The pirates who, in the 17th century, operated in the Caribbean Sea were known as filibusters.
The French word flibustier came to our language as filibustero . However, it must be taken into account that this Gallic term is considered to derive from English, exactly from frebetter , which, in turn, emanates from Dutch. Specifically, from vrijbuiter , which can be translated as “pirate.”
The term is used to name the pirates who, in the 17th century , carried out their attacks in the Caribbean Sea area.
Filibusters, pirates, privateers and buccaneers
Many times it is confused between pirates, privateers and filibusters. A pirate was an individual who boarded ships to steal. A privateer , meanwhile, was a subject who acted with a privateer's license: he therefore had the endorsement of his government to attack and loot ships from enemy countries. Regarding the filibusters , as we already said, they were pirates who operated in the Caribbean region, even attacking coastal towns.
Another similar notion is buccaneer . In this case, the word refers to a pirate who, in the 17th and 18th centuries , aimed to rob Spanish overseas domains.
The filibusters used to attack coastal towns.
The Caribbean Sea, its radius of action
Returning to the filibusters, they operated in the Caribbean Sea (also called the Antillean Sea ), which surrounds nations such as Cuba , Puerto Rico , the Dominican Republic , and Haiti . It also bathes the coasts of Mexico , Costa Rica , Panama , Colombia and Venezuela , among other countries.
The filibusters acted in groups, usually not straying too far from the coast. Sometimes they sailed along the coast and, at the right time, they got off the ships to plunder the towns and cities. One of the most important coups by filibusters took place in 1697 when they joined privateers and the French Navy and took Cartagena de Indias .
It should be noted that, later, the idea of filibuster began to be used to name those who fought to make the Spanish colonies independent.
The notion of filibuster today
Currently, the filibuster is a term that is used, above all, in the political field to refer to deputies or congressmen who, from the parliamentary system of which they are part, choose to take measures to be able to delay for a long time or completely block which is the approval of a specific law. Specifically, what they do is make very long speeches in the session in question.
Exactly, it is said that what these political representatives practice is filibustering. We find a good example of this in Antiquity. Specifically, it is established that the Roman politician Cato the Elder (95 BC – 46 BC) was capable of making speeches lasting up to entire days to prevent laws proposed by Julius Caesar from being approved and carried out.
In the world of culture, through different works, people have also resorted to showing what filibustering is. Thus, for example, a good example of this can be seen in the television series “Scandal” where in one of its episodes a senator uses this “tool” to be able to prevent the budget project that is going to be approved in a session. to defund an American reproduction-related organization.