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Buccaneer

Buccaneer is a term that was used in the later 17th century in the Caribbean Islands. The term Buccaneer comes from the French word "Boucanier". These Boucaniers originally were hunters who were poaching cattle and pigs. more...

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They would smoke the meat on wooden frames, "boucans", so that it could be saved for a later time. The Boucaniers were taught this by the local Arawak tribes from Santo Domingo, calling the method Barbicoa - which is where the word and method of Barbecue originated.

However, Islanders soon began to use the term buccaneer as a way to describe pirates in the Caribbean during the 1660s. English settlers occupying Jamaica began to spread the name with the meaning of rebel pirates sailing in the Caribbean ports and seas. The buccaneers first affected Port Royal, Isla Tortuga and Hispaniola. The name became universally adopted in 1684 when a book: “The Bucaniers of America” was written by Alexander Exquemelin. After this book, people all over knew what it meant when someone used the term buccaneer.

Although they seem to have been a nuisance for the Caribbean islands, buccaneers made and changed history in the late 17th century. They fought battles for the English, they impacted trade routes, as well as won numerous battles in Caribbean territory disputes.

History

The Buccaneers were pirates who attacked French and Spanish shipping in the West Indies during the 17th and 18th centuries. The term is now used generally as a synonym for pirate. However, while pirates were exclusively limited to the sea, buccaneers plundered both on the shores and on high seas.

About 1630, some Frenchmen who were driven away from the island of Saint Kitts went to Hispaniola and then nearby Tortuga (now part of Haiti). They lived by hunting wild cattle and selling the hides to Dutch traders. The Spaniards tried to drive them out, but the Buccaneers were joined by many other French, Dutch and English and finally became so strong that they attacked Spanish ships and even sailed to the continent of North America and took towns.

Viewed from London, Buccaneering was a low-budget way to wage war on their rival at the time, Spain. So, the crown licensed pirates as "privateers", legalizing their operations in return for a share of their profits. The Buccaneers were invited by the British to base ships at Port Royal in Jamaica. Buccaneers were commissioned by the British to attack the French, Dutch and Spanish shipping and colonies, making Port Royal the most prosperous city in the West Indies. There even were navy officers sent to lead the buccaneers, such as Christopher Myngs. Their activities went on irrespective of the fact whether England happened to be at war with Spain, the United Provinces or France.

Among the leaders of the Buccaneers was a Frenchman named Montbar, who destroyed so many Spanish ships and killed so many Spaniards that he was called "the Exterminator." Another noted leader was a Welshman named Henry Morgan, who formed a fleet of ships and showed so much military skill that he took strong fortresses and towns, stealing a huge amount from the Spanish. Morgan became rich and went back to England, where he was knighted by Charles II.