The boys' book of buccaneers

by A. Hyatt Verrill

“Pirates,” began Mr. Bickford, leaning back in his chair, “have been known ever since men first used boats. The earliest histories mention them. There were Phœnician pirates, Greek pirates, Roman pirates, and the old Vikings were nothing more or less than pirates. Then there were the Malay pirates, the Tripolitan pirates and the Chinese pirates who still exist, and we still have harbor pirates, oyster pirates and river pirates. A pirate is any one who preys upon shipping or steals merchandise in a boat, and he may be and usually is a sneaking, cowardly rascal without a redeeming feature. Moreover, a pirate preys on any one and every one, and while some pirates, such as the Vikings, confined their forays to certain nations and their ships and did not molest others, yet most pirates loot, murder and destroy with impartiality and fall upon their own countrymen or others alike. But the buccaneers were very different. In the first place, buccaneers were not known until comparatively recent times and the first buccaneers had their origin in 1625.

“At that time England was at war with Spain, [[4]]and the Spanish Government claimed all the New World and decreed that any ships found trading in the Caribbean or neighboring waters, or any settlers found upon the islands or the Spanish Main, were pirates and would be treated as such.”

“But, Dad, what is the Spanish Main?” asked Jack, interrupting.

“I don’t wonder you ask,” replied his father. “To read of it one would think it a body of water, for we hear of ‘sailing the Spanish Main.’ But in reality it was the mainland of South and Central America and when the buccaneers spoke of ‘sailing the Spanish Main’ they meant skirting the coast. But to continue. Of course the British and French claimed many of the West Indies and, despite the dangers, settlers went to them. Among the others that were settled was the island of St. Kitts, which was settled by both French and English. Although the settlers quarreled among themselves, still they managed to exist and were becoming fairly prosperous when in 1625 the Spanish vessels swept down upon them, burned their plantations and, after killing many of the settlers, drove them into the woods. Without homes or means the survivors sought to reëstablish themselves, but a few set sail in little [[5]]dugout canoes seeking new lands. In these little craft they reached Santo Domingo, which was then known as Hispaniola, and was a stronghold of the Spaniards. But it was such a marvelously rich and promising country that the fugitive Frenchmen landed and sent back for their companions. At first the Dons knew nothing of these new arrivals, but as they increased, word of their presence reached the authorities, and soldiers were sent to drive them off or destroy them.

“At that time Hispaniola was teeming with wild cattle, wild hogs, wild horses and wild dogs, descendants of the animals introduced by the Spaniards, and the Frenchmen occupied most of their time hunting and killing these creatures. Their hides were valuable, and their meat was preserved by drying it over fires or transforming it into a product known to the Spaniards as ‘bucan.’ Thus the Frenchmen became known as ‘bucaniers,’ from which the name ‘buccaneer’ was derived. So you see the buccaneers were not pirates at all at that time, and the name has no connection with piracy.

“Owing to their occupation, the buccaneers became expert shots, good woodsmen, hardy, reckless and daring, and they hated the Dons like [[6]]poison. But they could not stand against the Spanish troops and so, taking to their canoes, they fled to the island of Tortuga, off the northern coast of what is now Haiti. Here there were a few Spanish settlers, but they were so outnumbered by the buccaneers that they made no objection to their new neighbors. The Dons, however, had no intention of letting the buccaneers alone and sent expeditions to drive them off. Then the buccaneers started a merry game of puss in the corner. When the Dons arrived at Tortuga the buccaneers slipped over to the mainland, and when the Spaniards sought them there they sneaked back to the island. By this time they had been joined by many English, a few Portuguese and a number of Dutch, and feeling their numbers were sufficient to make a stand, they proceeded to fortify Tortuga. They selected a high rocky hill on the summit of which was a deep depression and with infinite labor converted this into a fort, mounted cannon and stored a supply of wood and ammunition. Then they destroyed the only approach—a narrow defile—and the fort could only be reached by means of ladders lowered from the parapets.

“For a long time the Dons left them alone, [[7]]realizing the impossibility of taking the fort, and the little settlement prospered and grew. The French sent out a governor and there at the very threshold of the Dons’ richest possession the handful of buccaneers lived and plied their trade. But although they were composed of half a dozen different races, one and all hated the Spaniards and soon, not content with buccaneering, they became ambitious and with reckless bravery set out in small canoes with the intention of capturing Spanish ships. It seems incredible that these rough, untrained hunters could seize a heavily armed ship swarming with sailors and soldiers, but nevertheless they did. Lying in wait in the track of ships they would pull to the first Spanish galleon that appeared and, while their expert marksmen would pick off the Spanish gunners and the helmsman, they would dash alongside, so close that the cannon could not bear upon them. Jamming the ship’s rudder with their boat, they would swarm up and over the bulwarks, pistols and swords in hand and knives in teeth and, yelling like demons, would rush the crew, cutting, slashing, shooting and stabbing. Seldom did they fail, and thus having secured ships and guns, to say nothing of treasure, they would sail back to [[8]]their lair, flushed with victory. Then, having good ships and plenty of heavy guns, they transformed their prizes into privateers and set sail in search of more Spanish ships to conquer.

“You must remember that at this time England and France were at war with Spain, and hence the buccaneers were in no sense pirates. Many of them were given commissions to prey on the Dons as privateers, and their acts were considered a legitimate part of warfare and were encouraged and fostered by the officials.

“And having gone thus far they realized that organization was necessary. Hence a sort of association was formed, or perhaps we might call it a society, which they called ‘Brethren of the Main’ and laws, rules and agreements were drawn up, to which, oddly enough, the buccaneers were wonderfully faithful.

“Another interesting thing is the fact that these buccaneers were the originators of life and accident insurance. Before a ship set out a council was held, and papers were drawn up stating how large a share of the loot each man should have for his services, aside from his ‘lay’ of loot, and how much should be paid for the death of a man or injuries received. Thus the loss of a right arm [[9]]was valued at six hundred pieces of eight or six slaves; a left arm was valued at five hundred pieces of eight or five slaves; a right leg, five hundred pieces of eight or five slaves; a left leg, four hundred pieces of eight or four slaves; an eye or a finger, one hundred pieces of eight or one slave.”