The Golden Age of Piracy: A Complete History

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It is said that piracy has been since men first travelled by water. It has existed across the world and time, but to most people, "pirate" has come to mean the colonial pirates and privateers active during the so-called Golden Age of Piracy. You know, black flags, flintlock pistols, cutlasses, that sort of thing - not falchions or samurai armor.
Some define the period rather nichély as ocurring between 1715 and 1725, being the heyday of legends like Blackbeard - others pull it further back to somewhere in the mid 1600s and late 1720s, involving figures like Henry Morgan and Henry Every. The scope of this video will be limited to this latter period. Preferably, the pirates of this era would have a unique name to separate them from other historical pirates, and as we'll discover, they did have several names to distinguish them - they just aren't very well known.
Further reading:
Pillaging the Empire - Chris Lane
Pirate Nests and the rise of the British Empire - Mark G. Hanna
Buccaneers and soldiers of the Americas - René Chartrand
The Pirate Wars - Peter Earle
Music:
0:15 Sacred Pavanne by Jon Sayles at jsayles.com/familypages/earlym...
3:31 Cay Phas by Jon Sayles at jsayles.com/familypages/earlym...
13:49 Riu, Riu, Chiu by Jon Sayles at jsayles.com/familypages/earlym...
2:39 Medieval War Drums • Medieval War Drums
6:39 Jaw harp by Kragatar: • Made my first Jew's Harp!
10:43 Tielman Susato Fanfare Dansereye 1551 • Tielman Susato - Fanfa...
20:22 The Serpent by Forgotten chefs: • The Serpent
24:13 Purcell Abdelazer Rondeau: • Purcell: Abdelazer - R...
27:51 SK Royalist Army Drum Calls by Blake Sporne: • SK Royalist Army Drum ...
32:58 Hurdy-Gurdy recorded on my phone during the Gotland Medieval Market 2023
37:50 Graupner - Suite for 3 Chalumeaux GWV 443: • Graupner - Suite for 3...
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
2:39 What happened before?
6:39 Tortuga and the boucaniers
10:43 Port Royal and the buccaneers
13:49 Petit-Goâve and the filibusters
20:22 New York, Madagascar and the Red Sea Men
24:13 St. Malo and Bristol, Privateers and Corsairs
27:51 Nassau and the Flying Gang Marooners
32:58 Madagascar revived? The Marooners continued
35:40 Conclusions
37:50 What happened next?
41:05 Outro
#pirates #history #piracy

[@GoldandGunpowder]

All of the sources used in writing the script and all of the musical tracks used in the video are listed in the video description :-) If you enjoyed this episode check out the one on the Red Sea Men, one of the groups discussed in this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/foK0pJh-hc5loqc

[@PotatoeJoe69]

Did pirates actually use black sails, or sails with any kind of dye at all, or is that 100% Hollywood?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

sails were never dyed in the period and black as a color was especially expensive, that said one manual described smearing sails with pitch and tar during night attacks to mask your ship, this would have been a temporary tactical decision which likewise would've made the sails heavier and thus harder to work with

[@PotatoeJoe69]

@@GoldandGunpowder thank you for the response, and the information! I shall no longer use black sails on my pirate ships! You are a wealth of knowledge, sir!

[@GMT439]

Please provide solid proof of all your CLAIMS relating to the past. Proof which doesn't even exist.

[@PotatoeJoe69]

@@GMT439 Do you spend time on Reddit?

[@m.streicher8286]

Hearing you explain the origin of "buccaneer" is like the embrace of an old friend

[@mattgutierrez7651]

A parasocial relationship is a one-sided connection in which an individual imagines a personal bond with someone in the public eye. In these relationships, one party develops unreciprocated feelings of closeness and familiarity with someone they have never met.

[@Deliverygrot]

​@mattgutierrez7651 OK man

[@cooldudemcswagcooldudemcsw4697]

@@mattgutierrez7651what kind of Reddit response is this

[@Fractal_blip]

​@@cooldudemcswagcooldudemcsw4697he's tripping

[@allisonviney9882]

@@mattgutierrez7651 blow it out your ass

[@celticperspective5183]

Nice birthday present thanks G&G

[@GoldandGunpowder]

happy birthday!

[@celticperspective5183]

@@GoldandGunpowder thank you!

[@OleHopkinsBirdMilk]

​@@celticperspective5183happy birthday

[@mageillus]

Happy Birthday! 🎊🎉🎂

[@WeAreLegion-]

Happy Birthday

[@lukelee7967]

(I come with my small boat) "Hey! I prefer to be called a boat criminal!"

[@BlueJayWaters]

Wait, wait, wait. You're teling me a crew sailed through the Caribbean, came ashore, and crossed Latin America, to then steal a ship to raid the pacific? Why isnt THAT a pirate story I know about? That sounds fucking awesome! I want to play that version of AC Blackflag lol

[@blockmasterscott]

I thought that was really cool also. 👍💪

[@calcaleb7041]

Fr AC black flag was boring this is definitely better 😂

[@Mad_ox8]

Speaking on pirates in the 19th century, there was this Argentinean privateer that attacked Monterey during the Alta California period. Pretty interesting, there was an exchange of cannon fire between the presidio/ fort and the privateer corvette.

[@Schwarzvogel1]

Your channel has proven to be one of the hidden gems of KZbin, mate! I often listen to your videos whilst I'm cooking lunch or dinner for myself, as you present the information in such thoroughness and with such a pleasantly erudite voice that I don't feel that I'm _really_ missing out on that much if I'm not looking directly at my computer screen throughout the entire video. Also, there's something inexplicably satisfying about cooking up some shrimp or grilling a couple burgers for one during a bitterly cold winter in the Rockies whilst listening to the escapades of buccaneers in the sun-soaked Caribbean. It helps make the general loneliness and crappiness of winter and the boredom of having to stand at a stove, stirring a pot or pan much easier to bear. And since I often feel like I've been marooned in this shitty state by the man who was once my closest friend but who ultimately turned out to be a Judas type (he stabbed me in the back for the sake of money, but it was a bit more than 30 pieces of silver), I can truly empathize with individuals like Stede Bonnet, whom Blackbeard sort of did dirty. (That said, Edward Thatch had pretty valid reasons for wanting to ditch Stede Bonnet... like the fact that Blackbeard likely preferred being alive to being dead, riddled with grapeshot and splinters or drowned because Bonnet did something stupid like attacking an actual frigate-rigged warship which he mistook for a simple merchantman. As we all know, Bonnet did exactly that with a Spanish Man 'o War prior to meeting Blackbeard, and got a hefty number of his crew killed and himself torn up pretty badly!) When I start my new job, I'll likely become a patron of your channel because you produce some top-notch content which can potentially go a long way in helping inspire more people's passion in actual, genuine history as opposed to the horrendous distortion of truth that Hollywood has been shoving down the general public's throat for probably close to a century by now. Keep fighting the good fight for historical truth, Gold & Gunpowder, and never strike your colours to the algorithm or anybody's demand that you sugar-coat the truths about what was a very fascinating, but also brutal period in history.

[@ezranash9694]

Amazing video and a fantastic comment. This is why I love this channel. 🏝️🏴‍☠️

[@ianescoto4633]

That’s it…. Let’s start a crew

[@OhBoy235]

In german we have the word "Seeräuber" meaning "sea robber" theoreticly its a more broad term that could apply to absolutely everyone robbing people on the high sea while pirate would refer to the stereotypical pirate.

[@steffent.6477]

Seeräuber is rarely used though.Maybe in context with Klaus Störtebecker.

[@nikevisor54]

Hell yeah, brother. Love me some long-form pirate history

[@americaneejit9993]

I love the work you do. You don't just speak down the historical inaccuracies of pirates found with modern popular culture. You paint a great picture of the realities of Pirate life and do a great job bringing those periods to life. Great work mate

[@marco0445]

Nothing better than dinner and a video from G&G!

[@tfuwan1248]

Pirate gang let's go

[@1323WTF]

Well done! You did a great job of 'running' through several hundreds of years, while giving the reasons for changes over time. You do your presentations very well. Thanks! B.

[@unknowntrooper_2791]

This was a very well made overview. One of my fav vids this far. Cheers!

