The Pirate History Podcast

In 1502 two Papal Galleys were attacked off the coast of Italy by two Barbary corsairs with fiery red beards. Their attack shook Europe to its core. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk about the history of a land, and its native inhabitants. The Mediterranean coast of North Africa and the Berber People. We cover all the big events from 10,000 BCE until 1492. Carthage, Rome, the Vandals, and finally Arabian rule. We talk about Pagan Berbers, Jewish Berbers, Christian Monastic Berbers, and Islamic Berbers. We don't talk about the Zoroastrians. There just isn't time. There is discussion of liberty as a concept and the personification of that ideal. We talk about the role of women in society, how and why empires fall, and what it means to endure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the Jewish population of Jamaica after most of the Catholics left. Then we'll talk about the first of two major figures in world politics that would influence their fate. It's a big picture episode, discussing how the Protestant Reformation, the Ottoman overthrow of the Dracula Dynasty, and an agent of the French king all play into the lives of the twenty Jewish families left on Jamaica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jewish Pirates of the West Indies have their roots in the Sephardi Jews of Spain. Today we tell their story from the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE to their arrival on Jamaica in the company of Christopher Columbus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1697 France was at war, and had been for almost a decade. French artists, sculptors, dramatists and authors were encouraged to produce works that would bolster French spirits. It was propaganda. One of those authors was a former buccaneer ten years removed from his last pirate voyage, Raveneau de Lussan. His story was filled with everything the French fighting man could want. Valor, bravery, victory, spoils, and the charms of fair maidens. Today we poke holes in that story as the second Pacific Adventure draws to a close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring 1687. The pirates in the Pacific had been away from home for more than two years. They longed for Port Royal, or Tortuga, or anywhere they could sleep easy. Before they could return though, they needed one big prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April 1687 everyone in our story arrives at Drake's Isle. The French freebooters, the English corsairs, and a Spanish Naval Squadron sent to destroy them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The French privateers in Nicaragua found themselves at the mercy of - and at peace with - the Spanish army outside Leon. They were given orders, from the peace signed by Louis XIV, to attack the enemies of Catholicism. Which they did. Sort of. But starvation, poverty, and a thirst for vengeance led them back to Spanish shores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buccaneers in the pacific were at an impasse. The coast of Nicaragua was preparing an army against them, and they had to get back to sea as quickly as possible. However, what to do once they were back on the water? Today we look at that decision, all while discussing the conquistadors, Medieval manufacturing practices, linguistics, and some disgusting medical details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1685 would be a reliable date for the end of the Buccaneer era of the Golden Age of Piracy. For the English pirates in the Pacific, they were fighting the last real buccaneer fight of their careers. However, buccaneering was, traditionally, a French occupation. The English were part timers. After 1685 most of them that chose to continue the trade would do so full time. Only now they wouldn't be privateers or Buccaneers, but outright pirates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1685 saw the last great, and ultimately failed, piratical raid of the buccaneer era. A multinational armada of pirates sailed for Panama bay to capture the Spanish Treasure Fleet and were defeated. The aftermath saw the fleet disperse along national allegiances. Today we look at the national loyalties that drove this division and how they were beginning to crumble. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our small fleet of English pirates was at an impasse, when several pieces of good fortune fell into their laps. First, a treasure trove of letters carrying news of a prize worthy of a king, and then the men needed to capture it. We introduce them and tell their stories, and then follow the pirates to battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What is it that drives people to piracy? Is it a lust for gold? A need to support themselves, and perhaps build a life? Or is there something more? Something that drives them to seek out notoriety and infamy? A desire to be remembered? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What would it be like to spend three years in complete solitude, fighting for survival? Would it be better or worse if your only human contact came from other people trying to kill you? Today we discuss one man in that situation, and his rescue. Then we follow the pirates from the South Pacific to the Galapagos and beyond. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1682, in the aftermath of the English Pacific Adventure, three crews prepared their ships for a new voyage to the Pacific. Charles Swan, John Eaton and Basil Ringrose arrived first, but they would soon be followed by John Cooke, Edward Davis, Lionel Wafer, & William Dampier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We weave between the lines of truth and fiction. We explore ideas about prejudice, historiography, and social norms. Today we tell the story of the final days of Laurens de Graaf and Anne Dieu-le-Veut. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today the war comes home to Cap‑Français. What was left of the French buccaneers on Saint-Domingue face off against a well armed, well organized Spanish Army. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

