“The Age of the Buccaneers, Pirates, and Slave Trade”

In the late 1600s, the English had successfully overtaken Jamaica by defeating the Spaniards. Settlement progressed and new labor areas were discovered – particularly from sugarcane production. While Britain’s empire mirrored perfection, they were actually blasted with wars and conflicts. Between France, Spain, Holland, or North America, the 17^th century was a dynamic, imperfect, and shaping time of change.

Out of the 17^th century arose the era of the buccaneers. Buccaneers, which I learned in Dr. Shaw’s history class, derives from a French word boucan, which means, “smoked meat.” The English sponsored these Buccaneers to capture enemy vessels, raid their settlements, and contribute their loot to the Crown. Unfortunately, they evolved into a diverse group of nautical miscreants, political refugees and escaped criminals who decided their ill-gotten gains were better off in their own pockets (Lonely Planet). They formed the Confederacy of the Brethren of the Coast, committed to a life of piracy (Lonely Planet). Gradually, the now “Pirates” replaced their motley vessels with captured ships and grew into a powerful and ruthless force, feared throughout the Antilles – even by their English sponsors (Lonely Planet).

Port Royal which was once home to buccaneers employed to destroy Spain’s empire, became the haven for Pirates (Lonely Planet). As a port city, it was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals and was a popular homeport for the English and Dutch sponsored privateers to spend their treasure during the 17th century (Lonely Planet).  Unfortunately, most of the city was destroyed by a natural disaster. It has, however, become a very popular diving spot to search for sunken treasures! 

Pirates were not the only issues in Jamaica. The War of Jenkins’ Ear and the Seven Years War broke out during the course of the 17^th century (The Sugar Barons). The War of Jenkins' Ear is named for the story of a sailor named Robert Jenkins (The Sugar Barons). He was arrested by the government of Jamaica due to complaints by the Spanish, but escaped and was picked up by the guarda costa (The Sugar Barons). He claimed that the captain slashed off one of his ears and told him to take it to England as a warning of what would happen to the British who broke Spain's trade laws (The Sugar Barons). While the story seem fictional, Britain responded strongly and declared war on Spain in 1739. Before the war, additionally, tension grew between the two countries because the Spanish were illegally stopping and searching British ships (The Sugar Barons). France joined the war against Britain; a few years later it ended with a Treaty that never really addressed the key reasons behind the controversy (The Sugar Barons).   

Less than 10 years after the treaty that ended the War of Jenkins' Ear, France and Britain were at war again. In 1756 the Seven Years' War began, and in 1758 the Spanish joined forces with the French (The Sugar Barons). Despite this dual opposition, the British naval powers captured nearly every island in the Caribbean. Jamaica invaded Cuba and took the capital of Havana (The Sugar Barons). The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the war, but Havana was returned to Spain in exchange for Florida, while Dominica, Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent, and Tobago were ceded to the British (The Sugar Barons). The Seven Years' War is one of many conflicts in Jamaica's history.

The uneasy international peace that followed the war gave Jamaica's islanders time to concentrate on the country's internal problems: slave uprisings (Lonely Planet). Slave uprisings began on Jamaica before the end of the Seven Years' War (Lonely Planet). Jamaica’s English planters grew immensely wealthy from sugar, and English merchants from the sordid market in slaves – whose lot marked a brutal contrast (The Sugar Barons). They were bought from African slave traders and shipped across the Atlantic to Kingston, where they were auctioned off. Kingston served as the main distribution point for delivery to other islands (Lonely Planet). The slave ships then returned to England carrying cargoes of sugar, molasses and rum (The Sugar Barons). The slaves did have will-power and they fought for the freedom (The Sugar Barons). Tacky's Rebellion, the most important slave revolt in island history, occurred in 1760. The uprising is named for its leader, Tacky, who was a chief in Africa. The plan began when a few slaves murdered a shopkeeper in Port Maria (Lonely Planet). The slaves moved inland in the early morning, taking over estates and killing white settlers. Spiritualists led them (Lonely Planet). While most involved in the rebellion were captured and killed, it encouraged other slave revolts throughout Jamaica, which took the British a while to put out (Lonely Planet).

Wars, Pirates, and Slavery are the aspects that shaped the 17^th century in Jamaica. It will be interesting to see what brings about change in the following generations. 


*All information in this blog was found via:

Youtube
Parker, Matthew. The Sugar Barons: Family, Corruption, Empire and War. London: Hutchinson, 2011. Print.
Time, Esquivel’s. "History of Jamaica - Lonely Planet Travel Information." Lonely Planet Travel Guides and Travel Information. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.lonelyplanet.com/jamaica/history>.


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