Pirates in Russian history (6 photos). Real pirates: what they were Pirates of the 17th century

The golden age of piracy is a short period from 1650 to 1720, when the stereotypical image of a dashing sea robber was formed. A period filled with special romance for us and fear for those who are not lucky enough to be on the other side of the pirate's sword.

How it was?

Despite the fact that the first pirates began to rob even before the construction of the Egyptian pyramids (14th century BC), the heyday of the era, as we can see, came much later (17-18 centuries). What influenced it?

Let's go back to history. 16-18 centuries - the time of sea voyages and geographical discoveries, and the struggle for colonies. The competition between England and Spain was especially fierce. Not surprisingly, there were frequent skirmishes on the water, especially in the Caribbean. In the 17th century, the religious wars in Europe ended, which contributed to maritime trade. The seas-oceans again began to plow ships with valuable cargo, which could not go unnoticed by many lovers of easy money.

The golden age is divided into 3 periods:

1. Buccaneers (1650-1690)

The term buccaneers originally referred to French hunters who lived in Haiti in the early 17th century. In the 1930s they were expelled to Tortuga, where the British also joined them. The Spaniards were not happy about this: there were constant conflicts between these European states because of their colonies. Not surprisingly, this led to skirmishes. Moreover, London supported the buccaneers by providing them with letters of marque - special documents allowing them to attack enemy ships. However, already at the end of this century, the government abandoned such tactics, and the buccaneers, who lost support, were forced to stop their activities.

2. Pirate circle (1693-1700)

The English government wasn't the only one who got fed up with the buccaneers (the hurt Spaniards don't count). The activities of the pirates did not find a positive response from the Caribbean authorities either, which forced the pirates to seek adventure outside the Caribbean. The standard route started in the western Atlantic, then skirted Africa and moved towards Yemen or with a stop in Madagascar. The ships of the East India Trading Company, as well as the Muslims, had a particularly hard time at that time. According to some reports, this route operated until 1728, and its decline was influenced by the activities of local Indian pirates and enhanced ship security.

3. Rise and fall

The heyday of the pirate era occurred in 1713, when the Treaty of Utrecht was concluded. Thus ended the War of the Spanish Succession, which left many highly skilled sailors out of work.

Nevertheless, the rapid growth in the number of pirates did not go unnoticed. The authorities began to intensively deal with the problem, creating anti-piracy troops. And soon there was almost nothing left of the former greatness of the sea robbers.

Many legendary pirates, which became the prototypes of heroes and films, acted precisely in the Golden Age of piracy.

Bartholomew Roberts

A goldfinch pirate whose constant good fortune caused not only envy, but also sincere amazement. In addition to the fact that in 2 and a half years he managed to capture about five hundred ships, Roberts is also interesting for his life story. He became a captain after he first fell into the slavery of pirates.

Henry Morgan

Not just a pirate, but also a politician: it was he who helped England control the Caribbean. Like Mr. Roberts, Henry was also originally a slave. But unlike him, Henry did not suffer from abstinence from alcohol: he was inseparable from a bottle of rum until the very end.

Mary Reid

Despite limited rights, female pirates also met: Mary had to pretend to be a man named Mark. Nevertheless, she met her own in the cavalry, but soon Mary's husband died. The girl went to the sailors, and then got to the pirates.

What piracy attributes were formed in the Golden Age of Piracy?

Flags

The Jolly Roger appeared in the early 18th century. Prior to this, the pirates sailed under false banners, trying to gain the trust of the captains of ships passing nearby. During the Golden Age, the flag helped to instill fear in potential victims who, at the sight of the flag, surrendered without a fight.

parrots

Parrots were frequent guests on ships, but these smart birds acted more as goods than friends.

Cloth

When thinking about a pirate attire, images of sea robbers from your favorite children's books and films will certainly arise in your head. For example, long camisoles, satin pants, black cocked hats. Such associations arise precisely because of the Golden Age. The pirates of that time were still “fashionistas”, and the notorious Bartholomew Roberts was the icon of the pirate style. It is clear that satin, velvet and feathers in a hat are not the most practical things in battle. Therefore, ordinary pirates were a little more modest.

Hooks and wooden legs

Piracy is hard work. If you get carried away, it is easy to lose your limb. Captain Hook from Peter Pan and John Silver from Treasure Island played an important role in the formation of the image of armless or legless pirates.

Sea piracy appeared simultaneously with navigation and maritime trade, all coastal tribes who mastered the basics of navigation were engaged in piracy.
Pirates are sea robbers who robbed the ships of all countries and peoples.
Warships of all countries were required to prosecute pirate ships, and captured pirates were tried up to and including the death penalty.
Piracy (from the Greek "peirates" - a robber, a pirate)
In addition to pirates who carried out sea robbery at their own peril and risk, who could be hung on a yardarm during capture, there were also privateers (from German - caper), corsairs (from French - corsaire), privateers (from English - privateer), filibusters (from the English freebooter- “free earner”), etc.
But these were private individuals, lovers of adventure and profit, seizing or robbing on their armed ship the merchant ships of the enemy, and often neutral countries, having the permission or patent of the supreme authority of the state they were hired to serve.

