U.S. Anti-Piracy Actions in the Caribbean

At the end of the Napoleonic Wars, the Haitian Revolution and the Latin American War of Independence, the 1823 United States Gazette estimated that almost 3,000 attacks had been made on merchant ships by pirates inhabiting the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. Piracy in this region not only contributed to financial loss but frequently, murder and torture were seen as well. The 1820s was comprised of a resurge of pirates who had not been seen since the days of Blackbeard and Bartholomew Roberts in the previous century. This increase led insurance companies to raise their premiums above those charged at the height of the British blockade in 1815 which further hindered the common mariner’s ability to sail and trade.

Piracy in the early 19th century was popular with over an estimated 10,000 participants. Historians believe it was so successful predominately in this region due to the lucrative trade routes between New Orleans, South America and Puerto Rico. Pirates found it easy to travel in secret while covered by the geography of the surrounding coastline. Political turmoil in the first half of the 19th century facilitated these acts. Spanish pirates, in particular, found success due to their longtime protection from Cuba and Puerto Rico which made the Caribbean an agreeable place to repair, recruit, relax, and sell their winnings. Neutral countries, such as the United States, were drawn into this arena when privateers moved from targeting their prizes to attacking any readily available vessels in the area.

On 19 December 1818, the United States’ Vessel, the Emma Sophia was held up by a Spanish privateer in the Santaren Channel. She surrendered because she was not armed. In the struggle, an officer was taken to be hange...

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...rates to succeed in the open waters alone. Pirates also lost their justification when the Spanish accepted the independence of their former colonies in South and Central America so piracy all but vanished when the governors in Cuba and Puerto Rico stopped providing support. The Navy’s relentless fighting contributed to a great decrease in piracy within ten years which not only led to greater United States prosperity but that of all nations with commerce paths through that region.

Works Cited

Department of the Navy – Naval Historical Center. “Operations Against West Indian Pirates, 1822-1830s”

July 15, 1996. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/stream/faq45-7.htm.

Konstam, Angus, and Angus McBride. Privateers and Pirates 1730-1830.

Osceola: Osprey, 2001.

Wombwell, James A. “19th-Century Piracy.” The Long War Against Piracy: Historical Trends. (2010): 36-49.