The Republic of Pirates

Podcast Transcript

Between 1706 and 1718, a group of pirates established a haven in the Bahamas.

Using a system of rules that they developed themselves, the pirates created their own forms of self-governance to maintain order within a society that was otherwise lawless.

This grew into a community of thousands of pirates before the British put an end to it.

Learn more about the Republic of Pirates and how it functioned on this episode of Everything Everywhere Daily.

The Republic of Pirates was a loose alliance of Pirates operating out of the Bahamas from 1706 to 1718. The members of the “republic” were able to raid and plunder at will, creating what is today known as the “Golden Age of Piracy.”

But how did this happen? How did a bunch of pirates operating outside the law manage to create their own quasi-society?

For this, we need to go back in time to the 16th and 17th centuries.

Throughout the 1500s, Spain had conquered and controlled most of the Americas. With this territory, they had become exceedingly wealthy, and they had almost single-handedly doubled the amount of precious metals, such as gold and silver, circulating in Europe.

Other nations, such as Britain and France, coveted this lucrative trade and began to encroach on the islands in the Caribbean.

By the 1630s and 40s, both Britain and France had claimed some islands in the Caribbean, leading to wars between the European powers.

During this time, these countries would hire privateers, who are persons or vessels granted permission by a Government to raid enemy ships during wartime.

The benefit of hiring privateers is that the navy could focus its attention on the enemy’s ships, whereas the privateers could engage in attacking enemy commerce.

This would allow the Government to save money by not needing to pay for a larger navy and instead profiting from the loot of the privateers.

Privateers would be contracted with specific rules in place, so if they looted ships they weren’t supposed to, they could still be punished for piracy.

The difference between a pirate and a privateer was minimal at best, with the only real distinction being the Government commission.

The problem was, when a privateer’s contract expired, what were they to do?

Keeping that in mind, we now turn to the British colony of New Providence.

The island’s capital city, Charles Town, which today is known as Nassau, was used as a port for hired privateers to attack the Spanish.

However, despite being a base for privateers, the island also had its problems. One of these main problems was its corrupt governor.

The governor of the island, Nicholas Trott, was more than willing to take bribes, and one of these bribes was from a pirate named Henry Avery.

In 1696, Avery sailed to Nassau and made a deal with Trott. The deal was basically that Avery would be allowed to unload any loot from his ship, called The Fancy, without any questions asked.

This deal led to the formal introduction and establishment of piracy in the city.

There were several reasons for Trott to make this deal, as Avery was a powerful deterrent against French attacks, and the crew of The Fancy effectively doubled the city’s population.

A combined Spanish and French fleet attacked Nassau in 1703 and 1706, causing the British to abandon the port. With the settlement abandoned, the British privateers quickly took control.

Nassau was perfect for the privateers; the port’s harbor was shallow, making it impossible for warships to enter. This allowed them to operate without fear of consequence. With no fear of reprisal from the government, the privateers began to disregard their contracts.

The privateers began to raid neutral ships, growing wealthier in the process. Breaking their contracts would mean committing piracy, thereby making Nassau essentially a pirate-ruled territory.

This piracy would only worsen when the British withdrew from the War of the Spanish Succession in 1713. By pulling out of the war, the privateers’ contracts were rendered completely null and void.

The nullified contracts left hundreds of seamen out of work. With no contract, these former privateers would often revert to piracy.

One of the key pirates of the period was Benjamin Hornigold.

After the War of the Spanish Succession, Hornigold turned to piracy, raiding Spanish plantations and capturing both English and Spanish ships. He then took those ships and sailed into Nassau’s harbor.

When arriving in the harbor, he proclaimed that everyone in the city would be under his protection. He and an informal group of other pirates known as the Flying Gang established Nassau as a pirate haven and elected Hornigold as its co-governor

This was the creation of what became known as the Pirate Republic.

Hornigold continued to be loyal to the British and would try to avoid attacking British Vessels, which eventually led his crew to mutiny against him.

As pirates are notorious for their lawlessness, you might wonder how this society was able to function, given the absence of a formal government.

The pirates operated under a code known as the Pirate Codes, which helped maintain order in a lawless society. This was crucial as many of the people who joined the island were looking out for themselves and their own wealth.

The majority of the Pirate Code was unique to the ship on which a pirate joined.

The Captain would create policies on matters such as fighting, drunkenness, and other issues. These punishments typically involve getting whipped, marooned, beaten, or executed.

The goals of the code were to maintain loyalty and keep order among the ship’s crew.

On the island, the “Pirate Republic” had its own specific rules. It stated that the governor of the city would be elected by the pirates, which allowed the elected governor to claim rule over the island.

