Pirates, markets and imperial authority: Economic aspects of maritime depredations in the Atlantic World, 1716-1726

Global Crime

Volumn 9, Issue 1-2, 2008, Pages 52-65

  Bialuschewski, Arne ^a  

^a TRENT UNIVERSITY   (Canada)

Author keywords

Economic history; Organised crime in history; Piracy; Pirates

Indexed keywords

EID: 39449134813     PISSN: 17440572     EISSN: 17440580     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/17440570701862769     Document Type: Article

References (126)

1. Arne Bialuschewski, 'Between Newfoundland and the Malacca Strait: A Survey of the Golden Age of Piracy, 1695-1725', Mariner's Mirror 90 (2004): 167-86.
2. For example, Marqueś de Moteleoń to Paul Methuen, March 8, 1717, Valladolid, Archivo General de Simancas (AGS), Secretariá de Estado, leg. 6837;
3. Jose ́Barbosa, Epitome da vida do illustris e excelentis senhor D. Luiz Carlos Ignacio Xavier de Menezes, primeiro marquez do Lourica̧l (Lisbon: Fonseca, 1743), 53-60.
4. Alfred P. Rubin, The Law of Piracy (Newport, RI: Naval War College Press, 1988), 36-8. This article will use the term freebooter in cases in which the legal status is not clear.
5. Paul Butel, Les Caraib̈es au temps des flibustiers (Paris: Aubier Montaigne, 1982), 201-30;
6. Carlos Saíz Cidoncha, Historia de la pirateriá en Ameŕica espanõla (Madrid: San Martiń, 1985), 333-63.
7. Nuala Zahedieh, 'A Frugal, Prudential and Hopeful Trade: Privateering in Jamaica, 1655-1689', Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History 18 (1990): 145-68;
8. Virginia W. Lunsford, Piracy and Privateering in the Golden Age Netherlands (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005), 141-70.
9. Fernando Serrano Mangas, 'Auge y represioń de la pirateriá en el Caribe, 1650-1700', Mesoameŕica 6 (1985): 92-9.
10. Arne Bialuschewski, 'Pirates, Slavers and the Indigenous Population in Madagascar, c. 1690- 1715', International Journal of African Historical Studies 38 (2005): 401-25.
11. There are numerous documents relating to this disaster preserved in Seville, Archivo General de Indias (AGI). For a dramatic account see, for instance, the deposition of Nicolaś da Inda, August 16, 1715, Escribaniá de Caḿara del Consejo de Indias, leg. 55c.
12. Nuala Zahedieh, 'Trade, Plunder and Economic Development in Early English Jamaica, 1655-1689', Economic History Review 39 (1986): 205-22.
13. Commission and instructions for Eagle, November 21, 1715, London, The National Archives (TNA), CO 137/12, 22-4. The French sources of that time also contain many references to Spanish pirates.
14. Deposition of Joseph Lorrain, August 21, 1716, Spanish Town, Jamaica Archives, Ref. 1B/5, vol. VIII, 110-11; The Boston News-Letter, December 19, 1715.
15. 9A12, 184-87.
16. Paul Balchen to Josiah Burchett, May 13, 1716, TNA, CO 137/11, 97. In light of this statement it is perhaps worth noting that a labour surplus and unemployment are frequently cited as causes of piracy.
17. The Boston News-Letter, May 28, 1716.
18. Benjamin Bennett to William Popple, August 8, 1716 (abstract), TNA, CO 37/24, 5; 'A Description of Bermuda or Summer Islands in America', 1722, TNA, CO 37/10, 214-19.
19. Bermuda shipping returns, April 2, 1716 to January 10, 1718, TNA, CO 41/ 6, 2-11.
20. 'Voyage to Guinea, Antego, Bay of Campeche, Cuba, Barbadoes', 1714-1723, London, The British Library, Add. Ms. 39946, 26.
21. James Logan to Robert Hunter, October 24, 1717, Philadelphia, Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP), Logan Papers 1a, 167 (quote);
22. log of the HMS Milford, August 8, 1718, TNA, ADM 51/606;
23. 'Viaje desde la Habana a ́la Isla de la Providencia', 1720, Madrid, Museo Naval, Ms. 325, doc. 4, 30-1.
24. 9A 12, 172-77;
25. deposition of Joseph Eels, December 20, 1716, TNA, CO 137/12, 122; The State of the Island of Jamaica, Chiefly in Relation to its Commerce, and the Conduct of the Spaniards (London: Henry Whitridge, 1726), 8-11.
26. Claim of Richard Tookerman, November 21, 1718, Atlanta, Southeast Region Archives, Minutes of the Vice-Admiralty Court of South Carolina 1, 289-90;
27. The Boston News-Letter, August 11, 1718.
28. Narrative of Richard Appleton, July 22, 1718, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania State Archives, Minutes of the Provincial Court of Pennsylvania, Record Group 21, box 22, vol. E. The Biminis are a chain of small islands off what is present-day Miami.
29. The Tryals of Major Stede Bonnet, and Other Pirates (London: Benjamin Cowse, 1719), 8.
30. Information of Andrew Turbett, April 17, 1717, TNA, CO 5/1318, 63.
31. James Logan to Henry Goldney, September 27, 1717, HSP, Logan Papers 3, 76-8.
32. 8A 21, 231-4;
33. Walter Hamilton to Council of Trade and Plantations, March 1, 1717, TNA, CO 152/11, no. 57.
34. Log of HMS Winchelsea, December 19, 1717, London, National Maritime Museum, ADM/L/W/80.
35. See also Christopher Gale to Thomas Pitt, November 4, 1718, TNA, CO 23/ 1, 47-8;
36. The Boston News-Letter, August 11, 1718.
37. For example, Paris, Archives du minister̀e des Affaires et́ranger̀es, Correspondance politique: Angleterre 281, 97;
38. Angleterre 282, 67-8;
39. Angleterre 283, 197 and 311;
40. Angleterre 285 supplement, 218;
41. Angleterre 291, 96;
42. AGS, Secretariá de Estado, legs. 6835 and 6837.
43. Michael Craton and Gail Saunders, Islanders in the Stream: A History of the Bahamian People (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1992), 115-18.
44. Woodes Rogers to Council of Trade and Plantations, October 31, 1718, TNA, CO 23/1, 16-28;
45. The Whitehall Evening-Post, October 21, 1718.
46. Gregorio Guazo y Calderoń Fernańdez de la Vega to [unknown], August 22, 1718, AGI, Audiencia de Santo Domingo, 359.
47. Lauren Benton, 'Legal Spaces of Empire: Piracy and the Origins of Ocean Regionalism', Comparative Studies in Society and History 47 (2005): 706-21.
48. James Logan to Robert Hunter, October 24, 1717, HSP, Logan Papers 1a, 167.
49. David D. Moore, 'Blackbeard the Pirate: Historical Background and the Beaufort Inlet Shipwrecks', Tributaries 7 (1997): 31-9;
50. Jane S. Bailey, Allen H. Norris, and John H. Oden III, 'Legends of Blackbeard and His Ties to Bath Town: A Study of Historical Events Using Genealogical Methodology', North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal 28 (2002): 247-93.
51. Walter Edgar, South Carolina: A History (Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1998), 90-103.
52. A Pennsylvania merchant later learned that 'The Letters & Paper Taken in Black Beards Possession Will Strongly Affect Some Persons in the Government of North Carolina'.
53. See Jonathan Dickinson to Joshua Crosby, March 9, 1719, HSP, Norris of Fairhill Ms. 3, 154.
54. Lindley S. Butler, Pirates, Privateers, and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2000), 42-71.
55. William Mathew to Walter Hamilton, September 29, 1720, TNA, CO 152/13, 23-4;
56. Marquis de Sorel to Conseil de la Marine, June 23, 1721, CAOM, C9A 19, 156-61;
57. The Tryals of John Rackam, and Other Pirates (Spanish Town: Robert Baldwin, 1721), 3-8.
58. Peter Earle, Sailors: English Merchant Seamen, 1650-1775 (London: Methuen, 1998), 55-64.
59. Deposition of William Slade, June 3, 1719, TNA, CO 31/15, 12-8;
60. report of Alexandre Patreson, December 17, 1719, CAOM, C8A 27, 5-6;
61. The Weekly Journal: Or, Saturday's Post, October 24, 1719.
62. For the crew mortality and its causes during the period under consideration see, for example, the entry in the ships' register for l'Excellent, December 4, 1721, Nantes, Archives deṕartementales de Loire-Atlantique, Marine C 1194, 12-3.
63. The Original Weekly Journal, May 23, 1719.
64. 9A 17, 21-37;
65. 'The Memoriall of the Merchants of London Trading to Africa', July 29, 1720, TNA, ADM 1/3810, no. 52.
66. Testimony of Roger Hughes, November 4, 1720, Edinburgh, National Archives of Scotland (NAS), AC 16/1, 321-2 (quote);
67. Conde do Vimieiro to Joaõ V, September 15, 1719, Lisbon, Arquivo Historico Ultramarino (AHU), Baiá, cx. 12, doc. 1049.
68. ClementDowning, A CompendiousHistory of the IndianWars (London:THomasCooper, 1737), 46.
69. Amsterdamse Courant, April 16, 1722;
70. Gazeta de Lisboa, April 23 and 30, 1722;
