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Piracy and the Slave Trade

Page history last edited by PBworks 16 years, 1 month ago

The Beginnings:

The slave trade and piracy became interlocked when John Hawkins, one of the first English privateers, stole slaves from Portuguese traders in 1562. Sailing to Africa, he captured 300 people to sell as slaves, and took them to Santo Domingo in the West Indies to trade them for goods such as pearls, hides, ginger, and sugar. While the natives there were not supposed to trade with any other nation besides Spain as they were under Spanish rule, they made an exception so that they could attain slaves. African slaves were used in the West Indies for forced labor, as many of the natives had a high death rate due to disease brought by the Europeans. They were used for jobs such as pearl fishing, working in sugar mills, and indigo dye processing. John Hawkins made several of these voyages, but was attacked by Spanish ships during his third. During this voyage he was sailing with Sir Frances Drake, and out of the six ships they had at the time only those captained by Drake and Hawkins survived. He escaped to England where he remained in Queen Elizabeth the First's service.

After Hawkins, other pirates began capturing ships carrying African cargoes. The ships themselves, as well as their cargo, piqued the interest of the pirates. The ships were made to sail long voyages, had plenty of room for cargo, and were often fortified with weapons. While the slaves themselves were worth money, there were other goods of interest on the ships. Most of the ships also carried gold, ivory, and spices along with the slaves. These goods were worth quite a bit of money, and served as worthy plunder for the pirates. Many times it was unknown that the ships being captured had slaves on them. Once it was discovered there were in fact slaves on board, the Africans had one of three fates.

Fates of the Captured Africans:

The captured Africans aboard the ships had three fates:

1) They were taught to be sailors, and often joined the pirate crew that had captured the ship they were on

2) They were treated as slaves or servants aboard the pirate ship, but usually still received some share of plunder

3) They were sold to plantations as slaves by the pirates, and thus their fate did not change

Slaves as Pirates:

Picture Source

Many Africans became pirates themselves. While some sailed on ships with only other Africans, most sailed on crews that were integrated. Africans that were both free and enslaved were aboard pirate ships, and almost every pirate ship that sailed had them as a part of the crew. Often the crew that they sailed with was the crew that captured the ship they were on. Only very rarely were they referred to as slaves on the ships that they were aboard. These Africans were among the most trusted and fearsome of the crew that they were a part of because they usually had the most to lose if they were caught pirating. If captured, they were either hanged or made slaves. Many colonial officials would refuse to give black pirates a trial and would instead sell them into slavery to obtain a profit. To fellow pirates, the color of skin was not as big of an issue as the loyalty of the crew member, and none was more loyal to their crew than the African sailor.

Pirate Stats:

Famous pirates that had black pirates among their crews:

Captains Bellamy, Taylor, Williams, Harris, Winter, Shipton, Lyne, Skyrm, Roberts, Sprigge, Bonnet, Phillips, Baptist, and Cooper among others.

In 1718: 60 out of 100 of Blackbeard's crew members were black

40 out of 80 members of Captain William Lewis' crew were black

In 1719: Oliver LaBouche claimed that half of his crew consisted of Negroes

There was one reported case of an all-mulatto group of pirates that would eat the hearts of captured white men in the Caribbean

The Royal African Company:

The Royal African Company was established by England in 1672 and was the official company in charge of the slave trade. During its reign, it held the sole power to trade slaves, and any free traders that attemped slave trade were considered to be doing so illegally. Between the years 1680 and 1686, the Company transported an average of 5,000 slaves a year, and between 1680 and 1686 it held 249 voyages to Africa.

In the year 1712, the Royal African Company lost the battle to the free traders, who had already begun to supply most of the slaves to American plantations. Thus the reign of the British merchants began.

The Slave Trade as Affected by Piracy:

At the end of the War of Spanish Succession in 1714, British merchants obtained the legal right to ship forty-eight hundred slaves a year. Along with this number, they also shipped many slaves illegally. They shipped these slaves through the South Sea Company to Spanish America, and a lucerative capital business was born. The importance of the slave trade dramatically increased as a result. This trade, however, was being hindered by the pirates. Between the years 1720-1722, which was the height of pirate activity, the slave trade had reached a low point. In the year 1720 24,780 slaves were traded, and by 1729 this number had increased to 49,130. 1729 marked the suppression of the pirates. During the height of piracy, the slave trade declined dramatically. The pirates had disrupted the Middle Passage, which was key to the slave trade industry. This was one main reason as to why the pirates were suppressed, as they hindered capital to be made in the Atlantic system.

The United States eventually took a stand in the affairs of the slave trade. In 1794, an act was passed that stated no citizen of the United States or person residing in the United States could build or equip any vessel that was involved in carrying or transporting slaves. If caught, the forfeiture of each vessel employed and a fine of two thousand dollars was given. In 1820, a statue was passed in America that stated if any Americans were caught participating in the slave trade they could be prosecuted as pirates. Britain did not pass any acts banning the transatlantic trading of slaves until the year 1808, and slavery was not abolished in the British Isles until 1838.

A copy of the statue passed in 1820:

The Henrietta Marie:

The Henrietta Marie was one of the countless slave trading ships used during the slave trade era. It held 400 slaves and had 18 crew members. As one of the few slave ships recovered, it is one example of the type of ship used to carry slaves.

A picture of the slave quarters of the Henrietta Marie:

Picture Source

Liberia- A Country for the Free:

Source: http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/images/time/africa/liberia.jpg

Liberia was founded in the year 1821 by former slaves, mostly from the United States. The goal of the founding of the country was to send freed blacks back to their "native country". In actuality, however, the area was not the native area for most freed slaves. Many slaves captured by pirates were sent here. In the year 1860, the US Navy was sent to Cuba to arrest Americans who were taking part in the slave trade. During this process, 3 ships with 1,432 captive Africans were obtained. These Africans were taken to Key West, where they were freed and then sent to Liberia to become citizens. By the 1840s and 1850s, settlement populations in Liberia began to increase by the thousands, and in the year 1870 there were 13,000 immigrants to the country from America alone. To learn more about Liberia, click here

Important Dates:

1502- First reported African slaves in the New World

1562- John Hawkins makes voyage to Africa- the slave trade and piracy become intertwined

1640-1680- Beginning of the introduction of African labor in the British Caribbean for sugar production

1672- The Royal African Company is established

1712- The Royal African Company is abolished

1714- The end of the War of Spanish Succession; free trade becomes legal

1720-1722- The years of the height of pirate activity

1729- The end of the suppression of the pirates

1794- First act passed by the United States to ban slave trade

1808- The transatlantic slave trade is declared illegal

1820- Americans taking part in the slave trade could be prosecuted as pirates