How did a chain of sparsely populated islands, stalked by earthquakes, hurricanes, and deadly tropical diseases, become the most powerful and prosperous colonies on earth? We trace how bands of adventurers, including pirates and Crusader knights, took advantage of Spain's fragile hold on the Caribbean islands, superior seafaring skills, and the growing slave trade, to build unlikely new societies, while the Irish and African laborers that they forced into service adapted or struck out for freedom. Image: 17th-century drawing of Tortuga, while it was ruled by the "Brethren of the Coast." please become a patron! -- www.patreon.com/user?u=5530632 Inaugural episode of "God Save America," on religion in the United States: https://soundcloud.com/godsaveamerica/0-introduction