TriangleTradeRoutes:

Theslavetrade,aspartoftheAtlantictriangular
trade,wasprobablythemosthistoricallyimportantandprofitabletrade
routeintheworld.TheshipswouldloadedinEuropewithmanufactured
goodsthatwereboundfortheAmericasalongwithguns,cloth,iron,and
beerboundforAfrica.Themerchantshipswouldstopoffinslavingportsin
WestAfricawheretheguns,cloth,iron,andbeerwereoffloadingand
sometimestradedforslaves.PiratesoftheGoldenAgeprofitedgreatly
fromthetheAtlantictrade,mostlyduetotheriseofamountsofvaluables
beingshippedoverseasandareducedpresenceofEuropeannaviesin
certainareasandanineffectivegovernmentalongwiththat.

EndoftheGoldenAge:
KingGeorgeIofEnglandenactedthePiracyAct.
Beforeitwasexpensiveandtooktimetocaptureapirate,bringhimbackto
thecountryofhiscaptor,havehimtriedthenexecuted.SoKingGeorge
permittedallofficialsintheBritishEmpiretheauthoritytotryandexecute
pirates.ButKingGeorgewaswiseenoughtoknowthatwhenpiratesare
cornered,theyfightmorefiercelyandtothedeathifnecessary.Hethenput
WoodesRogersinplace,asatrustworthygovernor,atthepiratehaven
locatedintheBahamas.Georgehadhimissueadecreeforallpirates
statinganyofthemwhosworetogiveuppiracyandneverindulgeinit
againwouldbepardoned.
GovernorRogersalsopaidwillingpiratestohuntotherpirates,andfor
goodmeasureorderedafleetofwarshipstotheCaribbean.Infamous
piratessuchasBlackbeardandCaptainKiddwerehunteddownand
executed.AlloftheseaspectsledtotheendofpiracysGoldenAge.By
1727,itseffectonglobaltradewasinsignificant.

Pirateshipswerefloatingdemocracies.Theyvotedoneverythingvoting
captainsin,captainsout,whatshipstoattack,whetherornottoattacka
specificship,whotoallowintothecrew,etc.Thiswasduringwhen
Monarchyruledthemajorityoftheworld.Alsotheprofitofbeingapirate
wasabundantlymorethanworkinginthemarines.

GoldenAgePirateOperations:
Themajorityofpiratesstoletheirships
becausetheycouldn'tbuyshipsincasetheywerecaughtandputinjail
andontrial.Onepirateshadtakenoverashiptheywouldconvertitfor
piratelifemakingmoreroomforsailorstoliveonboardandtostrengthen
thedeckssotheycouldholdtheweightoftheheavycannons.Usually
equippedwithtenormore.Pirateswouldcarrylightweight,quickweapons
thatwouldbeusedinclosecombat.Boardingaxeswereusedtocutrope,
butwerealsoexcellenthandtohandweapons.Theyalsocarriedsturdy
knivesanddaggers,butafavorablechoicewasthesaber,ashort,stout
sword,oftenwithacurvedblade.Duringseabattles,rifleswerethefirearm
choice.Butduetothetimeittooktoloadthem,pistolswerepopularin
closecombat.Mostpiratesdidntwanttofightsinceitcouldresultinlost
crewmembers,damagedshipandsometimesthelossandsinkingoftheir
prizetreasures.Ifcrewmemberssurrenderedandhandedovertheloot,
theywouldbesparedandtreatedkindly.Butiftheyputupafightitcould
resultintheharshtreatmentofsurvivors.Thingslikewalkingtheplankand
buriedtreasurewerejustmyths.Theyneverkepttreasurelongenoughto
buryit,theyspentit.

SpanishTreasureFleet(WestIndiesFleet):
Aconvoysystemused
between15661790bytheSpanishEmpire.Theconvoysinitialusewere
forcargofleetstotransportalargevarietyofitems.Thisincluded
agriculturalgoodslikelumber,luxuries,gold,silver,silk,tobacco,sugar,
spices,gems,pearls,andotherexoticgoods.HenryJennings,originallya
privateer,wasfirstaccusedofpiracyforattackingtheseshipsandclaiming
theirsalvages.

