My Planner1

Added...:
	Tabley House

Places to Visit
Search
Places to Stay
Search
What's On
Search

Places to Visit Search

Places to Stay Search

What's On Search

Places to Stay Search

Places to Visit Search

What's On Search

Golden Age of pirates

As an island, Britain was home to several pirates and privateers. Piracy was so prevalent in fact that an era during the Elizabethan period was known as the Golden Age of Piracy.

The Golden Age of Piracy covers a time period between the 1650s and 1730s, when piracy was rife around the North Atlantic and Indian Oceans. It was typically split into three different eras, the Buccaneering Period, which mostly covered the Caribbean and saw ships attacking Spanish vessels and those transporting goods around the Pacific; the Pirate Round which involved long distance voyages between the Americas and mostly involved the East India Company and the Post Spanish Succession period, where sailors left unemployed after the end of the War of Spanish Succession turned to piracy.

History of piracy

As an island, Britain was home to several pirates and privateers. Piracy was so prevalent in fact that an era during the Elizabethan period was known as the Golden Age of Piracy.

History of piracy

Piracy began to emerge following conflicts over trade and colonisation among rival European powers, including Britain, Spain, the Netherlands, Portugal and France. Most pirates in this era were of Welsh, English, Dutch, Irish and French origins and tended to come from poorer areas.

When it comes to British pirates, the majority came from coastal towns, like Bristol, Plymouth and other areas of the West Country, hence the accent we all recognise. Others came from London docklands areas.

It is believed that the Golden Age of Piracy began around 1650 following the Wars of Religion which allowed European countries to resume the development of their colonial empires. This involved sea travel, leading to rival countries attacking and raiding ships for the goods they were carrying, much of it high in value.

The increase of piracy around Tortuga began after the English captured Jamaica from Spain. The early governors freely allowed buccaneers and fellow Englishmen to raid passing shops and to sell anything they had stolen around the markets. It was around this time that the pirate Henry Morgan plundered, sacked and burned Panama City.

1690s-1700

During this decade, pirates began looking beyond the Caribbean. The Glorious Revolution in England had restored the traditional rivalry between Britain and France and ended the friendship between English Jamaica and French Tortuga.

Post Spanish Succession

From around 1714, various peace treaties ended the War of the Spanish Succession and thousands of men, who had been employed in several European navies found themselves unemployed and looking for ways to make money at the time when cross Atlantic shipping was starting to boom.

This led to a rise in piracy around the Atlantic, the majority of the British names from this time were ex-privateers and included Charles Vane, Samual Bellamy, Benjamin Hornigold and Henry Jennings.

As part of the settlement following the War of the Spanish Succession, the British South Sea Company was awarded a contract to supply slaves to Spain’s colonies and contributed heavily to the rise in piracy in this part of the world. Living conditions and wages at this time were so bad that many sailors preferred the freedom of being a pirate compared to living within the law. Sailors for the Royal Navy often had little to eat and rarely saw their families, which led to many of them deserting the crown and turning to piracy instead. This is one of the reasons why pirates were so well equipped at fighting the navy.

Pirates vs Privateers

During the Golden Age of Piracy, many that undertook piracy were excused of their crimes for being privateers. There are a few differences between the two, however, the name pirate was originally given to buccaneers who operated around the Caribbean when they were paid by the government to attack Spanish ships. Later, they started doing this without the incentive of pay.

Privateers on the other hand were private persons who engaged in maritime warfare under a commission of war, which gave them the authority to raid enemy ships with exemption from piracy charges. Privateers have been in existence since the Middle Ages, when ship owners were given permission to attack in revenge for a loss of their own ships.

The end of piracy

By the 18^th century, tolerance for privateers was wearing thin across the world, especially after the Treaty of Ultrecht, which was the result of the War of the Spanish Succession. The Treaty allowed the British to establish naval superiority in Europe, as well as control of Menorca and Gibraltar, which remains under British ownership.

Best known privateers

A Privateer is a private person who was granted permission to engage in maritime warfare. Many were awarded letters of marque from the monarch or government, which empowered them to attack foreign vessels, seize the goods and then divide the proceeds between themselves, the issuer of the letter, the crew and any sponsors.

Sir Francis Drake
Best known for circumnavigating the world in a single expedition. He would become a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I and was involved in the Spanish and English Armadas.

Sir John Hawkins
Hawkins was an early promoter of the English slave trade and was a cousin of Francis Drake. He served in the victory against the Spanish Armada and was also involved in the English Armada.

Sir George Somers
Somers was knighted for his achievements as part of the Virgina Company of London, he is remembered as the founder of the English colony of Bermuda.

Sir Walter Raleigh
Another of Queen Elizabeth’s favourites, Raleigh was granted a royal charter which allowed him to explore, colonise and rule any land that was not “possessed of any Christian Prince or inhabited by Christian People."

