le varie facce della pirateria

PIRACY

The golden age of piracy was between 1620 and 1720.

There were different types of pirates, depending on their relationship with the government.

The Privateers were legal pirates authorised by their government to attack and rob ships of enemy nations. They had ‘letters of marque’, documents that legalized their robberies on enemy ships so they shared their profits with the government. Sir Francis Drake was England’s most famous privateer under Queen Elizabeth I.

The Buccaneers were mainly French sailors that left the hard discipline of ships to settle in the numerous small islands of the Caribbean. They soon became privateers for the English government. One of the most famous English buccaneer was Admiral Sir Henry Morgan who worked at the service of the governor of Jamaica and later became lieutenant governor of the island.

The Corsairs were Muslim (Barbary Corsairs) or Christian (Maltese Corsairs), pirates who operated in the Mediterranean authorized by their governments.

Corsaire was also the term used by the French for what in English was a privateer.

Filibusters were the French pirates (or privateers) in the Caribbean who attacked mainly Spanish ships, towns or property. They often worked with the buccaneers in the last half of the 17th century.

Marooners – or runaways – were sailors escaped from the cruel Spanish navy or black slaves brought to the Americas by Spain that escaped and joined the pirates of the coast (Cimmaron Negroes). The most famous of these Marooned men was the privateer Alexander Selkirk, the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe.

The Picaroon was a pirate and a slaver. One of the first English privateer was John Hawkins (1532-95).

Pirateria

L’epoca d’oro della pirateria fu tra il 1620 e il 1720

I pirati erano diversi a seconda della loro relazione con i governi.

I privateer erano legali: i governi davano loro un documento che legalizzava le loro razzie sui mari e con cui dividevano i profitti. Sir Francis Drake fu uno dei famosi pirati della Regina Elisabetta I

I Bucanieri erano marinai francesi che si sottraevano dalla dura disciplina delle navi e si stabilivano sulle isole dei Caraibi. Presto divennero pirati al comando del governo inglese. Uno dei più famosi fu l’ammiraglio Henry Morgan che lavorò per il governatore della Giamaica e poi divenne lui stesso vice governatore.

I corsari erano pirati mussulmani (Corsari Barbari) o cristiani (corsari maltesi) che operavano nel mediterraneo (16°- 19° secolo) alle dipendenze dei loro governi.

Corsaro fu un termine anche usato dai francesi per indicare i pirati inglesi

I filibustieri erano pirati francesi che attaccavano le navi spagnole nei carabi e che spesso operavano coi bucanieri.

Marooners, o fuggitivi – erano marinai scappati dalla dura vita delle navi spagnole o schiavi neri fuggitivi. Tra i più famosi, Alexander Selkirk che ispirò Daniel Defoe nel suo Robinson Crusoe.

I picaroon erano schiavisti. Uno dei più primi pirati schiavisti inglesi fu John Hawkins