French privateering patent
Corsair Antonio Bollo February 27, 1809

But in essence, they all carried out the same sea robbery as the pirates.
The state not only issued a patent to privateers for conducting this robbery, but also took a pledge from them to pay compensation to victims of illegal marques.
Formally, privateers had to comply with all the customs of naval warfare and deliver all captured ships (prizes) to the ports of the state that issued the patent, where the maritime court considered the legality of the seizure.
But such procedures were performed extremely rarely in the 18th century, and not even because of the evil will of the corsairs, but simply often because of the complexity of such a procedure.
Historically, privateering is considered to have ended in the second half of the 19th century, when the Paris Maritime Declaration on 16 April 1856 declared privateering abolished.
All states joined it except for Spain, the USA, Mexico, Bolivia, and Venezuela.
The Military Encyclopedia, published in Petrograd in 1915, says:
"Piracy is a sea robbery committed by private individuals, on a private initiative and with a mercenary purpose, against someone else's property."
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (GSE) provides a broader definition of piracy:
“Piracy is the illegal seizure, robbery or sinking of commercial or other civil ships, committed on the high seas by privately owned or government ships.”
But at the same time, historians note that piracy rendered great services to the art of navigation.
Pirates were in many ways its pioneers, venturing into seas where merchant ships had not yet ventured. In shipbuilding technology and especially equipment, they also often went ahead of their time, because. the success of a risky craft depended most of all on the speed and good management of the ships.
Greek myths sometimes simply deify the pirates of the Mediterranean Sea, attributing to them a higher culture, useful inventions, and the founding of various cities and colonies.
Historically, the attack during the war of ships, submarines and military aircraft on merchant ships of neutral countries is also equated with piracy.
According to written and unwritten maritime laws, a military or privateer ship, having sunk a merchant ship, was obliged to take on board the crew and passengers. Otherwise, the ship was declared pirated, and the commander and his crew were subject to a military court.
But at the beginning of the 20th century, this rule of law became almost an anachronism - neither submarines nor surface ships almost ever rescued people from sunken ships.

During the First and Second World Wars, England and the United States considered any actions of German ships against merchant ships to be piracy.
But this did not prevent the American submariners themselves from sinking, allegedly by “mistake”, Soviet merchant ships - the ships of their allies in World War II.
For the period 1941 - 1945. American submarines, operating in the Sea of ​​Japan and the Pacific Ocean, torpedoed and sank 6 Soviet cargo ships and 1 fishing trawler. At the same time, 128 Soviet citizens who were on board at the time of the sinking died, including 21 women and 3 children.
Among other things, the cargo steamer Transbalt was sunk, which became the last victim of the Second World War among the ships of the USSR Marine Fleet. It was the largest ship in the Soviet transport fleet, its deadweight (carrying capacity) was 21,400 tons. Its length was 152 m.
About American submarine pirates who acted on the principle of “sink them all” (“Sink’em all”) was described in the article “Sea Pirates of the 20th Century” posted on my blog.
Everything related to sea pirates (privateers, corsairs) of the Middle Ages in books and movies is fanned with a halo of romance and mystery. Many of us have read the novels of Stevenson, Sabatini, Jules Verne and others since childhood.
We smile at the words: “Piastres, piastres…! Billy Bones, black mark…!”
A huge number of films have been made about pirates. Only we, starting from 1937, had three adaptations of R. Stevenson's novel Treasure Island.
And who does not know the famous song by Y. Vizbor to the words of G. Lepsky and P. Kogan:
“... Tired of talking and arguing .... In the filibuster far blue sea, the brigantine raises sails ... Jolly Roger beats in the wind, the people of Flint sing a hymn to the seas ....”, (Captain John Flint, as we remember, is the captain of the pirate ship "Walrus" from Stevenson's novel " Treasure Island").
And now there are films like “Pirates of the Caribbean” on TV, etc.

The 17th century is the golden age of piracy.
The English “gentlemen of fortune” gained the greatest fame and many of them became well-known historical figures: Edward Teach - the captain of the Blackbeard, Henry Morgan - the king of the pirates, Steed Bunnet, etc.
Some of them, such as Francis Drake, who also became a famous navigator, enjoyed the patronage of the English Queen Elizabeth I.
Queen Elizabeth was very pleased with Drake's plan to attack the Spanish colonies in America. He received government funding and even the Queen's personal money for the event.
As a result of pirate robbery, the English treasury received a huge profit.
F. Drake was given the rank of rear admiral, he became a national hero, who was applauded by all of England. The pinnacle of honors was the solemn ceremony held on board the Golden Hind, the flagship of F. Drake, when Elizabeth I, putting her sword on the shoulder of the kneeling Francis Drake, elevated him to knighthood.
Pirate Henry Morgan was appointed lieutenant governor of Jamaica and commander in chief of her fleet.
At the end of the 18th century, several hundred ships, sailing under the English flag, were engaged in privatization, otherwise legalized piracy.


A copy of the galleon "Golden Doe" - the flagship
F. Drake in Brixham (England)

But we used to think that sea pirates were somewhere far away, in England, the Caribbean, the Mediterranean, etc., more precisely, in the far abroad, and Russia has never had sea piracy.
But the "Military Encyclopedia" of 1915, speaking mainly about foreign pirates, still mentions our domestic pirates:
- “The Turks, not without reason, accused Russia of encouraging the sea robbery of the Don and Dnieper Cossacks. The piracy of the Cossacks was stopped under Catherine II.

