A buccaneer is a pirate or privateer.
Buccaneer is a term that comes from the French word boucanier , according to what is reported by the Royal Spanish Academy ( RAE ) in its dictionary. The concept alludes to the pirates who used to attack Spanish ships sailing through the so-called New World in the 17th and 18th centuries .
Originally the idea of buccaneer referred to those who lived in the western region of the island of Hispaniola . These people used to hunt pigs and cows and then carry out a process of smoking the meat and selling it to sailors.
History of the buccaneers
When the Spanish abandoned the western region of Hispaniola in the 16th century , French travelers settled there and adopted this technique . Some time later, Spain invaded the island since its inhabitants did not pay taxes to the Crown and annihilated the animals. Thus, many people who lived in Hispaniola settled on the island of La Tortuga - where the filibusters already resided - and began to get involved with piracy against Spanish ships.
These historical antecedents mean that currently the notions of buccaneer , filibuster and pirate are often used synonymously. Sometimes privateers are even used, who were sailors who had a “private patent” to sabotage vessels from countries that were enemies of the government that granted the license in question.
The overexploitation of hunting and the murder of the animals of La Tortuga by the Spanish to harm the buccaneers meant that, little by little, these people abandoned the Spanish region of the island.
Many buccaneers went down in history for their blows and loots.
Some examples
Throughout history there have been important buccaneers, among which we can highlight the following:
- blackbeard ( 1680 – 1718 ) . Es uno de los más famosos bucaneros y tenía por nombre real Edward Teach . Nació en Bristol board y pronto destacó por ser muy cruel tanto con la tripulación de su barco como con quienes convertía en prisioneros. El apodo con el que hoy le conocemos era debido, como era de imaginar, a su larga, rizada y espesa barba de color negro.
- The Olonese ( 1635 – 1668 ). Fue un personaje muy temido en las colonias españolas porque fue capaz de acometer todo tipo de atrocidades.
- Calico Jack ( 1682 – 1720 ). Está considerado como el primero que utilizó la bandera que todos hoy asociamos a la piratería: la calavera con dos huesos en forma de cruz. Una bandera que es conocida con el nombre de jolly roger .
- Edward England ( 1685 – 1721 ). Este bucanero tiene la particularidad de haber pasado a la historia como uno de los más humanos y menos despiadados y crueles. Entre sus barcos más importantes estuvieron Fancy y el Pearl .
- Henry Every ( 1659 – 1699 ). Dentro de la historia de la piratería no podemos pasar por alto a este bucanero que fue conocido como “the king of the pirates” . Es cierto que no tuvo una gran "career" , pero los botines que logró e incluso el hecho de que se retiró antes de morir o ser detenido, le convirtieron en una verdadera leyenda.