SOCIAL STUDIES

COURSEWORK 2021 - 2022

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
NATIONAL EXAMINATIONS
BAHAMAS JUNIOR CERTIFICATE

Topic: PIRACY IN THE BAHAMAS

Subject: Social Study

Candidate Number:

Candidate Name: Niel Sinclair

School Name: CC Sweeting high School

School Number:

Due Date:
Question 1

A. Explain reasons why The Bahamas became a haven for pirates in the late 1600s. Identify
both PUSH and PULL factors.

The Pirates see the Bahamas as a well-suited base of operations for numerous reasons.

Some of the reason was because the country had many small islands that could be used for

shipping routes,it's waters were too shallow for a large man-of-war but deep enough for the fast

draft vessels favoured by pirates, Human power,a great hiding place for treasure and they could

easily rob and plunder merchant ships.

According to ( Meyer)The time of genuine pirates control happened when a joined

Franco-Spanish Fleet attacked Nassau in 1703 and again in 1706; the island was adequately

deserted by numerous individuals that settled because of crimes and there was no English

government presence. Nassau was then taken over by English pirates, who turned out to be

totally uncivilized privateers after some time. The pirates assaulted French and Spanish boats,

while the French and Spanish powers consumed Nassau on a few additional occasions. Privateers

secured themselves in Nassau, and basically settled their own republic with its own lead

representatives. By 1713 the War of the Spanish Succession was finished, yet numerous British

pirates were delayed to get the news, or hesitant to acknowledge it, This prompted enormous

quantities of jobless privateers advancing toward New Providence to join the republic and swell

its numbers.
 The sanctuaries of The Bahamas and the rest of the Caribbean were a protected spot for

pirates to rest . In the Caribbean they immediately spent their ill- gotten plunder on wine, ladies,

and betting. Pirates sold caught cargoes to deceitful vendors who had set up business in the

different privateer safe houses. The smugglers were on to something worth being thankful for

since they gained merchandise at a much less expensive rate than from genuine trader vessels in

some other port, and the privateers were sufficiently cheerful to get their money, regardless of

whether they were obliged to sell at a value much beneath the genuine worth. The smugglers

then carried their questionable merchandise into real ports where it was sold through the

channels it would have reached if the privateers had not interfered with the exchange

interaction(Johnson).

It was concluded that the reason for The Bahamas becoming a haven for Pirates was

because of business and lawful activities they could carry out on the Island and these resulted in

a lot of crimes and killing which forced some the individuals that settled on the island to move to

a more peaceful place.

Question 2

A. On the map of The Bahamas provided in Source A, complete the following:

1. Shade in and label

a) The Little Bahama Bank
b) The Great Bahama Bank

2. Draw in and label TWO important waterways which pirates might have frequently
used.

3. Shade in and label the island where each of these landmarks is located:
a) Morgan’s Bluff
b) Blackbeard’s Tower
c) Watling’s Castle
d) Pirate’sWell
The little Bahama Bank

New Providence

Andros
San Salvador
Island
Gran
Bank
dB
aham
a

Mayaguana
Island
Question 3 - Objective Three

A. Compare the lifestyle of Pirates and Buccaneers by:

a) Stating reasons for their activities
b) Outlining their Code of Conduct
c) Examining the characteristics and career of Blackbeard and Henry Morgan

Pirates were frequently referred to as Buccaneers, yet this isn't totally true. Buccaneers

were a group of Pirates located on the island of Hispaniola and instigated with French and

English ships to attack the Caribbean during 1600 - 1700. They even received a letter of

protection from the British, Dutch and French; this letter was mainly for authority. The

buccaneers started with small raids in Windward Passage ,soon they got to raid more powerful

ships, and became more ambitious.

(Cartwright)The Pirates were referred to as sea robbers that did all types of robbery on the

sea;they had a reputation for being brutal and ruthless. However they are not associated with any

country; in other words their actions are not validated by any country. The Pirates not only kill

and rob but they also abduct women and children and sell them as slaves to ships or to people

who wanted slaves. The reasons for their activities was because they quickly learned that

robbing, abducting women, children and then selling them was the easiest and quickest way to

make a living. The Pirates and Buccaneers had a set of rules or agreement between the captain

and the crew members, These laws were intended to ensure crew member collaboration,

decency, and discipline.

The Code of Articles was renamed the Code of Conduct subsequently. The fundamental

concept was to establish equality and a moral code of conduct among crew members, with the

captain facing dismissal if he broke the rules. Each pirate organization devised its own set of
articles governing discipline, recompense for injured pirates, and wealth distribution, among

other things( Vallar). The Buccaneers referred to their code of conduct; the pirates of the Golden

Age of Piracy referred to them as codes of conduct. Regardless of their identity, each pirate made

his mark and swore an oath to follow the laws after they were written down. He placed his hand

on a Bible or a pair of crossed pistols or axes while making this serious commitment. Buccaneers

and pirates are both names used to describe maritime piracy. They both attack in the same way,

but their goals and affiliations are different. Buccaneers are a specific type of pirate, whereas

pirates is a generic term for all sea robbers(Vallar).

