Caribbean the Pirates Paradise and Wales the Pirates Home

If asked ‘where do Pirates come from’ where would you say??

Pirates came from the landed gentry usually seeking a better life. From impoverished farmhands to slave trade ships crew the numbers who chose to drink from a Pirates cup did so for the usually short but fast pace of life. They would unite in ships on the open seas where a reign of terror would be waiting for the trade route crews and where cargo was just future Pirate plunder. The life of a Pirate was on average three years where the ultimate price would be paid for their criminal careers.

Pirates were bold and very different from ship to ship. Information about Pirates suggest that there were those who were polite when robbing other ships and those who would revel in the killing of others like the infamous Pirates Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart) and Blackbeard.

Current information about Pirates suggests that Wales had more Pirates per mile of coastline than any other European country.

When it comes to the black arts of piracy there is no better exponent than Welsh culture where even the book Treasure Island written by Robert Louis Stevenson used the stories of Harri Morgan, Black Bart (Bartholomew Roberts) and Hywel Davies to base three of his Pirate characters on. It is widely believed amongst historians that half of the Pirates in the 17^th century had Welsh blood.

Among the most famous of the Welsh Pirates there was Harri Morgan who led hundreds of fellow Pirates in the Caribbean, won more than a million pieces-of-eight during the 17th century. Harri Morgan went on to become deputy governor of Jamaica. Although one of the few Pirates not to die at sea he did die a rum addicted alcoholic.

Welsh Pirates like the Vikings would operate along the Welsh coast. During the 10^th and 11^th century when Edward I built his ring of Welsh castles supply ships were often raided. Between the 12^th and 16^th century the English navy could not contend with the brutal strikes of the Welsh Pirates. This was a period referred to as the Golden age of Piracy.

After the days of the Spanish Armada the English navy was able to strengthen itself and thus forced the Pirates further a field for their search of ships to plunder.