![]() ![]() Parts of Hispaniola and the neighbouring island of Tortuga were colonised during this period by the French and saw the emergence of pirates or buccaneers known as the Brethren of the Coast who were sometimes paid to attack Spanish ships. At various times throughout history many places in the world have been associated with piracy such as Madagascar, Malta and the Barbary Coast and throughout the Caribbean islands where it flourished especially during the Golden Age of Piracy, the period from 1650 to 1730. Piracy has a long history from the ocean raiders of the Aegean and Mediterranean in classical times to the hijacking of ships in the present. In an era of vast social division, difficult living for the majority and harsh conditions at sea the promise of adventure and possible wealth made it a short step for many captains and crews from privateering to piracy. ![]() Governments would issue letters of marque to privately owned ships, warrants which legalised the capture and seizure of ships and cargoes from rival states without the threat of prosecution. As competition grew between European states to develop their overseas settlements and empires grew, so too did the rivalry between them which often led to legalised conflict at sea in the form of privateering. Spain was a dominant force in colonizing South America and the Caribbean, and much of the wealth discovered there was sent back in convoys of galleons to Spain. Chart of Hispaniola by J Vinckeboons 1639. ![]()
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