Best known British pirates

Black Sam Bellamy
Known as the Robin hood of Pirates, he prided himself on his ideological justifications for piracy. He was the captain of the Wydah Gally and was lost in a storm off Cape Cod in 1717.

Stede Bonnet
A rich land owner, Bonnet turned to piracy in search of adventure and was captain of the Revenge. He was caught and executed in 1718.

Henry Every
One of the major pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy who actually managed to retire without being arrested or dying in battle. He was known to captain the Ganj-i-Sawai.

William Fly
His execution is said to have ended the Golden Age of Piracy.

William Captain Kid
Supposedly left behind buried treasure that has never been found, he was executed for piracy at Execution Dock in London.

Edward Low
Unlike most pirates, who came from Britain’s coastal towns, Low was born in Westminster. He was never captured but was feared throughout the world for torturing his prisoners.

Henry Morgan
The pirate who was famous for taking Panama City and burning it to the ground. He was supposed to executed but was instead knighted and made governor of Jamaica, you might recognise his name from the brand of rum.

Calico Jack Rackham
Was known for partnering with infamous female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. He was captured and executed in Port Royal, Jamaica.

Black Bart Roberts
Believed to be the most successful western pirate of all time.

Edward Blackbeard Teach
The most notorious pirate, he was best known for captaining the Queen Anne’s Revenge, he was eventually killed by British sailors.

Charles Vane
Unpopular with his crew, Vane was marooned by his fellow pirates before being captured and executed.

Benjamin Hornigold
An English pirate who founded the Republic of Pirates and mentored Blackbeard. He was pardoned by the monarchy and became a pirate hunter.

Anne Bonny and Mary Read
These were the best known female pirates. Bonny had a notorious reputation and eloped with Calico Jack Rackham. Read had been posing as a man her entire life and had even been in the British Military. She joined Rackham’s crew and the three of them had a polyamorous relationship. When they were attacked, both women were captured and sentenced to death but stalled their executions by claiming to be pregnant.

Read Less

Number of results:

Number of results: 122

Sort By: A-Z Lowest Z-A Z-A

, currently showing 41 to 60.

Sezincote

Address

Moreton-In-Marsh, Gloucestershire, GL56 9AW

Telephone
01386 700444

enquiries@sezincote.co.uk

Gloucestershire

Sezincote is a unique and extraordinary Indian house set amidst the Cotswold Hills. The architecture is in the Mughal style of Rajasthan, with a central dome, minarets, peacock-tail windows, jali-work railings and pavilions.

More Details
Jodrell Bank

Address

Congleton Lane, Lower Withington, MACCLESFIELD, Cheshire, SK11 9LD

MACCLESFIELD

Located in a rural area of northwest England, free from radio interference, Jodrell Bank is one of the world’s leading radio astronomy observatories

More Details
Copped Hall

Address

Crown Hill, Epping, Essex, CM16 5HS

Telephone
0207 267 1679

coxalan1@aol.com

Epping

Copped Hall was the burnt-out shell of a fine Georgian mansion but now being restored. Superbly sited on a ridge overlooking its landscaped parkland. The mansion and gardens are situated on a site of ancient human habitation.

More Details
Fountains Abbey & Studley Royal

Address

Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 3DY

Telephone
01765 608888

fountainsenquiries@nationaltrust.org.uk

Ripon

Veiled in a secluded valley, this World Heritage Site promises to surprise and captivate with its vast Cistercian abbey ruins, Georgian water garden, a medieval deer park, Elizabethan Hall and Gothic church.

More Details
Aberystwyth Castle

Address

Aberystwyth, Ceredigion, SY23 2AG

Telephone
01970 612125

aberystwyth.tic@ceredigion.gov.uk

Ceredigion

In the marvellous sweep of Cardigan Bay stand the ruins of one of Edward I's late 13th century castles. Of the seven major English strongholds he established in Wales, Aberystwyth Castle has fared least favourably in the survival stakes.

More Details
Tower of London

Address

London, EC3N 4AB

The Tower of London spans over 900 years of British history. Fortress, palace, prison, arsenal and garrison, it is one of the most famous fortified buildings in the world, and houses the Crown Jewels, armouries, Yeoman Warders and ravens.

More Details
Capesthorne Hall

Address

Siddington, Macclesfield, Cheshire, SK11 9JY

Telephone
01625 861221

info@capesthorne.com

Macclesfield

Sculptures, paintings, furniture and family monuments. A Georgian chapel, tearooms, gardens, lakes, nature walks and a touring caravan park.

More Details
Little Malvern Court

Address

Little Malvern, Nr. Malvern, Worcestershire, WR14 4JN

Telephone
07856 035599

visits@littlemalverncourt.co.uk

Nr. Malvern

Prior's Hall, C. 1480, of former Benedictine Monastery. Library, Religious Vestments, Embroideries, Paintings. 10 acre garden - lakes, spring bulbs, blossom, old roses and shrubs.

