Effects Of Piracy In The Caribbean

Boehmer 1

Allen Boehmer

Mr. Vitale

British Lit

6 April 2014

Piracy In The Caribbean

Piracy has been around since man learned to sail, and it will be around until the end of time. Although piracy has been around forever, their have been particular times that it has flourished. One of these time periods was European expansion into the Americas. In the time of European expansion to the Americas, the East India Company was met with little resistance. However, one group of people in particular fed off the weaknesses of the East India Company. These people who fed off of weakness were able to thrive and survive in an illegal fashion for around two hundred years. These people were know as "The Pirates of The Caribbean".

Piracy was a major issue for European powers in the Caribbean Sea in the 17th and 18th century. Ships were being attacked on a daily basis. The pirates tended to stay in the areas with warmer waters.This was because the traffic of trade ships tended to be higher in these regions. Pirates in these times could be found anywhere in the world wherever there was water, however there was a great concentration of these pirates in the waters of the Caribbean Sea. The pirates used their knowledge of trade routes in order to pick targets in which to attack. This was particularly easy because the Spanish sailed back to Europe on the exact same currents every journey. The Spanish would sail along the coast of Central America until they hit the westerly winds that took them

Boehmer 2 back Europe. The English also followed a similar route. The pirates did not care as to which country a ship belonged, if they thought that they could take a ship without much resistance they usually would jump at the opportunity. The English an...

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...en nations. The East India Company did not have authority in Dutch ports, so indeed these such ports served as a safe haven for men committing the crime of piracy.

In the grand scheme of things the age of piracy in the Caribbean was short lived. But the damage the pirates caused will last forever. These very pirates would change the way business was done on the oceans forever. No longer could a crew sail with precious cargo, without some form of military protection. They caused the East India Company to spend millions of dollars and countless years devoted to stoping them. These pirates are considered by many to be the most ruthless band of criminals ever to walk the face of the earth. From murder to rape and everything in between, these pirates did it all. In the end these pirates were the ultimate criminals who did whatever it took to make a living illegally.