The Pirate History Podcast

In 1502 two Papal Galleys were attacked off the coast of Italy by two Barbary corsairs with fiery red beards. Their attack shook Europe to its core. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we talk about the history of a land, and its native inhabitants. The Mediterranean coast of North Africa and the Berber People. We cover all the big events from 10,000 BCE until 1492. Carthage, Rome, the Vandals, and finally Arabian rule. We talk about Pagan Berbers, Jewish Berbers, Christian Monastic Berbers, and Islamic Berbers. We don't talk about the Zoroastrians. There just isn't time. There is discussion of liberty as a concept and the personification of that ideal. We talk about the role of women in society, how and why empires fall, and what it means to endure. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today we discuss the Jewish population of Jamaica after most of the Catholics left. Then we'll talk about the first of two major figures in world politics that would influence their fate. It's a big picture episode, discussing how the Protestant Reformation, the Ottoman overthrow of the Dracula Dynasty, and an agent of the French king all play into the lives of the twenty Jewish families left on Jamaica. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Jewish Pirates of the West Indies have their roots in the Sephardi Jews of Spain. Today we tell their story from the destruction of the second temple in 70 CE to their arrival on Jamaica in the company of Christopher Columbus. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 1697 France was at war, and had been for almost a decade. French artists, sculptors, dramatists and authors were encouraged to produce works that would bolster French spirits. It was propaganda. One of those authors was a former buccaneer ten years removed from his last pirate voyage, Raveneau de Lussan. His story was filled with everything the French fighting man could want. Valor, bravery, victory, spoils, and the charms of fair maidens. Today we poke holes in that story as the second Pacific Adventure draws to a close. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spring 1687. The pirates in the Pacific had been away from home for more than two years. They longed for Port Royal, or Tortuga, or anywhere they could sleep easy. Before they could return though, they needed one big prize. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In April 1687 everyone in our story arrives at Drake's Isle. The French freebooters, the English corsairs, and a Spanish Naval Squadron sent to destroy them all. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The French privateers in Nicaragua found themselves at the mercy of - and at peace with - the Spanish army outside Leon. They were given orders, from the peace signed by Louis XIV, to attack the enemies of Catholicism. Which they did. Sort of. But starvation, poverty, and a thirst for vengeance led them back to Spanish shores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buccaneers in the pacific were at an impasse. The coast of Nicaragua was preparing an army against them, and they had to get back to sea as quickly as possible. However, what to do once they were back on the water? Today we look at that decision, all while discussing the conquistadors, Medieval manufacturing practices, linguistics, and some disgusting medical details. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

1685 would be a reliable date for the end of the Buccaneer era of the Golden Age of Piracy. For the English pirates in the Pacific, they were fighting the last real buccaneer fight of their careers. However, buccaneering was, traditionally, a French occupation. The English were part timers. After 1685 most of them that chose to continue the trade would do so full time. Only now they wouldn't be privateers or Buccaneers, but outright pirates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices