Pirates and Shipwrecks: The Connection That Changed History
A New Link in the Chain of Events
NASSAU, Bahamas, CMC—New historical research into one of the world’s richest treasure galleons, the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas, which was wrecked on January 4, 1656, has discovered a link between the wreck and the rise of the notorious pirates of the Caribbean.
The researchers say the link has placed the port town of Nassau on the island of New Providence.
“The Maravillas means different things to many people. To 17th-century Spain, it was a heavy financial hit and personal tragedy. To AllenX, it’s a treasure chest of scientific knowledge. But 300 years ago, to the pirates of the Caribbean, it was a chance for a generation to get rich quickly,” Carl Allen, the director of Allen Exploration, told the Caribbean Media Corporation (CMC).
In the 1710s and 1720s, the pirate republic of Nassau was home to Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Calico Sam Rackham, Stede Bonnet, Black Sam Bellamy, Anny Bonny, Mary Read, and the Flying Gang. Nassau was where pirate expeditions were planned, loot was brought back to, divided among crews, and sold.
Previous studies were convinced that the pirates settled in Nassau to use New Providence as a convenient launchpad to plunder the Spanish treasure fleet wrecked off southeast Florida in 1715.
In the new historical study by Allen Exploration, licensed by the Bahamas government to explore the Maravillas off the western Little Bahama Bank, the team discovered proof that it was the salvors’ need for supplies while diving for treasure on the Maravillas that led to Nassau’s development and the rise of Nassau as a lawless town for pirates.
The AllenX team has examined historical evidence that reveals how in 1682, at least 33 years before the 1715 Spanish fleet sank, Sir Thomas Lynch, the governor of Jamaica, described Nassau as “peopled by men who are intent rather on pillaging Spanish wrecks than planting.”
Nassau’s governor, Robert Clarke, was even arrested in 1682 for selling illegal commissions to pirates to prey on Spanish shipping and settlements.
“Early pioneers to New Providence found the soils rocky and barren,” says Dr Michael Pateman, the Director of The Bahamas Maritime Museum and Ambassador for History, Culture & Museology in The Bahamas.
“Unlike the fertile plantations of Jamaica and Barbados, it wasn’t going to grow profitable sugar, tobacco, or coffee. The answer to making big bucks was the sea. At the heart of a major maritime crossroads between the Americas and Europe, the Bahamas was a ‘Bermuda Triangle’ for the wrecking of ships. And wrecks attracted salvors with dubious intentions,” he added.
By 1684, Spanish authorities knew the people of Nassau as pirates. The British were also familiar with New Providence as “the only settled place by the English where the vessels and the men that come to recover the Spanish wrecks in the Bahamas are refreshed” and recover “a considerable treasure out of the deep in ‘pigs and sows of silver’…”
Conclusion:
The discovery of the link between the wreck of the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas and the rise of the pirates of the Caribbean is a significant one. It shows that the salvage of the wreck led to the development of Nassau as a lawless town, which in turn enabled the pirates to operate and thrive.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What was the Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas?
A: The Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas was a Spanish treasure galleon that was wrecked on January 4, 1656.
Q: Who were the pirates that operated in Nassau during the 1710s and 1720s?
A: The pirates that operated in Nassau during the 1710s and 1720s included Benjamin Hornigold, Blackbeard, Calico Sam Rackham, Stede Bonnet, Black Sam Bellamy, Anny Bonny, Mary Read, and the Flying Gang.
Q: What was the significance of the Maravillas wreck?
A: The significance of the Maravillas wreck was that it provided a source of treasure and riches that attracted salvors and pirates, which in turn led to the development of Nassau as a lawless town.