War arrives in the West Indies. Jan Willems, Anne, & Laurens de Graaf are each impacted in their own way. We discuss revenge, honor, and the end of a legend. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Laurens de Graaf sought revenge after the attack on his plantation. He hunted two Spanish privateers in particular - Juan Corso and Blas Miguel. He would find them, but Spain was sending reinforcements to deal with the pirate menace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1685 & 1686, in the West Indies, the English were hunting pirates and arresting any Englishmen that sailed under a foreign flag. The French were arresting pirates while reigning in their privateers. The Spanish had called an Inquisition to deal with the corsairs and were building mercenary privateer navies to attack the pirates where they lived. These were the opening moves of a war that would engulf the world, and the first shots were fired against the Buccaneers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Brethren of the Coast sail from Saint Domingue in one last flurry of high seas piracy. Are they the embodiment of Robin Hood? The Alamo? A metaphor for America? Maybe none of those. But their days of ruling the waves are finally at their end. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christmas, 1683. King Louis XIV invaded The Holy Roman Empire in a bid to claim the western bank of the Rhine. At that exact moment Laurens de Graaf attacked one of the jewels of the Spanish Empire. He was called a pirate despite his Letter of Marque, but if so, his piracy was remarkably unprofitable and played perfectly into Louis' war aims. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The weeks following the raid on Veracruz were difficult for Laurens de Graaf and Michel de Grammont. Today we look at those weeks, and the initial fallout from the raid. Then we discuss the early days of a young woman named Anne, new to Tortuga, and what she may have gone through upon arriving on the island. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buccaneers of the West Indies didn't yet know it but their days were numbered. Their decline was caused by the fallout from their last truly great raid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The summer of 1682 was a busy season for the pirates of the West Indies. Today we follow the cruises of Captain Jean Hamiln who defined that summer. We also take some time here at the end of the year to catch up with all the major pirates operating in 1682. Sharp, Dampier, Davis, de Graaf, Grammont, Coxon, & even Henry Morgan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The French & Dutch defined West Indian piracy in the early 1680s. Three names in particular - Laurens de Graaf, Michel de Grammont, & Nicholas van Hoorn - were the titans of the era. Today we introduce them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we return to a very different Jamaica to catch up with Sir Henry Morgan, Jamaican politics, and get a taste of what's been happening while we've been following the pirates in the Pacific. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we follow almost a year in the life of William Dampier, John Cooke, & the fleet of pirates off the coast of Darien. They face storms, Spanish warships, hostile Indians, princesses, romance, arrest, uncooperative governors, and rank betrayal. They travel to nearly every island in the West Indies, and are faced with specters of the past. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We continue on our journey across the isthmus alongside William Dampier, John Cook, & Edward Davis. They meet with an old companion, and somehow I wander into questions of identity, heroism, villainy, and ideals. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're back in the Pacific this week with William Dampier, Lionel Wafer, John Cook, & Edward Davis. The 'mutineers' are on their way back to the isthmus and the Caribbean beyond when they encounter several setbacks that see their company tested and broken. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fleet of Bartholomew Sharp faced the worst challenges to date. They were thirsty, hungry, cold, and some men began to show signs of scurvy. Plus, they hadn't been paid in months. The men were growing ever more angry and their Admiral needed to find them fresh fruit, water, and plunder. If not, he was in danger of losing command. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pirate life wasn't all swashbuckling adventure and rum. Sometimes it meant days spent working on their vessels, or weeks at sea. Or even losing the wind and being forced to sit idle while your enemies prepare. Frustration and boredom and hard work could be as much a part of pirate life as sea shanties and nautical robbery. Today we take a look at just that on the Pacific Adventure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The aftermath of the battle at Panama saw the pirates on the verge of internal conflict. They were brought together by the threat of Spanish warships and the death of a comrade. Their unity was short lived however, and a schism opens within their fleet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fleet of Captains Coxon, Sharp, & Sawkins makes their entrance into the Gulf of San Miguel. They engage in the vilest sorts of piracy, quarrel amongst each other, and finally make their way to Panama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After the sack of Santa Maria the Buccaneers make way down river toward the Southern Ocean. The crew of one unlucky canoe suffers three grueling days of trials and suffering. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The pirate fleet under John Coxon makes landfall in Darien to assault the Spanish Main. There they meet the Kuna people & King Goldencap, struggle across the isthmus of America and help the Kuna in their quest for justice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Two new pirate captains - Richard Sawkins & Peter Harris - join with the fleet of John Coxon & Bartholomew Sharpe, but only after a series of trials and tribulations. And we explore a 300 year old conspiracy theory. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After years of relative quiet a secret gathering of the West Indies' most notorious pirates convened at Negril Bay, Jamaica. The Captains and crew met to embark on a daring and dangerous voyage that would make them wanted men from Port Royal to Portobelo, and from the East Indies to London. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sir Henry Morgan returns to Port Royal. It is a very different time, with very different people confronting very different challenges, yet Morgan navigates them all with the same daring he's trusted for years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June, 1674, Jamaica. An unassuming merchant vessel arrives in Port Royal bearing an unknown young man who will become one of the most famous Buccaneers, explorers, & naturalists ever to live. Today we introduce William Dampier. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Dutch were the dominant sea power in the 1660s, and today we discuss the three most notorious Dutch pirates of the Buccaneer era. History has left their names behind, but in their day they were as feared as Morgan. The end of their story marks the end of the first wave of Buccaneers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we begin our multi-part look at the real pirates that were on the ground at Panama with Diego Lucifer, Captain Francis Witherborne, and Jan Lucas. We talk about their origins as best we know them, and their fates in the days following Morgan's raid. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Admiral Henry Morgan returns to Port Royal to find himself enmeshed in international relations. He returns to England and - though his freedom and life are at stake - becomes an essential cog in the high stakes world of courtly politics. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The fate of Admiral Morgan, Governor Modyford, and the Jamaica colony was uncertain following the sacking of Panama, and it fell to King Charles II of England to make a judgement. Today we look at who he was, his religious affiliation, and the plans that Morgan put in peril. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We explore Henry Morgan's last great raid. Shipwrecks, dangerous jungle rivers, guerilla tactics, Indian attacks, beautiful maidens in distress, victory and betrayal. Blood and fire and plunder. Panama. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the wake of the Spanish attack on Jamaica Captain Morgan is given command of all the forces Port Royal, Tortuga, and The Brethren of the Coast can muster. They came from every corner of the West Indies to join the greatest Buccaneer raid the world had ever seen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Captain Morgan returns to Jamaica and attempts to settle down and live a life of peace. The monarchs of England and Spain had other ideas and Morgan was forced to make a choice. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don Alonso del Campo y Espinosa, an agent of the King of Spain, arrives in the Caribbean on the hunt for Captain Henry Morgan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Captain Morgan returned home to Port Royal a hero. His home city welcomed his men with open arms, but international politics and the threat of Spain pushed him back out to sea. Disaster awaited him there. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the years after the Thirty Years War thousands of French sailors and refugees fled France in the wake of royal oppression. One of these young men, a promising Naval officer, found himself in Tortuga and joined the fleet of the Buccaneer's admiral, Francois l'Ollonais. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices