North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Blackbeard and Ben Franklin deserve equal billing for founding democracy in the United States and New World.

Pirates practised the same egalitarian principles as the Founding Fathers and displayed pioneering spirit in exploring new territory and meeting the native peoples.

Hollywood really has given Pirates a bum rap with its image of bloodthirsty, one-eyed, peg-legged men who bury treasure and force people to walk the plank, We owe them a little more respect.

Like the American revolutionaries, pirates developed three branches of government with checks and balances. The ship captain was elected, just as the U.S. president; the pirate assembly was comparable to Congress; and the quartermaster resembled a judge in settling shipmate disputes and preventing the captain from overstepping his authority.

Colonists and pirates also were alike in emphasizing written laws, democratic representation and due process. All crew members were allowed to vote, ship charters had to be signed by every man on board, and anyone who lost an eye or a leg was compensated financially.

These ideals grew out of both groups’ frustration at being mistreated by their leaders; the British forced the colonists to quarter troops and pay taxes, and captains on merchant ships beat their shipmen, starved them and paid less than promised.

It’s no wonder that many sailors seized the opportunity to jump ship and search for a better way of life, namely piracy, which offered better food, shorter work shifts and the power of the crew in decision-making.

During the 17th and 18th centuries as these Brethren of the Sea sailed the world’s waterways, plundering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold, silver and other merchandise, shaping the modern world in the process.

Pirates mapped new territory, expanded trade routes, discovered good ports and opened doors with the native peoples. They really helped European nations explore the Americas before Europeans could afford to explore them on their own.

By selling stolen silks, satins, spices and other merchandise in ports and spending their booty in the colonies, pirates created an economic boom, helping struggling settlements and making Port Royale in Jamaica and Charleston, S.C., huge mercantile centres. They didn’t bury their treasure, they spent it, helping colonies survive that couldn’t get the money and supplies they needed from Europe.

Without the infusion of money into the New World from piracy, it is possible that Britain and France may not have been able to catch up with Spain.

Had it not been for pirates, Britain might have had trouble holding onto the American colonies, Pirates decimated the Spanish so badly that Spain finally had to give up some of its American empire just to get pirating to stop.

Native Americans and black slaves oppressed by the Spanish in the Caribbean gave pirates inside information on where to dock ships and find supplies. Slaves fleeing plantations were welcomed on pirate ships, where they shared an equal voice with white sailors.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Do you often re write history? Pirates where thieves plain and simple.

1 Corinthians 6:10

Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.



Do wish to take credit for harboring run away slaves?
Leviticus 25:44-46

Both thy bondmen, and thy bondmaids, which thou shalt have, shall be of the heathen that are round about you; of them shall ye buy bondmen and bondmaids.Moreover of the children of the strangers that do sojourn among you, of them shall ye buy, and of their families that are with you, which they begat in your land: and they shall be your possession.And ye shall take them as an inheritance for your children after you, to inherit them for a possession; they shall be your bondmen for ever: but over your brethren the children of Israel, ye shall not rule one over another with rigour.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Quotes from your http://www.morgothdark.co.uk/Landover/kjv1611.gif do not change the fact that if it had not been for the Pirates your national language today would in all likelihood be Spanish, and the Cat-o-licks would be in charge.

Is not preventing such an outcome something you should feel grateful for?

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Columbus was a dago. He sailed the ships for the inept Spaniards.

Now on to bigger things as long as you are rewriting history, you might as well lay claim to inventing Pasta,1 billion slopes wont mind to much.
Say I bet the Wright brothers where Pirates too. Was Henery Foed a piriate, maybe Thomas Jefferson. Arr, we The Pirates.:lol::lol::lol::lol::pirate::lol:

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Oh I am not rewriting history, just filling in some of the gaps.

The information in my original post was gleaned from travel narratives, court hearings, sermons delivered at pirate hangings and first hand accounts.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

So you want us to believe a pirate about pirates who are known for stealing, raping, pillaging and other assorted atrocities against man kind and a number of small farm animals.:ph34r:

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

I just report the results of a study by the University of Florida

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

So you based this thread on a study from a Liberal Universety. If it did not come from Landover U. Its a lie, just like your pasta god!

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Not to mention drunkenness, whipping each other in public and sodomy.

