Tortuga  

Tortuga is a small island about six miles off the coast of Hispaniola. Originally claimed by Spain, the French arrived in 1605 and chased the Spanish farmers off.  Escaping the political and social pressures of France, they found a new life in the woods and valleys, hunting the herds of cattle and pigs that had been introduced by the Spanish.  They cooked and dried strips of meat and over open stoves or barbecues in the fashion of the Arawak Indians, and it was the French word for this process, boucaner (meaning to smoke-dry or cure), which gave these wild men the new title of Buccaneers. They would trade the meat to passing ships, along with fresh produce, and so eke out an existence.

Many buccaneers saw themselves as enemies of Spain and would lie in wait for Spanish ships sailing through the area. They would push out in canoes and stealthily board larger vessels.  At first they seized Spanish fishing boats, and then used these to capture ships.  Eventually they had full-sized vessels of their own and began to raid Spanish shipping in earnest and soon built a formidable force.

During the 1630’s, the Spanish tried to rid Hispaniola of buccaneers, and many buccaneers turned to piracy.  Just a few miles away, Tortuga had become a well-fortified haven for fugitives of all nations, and numbers grew steadily.  Eighty percent of all European shipping passed through the Windward and Leeward Passages, so Tortuga was well located to serve as a pirate base.

During the 1680’s, the English Royal Navy made an effort to suppress piracy, which weakened the buccaneer world.  While pirates continued to haunt Tortuga, by 1688 it had ceased to be the favored anchorage of the Caribbean.

The Golden Age of Piracy

Pirates of the Caribbean

Tortuga

Pirate Flags