LifeandFood:
Lifeatseacreatedgreatboredomforpirates,itcouldtake
weekstofindpreytoattack.Fightsbetweenpirateswerecommondueto
boredomandeagerforbattle,butpiratescareersdidnttendtolastlong.
Themajorityofpirateswereveryyoungintheir20s,andmanywerekilled
andinjuredinbattle.Therewerenomedicalfacilitiessomanywoulddie
fromuntreatedwounds.Rumalsomadethemlosetheirteethwhich
wouldntworkoutforeatingontheshipatsea.Theyusuallystockedupon
beer,sincewaterwouldbecomeundrinkablebecauseofthesaltytaste.
Piratestendedtohavehardtackwhicharelonglastingbiscuits.Forlonger
voyagesitwasusedasasourceofVitaminC.Ifhenswereaboardthey
providedbothfresheggsandmeat.Meatoftheturtlesthatprosperedin
theCaribbeanwereeasytoaccessforthepiratesandeasytocatch.

ModernPiracyHotSpots:
Piratesofthemodernagedontdoasmuch
travelingtheseasastheGoldenAgedaysduetomorepowerfulmilitary

fleetsandenforcement,insteadtherearehotspots.Theseareareaswhere
pirateactivityishighenoughtoconsiderathreat.Hotspotshavebeen
shownintheIndianOcean,EastAfrica,andFarEastincludingtheSouth
ChinaSea,SouthAmerica,andtheCaribbean.Throughrecentyears,
pirateshavebeenshowntobequiteactiveinthewatersbetweenthe
IndianOceanandtheRedSea,offtheSomalicoast,andintheStraitof
Malaccaasshownonthedrawnoutmap.

OperationsofModernPirates:
MuchdifferentthantheGoldenAge,pirates
nowusenightvisiongoggles,carryAK47s,heavymachineguns,and
rocketlaunchers.TheynavigatewithGPSdevicesandusehighlevel
speedboatsequippedwithheavymortarstotargetships.SomeSomali
pirateshavemanagedtogettheirhandsonRussianmade82mmmortars
thatcantargetshipsasfaras5kilometersfromshore.Themostcommon
targetsformodernpiratesareusuallycargoships,tankers,andcontainer
shipswhicharemostvulnerablewhenanchoredorberthed.Andwhile
manymaythinkpiracyisnotaproblem,in2010therewere445pirates
attackandrecentlytherehavebeenaround2030amonth.Justlike
GoldenAgepirates,modernpiratesattackshipsfrombehindatnightusing
grapplinghooks,poles,orropesinordertoboardtheshipbeforeanyalarm
israised.Butmodernpiratesarentalwaysafterashipscargosincethey
wouldhavetofindamarketthatwouldacceptthegoods.Insteadtheygo
forthecrewspersonalvaluables,electronicsandotherusefulsupplies.
GoldenAgepirateslivedtheirlivesatseawhilemodernpiratesmostly
operatefromshore.Sothereisnoproblemwithsurvivingonshipswhen
theycanreturntoshoreatanytime.Thefewwhochoosethecareerin
piracyneedtohaveaccesstoamarketstoselltheirgoods.Theyneedan
organizationalstructure,weapons,andsurveillanceequipment.Thepirates

thatstealentireshipslookforsympatheticportsthatwilldisregardtheir
legalactivities.Attheseports,piratesturntheirshipsintophantomships,
givingthemnewnamesandfalseidentification.

GoldenAgeNavigation:
Nearlyeverypirateshiphadanavigatorwho
wouldhavetobeliterate,neededtoknowmathematics,andneededtobe
abletoreadtheinstrumentsusedtonavigatetheship.Pirateswouldsteal
theseinstrumentsfromothershipsofdifferentcultures,adaptingthemfor
theirownuse.Thenavigatormostalwaysknewthetraderoutesofshipsin
differentpartsoftheyearsothathecouldnavigatetheshipinthat
estimatedarea.Buthealsohadtoknowthebestescaperouteinthatarea.
ThoughquadrantswereusedintheGoldenAge,themostcommonlyused
tacticwereseacharts.Theytoldhowdeepwaterswere,wherethereefs
were,andlandmasses.Itallowedyoutolocateyourpositionrelativeto
wherethelandmasseswereandtheycontainedthedrawnoutroutesof
othercargoandmerchantships.Oneofthebiggestprizesforcapturinga
shipwasntalwaystreasure,butwerenavigationaltools.Captainswould
throwthemoverboardwhentheyknewtheirshipwasbeingcaptured.