[@PotatoeJoe69]

I have been binge watching your content for 3 days (thank you Skull and Bones, for giving me the desire to learn more about historical piracy) and I have watched every single video of yours. All of them. All 2 years worth ..... *_NEED_* .... *_MORE_* ....

[@imv2077]

the pirate in the thumbnail looks like he’s crankin that Soulja Boy

[@DonCrowseppe]

😂

[@blockmasterscott]

That’s cool how the origin of the word “buccaneer” came from what was basically a BBQ rack lol.

[@vicaldama9314]

A Pirate walks into a bar. And the bartender asks Hey where are your buccaneers? The pirate takes off his hat and says Right here under my buccan hat ! ...

[@beanlord4347]

This really shivers my timbers

[@robertsweeney7472]

Wonderful job with maps and perspective!!!! I’ll watch the next one for sure!

[@yurisc4633]

"Hio de Haneiro" was hard on the ears 😂 Great video!

[@thepoorhistorian2325]

That was fantastic! Your videos are a true treat and something that is both heavily needed and also severely lacking in social media about pirates. I run a few educational programs and I always recommend your videos. Thank you very much for making this extra long overview video, it is going to be nearly required watching material for new educators. I run the Swordsmanship Museum and Academy in Michigan. If you are ever interested in doing a deep dive into the methods of sword combat used by various pirates, please think of me and feel free to reach out if you need anything.

[@redluke8119]

I live in michigan up north by the bridge were is your swordsman museum?

[@thepoorhistorian2325]

@@redluke8119 in Grand Rapids. But we're looking into expanding classes farther north by Ludington or Manistee

[@Katze5335]

Love your videos, very well researched and informative

[@-V-_-V-]

Great video thanks for posting!

[@user-zs2vt5yw3d]

This will be great! Tnks for the large video capt'n, this will be nice.

[@sneakysimian]

Brilliant stuff as always

[@redluke8119]

Just found your channel first video great stuff I subbed

[@Alex-cw3rz]

Fantastic video, I thank you so much for the videos you do, in teaching me so much about this time period. That when you try to research is full of misinformation, legends and mixing up of time periods etc.

[@luciaalegria752]

Yeah, it’s difficult to research about historical piracy and find accurate results. That’s why I wanna read more historical pirate books, I’m reading The Republic of Pirates and its great! I recommend if you haven’t read it. Very well written and full of great info. :)

[@mageillus]

Gonna watch this repeatedly to cleanse off that mess from snb

[@logankeethers861]

Ive watched every one of your videos for they seem the most informative and factual. Also your videos are just downright easy to learn from. So thank you for that sir. Im curious though, what books would you recommend reading to gather some further knowledge on the history of pirates. Thanks!

[@GoldandGunpowder]

please consult the video description for sources/recommended reading

[@witchboy44]

Finally a video to send to my friends when they ask me about pirate stuff (thanks to your videos I’ve become kinda the “expert” about pirates in my group)

[@mcmike89]

I thought this video was about the history of piracy about bootlegging video games on the internet.🤣

[@khateatingcactus]

Cheers, very informative video. I am not specifically interested in piracy and am more into general naval history, but I still found the video very interesting and insightful

[@sailorcentrist5077]

Awesome! Thank you for the video!!!

[@KunjaBihariKrishna]

I don't know if there was ever a more adventurous time in our history. All these feats just sound amazing

[@Call-Me-JessE]

wake up babe g&g posted a 40 minute video

[@hashimbokhamseen7877]

very nice waiting for the next episode

[@frogman-ns7yb]

Hey Golden gunpowder have you took your channel logo and made it into a physical jolly Roger?

[@misterkefir]

Certified banger.

[@thebadblokke]

Wonderful video. Thank you.

[@highlizard7423]

Thank you that was very interesting

[@TellMeaStory505]

Awesome video :D Could you do a video on the pirate Robert Searles?

[@MilitantPrepping]

I know Metatron when I hear him. 🫢

[@accessthemainframe4475]

I'd love to see a video about privateers in the American War of Independence.

[@-V-_-V-]

As far as other periods of piracy the knights of malta and the turkish corsairs would be a good one to hear about

[@TheEggeater1111]

Well done

[@iainmelville9411]

Excellent video.

[@wistercrimson3904]

A very informative video. Thanks. Pressgang your friends into watching pirate shows so we can get more fun fiction like blacksails. We need it hollywood! gogogo

[@nick1635]

The golden age of piracy was when Napster was invented.

[@koala8353]

outstanding. thx a lot.

[@andreykuzmin4317]

I was always curious to know, if New York was used as pirate base, but couldn't fimd credible sources. It's so cool to see, how pirates would island-hop every 10 years or so, as political and economical situation change. Do you plan to make a video about New England's role as a base for sea rowers? Kudos.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

New England not in the near future, New York yes very soon

[@jamesmoore3694]

a masters class in piracy

[@mendora5547]

"The One Piece is real!"

[@jasondohrman7098]

Thanks for another great video. Really enjoyed it!

[@paulsteele8614]

Helping the algorithm

[@herobrinesblog]

Been dreaming of this day

[@mitch7235]

Personally, I would like more history concerning exploration, trade, piracy and pirates, before the 1700s. And I would really enjoy it if said history was from Asia.

[@CornellD.Cavendish]

Same I want to know what he thinks about the chinese junk

[@5thMilitia]

Could you do a vid on Dutch piracy and privateers?

[@nneisler]

Don’t forget about the Video Pirates of the 80s

[@frostysnoman9091]

I recognized the sound clip from about 35:00 as being from Treasure Island (1990). Do you, by chance, know the name of that song? I know it's by The Chieftains, as they did the music for that movie, but I can't find the name of that particular song.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

nah I took it straight from the movie and since it wasn't copyrighted I presume the track is "unofficial", movie OST tends to be detected and copyright struck instantly

[@frostysnoman9091]

​@@GoldandGunpowderI did some more digging and discovered that the song is "Dives and Lazarus" which goes back at least as far as the Golden Age of Piracy. The tune would later be repurposed in the Irish song "Star of County Down".

[@Recomagne]

Going to force everyone I know to watch this video

[@Oscuros]

Asiento translates directly as assent. In practicality it was a Fifth or 20% tax within the Spanish Empire, as long as you always paid it, you had permission to trade. Piracy could consist of delivering manufactured goods and dumping them on the pier at Bueno Aires for the eager colonists to buy, because the Empire never provided enough finished goods for their rich colonists. Because these pirates did not pay their asiento, they were classed as pirates, it's not quite the same as a monopoly, it's more like trading sovereignty. The other part of the asiento was the notorious Spanish coastguard, who were motivated by prizes only. They were privateers, essentially and they enforced the asiento. Any ships within Spanish imperial waters were subject to boarding by the Spanish coastguard, and they used to automatically think that any foreign ships in Spanish waters were pirates, since they were motivated to catch pirates and violators of the asiento, this motivated them even further into treating any foreign ships they boarded to be pirates. I do believe it was the Spanish coastguard that cut off Jenkin's ear that sparked that war in the 18th Century. Not "1700s", those are nonsense numbers that I have to waste time explaining to English students what that means. Don't copy Americans, they aren't English and have no idea about actual History. I'm qualified in history, and we still use centuries, like you do in your own language. Regardless, it's a shame that you probably won't explain about the notorious Spanish coastguard and how they fitted into the Spanish Maine and how they enforced the asiento.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

If you're going to tell other people how to speak English, you should probably learn basic grammar beforehand.

[@jillesjohannesbilker]

20:22 Dies irae, dies illa 🎶

[@russellcavender352]

Make a video on the Galveston pirate Jean Laffite I lived there I've been to his home he burned down they have blocked off with a fence.

[@Deliverygrot]

What are more sources for the last stages of piracy and the marooners

[@MangoMann072]

Great video but what about the One Piece?

[@Skim_beeble7125]

I like modern pirates the most because their absolutely awful at piracy Ensuring I always get my jeans with bedazzled ass cheeks

[@_FMK]

Might I ask please - what was the musical excerpt used at minute 20:24?? Many thanks in advance! ❤

[@GoldandGunpowder]

Riu, Riu, Chiu by Jon Sayles at jsayles.com/familypages/earlymusic.htm, I added all the musical tracks to the video description :-)

[@_FMK]

@@GoldandGunpowder ThankYou!!❤️‍🔥

[@Fluffinator129]

Does anyone know the names of some of the pirates of the second golden age? I would like to do more research on it, but typing in "second golden age of piracy" does not bring up anything useful.

