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... cargo and withstand the torture of the open sea were built. Advances were made in sail design and mast placement. These new ships had multiple sails, which made them faster and more maneuverable.
They also had an upgraded rudder system enabling the ship to hold to the water better and withstand heavy seas. The two main types of ships at this time were: The Carrack a large merchant vessel having three masts and many types of defense mechanisms such as fighting castles; Second was the Galleon, which was a sleek, slender three-masted war-merchant vessel. With improvement in the ships came improvement in its armament. New cannons were developed using bronze, which were able to fire iron balls. Mortars gave way to these new cannons and archers gave way to gunners. In the 1400 's cannons were situated in the upper most deck in the portholes.
By the 1500 's, cannons were placed inside the ships from stem to stern and sometimes on a number of decks. This allowed for the broadside firing of cannons at an opposing ship thus allowing for a great deal more power to be levied at an opposing ship. These advancements allowed for Europeans to have better control of their trade routes but also gave pirates a better chance to attack ships. With the advancements in these ships also came advancement in fighting tactics. A typical pirate ship had a well-trained crew of mercenaries. The first man to spot a target vessel would be rewarded.
Once a vessel was spotted, the pirate ship would try and find the shortest way to catch up to it. They always wanted to head windward, because this would this was fastest and allowed the ships to run up against each other. A maneuver that defending ships used was to position their ship to force the pirate ship to board from the stern, the hardest point to board from and a point where the defending ship can do the most damage. If the pirates were able to board from the bow they would clear it with a number of weapons such as a fire pot, which exploded sending fiery material everywhere. All this made life as a merchantman was dangerous and very difficult. Stories were told by merchant mariners of perils they faced on the open sea.
Merchant ships were always on the lookout for pirate ships as once a merchant ships was spotted it was unlikely that it would get away as the cargo they held slowed them down. The merchant ships were also unlikely to be able to stave off an attack from a pirate ship as they were always outgunned and out numbered. Merchant ships were designed to transport goods; pirate ships were designed to attack merchant ships. The merchants who survived a pirate attack were taken as slaves and then ransomed off to their respective families of governments. Some were held as slaves for some 30 years. The role of pirates gradually began to change.
There were two classes of pirates: the brutal who only wanted to plunder and kill all aboard ships that they captured and in some instances to attack other pirate ships, the Privateers who fought only opposing country's ships. The Privateers tended to be more organized and ordered. They used such tactics as flying the flags of the enemy in order to draw enemy ships in and then attack when close enough. Privateering was considered to be honorable, as they were fighting in order to save their country. This led to a Privateering war against Spain and Portugal in the Americas.
This was because the Pope declared that Portugal and Spain could only be the ones to trade with the New World. In the late 1500 's the English naval fleet was in shambles and so Privateering was encouraged. Companies financed sailors and then organized Privateering raids in the New World. The spoils of their raids were rich and England became a clearinghouse for stolen property.
This became somewhat of an industry in England and many financiers backed these expeditions which made many of them very wealthy. Queen Elizabeth I was also happy as it enabled England to slow the expansion of Spain into the New World. Privateering continued strongly until the mid 1700 's, this was again due to the lack of naval power that the British government had at the time and thus needed the help of the Privateers. Spain, Holland and France had far superior navies than the British and they all controlled islands in the West Indies. This lead to a huge Privateering and pirate war between them until the mid 1700 's, in which the British were able to dominate. It was almost a free for all at this time.
Trade was rampant and the allure of wealth allowed for many eager men to take up arms on pirate and Privateering ships. The wind of change for the Pirate and Privateers began to blow in the 1700 's. The British began to control more of the Islands in the West Indies and also began to also expand their navies thus elevating the need for Pirates and Privateers. A crack down was made on Pirates and Privateers; they were no longer allowed to run a muck as they were in the last century.
The allure and respect that pirates once had was now gone and anchorage at islands was disallowed. Ironically the last strong hold of pirates was in Cuban waters but the American navy kept regular patrols of the area, which helped eliminate their presence. The last chapter in the Pirate and Privateers history was in 1793 when France declared war on Britain. The United States declared neutrality but the French were still using their ports. The United States had a problem. If they continued to support the French they would lose ships to the British but if they supported the British they would lose ships to the French Privateers.
The United States eventually sighed a treaty with Britain allowing them the use of some of the outer islands that they controlled and also disallowed the French Privateers to sell their goods on American shores. This dried up the Privateering business in the United States. The French felt betrayed by the Americans and in retaliated French Privateers attacked American ships. This was quickly stopped when the American navy was sent out to patrol the waters and destroyed over 50 enemy ships. Privateers and Pirates still roamed the seas but in much decreased numbers. In the early 1800 's Privateers had the support of the American people as they felt that they played a vital role in America winning its independence.
Support later waned with the American press heavily covering pirate trials. In 1829 the American navy captured over sixty pirate vessels and stepped up patrol of the seas eventually eliminating pirates and making Privateering illegal. In Europe pirate and privateering sentiment was the same and privateering was outlawed in France in 1856. Their respective governments used pirates and Privateers when they were in need of naval support. These governments would only allow piracy and endorsed Privateering during this time of need. It was a cost-effective way to fight wars and control their colonies.
When governments no longer needed their help they were treated as outcasts, betrayed by their governments. Pirates and Privateers helped shape the history of the world and played a crucial role in allowing Britain to be able to maintain and support her colonies. Bibliography: Bibliography: Cordingly, David. Under The Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among The Pirates. New York: Harcourt Brace & Company, 1997. Frank Sherry.
Raiders and Rebels: The golden Age of Piracy. New York: Hearst Marine Books, c 1986. Grey, Charles. The Merchant Venturers of London: A Record of Far Eastern Trade & Piracy During The Seventeenth Century.
London: Witherby, 1932. Rayner Thrower. The Pirate Picture. London: Phillimore; Totowa, N. J. : Rowman & Littlefield, 1980.
Ritchie, Robert C. Captain Kidd and The War Against the Pirates. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, c 1986. Ward, Ralph T. Pirates in History.
Baltimore: York Press, 1974.
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