It turns out that we were not white and fluffy in relation to piracy, and in our history there is sea and river piracy.

Let's take a look at our history.
The first Russian sea pirate (privateer) was the Dane Carsten Rode, hired for this service by Tsar Ivan the Terrible (John IV).
The Russian state was in dire need of access to the Baltic Sea. After all, overseas merchants at that time were forced to get to Muscovy by circuitous routes - around Scandinavia, in the Barents Sea.
Understanding this, Tsar Ivan the Terrible, apparently, as historians say, started a war against the Livonian Order. In 1558, Russian troops captured Narva, which soon turned into a large port.
Now merchants could carry their goods by a shorter route, but this route was not safe either.
Polish and Swedish pirates robbed merchant ships no less than the Caribbean filibusters known by that time. And Ivan the Terrible did not have his own fleet to protect the merchant ships.
In order to protect merchant ships, Ivan the Terrible decided to form his own privateer fleet.
And one of the first who responded to the call of the king was a professional corsair Carsten Rode.
He received from Ivan the Terrible a letter of commendation, a letter of marque dated March 30, 1570.
This charter, which is now kept in the archives in Copenhagen, pointed out the need to protect maritime trade from Polish privateers, who “by robbery custom break ships, rob goods and block the way for merchants from many lands to our state.”

Maybe it looked like this
Carsten Rode - the first Russian privateer

At first, a ship was bought and equipped with cannons for the royal privateer.
He undertook to transfer to the treasury every third captured ship. But Carsten Rode succeeded and quickly expanded his flotilla, taking about 20 ships from his rivals and enemies.
The crews of the ships were replenished with the gunners of the Moscow order and the Arkhangelsk Pomors.
The Rode squadron, acting in the interests of the Russian Tsar, became the master in the Gulf of Finland.
Despite the fact that the squadron under his leadership was strong enough, soon the source of Russian support dried up - Russia lost the Livonian War, and the Rode fleet was left to fend for itself.
The Polish king Sigismund forced the Danish king to arrest Rode for piracy. He was captured and placed in a castle.
But after some time, Ivan the Terrible remembered his pirate and in 1576 sent a message to the Danish king, which said:
- “For five years or more, we sent Karsten Rode to the sea on ships with military people for the robbers who smashed our guests from Gdansk to the sea. And that Karsten Rode smashed those robbers at sea, caught 22 ships, and he came to Bornholm and then the people of the Svei king moved out of him. And those ships that he caught, and our ships were caught from him, and the price of those ships and goods is five hundred thousand efimki. And that Carsten Rode, hoping for our agreement with Frederick, fled from the Svei people to Kopnogov (Copenhagen -sad39). And Frederick the king ordered him to be caught and put in prison. And we were quite surprised by that.”

So even Tsar Ivan the Terrible tried to “cut a window” to Europe. And as you can see, he “cut through”, although it may not be a window, but just a window, but with the defeat of Russia in the Livonian War, it quickly slammed shut and the story of the first Russian pirate also ended.

Russia again resorted to the services of privateers under Peter I, during the Great Northern War.
By a Senate decree of 1716, passports were issued to lieutenant Ladyzhensky and second lieutenant Laurens Berlogen in order to “private” Swedish ships on shnyavs “Natalya” and “Diana”.
The same decree determined the order of division of prizes, and a significant percentage - 62% - was determined in favor of the treasury.

In the 17th century, in the south of the Russian state, piracy acquired a completely different shade - Cossack.
In Rus', Cossacks began to be called people without a specific occupation and place of residence, “free”, walking.
Although the word "Cossack" was first registered at the end of the 14th century in the north of Rus', historians still consider the southern steppe outskirts of Moscow Rus' and Ukraine, adjacent to the waters of the Volga, Dnieper, Don, Ural, Caspian, Azov and Black seas, to be the original homeland of the Cossacks.
Fugitive serfs, military deserters and criminals fleeing justice were intensively flocking to the southern borders of Russia. They joined the Cossacks or created their own detachments, which for a long time brought real horror to merchant ships in the Black and Caspian Seas.
On the part of Russia, Turkey, the Crimean Khanate, Persia, many attempts were made to curb this piracy - the “thieves' Cossack freemen”, but they were of little success.
The fortresses of Kara-Kermen (now Ochakov), Azov, Astrakhan and others were erected at the mouths of the rivers, the rivers were blocked with thick chains, a coast guard was created, demonstrative executions of the caught “gentlemen of fortune” were organized, but piracy continued.
The Cossacks learned to bypass the obstacles they created, using the portage for their small ships - “gulls”, the fortress cities bypassed along small channels, etc.

Cossack "gull"

The French engineer Beauplan, who visited the Cossacks, described these gulls as follows:
- “The basis is a willow or linden boat 45 feet (13.7 m) long, boards are stuffed on it from boards so that a boat is 60 feet (18.3 m) long, 10-12 feet (3-3, 7 m) width and the same depth.
Around the prow is surrounded by a roller of densely and tightly tied bundles of reeds. Then they arrange two rudders, behind and in front, put a mast for a sail and 10-12 oars on each side. There is no deck in the boat, and when it is agitated, it is completely filled with water, but the mentioned reed roller does not allow it to sink.
Within two to three weeks, 5-6 thousand Cossacks can produce from 80 to 100 such boats.
Each boat carries 50-70 people. 4-6 small cannons are fixed on the sides of the boat. Each boat has a quadrant (to determine the direction of the path). In barrels of provisions - crackers, millet, flour.
Equipped in this way, they sail along the Dnieper; in front of the ataman with a flag on the mast. The boats are so close that they almost touch each other.
At the mouth of the Dnieper, the Turks usually keep their galleys so as not to miss the Cossacks, but the latter choose a dark night during the new moon and sneak through the reed thickets.
If the Turks notice them, a commotion begins throughout all the lands, as far as Constantinople itself; the sultan sends out messengers to the coastal areas, warning the population, but this does not help much, since after 36-40 hours the Cossacks are already in Anatolia (on the coast of Asia Minor).
Landing on the coast, they attack cities, conquer them, rob them, burn them, moving away from the coast for a whole mile, and return home with booty.
If they happen to meet galleys or other ships, they do this:
Their seagulls rise above the water only 2.5 feet (0.75 m), so they always notice the enemy ship before they notice them ...
The enemies see how they are suddenly surrounded by 80-100 boats, the Cossacks quickly fill and capture the ship. Having taken possession of it, they take away money and things, also guns and everything that is not afraid of water, and the ships themselves, together with people, sink.
And here is what the Dominican abbot Emilio Asconi, who visited the Crimea in 1634, wrote:
- “Up to 30, 40 and 50 boats descend annually into the sea and in battle cause such cruel harm that the shores of the Black Sea became completely uninhabited, with the exception of a few places protected by fortresses.
At sea, no ship, no matter how large and well armed, is safe if, unfortunately, she meets seagulls, especially in calm weather. The Cossacks are so brave that not only with equal strength, but even with twenty seagulls, they are not afraid of the thirty galleys of the padishah.

Here are just a few examples of these pirate raids:

In the summer of 1614, up to two thousand Zaporizhzhya Cossacks undertook a campaign against the Black Sea and moved to the shores of Asia Minor (Anatolia), to Sinop, where they destroyed the castle, cut the garrison, plundered the arsenal, burned several mosques, houses and ships standing at the pier, massacred many Muslims, freed all Christian slaves and left the city;
- In May 1616, over two thousand Cossacks and Donets went to sea.
In the Dnieper-Bug estuary, they attacked Ali Pasha's squadron. The Turks were defeated, and fifteen galleys became the prey of the Cossacks;
- In 1623, the chieftain of the Don, Isai Martemyanov, led a campaign on the coast of Crimea and Turkey. 30 Don plows, with more than 1000 Don Cossacks, ravaged the coast of Crimea and Taman;
- In the spring of 1622, a detachment of the Cossacks, together with the Don people, moved on plows down the Don. At the mouth of the Don, the Cossacks attacked a Turkish caravan and captured three ships. Then the Cossacks robbed the Tatars in the Baliklei (Balaklava) region, “walked” near Trebizond and, not reaching 40 kilometers to Istanbul, turned back. On the way back, they were intercepted by a Turkish squadron of 16 galleys. 400 Cossacks died in the battle, while the rest returned safely to the Don;
- In June 1624, about 150 gulls again broke into the Black Sea, three weeks later the Cossack gulls entered the Bosporus and moved to Constantinople. The Turks blocked the Golden Horn Bay with an iron chain made by the Byzantines. The Cossacks burned several Turkish settlements and then sailed back;
- In 1625, 15 thousand Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks on 300 gulls from the Sea of ​​Azov entered the Black Sea and moved to Sinop. Each seagull carried 3-4 falconets. 43 Turkish galleys under the command of Redshid Pasha entered the battle with them. At first, the Cossacks prevailed, but then they failed.
270 seagulls were sunk, and 780 Cossacks were captured. Some of them were executed, and some were sent to the galleys forever;
- In 1628, the Don Cossacks captured Balaklava, then climbed into the mountains and attacked the city of Karasubazar. The Crimean Khan wrote a denunciation to Moscow:
- “The Cossacks fought their Crimean uluses and burned the villages and burned the city of Karasubazar (now Belogorsk - sad39), and now the Cossacks stand in the Crimean uluses and repair shkodas to people”;
- In 1631, one and a half thousand Donets and Cossacks landed in the Crimea in the Akhtiar Bay, the future Sevastopol, and moved deep into the peninsula. In Chersonese they set up their base, from which they raided and devastated the surroundings. But then they went back, plundering farewell Inkerman;
- In March 1637, four thousand Cossacks came to the Don. Three thousand Donets joined them, and together they moved to Azov. Part of the Cossacks sailed on plows, and the cavalry walked along the shore. On April 24, the Cossacks laid siege to Azov. Donets and Cossacks went on the assault.
Azov was taken. All Muslims, including civilians, were killed, Russian slaves were released, and the Greeks who lived in Azov were released.
In Azov, the Cossacks captured 200 Turkish guns. The Don Cossacks remained in Azov, while the Cossacks retired to the Sich with their booty.
Donets offered Muscovy to occupy the fortress with government troops. Even the Zemsky Sobor met on this issue, but for various reasons, Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich refused to accept Azov from the Cossacks.
Then the Don people, having destroyed the fortress and the city to the ground, went to the Don.
Only in 1702 Peter I again took the fortress of Azov from the Turks;
- In 1638, a joint campaign of 1700 Zaporozhye and Don Cossacks on 153 seagulls to the Black Sea ended in their defeat from the Turkish fleet of Kapudan Pasha Radzhab.
Campaigns of the Zaporizhzhya and Don Cossacks for prey took place almost every year.
The piracy of the Zaporozhye Cossacks was stopped only under Catherine II.
On August 3, 1775, Empress Catherine II signed a manifesto "On the destruction of the Zaporizhzhya Sich and its inclusion in the Novorossiysk province"