This greater code also promised that the pirates would govern their ships democratically. The implication of this was that ships needed to share their loot among the crew, and the Captains would be elected by popular vote.

One of the other key members of the Pirate Republic was Henry Jennings, the co-founder of the Flying Gang.

Jennings’ claim to fame was his raid on a Spanish fort that held the treasure recovered from a treasure fleet that had wrecked on the coast of Florida after a hurricane. This gave him a feared reputation across the Atlantic.

Jennings was co-governor of the Pirate Republic and was one of the key figures in instating the pirate codes and attracting more pirates to the area.

Arguably, the most famous pirate from the Republic is Blackbeard, otherwise known as Edward Teach.

Teach had joined Hornigold’s crew, and they quickly became a duo. As a duo, they were very successful in their raiding, looting, and pirating. When Hornigold retired from Piracy, he gave his title of Captain to Teach.

One of his first actions as leader was to attack a French slave ship known as Le Concorde.

After taking over the ship, he renamed it the Queen Anne’s Revenge. He equipped the ship with 40 guns and took off with a crew of over 300 men.

His nickname, Blackbeard, was a reference to his, you guessed it, black beard.

As captain, Teach changed his fashion, wearing three pistols across his chest. And to look more dramatic, he would light matches under his hat so that smoke would surround him. This would become part of his iconic, fearsome look and would inspire our modern perception of pirate fashion.

Blackbeard was perceived as violent, but in reality, he used his theatrical image and reputation to succeed. He was violent, yes, but it served a practical purpose rather than being simply being sadistic, which is the perception of him that is often portrayed.

Blackbeard was popular within Nassau and was later elected to be a magistrate of the republic. With this position, he was entrusted to enforce law and order throughout pirate society.

There were hundreds of other notorious pirates residing in Nassau, and this was becoming a major issue for the British.

The governor of the Bahamas had sent letters back to Britain expressing concern about his colony being outnumbered 10 to 1 by pirates.

This problem was ignored until British ships started to be attacked.

Once British ships began being attacked, action needed to be taken. Piracy was too important an issue for the British government to continue to ignore. Even though they were largely responsible for it with the creation of privateers, it had now gotten out of control.

In 1718, the King appointed a new governor of the Bahamas named Woodes Rogers.

Rogers was a smart selection by the crown as he himself was a former privateer, which meant he had a reputation among the pirates and was feared by them.

Rogers made it his mission to eliminate pirates from the Caribbean and worked to restore the trade routes the pirates were destroying.

One of the main tools used to eliminate the pirates was issuing a full pardon to any pirate who would voluntarily surrender by September of that year.

Any pirate who opted to take the pardon would have immunity from their crimes committed before January 5, 1718. In exchange, they would swear an oath to stop their illegal activities.

This was a tempting offer, as it would allow them to return to a normal life without having to return any of the loot they had captured.

Additional rewards would be offered to anyone who turned into a pirate hunter, effectively turning many of the pirates against each other.

This tactic was successful in splitting the Flying Gang, as many of the 400 pirates accepted the pardon. Furthermore, others took up the offer to become pirate hunters and pursued their former comrades who remained in the pirate life.

Two of the most notable pirates to accept the pardon were Hornigold and Jennings.

Hornigold took the offer and invested his loot in legal investments. He then became a pirate hunter and actively sought out his former comrades.

Hornigold was incredibly effective as a pirate hunter and became a trusted ally to Woodes Rogers.

Rogers would entrust Hornigold to protect and facilitate trade with the Spanish, a task he performed well until his death.

Jennings also took the offer and opted to escape the pirate life, returning to being a privateer. He ended up retiring and living comfortably into his old age.

Blackbeard also wanted to take the pardon, but realized there were specific caveats with the deal that would leave him vulnerable to punishment.

Therefore, he sought out a pardon from the Governor of North Carolina instead. He did receive this pardon and lived in normalcy for a short time before returning to the sea. This would prove costly as he would lose his life in battle.

The death of Blackbeard was one of the key moments of the collapse of the pirate republic, as he was one of the final figures to surrender or die.

In addition to the pardon, the Nassau Harbor was also blockaded, making it difficult for any of the pirates who didn’t take the deal to escape the island. Yes, the British ships couldn’t enter the harbor, but they didn’t need to if they could prevent the pirates from entering or leaving.

The plan was incredibly effective, and British control was reinstated over the island.

With the majority of the pirates pardoned, dead, or captured, the last vestiges of the Republic of Pirates collapsed by the end of 1721.

These changes allowed Rogers to rebuild forts and restore order within Nassau.

The creation of the Republic of Pirates was a result of unique geography, bad policy, historical circumstances, and unique characters.

It was a brief and strange period in history when a group of lawless, ruthless individuals managed to create a relatively peaceful society based on a self-imposed code.