( Sourced D)Edward Teach, Known as Blackbeard, was an English pirate who operated

around the West Indies and the eastern coast of Britain's North American. He was a privateer on

ships during Queen Anne's War before he decided to settle on the Bahamian island of New

Providence. The Queen Anne's Revenge was a French slave ship that was captured by

Blackbeard and renamed, outfitted with 40 guns and a crew of nearly 300 men. His nickname

was derived from his thick black beard and terrifying appearance, and he was said to have tied lit

fuses to slow matches under his hat to frighten his opponents. (source D)He then established a

pirate alliance and blockaded the port of Charles Town, South Carolina, extorting money from

the locals. He then capsized Queen Anne's Revenge near Beaufort, North Carolina, on a sandbar.

He then left Bonnet and moved to Bath, North Carolina, known as Bath Town, where he was

granted a royal pardon. But he was soon back at sea, where he caught the attention of Virginia

Governor Alexander Spotswood.

Alexander Spotswood organized a group of soldiers and sailors to arrest him, and Teach

and several of his crew were slain by a small band of sailors led by Lieutenant Robert Maynard

on November 22, 1718, after a fierce struggle (Johnson). Sir Henry Morgan was a Welsh privateer,
plantation owner, and later Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica from 24 January 1635 to 25 August

1688. Morgan went on to launch successful and lucrative raids on Puerto Principe, now

Camagüey, and Porto Bello in modern-day Cuba, now Portobelo in modern Panama. He bought

three enormous sugar plantations on the island with the prize money from the raids. When

diplomatic relations between England and Spain deteriorated in 1667, Modyford granted Morgan

a letter of marque, authorizing him to attack and take Spanish ships(Johnson). After his death, his

life was romanticized, and he became the basis for pirate-themed works of literature in a variety

of genres.

It concluded that Buccaneers and pirates have common terms with lifestyle and maritime piracy.

The two of them attack comparatively yet their objectives and what their identity is related to are

unique. Buccaneers are a particular group of pirates while pirates are a general term for ocean

criminals. All Buccaneers are pirates yet all pirates are not buccaneers.
Question 4 - Objective Four

A. You are a settler on New Providence in the early 1700s. Describe how piracy has
negatively impacted daily life on your island. Outline the changes you experienced with
the arrival of Woodes Rogers in 1718.

Piracy was common in The Bahamas throughout the 1700s. That when an united Franco-Spanish

fleet invaded New Providence in 1703 and again in 1706, the pirates became increasingly

dominant, ushering in the age of full pirate dominance. Many of our people basically abandoned

it, and the island was left without any English government presence. Nassau was soon taken up

by English privateers, who eventually turned into lawless pirates. I was afraid to go out during

the day or out late at night because drunken pirates terrorized the streets. They also hijacked

ships at sea, killing everyone on board and plundering the cargo.This lasted for 30 years until the

crimes in New Providence were so bad and unbearable that King George 1, who succeeded

Queen Anne in 1714, decided to send Woodes Rogers to The Bahamas with a mission to destroy

piracy. Things changed when Woodes Rogers arrived in The Bahamas in 1718 by a small

convoy of British ships, and was named Captain General and Governor in Chief. Many of the

pirates in Nassau at the time accepted the King's pardon, One of the Pirates that accepted his

offer was Benjamin Hornigold. Rogers' First move was to command Hornigold to hunt down

and capture those pirates who refused to surrender and accept the royal pardon. Rogers then

started rebuilding the town's forts and restoring order. Pirates like Blackbeard and Charles Vane

fought to preserve their control on the island, so his governorship was not without its challenges.

Rogers would even abandon his governorship and travel to England for a period, but he finally
returned to Nassau and reigned as governor until his death in 1732, long after the Golden Age of

Piracy had passed.

Photos

Picture of Blackbeard
Picture of Sir Henry Morgan
 Bibliography

References

Cartwright, M. (2021, October 4). Piracy in The caribbean.

Defoe, D., & Johnson, C. (1999). A general History of the Pyrates.

Meyer, J. (2013, July 6). Why the US is going after piracy in the Caribbean, where it hasn’t existed for 200

years. Quartz.

Moore, D. D. (2018). A Brief Analysis of the Primary Source Document Concerning the Notorious Blackbeard.

In The North Carolina Historical Review (pp. 147 - 187).

The real Pirates of the Caribbean. (2009, January). USA Today Magazine.

Vallar, C. (n.d.). Pirate Code of Conduct Vs. Naval Discipline. Pirates Facts & Legend.

http://www.piratesinfo.com

"Venezuelan pirates – the new scourge of the Caribbean". BBC News. 28 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2021.