Race and Slavery at Sea

What role(s) did blacks have on pirates ships? How were African-American and African treated by white pirates? What role did pirates play in the transatlantic slave trade –– did they seek to profit from human trafficking or did they oppose it? What was pirates’ attitudes towards slaves?

Kenneth Kinkor, “Black Men Under the Black Flag,” p Pirates were not “simple seaborne thieves,” but “ ‘marginal men’ driven by desperation and rage to vengeful acts of theft and violence against an oppressive and unjust society” Pirates “adopted social mechanisms which can be summarized as libertarian, democratic, federal, egalitarian, fraternal, and communal Pirates “less divided by national, religious, and racial differences than” other Europeans; “this multiculturalism sprang not from idealistic sentiments of the ‘brotherhood of man,’ but from a pragmatic spirit of revolt against common oppressors”

Kinkor Makes His Case, p What are three points that Kinkor makes in order to support his argument?

Kinkor Makes His Case, p What are three points that Kinkor makes in order to support his argument? Black sailors enjoyed the same rights under pirate articles that white sailors did There are numerous examples of black pirates playing leadership roles, not just limited to servile positions. Black sailors were armed Pirates and slaves both felt like “marginal” and oppressed peoples; examples of alliances between slave/maroon communities and pirates Black pirates were captured, tried, and hanged along side white crew members

David Cordingly, “Wooden Legs and Parrots,” pg Disagrees that black pirates were treated as equals or that slaves joined pirate ships to achieve freedom “The pirates shared the same prejudices as other white men in the Western world.”

Cordingly Makes His Case, p What are three points that Cordingly makes in order to support his argument?

Cordingly Makes His Case, p What are three points that Cordingly makes in order to support his argument? Pirates bought and sold African slaves Pirates used slaves to perform menial labor on board their ships Pirates kept slaves as property Slaves did not carry weapons Pirates captured slave ships and even went ashore to steal blacks

Kinkor vs. Cordingly Use a variety of evidence: statements from pirates and their contemporaries; newspapers; court records; statistics; other historians Both agree that there were lots of black pirates Kinkor emphasizes treatment of free black pirates, and downplays the issue of slavery

Another Piece of the Puzzle: Data from the Transatlantic Slave Trade Database