Re: Pirate Havens in the GZG-verse

Many "Pirates" started out as "Privateers" and just didn't hear the
latest war had ended (or the next one started) or just went 'rogue' ot
just decided the profit margin was too good to pass up...

On Sun, 26 Oct 2003 00:49:55 +0100 Tim Bancroft
<tim@dragonshome.freeserve.co.uk> writes:
>Laserlight/RBW discussion:
>>>RBW wrote:I'd go for planetoid or artificial substitute, with 
>generous
>>>iberty parties (to places that don't mind "freelance merchants" - 
>after
>>>all,you have to sell the loot somewhere, so their existence is 
>something 
>of
>>>a prerequisite for piracy). Keep the ships out of sight...
>
>I think Laserlights comment on the insurance was pretty good - 
>especially 
>given corrupt officials who may want to inflate the "actual" piracy 
>figures.... ;-)
>
>>>>Does anyone know why  Spain never took out Port Royal, or other 
>such
>>>>buccaneer centers?
>>>You can mount a lot more guns and armour on something that doesn't 
>have
>>>to float.
>
>>True but that doesn't explain why Spain never dropped a battalion or 
>two
>>off to deal with the problem.
>
>But given the amount of damage that piracy on this scale actually did, 
>it 
>wasn't worth it given that even if the known center's were destroyed, 
>others would pop up elsewhere: the ships didn't need as much as an FT 
>ship 
>(it may seem obvious but it's a point worth making).  Maybe I'm 
>thinking a 
>bit Machiellellian but it seems better to have some control on what 
>you 
>know than none on what you don't know (though i think I recall a few 
>expeditions to try and suppress some pirate havens).
>
>We should also remember the wars in Europe in which Spain and Portugal 
>were 
>involved at the time: very distracting for European powers as I'm sure 
>the 
>Americans will (happily) tell us! ;-)
>
>Yes, pirates caused some minor havoc at times but it was (IIRC) really 
>the 
>burgeoning Royal Navy which caused the most damage to the pirates in 
>terms 
>of stamping them out - and then not until around 1720-1730.  Wartime, 
>government-sponsored piracy, such as the earlier British raids on 
>Spanish 
>shipping, the (ealier and later) French "guerre du course" and the 
>later 
>American "piracy" did far more damage due to the scale and government 
>support it received.
>
>Tim Bancorft
>

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