 1674, a new Panama City was built about 5 miles from the one that Morgan sacked. The new area was believed to be more defendable. It is the location of present day Panama City.

Over the next 50 years Darien would be attacked at least another five times. The most damaging attack was by Bartholomew Sharp along with some of the most note buccaneers of the time including Coxon, Sawkins, Lionel Wafer and William Dampier. This attack which began in 1679 and went into the next year was chronicled by Dampier.

The last attack on Porto Bello by the British occurred on November 21, 1739 when Vice-Admiral Edward Vernon laid siege to the harbor for six days. Afterwards they took the ammunition, stole the best cannons, destroyed the fortifications and took a total of 10,000 pesos before leaving the harbor and most of the town in tact.

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The Camaro Real

Buccaneers attempted to raid the Camaro Real or King’s High way on a few occasions but for the most part it was not as easy as it would seem. When the Spaniards moves gold from Panama City to Porto Bellow it was done with heavily guarded mule trains. The schedule for the movement was closely guarded and would often be changed at the last minute to throw off would be ambushers.

As mentioned the trains would be heavily guarded. Scouting parties would often follow in front of and behind the actual mule trains to make sure they could not be surprised. The road it self was also patrolled and strategic points would have guards posted to prevent would be attackers from approaching along the road forcing any pirates to advance through the swamps.

All of this means it was somewhat difficult to sneak up on the gold trains. I also meant that the attacking force would be less rested than the Spaniards who had an easier time using the road. The Spaniards also had the advantage of having their personal goods moved by mules instead of having to carry their food and water. Many a pirate crew attempted to use the local streams, vegetation and animals for food and water only to discover this was a good way to go hungry and get sick.

Once the buccaneers attacked a gold train they would then have to pack the stolen goods back through the jungle because the Spaniards would inevitably get alerted to the ambush and send out forces for a counter attack. And even if they avoided the Spanish counter attack they would have to hope that the ship they came on had not been attacked. You must realize that the ship that brought them would be short staffed because much of the crew was now with the land party. This means the ship was more vulnerable to attack, meaning the crew may sail away when attacked or just be completely wiped out. In all, attacking the gold trains was not as easy as it was believed but the buccaneers did make several attempts and some were successful.

In Conclusion

Probably the most curious foot not in the history of Darien was the three attempts by Scottish refugees to set up a colony on the isthmus. The colony was called Caledonia; the main settlement was New Edinburgh. The first attempt was made in 1698 the last in 1700. The attempts failed for a number of reason but principally because of disease. The last attempt was repulsed almost immediately by Spain.

By 1813, Spain would be losing its grip on its North American colonies and Panama would gain its independence. Unfortunately for Panama, by then most of the wealth of that nation had been taken by Spain or her enemies.

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Florida was discovered by Ponce de Leon on Easter Sunday 1513 For the next decade he searched for the elusive Fountain of Youth while fighting off malaria, yellow fever and Calusa Indians. The land he christened "Pascua de Florida" (feast of flowers) would be his death. In 1521 de Leon and his men met their match when the ran across the Calusa chief known as San Carlos on Ostero Island near present day Ft. Myers. Depending on who you ask, he was either buried there, or was returned to Cuba or Spain Regardless of where his body was buried, his quest for the fountain of youth was for naught.

Compared to the rest of the Spanish Main Florida was no great treasure trove. However, due to its location it was strategically important. Spain used Florida as a staging area for her convoys. Groups of heavily-laden Spanish vessels, called the plate fleets, usually sailed up the Gulf Stream through the straits that parallel Florida’s Keys. Aware of this route, pirates preyed on the fleets. Hurricanes created additional hazards, sometimes wrecking the ships on the reefs and shoals along Florida’s shores.

With the English Colonies just North in Charles Town, Carolina (Present Day Charleston South Carolina), it became obvious to Spain that their Florida Possession needed to be fortified. In 1564, the English invaded Florida along St. Johns River. This proved to be a major danger to Spain's treasure fleets. As a result of this incursion into Florida, King Phillip II named Don Pedro Menendez de Aviles, Spain's most experienced admiral, as governor of Florida Menendez ordered to explore and colonize Florida and drive out any pirates or settlers from other nations, should they be found there.

Menendez arrived off the coast of Florida on August 28, 1565, the Feast Day of St. Augustine. Eleven days later, he and his 600 soldiers and settlers came ashore at the site of the Timucuan Indian village of Seloy with banners flying and trumpets sounding. He hastily fortified the fledgling village and named it St. Augustine. It was from here that Spain would establish is most Northern post on the Spanish Main and try to wipe out the scourge of piracy.