Piracy on the Volga and the Caspian Sea is also associated with the name of the Cossack chieftain Yermak, the future conqueror of Siberia, and who, like F. Drake in England, became a national hero of Russia.
The chronicle “A Brief Description of the Siberian Land” reports that the Cossacks defeated the royal courts on the Volga and robbed the Kizilbash, that is, Persian ambassadors, after which Tsar Ivan the Terrible sent a governor against them.
Many Cossacks were hanged, while others "like wolves ran away", 500 of them "ran" up the Volga, "there is the elder ataman Ermak in them."

The peak of Russian piracy on the Volga and the Caspian Sea falls on the era that has received the name "razinschiny" in history, that is, in the 60-70s of the 17th century, when the foundations of the Russian and Persian states were shaken by the Cossack freemen.
In 1667, a gang of Don Cossacks, led by ataman Stenka Razin, went "for a walk on the blue sea" in order to get "treasuries as much as needed."
On the Volga, not far from Tsaritsyn, the Razintsy sacked and robbed the caravans of merchant ships with goods belonging to rich Russian merchants, the patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, and even the tsar himself. Numerous caravan guards and those who tried to resist were cut down and hanged.
Off the coast of Azerbaijan in 1669, a naval battle took place between the Cossacks of Razin and the Persian fleet of Meneda Khan. Of the 50 Iranian ships, only three survived. Razin captured the son and daughter of the commander of the Persian fleet.
In terms of the scale of actions in Persia, Stenka Razin clearly surpasses his contemporaries, the English pirates Henry Morgan ......,
Here is how the writer A.N. Sakharov about razintsy:
“The Cossacks walked like a thunderstorm along the seaside, broke into the villages, scattered with whooping and whistling through the houses, chopped with sabers, beat the shah’s soldiers with flails, dragged Persian women from the houses by their long black hair, grabbed carpets, weapons, dishes, fabrics, pushed the prisoners with lances to the plows. men, dressed up in expensive robes on the go, hung gold and pearl necklaces around their necks, put expensive rings on their hardened fingers that did not bend from long rowing.

In the Persian campaign - a classic case of sea piracy, the Razintsy took rich booty and, dressed in brocade and silk (even the sails and ropes on their plows were silk), appeared in Astrakhan, where they "beaten" the tsar.
“... The Cossacks walked through the streets of the city to the enthusiastic cries of the inhabitants. All of them were hung from head to toe with gold and silver jewelry, rings with precious stones sparkled on their fingers, checkers adorned with the same priceless stones, heavy gold chains dangled around their necks, gold-notched pistols stuck out of their belts, and sabers worth A fortune.
Cossacks lived in Astrakhan for ten days. Stenka himself walked the streets and threw gold coins at the people.

Razin handed over to the governors his bunchuk - a sign of power, returned several plows, some of the prisoners, cannons and banners, for which a "merciful royal letter" arrived from Moscow.
But as we know, Stepan Razin did not even think of becoming an obedient subject to the tsar ...
According to historians, he was convinced that since the tsar himself reckoned with him, having sent his “gracious letter”, and the princes-voivodes were afraid of him, he would now be able to raise Cossacks and peasants everywhere throughout the country.
On September 4, 1669, Razin's planes set off up the Volga, which was the beginning of the war with Muscovy - the peasant war of Stepan Razin.
He decided to lead his army to Moscow not “for zipuns”, but for the Monomakh's hat.
But the hat turned out to be not according to Stenka ...., if we slightly change the old Russian proverb - “not according to Senka, the hat”.
On June 6, 1671, on Red Square, Stepan Razin met his fierce execution: he was quartered, and parts of his body were torn apart on stakes in the so-called Zamoskvoretsky Swamp.
And legends, tales and songs about the famous rebel - Stepan Razin remained forever with the Russian people.


IN AND. Surikov: "Stepan Razin".