(those ships didn't have to many women Jo Freddie)

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

No lie, do you own research and you will find out that In 1570's, faced with the bills from his 80,000-man army of occupation in the Netherlands, the cost of his fleet that had won at Lepanto, together with the growing threat of piracy in the open seas reducing his income from his American colonies, Philip II of Spain was forced to accept bankruptcy.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

No, the Spanish parliament forced Philip II to declare bankruptcy because they were over run with feel good FALSE Christians who wanted to fund their failed socialist programs and refused to cut taxes. Philip had foolishly annihilated his Dutch bankers during the Sack of Antwerp and was forced to rely on the Genoese. The Spanish parliament thought they could force the Genoese to eat it because Spain occupied Genoa but the out control Spanish nanny state still needed funding so the Kingdom of Spain was force to resume payments on their loans to secure new ones.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Problems caused by the reduction in the revenue flow from the Americas due to Piracy.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Banks Freddie, banks.

The annual Spanish treasure fleet makes it to Cadiz. Well there there it is in south west Spain. Meanwhile the Spanish Army of the Netherlands in is Belgium That money had to travel from Cadiz, to Madrid, to Genoa over the alps and along the Rhine to Brussels. A bit clumsy don't you think? That's were the bankers come in with their letters of credit. Much easier to take a document across the Alps than a strong box full of gold coins.

It worked well, that's why it was called the Eighty Years War. However the liberals in the Spanish parliament wanted to socialize the Inquisition and create other entitlements so they screwed the hardworking REAL Spanish Genoes bankers. Sure Spanish heretics got gold platted strappedos and oubliette with a view, but what about the hard working REAL Spanish? Pretty soon Spaniards were turning themselves in to the Inquisition to live the easy life and the economy collapsed.

If you think I am making this up, read about it here.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Still does negate the fact that Spanish economy and thus PhilipII was hampered by the reduction in revenue due to piracy, and the weatlth was diverted into the North American colonies (under British rule at the time), directly responsible for the growth of ports like Charleston SC. I accept that this was not the SOLE reason for his bankruptcy, but it was a major contributing factor in it.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Again you miss the point; Spain was going bankrupt from overspending on social entitlements like Nationalized witch burnings and carp fishing quotas. Even all the gold of the Inca and Aztec empires was not enough to pay for that. The Spanish economy was collapsing under massive inflation. The moral of Philip II reign is socialism doesn't work. But those Left Coast elitist from Florida want to cover that up for Obama so they concocted this tale of piracy. Pure revisionism and Jesus pukes when He reads it.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Picked out the relevant parts of you post.

Acknowledging the role of Pirates in the History of the Americas is akin to finding a missing page.

Calling the reign of Philip II socialist is akin replacing a page with one from a script of the three stooges.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Do you deny the Spanish government instituted and ran the Inquisition, burning thousands of heretics and witches? That my friend is socialism. Make no mistake Jo Freddie; Philip II of Spain was no John Galt.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

No that is religious persecution.

Socialism is the stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the control of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

Look, I admit I don't know much about history or Europe (except where the best golf courses are) since I really don't need to. It's worthless and trivial knowledge. If it doesn't happen in America, it doesn't happen at all...I truly believe that.

But, I must admit that brother Bobby-Joe's excellent historical analysis is educational and important. I guess the old saying "History repeats itself" is validated. I had no idea that the proto-Obamunists were in control of Spain during the 16th century and they were 100% responsible for the downfall of the Spanish Empire. The REAL Spanish (to use Bobby-Joe's terms) were the conservatives that made the Spanish Empire great. They built it up over the years using real conservative values like conquest, colonialism, putting minorities and other undesirables in their place, and other family values that we can stand for even today in 21st century America. So, all these hard-working Spaniards create the greatest nation in the world at the time....then the LIEberal socialist proto-Obamunists come along and screw everything up.

Hmm...see an interesting parallel here? I DO! Wake up, America, or the jackbooted Obamunist thugs will wake you up out of your sleep in the middle of the night and drag you and your family off where you will be forced to work in a gulag while your wife and daughters are sent to a "joy division" for horny negro cohorts of Obama.

Re: North American? speak English? Thank a Pirate.
 

They were not, Booby is a little of the mark there to say the least.

And Catholic Zealots who persecuted anyone not of the "church" Is that that America you want? One where the baptist "church" would be unable to exist?

One of those Pirate you need to thank for modern America is Francis Drake. His exploits were legendary, making him a hero to the English but a pirate to the Spaniards to whom he was known as El Draque, 'Draque' being the Spanish pronunciation of 'Drake'. His name in Latin was Franciscus Draco ('Francis the Dragon'). King Philip II was claimed to have offered a reward of 20,000 ducats, the equivalent of about $6.5M today, for his life.

What would the map of Europe look like with out Drake and the other Pirates? Just how powerful would Catholicism be today? It is not just the North Americans that owe a debit to the Pirates, without them the reformation would have been reversed, the Baptist church would not exist, more of us would be speaking Spanish, and no one would be questioning the authority of the Pope.

Look at the sate of the Latin American countries, compare them to your own.