Menendez had his work cut out for him. Cutthroats, bandits , runaway slaves, disgruntled merchantmen and disinherited youth flocked to the Tortugas, Point Royal and other known recruiting centers for piracy and privateering in the search for plunder. The easy plunder was the ships and towns of the Spanish Main.

If the pirates were not enough to worry about, the climate was abysmal Besides malaria and other fevers, tropical storms and hurricanes ravaged the region. On September 10, 1622, a twenty-eight ship convoy left Havana headed for Spain, loaded to the gunwales with treasure from South and Central America. A two day hurricane ended the voyage for eight of the ships. Among these were the Santa Margarita and the Nuesta Senora de Atocha, destined to become among the most famous and richest shipwrecks in history.

As with most shipwrecks, Spain attempted to salvage what it could and pirates would use the opportunity for easy pickings. Pirates were probably Florida's first beach combers; patrolling the coast after storms looking to see what or who washed ashore. Spanish sailors or well to do passengers who managed to survive a ship wrecked during a storm could very well find themselves in the hands of pirates and being sold into slavery or ransomed for reward. Or perhaps they would be tortured in an effort to discover where the ship sank. Ships sunk in shallower water would be quickly visited by patrolling pirates. Survivors were only worth picking up, if they could offer some kind of prize. Even then they were left to the mercy of the pirates.

Piracy did not end with the Spaniards. As late as 1823 The US Government dispatched Commodore David Porter to the Keys to rid the coastline of pirates like Black Caesar and Jean LaFitte. Today, Florida is rich in the history of piracy and shipwrecks but the threat form piracy has practically disappeared. While pirates and smugglers still try to make the waters around Florida their home, they are no match for the diligence of the U.S. Coast Guard.

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Gallows Point & Execution Dock are two of the most infamous places for hanging pirates.

Gallows point was located on the Palisadoes in Jamaica. Often after the pirate was hanged, he would then be fitted in a suit of irons (gibbet) and displayed on a sandy cay near Port Royal. One such Cay, Rackham Cay is the place where Calico Jack Rackham was hung in irons as a warning to other sea farers.

Execution Dock was in London on the Thames. Many a pirate were sent on "the other journey" from this place. It was customary to then hang the pirates in irons along the Thames, especially at the mouth of the Thames, called Graves Point, as a reminder to all sailors what became of mutineers and pirates.

Other notorious execution locations include

Tyburn Square in London

The Boston side of the Charles River in Boston

White Point, Charles-towne

More to come

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Havana was one of the most important Spanish cities in the New World. What Spain found in Havana was an easily protected harbor and excellent staging area for the return voyage to Spain. Columbus first set eyes on Cuba in 1492. By 1511 Spain had regular settlements with the port town of Havana being established in 1514.

The Spanish Silver fleet would start its collection in Venezuela and Peru, making stops in Panama and along the coast of Mexico. As the ships collected their cargo, they would head for the safe harbour of Havana, where the would form a massive Flota before heading back to Spain. It was hard to keep such an operation a secret and just about every pirate and smuggler in the Caribbean saw the waters around the Cuba as the place to go plundering.

The islands of the Florida Keys became the staging area for pirates who who lay in wait for the Silver Fleet as it approached Havana. Pirates would mingle among the saloons and whore houses in Havana and listen to the idle gossip for any information when the ships would be arriving. It was common knowledge by all seafaring men that Spain sent two fleets a year back to the home land. Typically the fleets came to America in the late summer. They would winter around Cartegena, Vera Cruz, and Acapulco. In the Spring the ships would make their way to Havana, Once assembled, they knew they had just a few short months before the Hurricanes would make safe passage to Spain an impossibility. The Spaniards knew it, the pirates knew it, and the Spaniards knew the pirates knew it.

The pirates had little trouble finding out when and where the the silver fleets would be coming from. Many of the Spanish colonists throughout the "Main" and in Havana were more than willing to tell them anything they wanted to know, for a price. You see, the Spanish royal family controlled the "Casa de Contratación" or House of Trade and stipulated that merchants within the colonies could only trade with specific merchant seamen. In other words they told the Spanish colonists that they were not allowed to trade with other towns in the new world or make trade arrangements with any settlements of foreign governments. The colonists had to buy goods that were brought to the colonies from Spain and could only sell goods to the same ships.