In July 1762, Catherine II came to the throne.
Our wise ruler understood that sooner or later she would have to fight with Turkey. Preparing for a war with the Ottomans, she turned her gaze to the Mediterranean Sea in order to be able to attack Turkey from there.
Before Catherine II, Russian ships, both military and commercial, were not in the Mediterranean.
And in 1763, the Tula merchant Vladimirov, for no reason at all, organized a joint-stock company with a capital of 90 thousand rubles for trade with the Mediterranean countries.
And Ekaterina herself becomes one of the shareholders of the company and gives her 10 thousand rubles.
On June 4, 1764, a 34-gun frigate was launched, which received the name "Hope of Prosperity",
In the "Bulletin of ships and other vessels" of the Baltic Fleet, dated August 26, 1764, it is said about this frigate:
"…It was built for commerce in the Mediterranean Sea…" (Mediterranean Sea –sad39).
There was a military team on it, "fleet captain Pleshcheev" was appointed commander,
The frigate, with a cargo of iron, linen, ropes, etc., was ordered to sail under the trade flag, which was specifically stipulated in the instructions given by the Admiralty Board to Captain F.S. Pleshcheev.
In December 1764, the Hope of Prosperity arrived in Livorno. The goods were unloaded, and in return a cargo of sandalwood, lead and macaroni was accepted.
On September 12, 1765, the frigate returned safely to Kronstadt.

Thus, the reconnaissance of the Mediterranean was made!

That this was indeed reconnaissance is evidenced by the fact that many officers who took part in the voyage of the "Hope of Prosperity" in 1768–1769 were assigned to the ships of G.A. Spiridov, J. Elphinstone, V.Ya. Chichagov, who soon went to the Mediterranean Sea, and made up the Archipelago expedition.
The experience of the Mediterranean cruise of the frigate was also taken into account in the preparation of the ships of the fleet for the transition to the Archipelago.
For example, with the arrival of the Nadezhda Prosperity in Kronstadt, it turned out that the underwater part of the frigate's outer plating, made of inch-thick boards, was eaten away by worms, and it had to be completely replaced. It was necessary to take this into account for the future, which was done when the preparations for the Archipelago expedition began.
Captain Pleshcheev from January 14 to February 17, 1769, in connection with the preparation of the expedition, performed the duties of a zeichmeister (head of artillery of the fleet and was equated with a rear admiral).
Then he was appointed flag-captain on the flagship of Admiral Spiridov "St. Eustathius"16, but died in the explosion of the ship in the Battle of Chios on June 24, 1770.

On September 25, 1768, the Turkish Sultan Mustafa III ordered the Russian ambassador Alexei Obreskov to be imprisoned in the Seven Towers Castle and war declared on Russia. Moreover, the war is not ordinary, but sacred.
Catherine in every possible way delayed the war, and in 1765-1768. made a number of concessions to the Sultan. However, upon learning of the declaration of war, the empress was furious.
From a letter from Catherine to the ambassador in England, Count I.G. Chernyshev:
“The Turks and the French took it into their heads to wake up the cat who was sleeping; I am this cat who promises to make himself known to them, so that the memory does not disappear soon. I find that we have freed ourselves from the great weight that weighs upon the imagination when we have liberated ourselves from the peace treaty; Thousands of coaxing, deals and empty nonsense were needed to keep the Turks from screaming. Now I am unleashed, I can do everything that my means allow me, and Russia, you know, has rather big means.
Catherine decides to send a squadron to the Mediterranean to attack the Turks from there.
This plan was very risky and looked like a complete gamble.
Turkey simply could not imagine that Russian warships could end up in the Mediterranean.
How can the Russian fleet operate in the Eastern Mediterranean, which has no place to base, repair, where to get food, treat the wounded and sick, etc.?!
What did Catherine hope for in this difficult situation, sending a squadron there?
To the hatred of the peoples conquered by Turkey, especially Greece, languishing under the Turkish yoke from the 15th century to their enslaver, that is, to the rebels, freedom fighters and that they would join Russia in the fight against the Turks ..
With the outbreak of war, Catherine turned to the Balkan Christians with calls for an uprising.
On January 19, 1769, the "Manifesto to the Slavic peoples of the Balkan Peninsula" was published.
It said:
“The porta of the Ottomans, out of ordinary malice towards our Orthodox Church, seeing the efforts used for faith and our law, which we tried in Poland to bring into its advantages approved by the ancient treatises, which at times were forcibly stolen from him, breathing vengeance, despising all the rights of the people and the truth itself, for that only one thing, due to its inherent treachery, destroyed the eternal peace concluded with our empire, started the most unjust, for without any legitimate reason, against us the war, and thereby convinced us now to use the weapon given to us by God ...
Out of jealousy for our Orthodox Christian law and regret for the peoples of our faith suffering in Turkish enslavement, living in the areas mentioned above, we exhort all of them in general, and each in particular, to take advantage of the circumstances of this war that are useful for them to overthrow the yoke and to bring themselves to still in independence, taking up arms where and when it is convenient, against the common enemy of all Christianity, and trying to cause possible harm to him.
The Greek rebels operated not only on land. If on the mainland of Greece the Turkish authorities still managed to control most of the territory, then on the islands the situation was completely different.
As early as the 16th century, the inhabitants of many Greek islands began to trade in piracy, creating dozens of large and small bases on the islands of the Aegean Sea.
The Mediterranean, by the time the ships of the Russian squadron arrived there, was teeming with sea pirates - Greeks, Albanians, Maltese, etc.
Pirate Greek ships, called drafts, hid in every bay. They were long and narrow, like canoes, each 10, 20 or even 30 people armed with a musket and a pistol, rowed with great speed, and made any ship incapable of defense into their legitimate prey.
The vast majority of the population of the islands were Orthodox.
The Russian squadron sent by Catherine to the Eastern Mediterranean included seven ships: Europe, Svyatoslav, St. Eustathius Placis, Three Hierarchs, St. January, Northern Eagle and Three Saints
In addition, the squadron included:
frigate "Hope of Prosperity", 10-gun bombardment ship "Thunder",
four 22-gun kicks (two- or three-masted sailing vessel with oblique Latin or straight sails): Solombala, Lapomink, Saturn and Venus, as well as two packet boats (mail ship) - Flying and Postman.
The squadron was called "sheathed", since the hulls of all its ships were sheathed on the outside with an additional row of oak boards with a lining of sheep's wool so that the underwater part would not be exuded by a sea worm, as happened with the Hope of Well-Being.
The squadron's artillery consisted of 640 guns. In addition to the crew of the ships - 3011 people, there were landing troops on the ships - 8 companies of the Keksholm Infantry Regiment and 2 companies of artillerymen, craftsmen for the repair of ships and artillery, a total of 5582 people.
On July 26, 1769, the squadron under the command of Vice Admiral Spiridov set sail.
Count Alexei Orlov was appointed commander-in-chief of all Russian armed forces (landing troops and navy) in the Mediterranean.
Here is an instruction given by Catherine II to Russian admirals on how to deal with Mediterranean pirates:
“As for the African corsairs in the Mediterranean, leaving Tunisia, Algeria and other places, although they are considered to be in Turkish citizenship, nevertheless, nevertheless, leave them alone on the way, and if only they themselves do not do dirty tricks to you they will, and if again you do not happen to catch them in an attack on any Christian ship, for here, without considering the nation, whatever it may be, you have to beat them and free Christians from captivity, allowing, in other respects, all Christian ships to be protected ours, since they can use it from you on the aisle.
. On October 9, 1769, the 2nd Archipelago Squadron under the command of Rear Admiral D. Elphinstone left Kronstadt.
It consisted of the 66-gun ships Don't Touch Me, Saratov and Tver, the 32-gun frigates Nadezhda and Africa, and three transports.

