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Western Washington University Western CEDAR WWU Graduate School Collection WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship 2013 A nation of those without a state: a case study of nationalism regarding piracy in the Atlantic before and during the Golden Age Jessica L. (Jessica Lyn) Peters Western Washington University Follow this and additional works at: https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Peters, Jessica L. (Jessica Lyn), "A nation of those without a state: a case study of nationalism regarding piracy in the Atlantic before and during the Golden Age" (2013). WWU Graduate School Collection. 278. https://cedar.wwu.edu/wwuet/278 This Masters Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the WWU Graduate and Undergraduate Scholarship at Western CEDAR. It has been accepted for inclusion in WWU Graduate School Collection by an authorized administrator of Western CEDAR. For more information, please contact [email protected]. A Nation of Those Without a State: A Case Study of Nationalism Regarding Piracy in the Atlantic Before and During the Golden Age By Jessica Lyn Peters Accepted in Partial Completion of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts Kathleen L. Kitto, Dean of the Graduate School ADVISORY COMMITTEE Chair, Dr. Ricardo Lopez Dr. Amanda Eurich Dr. Laurie Hochstetler MASTER’S THESIS In presenting this thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for a master’s degree at Western Washington University, I grant to Western Washington University the non- exclusive royalty-free right to archive, reproduce, distribute, and display the thesis in any and all forms, including electronic format, via any digital library mechanisms maintained by WWU. I represent and warrant this is my original work, and does not infringe or violate any rights of others. I warrant that I have obtained written permissions from the owner of any third party copyrighted material included in these files. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of this work, including but not limited to the right to use all or part of this work in future works, such as articles or books. Library users are granted permission for individual, research and non-commercial reproduction of this work for educational purposes only. Any further digital posting of this document requires specific permission from the author. Any copying or publication of this thesis for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, is not allowed without my written permission. Jessica Lyn Peters May 10, 2013 A Nation of Those Without a State: A Case Study of Nationalism Regarding Piracy in the Atlantic Before and During the Golden Age A Thesis Presented to The Faulty of Western Washington University In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts By Jessica Lyn Peters Abstract Painted against the backdrop of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries this thesis utilizes piracy, in its many facets, as a case study for tracing the development of nationalism in a heterogeneous people. Employing an Atlantic perspective of study, and accounting for change over time, the relationship of the pirates to European powers and the colonists is considered to analyze developments in: the profession, the evolution of the definition of piracy, and investigate theories of nationalism. During this time the Atlantic was more important than ever before as European powers struggled to assert authority in the New World and as trade with the colonies brought goods and people to the coast of the Americas. The New World offered opportunity for groups such as pirates to develop into their own as it offered a land beyond the established authority of the European government systems. Because of a variety of factors privateers and pirates flourished during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries eventually evolving into a era academia has labeled the Golden Age of Piracy. The challenges presented to historians and academics of tracing a people with no land to call their own is discussed as well as the impact these challenges have had on the study of piracy. iv To my mentors, family, and friends without whose support this would not have been possible. I would especially like to acknowledge the efforts of my chair Dr. Ricardo Lopez for guiding me in this endeavor, my program advisor Dr. Randall Jimerson for his mentorship throughout my graduate career, and Barbara Bockman for supporting me always. v Table of Contents Abstract .................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ....................................................................................................................v Introduction: Theories and Historiography ................................................................................1 Chapter One: Piracy and the State ...........................................................................................23 Chapter Two: Transformation to the Golden Age ...................................................................40 Chapter Three: Primary Source Documentation and Interpretation ........................................59 Epilogue: .................................................................................................................................70 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................77 Appendix A .............................................................................................................................81 vi INTRODUCTION Theories and Historiography Pirate. Seems a simple enough concept—a rogue, a ruffian, a thief, a sailor. The pirate captain is perhaps what comes to forefront of any imagining about pirates—a large man with a large beard, standing aboard his ship with a glint in his eye, power and freedom radiating from him as though he were a king. The idealized nobility of the pirate captain is in stark contrast to the idea of a thief. Perhaps it is the romanticized notions of freedom and autonomy represented by the pirate and ship which make pirate lore alluring. Defining who was or was not a pirate was as much a matter of perspective as defining the crimes committed. To this end, the pirate has often been defined by his social relationships and the current events of his era. As one historian put it, “[s]ociety is the mirror in which we see this anti-social figure full length.”1 To understand the pirates we must view them in relationship to the peoples with whom they interacted and within the context of the broader power movements of their times. The pirate is but one player in the colonial period of America. While European nations struggled to establish their presence in the New World, the pirate was simultaneously seen by his contemporaries and historians today as a national hero (especially in the framework of privateering) and as rebel drifter outside the authority and control of the State. Their existence can be studied within the context of nation-building and national identity as a people outside the traditional nation system whose loyalties and nationalistic identity played a role in shaping the colonies, as well as in the international politics played in Europe. 1 Edward Lucie-Smith, Outcasts of the Sea: Pirates and Piracy (New York: Paddington Press Ltd., 1978), 26. Many historians have researched and written about piracy, especially recently as the pirate has grown into a modern popular icon. It is in this thesis that I will explore the reasons why the pirates’ heyday occurred during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries; why piracy took haven along the coast of the New World (specifically the Florida coast and in the Caribbean); and most importantly, how pirate interactions with the European nations and the colonies were essential in shaping the way pirates defined themselves, how they were defined by their contemporaries and historians, and how these definitions might offer insight and further the understanding of nationalism and nation-building. The main contribution of this work is the focus on nationalism and nation-building as viewed through the historical analysis of the pirate (accounting for change over time) within the context of the political and social movements of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. I. Setting the Timeline Historian Edward Lucie-Smith argues there were three “great ages of piracy,” starting with Elizabethan privateering in the early seventeenth century, followed by the early eighteenth century after the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht and concluding with the Napoleonic Wars in 1815.2 What Lucie-Smith identified as his second great age of piracy is what, to many historians, is considered the Golden Age of Piracy. The Golden Age of Piracy is the result of the decisions and social interactions of the previous century; not the least of which was the signing of the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713, which called for peace between Spain and other European powers. The leadership styles of the European nations’ sovereigns and their foreign policies and interactions with the colonies had many ramifications, 2 Edward Lucie-Smith, Outcasts of the Sea, 7. 2 including the widespread unemployment of sailors. The pirates who came from the European nations and colonies created the third entity of the international water tripartite. Historians have debated the dates of piracy in its various facets. This subjectivity is partly because

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