More Details
Glynde Place

Address

Glynde Place, Lewes, East Sussex, BN8 6SX

Telephone
+44 (0)1273 858224

info@glynde.co.uk

Lewes

Glynde Place is situated at the top of the village of Glynde and has commanding views over the Weald and Sussex Downs.

More Details
Hemerdon House

Address

Plympton, Devon, PL7 5BZ

hemerdon.house@gmail.com

Devon

Late Georgian house built by the ancestors of the current owners and set in its own parkland. Family members offer tours on certain days (see www.hemerdonhouse.co.uk for details), and visitors may also explore the grounds on those days.

More Details
The Manor, Hemingford Grey

Address

High Street, Hemingford Grey, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 9BN

Telephone
01480 463134

diana_boston@hotmail.com

Huntingdon

Hemingford Manor, built circa 1130 and one of the oldest continuously inhabited houses in England, was the home of the author Lucy Boston from 1939 until her death in 1990.

More Details
Trewithen

Address

Grampound Road, Near Truro, Cornwall, TR2 4DD

Telephone
01726 883647

secretary@trewithenestate.co.uk

Near Truro

Trewithen is an historic estate near Truro, Cornwall. Owned and lived in by the same family for 300 years, it is both private home and national treasure.

More Details
Cyfarthfa Castle Museum and Art Gallery

Address

Cyfarthfa Park, Merthyr Tydfil, Mid Glamorgan, CF47 8RE

Telephone
01685 727371

museum@wellbeingmerthyr.co.uk

Merthyr Tydfil

Cyfarthfa Castle is widely regarded as the best-preserved and grandest Ironmaster’s house in Wales. The building, which is Grade 1 listed, is of national, historical, and architectural significance and was built in 1825 for the Ironmaster, William…

More Details
Minterne Gardens

Address

Minterne Magna, Nr Dorchester, Dorset, DT2 7AU

Telephone
01300 341370

enquiries@minterne.co.uk

Nr Dorchester

Important rhododendron garden with many fine and rare trees, landscaped in 18thC with lakes, cascades and streams. The setting of Great Hintock House in Hardy's "The Woodlanders".

More Details
Gwynedd Castles and Town Walls of King Edward

Address

Various locations across Wales, Bedwas, Caerphilly, Mid Glamorgan, CF83 8WT

Caerphilly

The four castles of Beaumaris, Conwy, Caernarfon, Harlech and the attendant fortified towns at Conwy and Caernarfon in Gwynedd, North Wales, are the finest examples of late 13th century and early 14th century military architecture in Europe, as…

More Details
Monzie Castle

Address

Crieff, Perthshire, PH7 4HD

Telephone
01764 653110

info@stately-homes.com

Perthshire

Built in 1791. Destroyed by fire in 1908 and rebuilt and furnished by Sir Robert Lorimer.

More Details
Parham House & Gardens

Address

Parham Park, Parham, Pulborough, West Sussex, RH20 4HS

Telephone
01903 742021

enquiries@parhaminsussex.co.uk

Pulborough

Set within an ancient deer park below the South Downs, Parham is one of the country's finest Elizabethan Houses, complete with a Great Hall and Long Gallery. The award-winning gardens consist of beautiful Pleasure Grounds and Walled Garden.

More Details
Roman Catholic Cathedral of Our Lady and St Philip Howard (Arundel Cathedral)

Address

Parsons Hill, Arundel, West Sussex, BN18 9AY

Telephone
01903 882297

arundel@abdiocese.org.uk

Arundel

The Cathedral Church for the Catholic Diocese of Arundel and Brighton.
Built on a hill, the Cathedral sits majestically, overlooking the ancient town of Arundel.

More Details
Palace of Westminster

Address

Westminster, London, London, SW1A 0AA

London

The Palace of Westminster, Westminster Abbey, and St Margaret’s Church together encapsulate the history of one of the most ancient parliamentary monarchies of present times and the growth of parliamentary and constitutional institutions.

More Details
Ballindalloch Castle & Gardens

Address

Ballindalloch Castle & Gardens, Ballindalloch, Banffshire, AB37 9AX

Telephone
01807 500205

tourism@ballindallochcastle.co.uk

Ballindalloch

Ballindalloch Castle is first and foremost the much loved family home of the Macpherson- Grants. It is one of the very few privately owned castles to have been lived in continuously by its original family.

More Details

Follow Us...

My Planner1

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Don't Miss

Places to Visit Search

Places to Stay Search

What's On Search

Places to Visit Search

Places to Stay Search

What's On Search

Places to Stay Search

Places to Visit Search

What's On Search

Golden Age of pirates

History of piracy

History of piracy

1690s-1700

Post Spanish Succession

Pirates vs Privateers

The end of piracy

Best known privateers

Best known British pirates

Number of results:

Address

Telephone

Address

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Telephone

Address

Address

Telephone

Don't Miss

Places to Visit
Search

Places to Stay
Search

What's On
Search