Pirates and galleons

A pirate is someone who takes over a ship that does not belong to them. Pirates often sailed in stolen ships across the world’s oceans, stealing other ships’ cargo, then...

History of piracy

As long as people have sailed the oceans, there have been pirates, or sea robbers. Travelling by sea, their goal is to steal cargo and valuable goods, or take hostages, from other...

Spanish treasure fleet

Christopher Columbus, in the service of Spain, first landed in the Americas in 1492. Soon Spanish seamen began to explore the “New World”, beginning with the Caribbean Sea and...

Golden Age of Piracy

The Golden Age of Piracy, which lasted from the 1680s to the 1720s, was a time when thousands of ocean-going ships, especially in the Caribbean Sea or off the Atlantic coast of...

William Kidd

Born in Scotland in around 1645, William Kidd moved to New York, which had been taken over from the Dutch by the English in 1664. After an early career as a seamen, he later became...

Inside a galleon

Galleons were originally built as warships, to escort the convoys of cargo vessels sailing between Spain and the Americas. From about 1600, all treasure from the New World...

Life aboard a galleon

How many men would set sail on a Spanish galleon in the 1500s? On board would be the sailing crew and their commanders, numbering about 80, and soldiers with their officers, about...

Building a galleon

Between the 16th and 18th centuries, Spanish galleons were usually built at a shipyard in northern Spain, close to the port of Bilbao. Nearby grew forests of Bilbao oak, from which...

Sailing a galleon

Both galleons and pirate ships relied solely on the power of the wind to move them forward. The sails were designed to get maximum advantage from the wind. By adjusting the...

Inside a pirate ship

A brigantine was a medium-sized vessel with two masts. Brigantines were favoured by pirates because they were fast and easy to control. They could sail in shallow waters where...

Life aboard a pirate ship

Pirates were better treated, and had more freedoms and rights than “normal” sailors. Many of them became pirates in the first place to escape the brutal treatment they received...

Navigation, 16th–18th centuries

Finding the way across thousands of kilometres of ocean was one of the greatest challenges of any long-distance ocean voyage. For this, the ship's captain relied almost entirely on...

Pirate weapons

A ship's crew under attack from pirates stood little chance against a large force of battle-hardened, well-armed men. Wielding cutlasses, daggers and axes, and firing muskets and...

How pirates attacked

In the 17th century, the Spanish treasure fleet carried gold, silver and jewels from the Americas back to Spain. The loaded Spanish galleons always sailed in convoy, escorted by...

How to defend a pirate attack

When faced with attack by pirates, a ship's commander had three options: he could flee (but a fast pirate ship would almost certainly catch up); he could surrender, and hope the...

Firing a cannon

Several men were needed to fire a cannon on a 16th century ship. First, a loader packed gunpowder into the barrel, followed by the ball. A “sponger” used a long stick called a...

How to survive a storm at sea

Storms are always a risk to any ship at sea—but much more so for small, wooden-built vessels tossed about on mountainous seas 500 years ago. The best way to deal with heavy...

Shipwreck

A pirate ship or galleon could be wrecked in a number of ways, besides being sunk in battle. A ship could become overbalanced by badly loaded cargo. Its top-heavy shape could make...

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