The Pirate's Ports

Swashbucklers, Buccaneers, Brigands, Thieves, Scallywags, and Pirates ... It is no surprise that with so many Pirates among the many nefarious seafaring folks who lived in the ... Golden Age of Piracy ... that there needed to be just as many ... Ports, and Safe Havens ... This boating tip takes a look at these pirate homesteads, fortresses, and favorite cities to ransack ... Many of These Locations are on Islands that Survive to This Day ... One Of The Most Famous is Port Royal Jamaica ... This slim peninsula stemming from Kingston was once among the busiest and most dangerous ports in the seven seas. Quickly, Port Royal became a thriving and popular ... Pirate's Port in the 17th Century ... This is because Jamaica's officials hired ... Jamaican Pirates ... to provide protection against ... Spanish Conquistadores, Privateers, and Swashbucklers who could find a safe havens during ... Piracy’s Golden Age ... All were hired to fight against the Spanish, French, and British Crown's ... Sir Henry Morgan Was A Welsh Commander ... He made a pirate's name for himself by ... Raiding Conquistador ships from Jamaica, Cartagena, Portobello, and Panama City ... As time Wore on, Port Royal Became Known as the Most Wicked City ... As a Result ... The New Age a Piracy Came About ... These New age Buccaneers looted and raided indiscriminately ... Gallows Point in Port Royal ... Gallows point was the place where spectators could gather to view the action where pirates were ... Prosecuted, Hung, and Left Out for All to See Them Swing in the Wind Until Dead ... Many pirates met their end here. This included ... Calico Jack ... Who was famous for his colorful clothing and having two of the most famous female pirates in his crew ... These were ... Mary Read and Anne Bonny ... Tortuga in Haiti ... This charming island is shaped roughly like a turtle. It was home to bands of ... Thieves, Pirates, and Escaped Convicts ... All fiercely targeted ... Spanish Treasure Ships ... as well as any ship who's captain was ... Foolish Enough to Cross Them ... Some were French Raiders, and others were Pirates spilling over from Port Royal ... Over time ... Haiti Became a Powerful Fortress ... Haiti was also the home for ... The Former Military Engineer Jean le Vasseur ... He went on to Build Fort De Rocher, Complete with it's 24-gun Mansions, Watch Towers, and More to Safeguard the Island ... “The Brethren of the Coast" ... This association was developed in Haiti, as a ... Loose Code of Conduct ... It was kept among thieves and pirates ... The Word Buccaneer was also Born in Haiti ... It was borrowed and changed from the processed meat the French ate, called ... Buccaneer ... One famous Buccaneer who sailed in those waters was ... L’Olonnais ... He was also known as ... Jean-David Nassau ... His Claim to Fame was Being Known for Hacking His Opponents to Pieces ... Legend has it he once cut the still-beating heart out of an enemy and took a bite ... New Providence Bahamas... Nestled among the Bahamian islands, New Providence is where pirates set up their strategic strongholds that were perfect for raiding and attacking ships voyaging from one continent to another ... Loaded with Treasure ... Haiti had a harbor that was specifically made for picking up supplies and docking to make repairs to a host of pirate ships ... Like Port Royal in Nassau ... New Providences' Capital was Also Named Nassau ... Each Street was Lined with Bars and Brothels ... Famous pirates like Blackbeard and Charles Vane docked and spent time here ... It Became such a Nest of Pirate Activities That ... the British Government Eventually Worried that this ... Little Pirate's Haven ... would destroy the survival of their Bahamian Colony ... Hence, with the brute force and the full strength of the British navy, Haiti was eventually transformed into ... The Main Headquarters for Anti-Piracy Operations in the Caribbean ... Saint Mary’s Island Madagascar ... Those who made their piracy living in the Indian Ocean usually called St. Mary’s Island home ... Any European or Asian Ship Sailing Through these Waters Would have Kept a Wary Eye on the Horizon for a Black Sail Bearing some form of ... The Jolly Roger ... This island off Madagascar became host to ... 1,500 Pirates ... All of Them Were Well Supplied and Equipped with Items from Their Stay at this Incredible StrongHold ... Living within this legendary pirate's haven was ... Captain Kidd Himself, Who Chose to Stay in Madagascar ... Here, there were myths of another utopian pirate haven nearby, called ... Libertalia ... Even though some historians doubt that Libertalia existed ... Many Profitable Raids that Were Executed in this Area ... Were Fact Based ... One of the bloodiest and most lucrative fights that occured here was between ... Henry Every, ... Who Used Six Ships to Attack One Treasure Ship ... Belonging to ... The Great Mogul of India ... The fight for the treasure on this ship was brutal, but every man made off with about the equivalent of $200 million in loot in 1695. A book printed in 1728 describes a pirate named Captain Mission and and a colony named Libertalia ... There is little or no cobarating evidence for libetiraria's existence ... However, if Libertaria did exist, it could be that it was real but somehow lost to history ... Today Libertalia is a Pirate's Legend Based on Interviews With the Sailors Who Lived and Sailed with Them At the Time ... Clew Bay • Ireland ... This is the home of the warm Irish welcome. It was also the home to one of the fiercest female pirates to sail throughout Europe ... Her name was Grace O’Malley ... She was the daughter of the chieftain of the O’Malleys of Murrisk clan ... She Owned Land of Her Own, Bought Many Galleys, and made Clew Bay into a Thriving Pirate Port ... She was the leader of a band of pirates that defied the government of ... The Local Chieftains ... She Set Up Base and Stored Her Treasure at Rockfleet Castle, and ... Commanded a Fleet of About 20 Ships and Hundreds of Men ... O’Malley defied the convention of her time. Once her husband died, she set sail and ... Never Looked Back ... Tales of her legacy ranged from fending off an attack from Galway, to ... Giving Birth on Board to her Son and Successfully Fending off Turkish Buccaneers the Very Next Day ... She blundered when she ran afoul of the ... British Government ... She Then Met With ... Queen Elizabeth ... to negotiate her and her son’s release when they were captured ... She then negotiated the return of her fleet ... She made the western ports of Ireland a force to be reckoned with, that hasn’t been forgotten to this day ... The Barbary Coast in Northern Africa ... The Barbary Coast was flecked with pirate havens ... Salé, Tunis, and Algiers Were the Most Prominent ... With Spain's conquering of Muslim-ruled territories, many people were forced to flee their homes ... This caused unrest throughout the coast of the area ... Especially in Morocco ... Here pirates set up governments, created temporary treaties, and crushed rebellions that actively affected the coastlines ... Many were coastal areas that were ready to ransacked ... The BarBarossa Brothers, Aruj and Hizir ... Anything that Held Treasure or Power ... These Pirate Brothers ... made their fortune laying siege to European vessels throughout the Mediterranean ... They worked for the ... Ottoman Sultan at the Time ... The brothers spent their lives fighting off ... Christian Invaders ... Aruj lost an arm while gaining control of the entire coast. Then he ... Lost his Life to Piracy ... Hizir followed quickly in his footsteps ... Around the Same Time, the Moroccan Pirate Queen Sayyida Al-Hurra Joined Them ... She, like many, was forced to flee her home ... She Married into Royalty in Order to ... Maintain Her Independence ... She fought ferociously like any other pirate sailing in those waters would ... Algiers and Salé ... were two areas that were so badly plundered and overflowing with pirates that ... The American Founding Fathers ... were forced to push back, and started the ... First Barbary War In Campeche City Mexico ... This was a favorite target for pirate plundering in ... The Gulf of Mexico ... and in ... San Francisco ... After they’d looted and ravaged, the pirates used to ... Relax in the Spanish Wealth That They Plundered ... Henry Morgan, Jean Lafitte, and More Famous Pirates ... Would Attack a City and Tear it Apart on a Regular Basis ... Because Campeche was settled by Spanish Conquistadors on top of the already-existing Mayan city of Can Pech, the architecture varied widely throughout the city ... Many of the Older Buildings From Both Mayan Times and Conquistador Times Has Been Destroyed by the Pirates ... The Constant Ransacking of a City only Slowed Once the Fortified City Walls Were Erected in the 17th and 18th Centuries ... Today the city is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the Fortified Walls Built to Keep the Pirates Away can Still be Seen ... Hai Tac Island Vietnam ... Among Vietnam’s Many Beautiful Islands is Hai Tac ... It Is Better Known as “Pirate Island" ... This island, is actually an archipelago made up of 16 islands, where pirates would often seek shelter as early as the 20th century. The notorious Chinese pirate ... Ching Shih ... is said to have been there ... Arguably Ching Shih Is The ... Most Successful Pirate Ever ... Ching Was a Female Pirate ... She married into a life of pillaging, once her husband died ... She Took Over His Fleet ... and expanded it until she had over ... 70,000 Men at Her Command ... These small Vietnamese islands held many Chinese and Vietnamese pirates. ... Ocracoke Island USA ... Found along the coast of North Carolina is the hiding place of perhaps the most famous of all pirates: ... The Feared Blackbeard ... He Got his Name by Twineing Fuses Through His Facial Hair and Lighting Them Before Going into Battle ... The island of Ocracoke served as the perfect location, stocked with resources and hiding places for ... Blackbeard ... Calico Jack Rackham ... Anne Bonny ... and Mary Read ... These famous pirates used to lie in wait here in between attacking ships crossing the Atlantic. Their hiding places were soon filled with plunder and the spoils of pirating. Today there are Still Artifacts Salvaged from Blackbeard’s Ship ... Queen Anne’s Revenge ... Visitors can also visit the North Carolina Maritime Museum on the mainland in Beaufort.