City Built on Pirate Gold: Real Pirate History
Chapter 1

The surprisingly democratic deck

Chapter 2

Debunking the Hollywood pirate

Chapter 3

Empires of the global seas

Chapter 4

The economy of outlaw life

Ch 4 · The economy of outlaw life
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misslily How legal wartime privateers transformed into outlaw pirates

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misslily The history of the lawless pirate republic in the Bahamas

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Loot and Ledger
BETA

misslily Balance the ship's ledger to discover the surprisingly organized reality of real pirate life.

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The wealthy city built on pirate gold

misslily Pirates openly spent their plunder in Jamaica's taverns, fueling a dependent economy until a massive earthquake sank the city.

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Quiz

Why did colonial governors in Port Royal welcome pirates instead of arresting them?

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Quiz

What natural disaster destroyed the pirate capital of Port Royal, Jamaica, in the year 1692?

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An illicit economy cannot survive without the complicity of the lawful one.

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The lawless pirate republic of the Bahamas

misslily Shallow Bahamian waters protected fast pirate sloops by blocking heavy navy warships.

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Quiz

Which famous pirate was appointed as a magistrate of the self-proclaimed Republic of Nassau?

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Quiz

Why was the geography of Nassau in the Bahamas ideal for Golden Age pirate ships?

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Fun Fact

A costly bribe: In 1696, pirate Henry Every bribed the Governor of the Bahamas with his ship, the Fancy, which was loaded with 50 tons of elephant tusks.

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Quiz

What often happened to privateers when a war ended and peace treaties were signed?

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Quiz

What official document turned an illegal pirate into a legally sanctioned privateer?

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Glossary
quartermaster (noun)
A ship's officer responsible for steering, signals, and the distribution of supplies or cargo. In eighteenth-century Nassau, elected quartermasters managed the distribution of plunder to regulate the crew's shared wealth.

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Quiz

What is the historical term for a merchant who bought stolen pirate goods to resell them?

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Quiz

Why did American colonists in cities like Boston and New York happily buy stolen pirate goods?

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Gossip

If you lived in 1700, would you buy cheap, smuggled goods from a pirate?

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