Now this arrangement basically meant that if you remained a loyal colonist and obeyed the rules as laid out by the royal family, you would starve to death. Just about every Spanish colonial merchant was willing to sell or trade with any other person living in the New World, but they had to do it carefully for fear of retribution, or they had to pay off local administrators.
As such many Havanans (as well as citizens of other towns) were corrupt would let slip when the silver ships would be arriving. It was a win win situation for the citizens of the towns. If the pirates captured the ship, then the pirates would have money to spend in the New World and the Spanish merchants would have a place to sell their goods. If the pirates failed, then the town people could witness a hanging or two.

As time passed, the town and it's harbor became well fortified, with the forts, Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Mooro and Castillo de San Salvador de la Punta protecting the entrance of the harbor. A fleet of Spanish galleons would also patrol the water in search of pirates. And if this were not enough, every night, large chain that was actually drawn across the mouth of the harbor to prevent saboteurs from entering the harbor and sinking ships. The reefs outside the harbor added to the protection as well as added to the loss of many silver ships.

All of these measures made Havana one of the best fortified cities in the New World. Despite all of these measures, Havana would repeatedly get invaded and on more than one occasion it was sacked by pirates or foreign nations.

[Salty Dog]

New Orleans, for the most part, missed the Golden Age of Piracy and doesn't figure into the scope of this site. Founded in 1717 by France, it was for the most part a non-profiable port and France ceded New Orleans to Spain in 1762. A few years later, the American colonist had a rebellion and formed a new nation. The new founded nation had expanded as far west as the Mississippi and saw it as a logical way to move goods to the Atlantic Ocean. These Americans, were known as "Kaintucks" (Slang for Kentuckian) by the people of New Orleans and for some reason the local inhabitants didn't like these foreigners and often placed embargoes on their shipment. This did little to make New Orleans a profitable port for Spain and so Spain decided to secretly give New Orleans back to France in 1800. The French were no dummies and so in 1803, they decided they would trick President Thomas Jefferson into buying New Orleans and the rest of Louisiana, and in turn they could use the money to fight a war with most of Europe. The history books refer to little swindle as the Louisiana Purchase.

Once France sold the New Orleans to the United States, it began to grow in size and population. Its also became one of the most vibrant melting pots in America, consisting of French, Canadians, Spaniards, Run-away slaves, Native Americans, and finally Americans from the former English colonies. With the river trade that came from other nations and their colonies in the Americas, New Orleans finally started to turn a profit. This led to and increase in smuggling and piracy.

Probably the most famous of all American Pirates was New Orleans' Jean Laffite. Laffite carried a Letter of Marque from the government of Colombia and consider himself a Privateer. He and his brother Pierre owned a blacksmith shop around Barataria Bay. The shop was actually a front for their illicit smuggling business. Besides slaves, Laffite also moved stolen goods from the numerous pirates who operated within the waters of the Gulf of Mexico. On occasion Laffite would also go on the account and pillage a Spanish ship but for the most part he considered it safer and more profitable to just receive the stolen goods and act as a middle man for their disposal.

His claim to fame came during the War of 1812. Laffite was offered £30,000 Sterling and a Letter of Marque by the British to use his base as a staging area for the Royal Navy. Laffite, always the scoundrel took the money, betrayed the British and informed the Americans of the British plan. At first the Louisiana officials didn't believe him and they attacked Laffite's stronghold at Barataria Bay destroying some of his ships but not his business. Shortly after this attack it became clear that Laffite had been telling the truth. Laffite once again approached the American with information. General Andrew Jackson asked Laffite to help defend the city and Laffite agreed, but only after getting unconditional pardons for himself and his associates. The Baratarians, as Laffite and his men came to be known, fought with distinction. Jackson personally commended Laffite as "one of the ablest men" of the battle, and President James Madison issued a public proclamation of pardon for the group

But once a smuggler and pirate, always a smuggler and pirate. By 1817, Laffite was once again smuggling while operating under the Letter of Marque from Colombia. He had moved his base of operation to Campeche (now Galveston, Texas) and with a following of some 1,000 men continued to raid ships throughout the Gulf of Mexico. In 1820 some of his followers had the gall to attack a U. S. Ship and the American government decided it had had enough. Seeing his days numbered, Laffite hand picked some of his favorite men, boarded his ship the The Pride burned Campeche to the ground. and headed south to calmer waters and easier pickings along the coast of South America. He was still operating in this area around 1825 but nothing is known of his final fate.