What makes British history particularly unique in world history is probably the existence of the "privateer" that existed from the 16th century to the beginning of the 18th century.
How the nation protects pirates
The presence of pirates has often had a major impact on world history. "Wokou" has become a big problem in Japan and China, and even in the history of Venice and Genova, which can be said to be the successors of the Roman Empire, there is a history of suffering from pirates in the Mediterranean trade.
In recent years, it has been plagued by pirates in the waters of Aden, and in the early history of the United States, there was a war with pirates called the Barbary War.
In that sense, it can be said that there are countries that suffer from pirates and countries that make good use of pirates in world history.
The two countries that have been successfully used are the Ottoman Empire and the British Empire.
The Ottoman Empire protected pirates and attacked ships in Spain and Venice to tribute some of the predatory goods, but the British Empire, which can be said to be the culmination of modern nations, adopted exactly the same system.
In Britain, it was called a "privateer" and was officially licensed by the British royal family, which also attacked ships in Spain and France and tributed some of their plunder.
As a result, Britain ousted its rivals, enriched its national treasury, and developed into a great empire.
Why was Spain targeted?
The impetus was the arrival of Christopher Columbus with the support of Spain in the Americas.
The discovery of the new continent has brought enormous wealth to Spain. In modern times, potatoes and eggplants, which are indispensable for European cuisine, are native to the Americas, and because silver can also be mined, a large influx of silver called the European price revolution was brought about, but since Columbus Spain has traded with the new continent. And concentrated its wealth.
The Habsburgs had a more hegemonic position in Europe based on their property, but the Ottoman and British empires did not allow it.
The Ottoman Empire defeated Spain in the Battle of Preveza, but was defeated by Spain in the subsequent Battle of Lepanto.
Queen Elizabeth, who governs Britain, avoids her initially flashy naval battles and uses pirates such as Francis Drake to attack Spanish trading ships and gradually reduce their power. However, the angry King Philip II of Spain dispatched an invincible fleet Armada to Britain, and although the two countries clashed in the Armada Sea Battle, it was also the pirates who decided the victory of Britain.
Spanish ships were not good at large and detailed movements, and could not respond to the movements of the Royal Navy centered on small fleets led by pirates.
Due to such circumstances, the Spanish royal family went bankrupt despite the influx of wealth from the New World.
Pirates of the Caribbean Buccaneer
The winner, Britain, still maintained the privateer system.
And he continued to attack Spanish ships as usual.
After the Battle of Armada, the home of pirates moved to the Caribbean, and the Bahamas' New Providence Island in the Caribbean was so full of pirates that it was called "Pirate's Paradise" and "Pirate Republic", and they were called "Buccaneers". Became.
Buccaneer wasn't necessarily just British pirates protected by Britain, but it was basically made up of pirates who had privateer licenses and attacked Spanish ships, of which Henry Morgan was even called a British hero. He came to receive the title of Knight from his home country.
British-French War and Privateer
The existence of privateers has changed dramatically due to the political situation surrounding Britain. For example, when the Madrid Treaty was signed between Spain and Britain in 1670, Spanish ships were not subject to private voyages, and after Louis XIV became King of France, the British-French war began. Intensifying, the target of private British ships will change from Spanish ships to French ships.
The pirate Edward Teach, who is famous for Blackbeard, was also a person who participated in the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Anne's War), and the ratio of privateer activities to France is increasing.
American Revolutionary War, French Revolution, Civil War and Privateer
In the American Revolutionary War in the latter half of the 18th century, privateers attacked the American Revolutionary War, and in the flow from the French Revolution to the Napoleonic Wars, France took the lead in supporting privateers, both of which. It had a great impact on the American economy.
In the Civil War, which is said to be the largest civil war in history, the South Army supported privateers and attacked cities in the north.
What I think about privateers
The privateer system came to an end with the 1856 Paris Declaration. As a result, the great powers stopped supporting pirates, and at the 1907 Hague Peace Conference, all armed merchant ships were registered and privateers completely erased their existence.
It can be said that the privateer system is a system that changed the existence of pirates into something different.
Pirates are outlaws whose livelihood is looting, but their actions are justified by the protection of the state.
Privateers, as represented by Drake, hold the fate of the British nation, and their existence remains a hero in history to this day.
This is why the British Empire is said to have been created by pirates.
However, as Britain modernized, it became more difficult to support piracy, and the history of privateers as an institution ended.
The background to this may be that Britain has gained enormous wealth through the Industrial Revolution and imperialism, reducing the need to earn money from pirates.
The "King Shichibukai" that appears in the popular One Piece series is modeled after this privateer, and from the perspective of pirates, it is said that it is nothing more than a government dog.
In fact, as Morgan did, privateers were also involved in their duties to crack down on pirates who did not obey the state's will.
Pirates are loved as free beings, but as represented by Captain Kidd's example, they have been seized for their lives and deaths due to national circumstances.
What is justice and freedom?
I don't think I'm the only one who thinks about that while looking at the pirates who were active in the Caribbean.