Smuggling and Piracy

the mercantilist ideal vs. economic reality

A. Illicit trade

inconsistent enforcement and easy evasion

unregulated trades as gateways

centrality of smuggling

examples:

North America <> foreign West Indies

Barbados <> Martinique

the asiento

 

B. Piracy

privateers and buccaneers vs. pirates

global upsurge in 16th and 17th centuries

golden age of piracy: 1660-1720

A captive bows before Welsh pirate Sir Henry Morgan as Morgan and his men sack the
city of Panama in the 1670s. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

changing relationship between piracy and the state

post 1720 campaign against pirates

Port Royal, Jamaica [clip]

 

 

Marcus Rediker, Villains of All Nations

social history

Marxist interpretations