Pirates Liked Santa Marta, A Favorite Caribbean Travel Destination

Pirates stationed themselves around Santa Marta, Colombia located on the Spanish Main, on their quest for treasure, in an area stretching from the Orinoco River in Venezuela along the Caribbean Coast to Panama and on to Central America. This is the route Spain used in order to ship their gold from South America to Spain. Who plundered who, looking back it is hard to say and there is just as much plundering going on today. The Spanish were looting Peru, and Bolivia, shipping it up the coast to Panama, transferring it across Panama by mule train, loading it on ships on the eastern side at Portobello in Panama. The pirates were bad but you were more likely to be killed by disease crossing Panama or stopping in Portobello.
There, another fleet of galleons waited to take the silver first east along the coast of Latin America to the port and fortress at Cartagena, then to Spain. Where there was treasure, there were pirates. the pirates merely wished a percentage of the shipments.

They used to sail up and down this coast hunting for gold and silver.
Some that came through the area were

Jean Francois De La Roque Señor De Roberval 1543
In 1543 Robert Waal attacked Santa Marta, the deed authorizing the founding of the city may have gone missing at this time.
Pedro Braques 1544
Jaques De Sores 1555
Martin Cote 1555
Jhon Hawkins 1565
Sir Francis Drake 1567 1596
Cristobal Cordella 1597
Adrian Juan Pater 1630
Guillermo Goodson 1655
Edwadr Dooley 1658
Cristobal Myngs 1658
Henry Morgan 1670 attacked both Santa Marta and Rio Hacha under a Letter of Marque from the French.
1677 John Coxon, one of the "Brethren of the Coast" plundered Santa Marta and kidnapped the governor and bishop.
Petri Daniel 1691
Blackbeard, also Edward Teach, worked the Caribbean for treasure and favored the coast of North Carolina. His ship, The Queen Anne's Revenge was discovered in 1996 off Beaufort, North Caroline. There is a recovery effort by North Carolina Underwater Archaeology Branch that recently been initiated with recovery efforts beginning May 23, 2011.
Pedro Cuero 1701
Juan Bodquin 1702
In 1702 one of the last of the buccaneers Jean Du Casse defeats Englishman John Benbow near Santa Marta in what is known as the Action of August 1702.
Edward Collier
Calico Jack
Anne Bonney

For a good hangout they needed
Good Weather and you just can't beat the Caribbean. People who would help them like escaped slaves or sympathizers. A place easily defended where you could see ships a long way off and shallow waters that the larger ships couldn't pass through. A place that had a good supply of food.

Bahia Villa Concha was one of their hideouts.

A few words you should know

Avast:, take a look at this, pay attention
Black Spot:, this was a death threat.
Shiver me timbers:, the sound a ship made when running aground say on a reef, this was shock or disbelief about something.
Duffle:, a sailors personal posesions or a bag that holds it.
Jacob's Ladder: the rope ladder used to climb aboard the ship
Hogshead:- a large barrel or cask holding 63 to 140 gallons of liquid, usually referring to some form of spirits.
Davy Jones's Locker: a place at the bottom of the ocean where dead sailors and pirates go
In Davy's Grip:: Close to death, or frightened.
To have the Davies or the Joneseys:: To be frightened

Although some of their rules of conduct were harsh, societies in general were also harsh. These businessmen worked to a code or articles of agreement that outlines what they could or couldn't or shouldn't do, punishments, for the more serious offenses they could be to be put to death or marooned somewhere, they could receive stripes (lashes), you could get this from smoking aboard ship without a lid on your pipe.

A few trades to make a living at on board one of their ships.

Carpenter, very important on a ship.
Cooper, a barrel maker, another highly skilled trade, barrels required constant upkeep and your food or provisions depended on them.
Boatswain, he did a lot of the ships maintenance, anchors, cables, sails, rigging

There was also compensation should you lose an arm, leg etc. in battle, a lot like modern insurance except the pirates were easier to deal with. The code was like a legal system for outlaws and they would have to swear an oath.They would make their mark or sign if they could and then swear an oath of honor.

Some worked for England and France and were legally allowed to attack Spanish ships, giving a percentage back of the booty taken.

So if you don't have the Jonseys' or the Davies by now your probably ready to visit Santa Marta and find your own secluded hideout.

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