On February 8, 1770, Spiridov's squadron arrived in the Greek port of Vitullo, on the Maina peninsula. The inhabitants of this peninsula never recognized the power of the Turks over themselves.

By June 11, 1770, all Russian ships of the Archipelago squadron were concentrated near the island of Milos.
Count Alexei Orlov assumed command of the fleet, raising the Kaiser flag on the ship "Three Hierarchs".
And then, as we know, the Turkish fleet was defeated.
The famous battle of Chesme on July 5-7, 1770!
Glory to the Russian fleet!
July 7 is the Day of Military Glory of Russia - the Day of the victory of the Russian fleet over the Turkish fleet in the Battle of Chesme.

In the historical literature, the events of the campaign of the Archipelago squadron in the Mediterranean Sea and the Battle of Chesme were always covered in great detail, and further events were somehow modestly hushed up.
But after all, even after the defeat of the Turkish fleet, the Russian squadron continued to remain in the Mediterranean for four years.
And what did the Russian fleet do in the Archipelago during these four years?

To answer this question, I will turn to A. Shirokorad's book “Russian Corsairs”.

After the Battle of Chesma, there was an attempt to break through the Russian fleet into the Straits, but it was unsuccessful.
Winter was coming - cold and stormy. The capture of any port on mainland Greece was out of the question. We had to take care of the basing of the fleet.

The island of Paros, from the ridge of the Cyclades in the southern part of the Aegean Sea, was chosen as the main base of the Russian fleet.
Only Greek pirates knew the secret of the entrance to the bay of this island, blocked by a large underwater reef and an old flooded embankment. Between the two neighboring islands - Paros and Antiparos - the pirates managed to build an underwater wall with several narrow passages, which they also kept in the strictest confidence.
By the beginning of December 1770, almost all the ships of the Archipelago squadron had gathered there.
By the beginning of 1771, already 27 inhabited islands of the Aegean Sea were occupied by Russians and Greeks, who voluntarily went over to their side, and the population of the islands turned to the squadron command with a request to accept them as subjects of Catherine II.
As A. Shirokorad writes, “in fact, in the Aegean Sea, around the island of Paros, a kind of “province” of the Russian Empire was formed.”
There were no Turkish authorities on the island, and the Greeks joyfully welcomed our ships. Russian sailors used both bays of the island - Auzu and Trio, where ships were equipped with moorings.
But the capital of the "province" was the city of Auza, built by the Russians on the left bank of the bay of the same name.
Soon, reinforcements arrived in the Mediterranean from the Baltic.
On July 15, 1770, the 3rd Archipelago Squadron left Revel, consisting of the new 66-gun ships Vsevolod and St. George the Victorious", as well as the new 54-gun ship "Asia".
The squadron escorted chartered British ships that carried weapons and provisions to the Archipelago.
In addition, there were 523 guardsmen of the Preobrazhensky Regiment and 2167 infantrymen of other regiments on board these ships.
The squadron was commanded by Rear Admiral Ivan Nikolaevich Arf, invited by Catherine II in 1770 from the Royal Danish Navy. Together with him, several dozen Danish officers and sailors were taken to the ships of the squadron.
From January 1771, the Russian fleet began to use another base on the island of Mykono (now Mykonos), located about 35 km northeast of Paros.
On January 16, 1771, the frigate "Hope of Prosperity" arrived there, and on January 21 - the ships "Asia" and "Pobedonosets".
Since that time, the island of Mykono has become the second most important base for the Russian fleet in the Archipelago after Paros.

