Atlantic Piracy 1500-1865 Lecture 10

Atlantic Piracy, 1500-1865

• Lecture 10 covered Atlantic pirates, specifically focusing on the Indian Ocean.
• Colonial trade routes and violence played a part in piracy.
• Slave trading and pirate settlement were connected.
• Noted figures include Henry Every (Avery) and William Kidd.

Lecture Outline

• Colonial origins of Indian Ocean Piracy were discussed.
• The role of trading companies and resulting violence was examined.
• The connections between slave trading and pirate settlements were analyzed.
• Key figures like Henry Every (Avery) and William Kidd were highlighted.

From New York to Madagascar

• Colonial trade from British North America.
• Trade was steered by chartered companies (like the English East India Company).
• Colonial trade often bypassed chartered companies and was mediated by pirates.
• New York, Providence, and Boston were significant hubs in this trade.
• Informal networks of trade in the Indo-Atlantic World were discussed.
• These networks enabled colonists to buy East India goods, including slaves.
• The plantation and capital economy of the Atlantic system benefitted from this.
• This trade circumvented the monopolies of Portuguese, VOC, and EIC traders.
• Piracy ignored regional and oceanic distinctions.

Violence and Piracy in the Indian Ocean

• European behavior in the Indian Ocean resembled piracy.
• A lack of desirable trade goods and existing powerful merchant networks made piracy appealing.
• Trading with Europe was largely dominated by powerful companies by the 1690s.
• English, French, and colonial pirates were active in the region in the late 1600s.
• Factors influencing piracy behavior include push and pull factors, like being forced out of the Caribbean or other economic pressures.
• Pirates pursued wealthy prizes and home community factors, including practical and religious reasons.

Indo-Atlantic Pirates

• Many pirates were well-integrated into colonial society, not outcasts.
• Contraband trading was widely acceptable to merchants and elites in New York, Providence, and other areas.
• Piracy was a spectrum and people moved in and out of it.
• Merchants and traders often worked with pirates.
• Pirates had familial and economic connections within colonial hierarchies.
• Distance and religious justifications sometimes made piracy acceptable to colonists.
• Attacks on Muslim shipping were sometimes not objectionable.
• Their success was a challenge for England and Mughal India.

Madagascar and Red Sea Pirates

• A no-man's land between two trading monopolies (Royal Africa Company and English East India Company).
• Cheaper slaves and luxuries were available in Madagascar; colonial traders could purchase slaves and luxuries there.
• Large pirate and slaving communities sprang up.
• Piracy became highly lucrative in the 1690s.
• Privateering often started in North American colonies.
• Trading or privateering between islands was common.
• Merchants like Frederick Philipse significantly profited from investing in Red Sea piracy.
• Individual sailors could also profit heavily.

The Greatest Robbery? (Henry Every)

• Likely had experience in the Royal Navy and sailed as a South Sea buccaneer.
• In 1694, stole a ship via mutiny, went to the Indian Ocean.
• Joined a pirate group.
• Captured a major ship, the Ganj-i-Sawai, owned by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb.
• Crew dispersed, likely with Mughal coins.
• One crew member married the Pennsylvania governor's daughter, some crew members were captured and tried for piracy but acquitted.
  • The East Indian Company lobbied for another trial which successfully convicted all six captured pirates.
• Every himself escaped capture.

Pirates and Pirate Hunters (William Kidd)

• Commissioned to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean in 1696.
• Experienced raiding shipping but couldn't match Every's success.
• Returned to New York to hide his loot and later, surrendered to a voyage sponsor.
• Faced trial and was subsequently hanged in 1701.
• Considered as a sacrifice to appease the East India Company for Every's actions

Local Conditions and Global Piracy

• Kidd and Every exemplified "global" piracy but remained tied to Atlantic world and port communities.
• Pirates relied on North American port towns for supplies, rest, shelter, and selling stolen goods.
• New York, Philadelphia, Newport, Boston, and Charleston were increasingly important shelters for pirates.
• Colonial governance made it challenging to curb piracy.
• Laws attempted to regulate piracy but met with resistance.
• Madagascar continued to be a haven.

Some Conclusions

• Piracy was central to early modern colonialism.
• Commercial concerns and raiding were deeply intertwined.
• Pirates were often integrated into colonial societies, including those in Madagascar and North America.
• Slavery and slave trading were connected to piracy networks.
• Imperial responses (Mughal and English) emerged when piracy threatened inter-imperial conflict.