Study links rise of ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ to 17th-century shipwreck

Researchers studying a shipwreck in the Bahamas might have discovered the fuselage which started the whole reaction towards making the Caribbean a hotbed for pirates.

Indeed the problem got so bad that it translated into several tales where facts were mixed with fiction and ultimately also led to the well-known ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ movie franchise.

According to a report by Allen Exploration, it all began with the sinking of the Spain-bound Nuestra Señora de las Maravillas (Our Lady of Wonders in English) off the Little Bahama Bank on January 4, 1656.

The shallow waters and the absence of stores, and supplies complicated the salvage process for the Spaniards, and over time it attracted several colonial and European speculators.

The researchers propose that a direct line can be drawn between the sinking of the Maravillas , its salvage and the birth of the pirates’ lair of Nassau on the island of New Providence.

The rise of the Pirates of the Caribbean

The Maravillas was carrying cargo worth over $253 thousand (five million pesos) at that point of time, a substantial figure, according to estimates. This does not include the amount of contraband and non-declared items which might have been stocked aboard without declaration.

The 891-ton, two-deck Maravillas was heavily salvaged by Spanish wreckers almost immediately after sinking.

English and colonial American crews subsequently fished for unrecovered treasure in the early 1680s. Overall, the shipwreck was salvaged at least 21 times between 1656 and 1683, according to the report.

However, more and more people started to flock in the New Providence island in hopes of discovering some gold, silver, or other worthy items from the wrecks. This ultimately led to the whole ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ story.

The situation had turned so bad that in January 1684 “the Spanish attacked New Providence to prevent salvors from using Charles Town, later renamed Nassau, as a rendezvous base for hunting the Maravillas’ silver.”

Almost a decade later, in 1694, the term pirates was used for those were still trying to salvage goods from the shipwreck .

The problem worsens before it’s solved

According to the report , the rebuilding of Charles Town in 1695 and its re-naming as Nassau did little to stop the problem from worsening.

In fact, the number of people who wanted to make a living out of salvaging goods from the shipwreck blew up significantly. Even the appointment of a new governor did little to change the fortunes of the place.

It had turned into a hotbed for piracy and stealing, and most of the inhabitants relied on dealings with pirates to make a living. They also turned to running ships ashore and then plundering them for wealth.

The pirates of the Caribbean had an unopposed run in the region for a long time, over two decades.

“The threat of The Bahamas’ pirates and wreckers was temporarily crushed in October 1703 when French and Spanish forces sacked Nassau, plundered the town, spiked the cannon, killed many people and seized prisoners,” the report says.

However, this continued even till much later, and the English sent English ex-privateer and slave trader Captain Woodes Rogers to New Providence in 1718 in the hopes of quelling the problem once and for all.

This tough decision largely put an end to the pirate problem in the region around New Providence. In the long run, it also put an end to the tales surrounding the sinking of the Maravillas and the enormous wealth it carried which could be salvaged off the wreck.