Piracy

Dutch versus Spain/Portugal–the Colonial War

Piracy 12 Min Read

The Dutch were particularly fond of privateers. Piet Heyn amazingly captured the whole of the Spanish treasure fleet – complete with gold and silver booty from its American colonies – during the Battle in the Bay of Matanzas in September 1628. Heyn became a folk hero and part of a Golden Age of Dutch enterprise, which saw an expanding commercial…

Newsletter

Get the latest from Weapons and Warfare right to your inbox.

Follow Us

Most Recent

Piracy 36 Min Read

Privateers and Navies versus Merchants

“USS Bon Homme Richard vs. HMS Serapis on 23 September 1779,” by Anton Otto Fischer After the declaration of war by the French, matters grew worse increasing the losses of ship-owners, freighters and consignees. The Lydia, Captain Dean, from Jamaica to Liverpool, serves as an example, for she was seized,…

British Piracy 24 Min Read

Henry VI: Resurgence of Piracy I

The unusually peaceful conditions in the Channel left by Henry V were the result of English control of both shores, combined with the essential support of the Count of Flanders (otherwise known as the Duke of Burgundy) and a series of truces made with the other countries whose merchants used…

British Piracy 24 Min Read

Henry VI: Resurgence of Piracy II

Conjectural sketch of a balinger (C) Ian Friel 2015. Balinger: During the 14th–16th centuries, a class of clinker-built, oared ship, with a single mast and sail. Originating in the Basque whaling industry, its design migrated to England where balingers were used in war and trade, displacing English galleys from local…

Biography Piracy 4 Min Read

Queen Sayyida al Hurra

Sayyida al Hurra (1485-1561) Born in the Muslim kingdom of Granada in the Iberian peninsula, she fleet to North Africa after the christian conquest. She governed the state city of Tetouan and became the leader of pirates in the western Mediterranean, wreaking havoc on Spanish and Portuguese shipping lines. By…

British Piracy Warship 29 Min Read

HMS Kingfisher (1675)

The Action of the Kingfisher with Seven Algerine Ships, 22 May 1681 under command of Captain Morgan Kempthorne. She was specially designed to counter the attacks of Algerine corsairs, or pirates, in the Mediterranean by masquerading as a merchantman, which she achieved by hiding her armament behind false bulkheads. She…

Piracy 21 Min Read

British Piracy

During the 1590s there were an average of 14 English expeditions to the Caribbean every year, with as many as 25 in 1598. That led by Francis Drake and John Hawkins in 1595- 96, aimed at San Juan de Puerto Rico and Panama, was the largest, comprising 27 ships, 1,500…

Most Popular

The Panzer Divisions

The military historian Matthew Cooper described the German Panzer arm of service as: ‘a failure.…

Piracy in the Indian Ocean

Historians have been particularly interested in the fact that on two occasions during our period…

Robert Surcouf, ‘le Roi de Corsaires’

Capture of Kent by Confiance. Painting by Ambroise Louis Garneray. Robert Surcouf had made his…

Henry VI: Resurgence of Piracy II

Conjectural sketch of a balinger (C) Ian Friel 2015. Balinger: During the 14th–16th centuries, a…