BlackPirates:
TheGoldenAgeofpiracyalsowastheprimeoftheAtlantic
slavetradewhichtookplacefromthe16ththroughthe19thcenturies.
Whilesomepiratestookpartinslavetradeandsharedalikeattitudethat
Africanswerecommoditiesforexchange,mostpiratesjudgedAfricans

moreonthebasisoftheirlanguageandsailingskillsinsteadoftheirrace.
Piracygaveslavesawayout,andthesystemthatmadeslaverypossible
wasbeingchallengedbypiracy.Mostblackpirateswererunawayslaves,
eitherjoiningthepiratesonthecourseofavoyagefromAfrica,deserting
theirplantation,orsentasslavestoworkontheship.Piracyservedtobea
betteroptionthanbeingonaplantation.Itwasarisk,butwasalsooneof
thefewchancesthatofferedfreedomforanAfrican.

ModernBlackPirates:
Inmoderntimes,slavetradeisnotanissueever
sincetheSlaveTradeActof1807whichabolishedtheslavetradeinthe
BritishEmpire,morespecificallytheAtlanticslavetrade,butthisdidnot
abolishslaveryitself.PiracyreturnedtotheMediterraneanandAtlantic
duringthetimeoftheAmericanRevolutionandNapoleonicWarsfrom
1775totheearly1800s.Blackpirateswerenotascommonasbackinthe
GoldenAge,butgrewinnumbersinthelate20thandearly21stcenturies.
BlackpiratesareverycommonoffthecoastofSomaliaandingeneralthe
eastsideoftheglobe.Blackpiratestodayarestillaroundandaremore
commonthatwhitepirates.

ModernAgeNavigation:
Intodayspiracyitismucheasierforpiratesto
navigatetheseaswithadvancesintechnology.Mostmodernpirateuse
GPSdevicestonavigatethewaters,unlessapiratealreadyknowsthe
area.Theyalsostillusecompassesandspyglasses/telescopessoscope
outlandmassesorotherdangersahead.Sonavigationformodernpirates
isntnearlyasdifficultasitwasintheGoldenAge.Evenwithtechnology
almosteveryshipcarriessomesortofbasicnavigationaltoolfor
emergencies.

Sources:

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/TheGoldenAgeofPiracy17001725/a/TheGoldenAge
OfPiracy.htm

http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/historyofpiracy/goldeageofpiracy.php

http://www.cindyvallar.com/tracinggoldenage.html

PBSvideo:
http://video.pbs.org/video/2365383604/

6FamousPiratestrongholds

http://www.history.com/news/historylists/6famouspiratestrongholds

http://www.thepirateship.com/piratefacts.html

http://www.piratesinfo.com/cpi_Life_at_Sea_559.asp
\

http://www.criminaljusticeusa.com/blog/2009/10shockingfactsaboutmoderndaypirates/

SpanishTreasureFleet:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_treasure_fleet

ModernPirates:(hotspots)
http://maritimeconnector.com/wiki/piracy/

EndoftheGoldenAge:
http://www.gohistorygo.com/#!piratesofthecarribean/cmca

GoldenAgepirateweapons:

http://latinamericanhistory.about.com/od/TheGoldenAgeofPiracy17001725/p/PirateWeapons.
htm

BlackPirates:

http://www.tsu.edu/pdffiles/media/center/BLACKPIRATESBACKGROUND_21907.pdf

Navigation:

http://www.history.com/videos/piratesnavigatethehighseas#piratesnavigatethehighseas

http://www.statista.com/statistics/266292/numberofpirateattacksworldwidesince2006/

http://people.howstuffworks.com/pirate5.htm

http://www.thewayofthepirates.com/piracyhistory/piracytimeline/

http://one.sailworld.com/photos/Med_Modern%20pirates%20in%20attack%20mode.jpg