71. Jacob de Bucquoi, Aanmerkelyke ontmoetingen in de zestien jaarige reize naa de Indien̈ (Haarlem: Jan Bosch, 1744), 30-6.
72. Conselho Ultramarino to Joaõ V, January 26, 1723, AHU, Cod́ice 554, 154;
73. John Tinker to Royal African Company, August 11, 1724, TNA, T 70/7, 64-5;
74. Gazeta de Lisboa, July 8, 1723;
75. The Boston Gazette, August 19, 1723.
76. Joseph Laws to Duke of Portland, April 24, 1723, TNA, CO 137/14, 210;
77. [unknown] to Humphrey Morice, May 10, 1723, London, Bank of England Archive, Humphrey Morice Papers M7/49;
78. The London Journal, August 17 and 24, 1723.
79. Sir Nicholas Lawes to Council of Trade and Plantations, March 24, 1719, TNA, CO 137/13, no. 30.
80. 6 Geo I, c. 19.
81. Testimony of Archibald Murray, November 4, 1720, NAS, AC 16/1, 387-88;
82. 8A 27, 107-12;
83. Leydse Courant, March 1 and 8, 1720;
84. The Last Speech and Dying Words, of Richard Luntly, Carpenter Aboard the Eagle Snow (Edinburgh: Robert Brown, 1721).
85. Deposition of Richard Sims, January 21, 1721, TNA, CO 152/14, 33;
86. 'News from Barbadoes, Antigua and Jamaica', 1721, TNA, CO 37/10, 147;
87. The London Journal, March 25, 1721;
88. The Weekly Journal: Or, British Gazetteer, September 2 and 16, 1721.
89. 8A 26, 96-9;
90. 9A 17, 21-37.
91. Benjamin Bennett to Council of Trade and Plantations, June 8, 1719, TNA, CO 37/10, 59;
92. Walter Hamilton to William Popple, February 16, 1720, TNA, CO 152/13, 62-6;
93. The Boston News-Letter, April 11, 1720.
94. The American Weekly Mercury, March 17, 1720 (quote);
95. Alexander Spotswood to Council of Trade and Plantations, May 20, 1720, Richmond, Virginia Historical Society, Ms. 3, V8194, Sp685 a2, 324-9.
96. The Lives of the Most Remarkable Criminals, Who Have Been Condemn'd and Executed (London: John Osborn, 1735), 53-68.
97. Peter Earle, The Pirate Wars (London: Methuen, 2003), 185-9;
98. James Pritchard, In Search of Empire: The French in the Americas, 1670-1730 (Cambridge:CAmbridgeUniversity Press, 2004), 414.
99. The Weekly Journal: Or, British Gazetteer, April 9, 1720.
100. A Full and Exact Account, of the Tryal of all the Pyrates, Lately Taken by Captain Ogle (London: James Roberts, 1723), 9-73.
101. Walter Hamilton to William Popple, February 16, 1720, TNA, CO 152/13, 62-6;
102. 8A 27, 386-91;
103. George Phenney to Council of Trade and Plantations, December 26, 1721, TNA, CO 23/1, 41;
104. The Boston News-Letter, June 8, 1721.
105. Information of Alexander Thompson, March 2, 1722, TNA, HCA 1/55, 22-3;
106. 9A 20, 139-44;
107. deposition of John Wickstead, September 18, 1723, TNA, CO 28/18, 23;
108. The New-England Courant, July 22 and 29, 1723;
109. The Boston Gazette, September 9, 1723;
110. The Boston News-Letter, April 16, 1724.
111. Olaf U. Janzen, 'The Problem of Piracy in the Newfoundland Fishery in the Aftermath of the War of the Spanish Succession', Northern Seas 10 (1997): 67-75.
112. The American Weekly Mercury, March 11, 1723;
113. The Boston Gazette, May 4, 1724;
114. The Boston News-Letter, October 15, 1724;
115. Ashton's Memorial: An History of the Strange Adventures, and Signal Deliverances, of Mr. Philip Ashton (Boston: Samuel Gerrish, 1725), 13-14.
116. John H. Elliott, Empires of the Atlantic World: Britain and Spain in America, 1492-1830 (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2006), 219-32.
117. The Daily Journal, June 21, 1722;
118. The London Journal, June 23, 1722;
119. The Evening Post, July 5 and 21, 1722;
120. The St. James's Journal, August 30, 1722;
121. The Post-Boy, September 4 and 6, 1722;
122. The Weekly Journal: Or, British Gazetteer, September 8, 1722;
123. John Atkins, A Voyage to Guinea, Brasil, and the West-Indies (London: Ward and Chandler, 1735), 186-93.
124. The Dutch and the Portuguese newspapers also published reports of this success.
125. Daniel E. Williams, 'Puritans and Pirates: A Confrontation between Cotton Mather and William Fly in 1726', Early American Literature 22 (1987): 233-51;
126. David Cordingly, Life Among the Pirates: The Romance and the Reality (London: Little, Brown and Company, 1995), 259-71.