Despite the fact that pirate fishing belongs more to past times, in places where it was a popular activity, remember the glorious past and carefully preserve the history of the brave pirates, and sometimes even make up great travelling spots.
Puerto Rico
In total of some 200 years ago the island and surrounding waters were hosted by the pirate named Roberto Corfesi. As usual, the popular rumor attributes to his status as a local Robin Hood, who distributed the treasures among the poor and children of the island. However, they say that we wasn’t distributing all of it, but most of it he stashed in a safe place, but so good that even his numerous descendants still cannot find this wealth. And Roberto Corfesi ascribes the glory of being the creator of the cocktail “Pina Colada”, which he was giving his pirates to get the fighting spirit.
Barbary Coast
It is so for several centuries, from XV to XIX, the Europeans called the northern coast of Africa, where Muslim pirates were based. The most famous of them was Khair ad-Din Barbarossa, who not only successfully plundered the Spanish ships, but excellently defended Algiers from the Spanish conquerors. In his old age, amassing a decent amount of wealth and earning the status of “emir of emirs” among his exploits, Barbarossa settled in Istanbul, built himself a palace on the Bosporus and married a young beautiful woman. He died quietly in his bed, and was buried in a mosque built by himself. And yet for decades the Turkish ships came out of the Golden Horn Bay, saluting in front of his mausoleum, where his whole team was praying for the well-known explorer and powerful pirate.
Madagascar, The island of Sainte Marie
At the end of the XVII century, when many of the pirates had to move from the Caribbean to the Indian Ocean, they made a tiny island near Madagascar, its capital. The main preys of pirates in those places were overseas spices. Invasion of the pirates were so important, and local women were so susceptible to velvet jackets that after only a couple of centuries on the island formed a new tribe “Zanamalata”, which consisted entirely of pirat descendants. Moreover, the tribe was making an elite in the island. For example, the son of a famous pirate, Thomas White and the local queen Raheny even received their education in London. What, however, did not prevent him in future to go in the footsteps of his father and raided not only on the Comoro Islands, but also in possession of living nearby his colleagues. They say that the beaches of the island infested pirate treasures to such an extent that the natives regularly find different types of gems and coins from the fuzzy surface of the beach.
New Providence, Bahamas
Many Spanish ships, carrying home the silver, were getting robbed in the Andes or were getting sunk by all of their dwellings in the Bahamas and the reason for all of this were the pirates. By the way, here the most outraged pirate was Edward Teach (Blackbeard), which served as the prototype for Captain Flint in the Stevenson’s novel “Treasure Island”. The small town of Nassau on the island of New Providence was a major pirate base and has prospered by selling loot. The governor of the island is also fairly enriched in the bribes received from the pirates. In 1717, this state of affairs of England got sick and a new governor was sent here (also a former pirate), who for 10 years coped with pirates, but at the same time wasted the island’s economy.
Cuba
Liberty Island can be called a pirate stronghold, even though swampy thicket in south of the island regularly hid the filibusters. On the contrary, despite the fact that a neighborhood infested with pirates, Cuba, its capital Havana remained impregnable fortress, a transit point where the treasure of the laden ships stopped in front of a long and perilous voyage home. In the vicinity of the island had sunk so many ships that, they say, the ocean is still sometimes on the shore of silver ingots from buried at the bottom of the Spanish galleons. Especially famous is the little town of Matanzas, where at the beginning of XVII century the fleet of the Treasury King of Spain sank.
The coast of Southern China
At the beginning of the XIX century on the southern coast of China dominated a female pirate Ching Shih, who is considered to be one of the most successful filibusters of the world .Prior to herpirate career, Madame Ching worked as a prostitute in a Chinese brothel, where she met with the most famous pirate in China, Zheng Yi, whom she later married. In the heyday under her command were 2,000 ships. 400 of which she inherited from her husband drowned, and the rest were captured already under her command. In 1810, when Chinese authorities began in earnest for the pirates, Zheng Shi was able to reach a peace agreement with them, settled in Guangzhou, opened a brothel and happily lived to 60 years.
Saint-Malo, Brittany, France
Inspired by the VI century as a monastic cloister, to the XVI century the town became a refuge of pirates of all stripes. From there they made their raids on British ships, floating on the Channel, and contributed to the prosperity of many cities in the XVII – XVIII centuries. However, only the local filibusters were not limited to Channel, traveling from their home town in raids around the world. The island has been formed a whole pirate dynasty, and the head of one of them, Robert Surcouf, a monument to whom stands on one of the central squares. Last year, more than once peeled bay, just opposite the island, archaeologists have discovered a rich treasure, located on the four sunken pirate ships. And now scientists are scratching their heads, what could cause a death in such a friendly place.
Malacca Strait
A thin strip of water between Malaysia and Sumatra have long served as the main channel for trans-shipment between the Indian and Pacific Ocean. Pirates have always been here and in our times, they have not gone away: robbing the trading ships and small yachts. But this is not enough if the actions of thefilibusters can be predicted, the tricks of nature do not lend themselves to any forecasts. Malacca Strait is the second in the Bermuda Triangle, many ships and planes lost here for no apparent reason. Through acts of higher powers, at the bottom of the strait is more than 200 ships with the treasure, which turns out to get more than they are worth. However, enterprising locals know a few places where ships sank in shallow water, and for a small fee to show their divers.
