Golden Age of Piracy
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The Golden Age of Piracy is a common designation given to one or more outbursts of piracy in the early modern period. In its broadest accepted definition, the Golden Age of Piracy spans from the 1650s to the 1720s and covers three separate outbursts of piracy: 1) the buccaneering period of approximately 1650 to 1680, characterized by Anglo-French seamen based on Jamaica and Tortuga attacking Spanish colonies and shipping in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, 2) the Pirate Round of the 1690s, associated with long-distance voyages from Bermuda and the Americas to rob Muslim and East India Company targets in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea, and 3) the post-Spanish Succession period, defined by Marcus Rediker as extending from 1716 to 1726, when Anglo-American sailors and privateers left unemployed by the end of the War of the Spanish Succession turned en masse to piracy in the Caribbean, the American eastern seaboard, the West African coast, and the Indian Ocean. Narrower definitions of the Golden Age sometimes exclude the first or second periods, but most include at least some portion of the third.
The modern conception of pirates as depicted in popular culture is derived largely, though not always accurately, from the Golden Age of Piracy.
Factors contributing to piracy during the Golden Age included the rise in quantities of valuable cargoes being shipped to Europe over vast ocean areas, reduced European navies in certain regions, the training and experience that many sailors had gained in European navies (particularly the Royal Navy), and ineffective government in European overseas colonies. The colonial powers at the time constantly fought with pirates and engaged in several notable battles and other related events.
Effect on Popular Culture
Although some of the details are often misremembered, the effect upon popular culture of the Golden Age of Piracy can hardly be overstated. A General History of the Pyrates by Charles Johnson, is the prime source for the biographies of many well known pirates of the Golden Age, providing an extensive account of the period. In giving an almost mythical status to the more colorful characters such as the notorious English pirates Blackbeard and Calico Jack, the book provided the standard account of the lives of many pirates in the Golden Age, and influenced pirate literature of Robert Louis Stevenson and J. M. Barrie. Such literary works as Treasure Island and Peter Pan, while romanticized, drew heavily on pirates and piracy for their plots. Movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean drew heavily from this romanticized ideal of piracy. In turn, they helped implant an (often inaccurate) image of old-time pirates in contemporary minds.
More recently, even less accurate depictions of historical-era pirates (e.g., Talk Like a Pirate Day) have advanced to the forefront. However, these phenomena have only served to advance the romantic image of piracy and its treasure-burying swashbucklers in popular culture.
Fictional Pirates include:
Captain Hook
Captain James Hook is the antagonist of J. M. Barrie’s play Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up and its various adaptations. The character is a villainous pirate captain of the Jolly Roger brig, and lord of the pirate village/harbour in Neverland, where he is widely feared. Most importantly, he is the archenemy of Peter Pan. It is said that Hook was Blackbeard’s boatswain, and that he was the only man Long John Silver ever feared.
Hook wears a big iron hook in place of his hand, which was cut off by Peter Pan and eaten by a saltwater crocodile. The crocodile liked the taste so much that he follows Hook around constantly, hoping for more. Luckily for Hook, the crocodile also swallowed a clock, so Hook can tell from the ticking when he is near. Hook hates Peter obsessively and lives for the day he can make Peter and all his Lost Boys walk the plank.
Captain Hook’s boatswain is called Smee and his First Mate Starkey.
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