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IereOciB cVMtVrBM •
culture and heritage
The true Pirates
of the Caribbean
The pirate’s lair
No wonder that at the same time the Spanish con-
quered America and the voyages of the so called
Spanish treasure fleet started, these freebooters
found a paradise –literally speaking—in the Ca-
ribbean; some of them even had patronage from
the European monarchs who were jealous of the
Spanish might.
So, from the XVI century to the XVIII, piracy
campaigned by roaming freely all over the Carib-
bean Sea, especially since the British conquered
the Spanish. In the XVII century, the Saint-Chris-
tophe (renamed as Saint Kitts by the British), Ja-
maica and Tortuga islands, the latter in front of the
coastline of what is presently Haiti, were used by
the pirates, for many years, as beachheads to raid
both the Spanish cities of America and the mer-
chantmen without regard to their nationality.
The case of Tortuga Island is quite curious
because pirates founded the so called Brethren
of the Coast on it, a kind of a syndicate among
pirates of different nationalities with the aim of
avoiding conflict and protecting widows and the
wounded in combat. This brotherhood had its own
laws gleaned in a Code of Honor that, among other
things, decreed the equality among all associate
pirates, the common property of the island and
the ban of slavery. Decisions were taken demo-
cratically through universal suffrage; moreover,
all were bound to settle the way in which the loot
would be meted before setting sail.
La guarida pirata
No es de extrañar que cuando los españoles conquista-
ron AmnrJDa Z Domen[aron MoT WJaKeT de Ma MMamada FMota
del Tesoro, estos filibusteros hallaran en el Caribe un pa-
rarTo ¡MJteraM¡ JnDMVTo, aMHVnoT MMeHaron a eTtaT MatJtV-
des patrocinados por las monarquías europeas celosas
deM poderro eTpavoM ATr, deTde eM TJHMo 97* haTta eM 97***
Ma pJraterra Dampew a TVT anDhaT por todo eM Mar $arJCe,
especialmente desde que los ingleses conquistaran a los
eTpavoMeT en eM TJHMo 97**, MaT JTMaT de 4an $rJTtwCaM a Ma
RVe CaVtJ[aron Domo 4aJnt ,JttT , +amaJDa Z 5ortVHa, nTta
|MtJma Grente a MaT DoTtaT de Mo RVe ahora eT )aJtr -oT pJ-
ratas las utilizaron durantemuchos años como base para
ataDar tanto a MaT DJVdadeT eTpavoMaT de AmnrJDa, Domo a
los barcosmercantes sin importar su nacionalidad.
El caso de la isla Tortuga es muy curioso, pues en
eMMa MoT pJrataT Drearon Ma MMamada £$oGradra de MoT )er-
manoT de Ma $oTta¤, Vna eTpeDJe de aToDJaDJwn entre
piratas de distintas nacionalidades destinada a evitar
conflictos y proteger a las viudas y los heridos en com-
bate. Esta cofradía tenía sus propias leyes, recogidas
en un Código de Honor que, entre otras cosas, esta-
blecía la igualdad entre todos los piratas asociados, la
propiedad colectiva de la isla y prohibía la esclavitud.
-aT deDJTJoneT Te tomaCan de Gorma demoDrgtJDa por
WotaDJwn VnJWerTaM ademgT, todoT eTtaCan oCMJHadoT
a establecer la forma en que se repartiría el botín an-
tes de hacerse a la mar.