[@sneakysimian]

Jean Lafitte is a classic 2nd age pirate/privateer. There was also Roberto Cofresi who was a pirate during the Spanish American wars of independence, amongst many other pirates and Insurgent Privateers making use of the chaos to raid in Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.

[@nothanks9503]

I like to call this the gabagool period

[@TheGreenSupreme]

I appreciate your videos very much!

[@nathanirby4273]

Please Please Please do one on the Lafitte brothers, the Baratarian Pirates, or Piracy in the Gulf of Mexico

[@scottboughton451]

What makes a pirate ship fast? What makes a pirate ship slow?

[@willdwane156]

Pirates life hector

[@leonhagenbaumer6809]

Hagebuddne ❤

[@MBP1918]

🤯🤯🤯

[@Straya_Salty]

I haven't even let you speak in the vidya yet, but I'm hedging a bet that this vid has more content than a AAAA vidya game 😂😂😂😂😅😢

[@nobody6546]

🏆👍🏽🏆

[@BMack37]

I'm rather fond of the digital pirate era.

[@jillatherton4660]

👍

[@sixsensebyahands5278]

The maps in this video shows more land than the recent world map. Also, all these men were dark. There was no Spain, no France and exceptionally not England - Which is not a country to this day anyway. Those pirates were Canonic ‘Romans’. Nevertheless these contents alone have enough evidence to prove that this planet is under piracy since then and it has never got away. How to stop them now? Specially when humanity have been trained to act as pirates themselves …

[@RobloxMiner26]

Who was pirate king?

[@johnzeszut3170]

It never ended - in America it is called the IRS.

[@elshebactm6769]

🗿👍

[@larslayton4472]

My favorite autistic Swede has posted!!! 🤩 💆🏻‍♀️

[@jeffli1243]

At 30:31, this drawing is from William Hogarth, Stages of cruelty. It has nothing to do with piracy.

[@Dullahan161]

Could you do a video on Irish piracy? Namely the enslavement of Saint Patrick

[@SteefPip]

We think of that pirate because we're white.

[@stehfreejesseah7893]

Great video but I don’t think a 40 minute video can be considered a complete history of anything.

[@CornellD.Cavendish]

You didnt watch the 40 minutes either, at the end he says "The video was only able to skim through the different chapters of the golden age of piracy... I intend to discuss each of them more in-depth"

[@brianpeck4035]

Columbus is not the first European colonial/commercial pirate!!! Outrageous and historically not supported. The Portuguese and Dutch, the Northmen and the Italians raided by ship for slaves or goods and loot. Good stuff! I've been thinking about the colonies disposition towards the Black Market because of restrictions and the distance insulating effective responses.

[@monkstery]

None of those were pirating in the Americas before him lol, not even the northmen who reached North America first engaged in maritime commerce raiding like Columbus did.

[@monkstery]

It’s like you weren’t even paying attention to the video, he never said Columbus was the first European colonial pirate, just that he was technically the first European to engage in piracy in the Americas and Caribbean.

[@brianpeck4035]

@@monkstery Yeah, I missed that part, thx.

[@user-ze6mh8fg1k]

**FRESH AIR*** and yet another KZbinr historian who mentions slavery as it truly was in the context of its time without paying service to woke leftist dogmatism. Keep up the good work. I’ve been missing history

[@welshfreedom1451]

Cant under you.swithed off after 2 mins

[@noehirschi1367]

Cringe as fuck to make a video on pirates just when a pirate game comes out.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

look at my profile picture look at my channel name go to the channel page and scroll through the video list are those instructions clear enough?

[@monkstery]

Bro just delete the comment no one else needs to know you’re this dumb

[@CosplayZine]

You mean a "pirate" game that has been in the making for over 10 years and delayed numerous times and ignores real pirate history and simply uses the theme of it to make a game that is a glorifed cannon simulator with no actual boarding or swordplay? A game that is made by a comany who turned off their channels comments after the backlash of their lackluster update trailor that they posted on youtube. A major spit in the face to many potential customers they may have had if they bothered to listen. Surely if you compare which came first you'll understand the comedy of your comment.