The British Pirates And Privateers Of The Golden Age In Caribbean:1690-1730

Modern world history started from the sea expansion. The colonial expansion and the competition among the countries were important factors to make the Western European countries strong. The sea expansion was accompanied by rampant piracy. As a pioneer of colonizing and maritime trade, the pirate played an important role between the16th and18th centuries; they had acted as the tools for colonial expansion and then became the target of attack.1690to1730was known as the golden age of piracy, during which the number of pirates increased greatly and the pirates also did a series of expansive activities.During the Nine Years’war(1689to1697)and the War of the Spanish Succession (1702to1713), the belligerent nations granted privateers in great number. Because of the complex colonial environment in Caribbean area, the Great Britain used many privateers as the armed forces to make up the Royal Navy’s lackness in Caribbean. After the war, the privateers were disbanded which led to a large number of sailors out of employment. And then many sailors turned to pirates due to the abuse specially for them used by merchant and naval ships, thus the proliferation of illegal pirates in Caribbean appeared.This paper is divided into three chapters to discuss the golden age of the British pirate in Caribbean. Chapter one firstly tells the differences between privateer and pirate, in order to distinguish the pirates in wartime and postwar, to show different attitudes of the Government to privateers and pirates. Then the different stages of the golden age are discussed. Finally, the special geographical situation and the environmental impact of Caribbean is also mentioned.Chapter two introduces the reasons for pirates to rise up, their active stages and characteristics. The rise of pirates was firstly due to the development of trade, then the war provided opportunity for privateers. Besides, merchant and naval ships’abuse is also not ignored.Chapter three refers to the reasons for the decline of pirates. From economic aspect, the establishment of the colonies trade system was no longer to tolerate the pirates; from military aspect, the increasing strength of Royal Navy became the major force to suppress pirates; On the legislative front, the authority adopted a carrot and stick method to split pirate groups, thus the pirates were greatly weakened by strict punishment and the economic compensation.The ups and downs of pirates show that the government’s attitude determines the living space for pirates. In the early colonial era, the pirates carried out smuggling trade with the help of the government competed for wealth with Spain and other old colonial countries. But since the establishment of plantation mode in the second half of17th century, pirates began to be suppressed for their serious plunder behavior. In the end of the17th century and early18th century, the Nine Years’war and the War of the Spanish Succession also created opportunity for illegal pirates, most of whom were granted as privateers during the war time. When the colonial wars ended, privateers returned to pirates again, so their golden age was finally lost.