It was necessary to provide a fleet of up to 50 pennants and several infantry regiments.
The island of Imbo is only 17 miles from the Dardanelles, and the forward base of the Russian fleet was located there.
There were ships and vessels blocking the Dardanelles in the Catherine Bay.
3,000 Greeks lived on Imbo under the control of a bishop, and it was they who supplied the forest to the Russians. There were 4 thousand Orthodox Greeks on the island of Tasso, they were also ruled by a bishop.
And on other islands, bishops, both Orthodox and Catholics, willingly collaborated with the Russian authorities and played, as it were, the role of mayor in the “island province”.
On the island of Naxia, 4 miles east of Paros, there lived 6,000 Greeks, both Orthodox and Catholics, and each community had its own bishop. From Naxia, the Russians received bread, wine, firewood and cotton fabric.
The Russian authorities established a Greek gymnasium on the island, where not only the Naxians studied, but also the inhabitants of other islands.
In 1775, during the evacuation of the "province", all students of the gymnasium (with their consent) were taken to St. Petersburg.
Many of them later occupied important government posts in Russia.
But the “province” itself could not provide for all the needs of the fleet and ground forces. Weapons, uniforms and food were brought by sea from Russia and England, but it came out extremely expensive.
Everything that the Russians wanted was willingly sold by the Maltese and the inhabitants of the free city of Livorno, but it was also expensive.
Therefore, the main source of supply for the "province" was the corsair!

That is why Count Alexei Orlov drew attention to the Greek pirates and smugglers of the Eastern Mediterranean, throwing a cry, the essence of which was very simple: “Join us, we will beat the Turk together!”

With the arrival of the Archipelago squadron to the shores of Morea (the medieval name of the Peloponnese peninsula), dozens of Greek pirate ships entered the sea.
In general, in the 18th century in the Eastern Mediterranean, which the Turks called the White Sea, pirates were considered worthy people engaged in semi-legal fishing.
The total number of pirate, or corsair, ships operating in 1770-1774 was at least 500.
Among them were several ships bought by Russia. Their owners, as a rule, were accepted into the Russian service, they were assigned officer ranks, and a civilian team of Greeks, Albanians, Slavs, etc. it seems that she was also in the Russian service and received a salary. These vessels raised the St. Andrew's flag.
Such ships are spoken of as "voluntarily joining the Archipelago squadron";
There were also privateer ships that considered themselves Russian privateers and hoisted the St. Andrew's flag as needed. Periodically, the command of the Russian squadron supplied such ships with money, weapons and food;
But there were also ships that did not obey the Russian authorities, but if necessary, they raised the St. Andrew's flag.
It is clear that the Russian command tried not to advertise the actions of the Greek corsairs, and they were mentioned extremely rarely in official documents.
Therefore, only the names of the largest corsair ships remained in history.
In official correspondence, Russian sailors and diplomats during the time of Catherine the Great used all three terms - privateers, corsairs and privateers, meaning the same thing.
As mentioned above, according to the laws of the 18th century, the state not only issued a patent to privateers for conducting military operations, but also took a deposit from them to pay compensation to victims of illegal marques.
Catherine II set the amount of bail for privateers at 20,000 rubles.
Here are a few ships bought by Russia in the Archipelago at the end of 1770 - these are frigates: Grigory, Paros, Pobeda, Fedor.
The frigate "Saint Nicholas" under the command of the Greek A.I. Polikuti joined the Russian squadron in 1770.
Count A. Orlov formally bought the ship, and it became a 26-gun frigate. Polikuti received the rank of lieutenant of the Russian fleet, and his team became sailors of the Russian fleet.
February 21, 1770 at St. Nicholas" Andreevsky flag was raised.
The frigate "St. Paul" was bought by Russia in 1770. The Greek Alexiano Panaioti became the commander.
He entered the Russian service as early as 1769 and participated in the Battle of Chesma on the ship Rostislav. For this, he was promoted to lieutenant of the Russian fleet and appointed commander of the frigate St. Paul".
Panaioti sank two Turkish frigates and many small ships.
In 1776, Alexiano Panaioti became commander of the 66-gun ship "Saint Alexander Nevsky" in the Baltic. In 1783 he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank and sent to the Black Sea, he died in 1787 already in the rank of rear admiral.
At the beginning of 1771, the Serb midshipman Voinovich, who arrived in the Archipelago with the squadron of Rear Admiral Arf, was instructed to command the corsair polakra (a small sailing vessel common at that time in the Mediterranean) "Auza".
It should be noted that she was not even included in the lists of ships of the Russian fleet.
At the end of 1771, Voinovich became the commander of the 16-gun frigate Slava, bought by Russia in the Archipelago in 1770.
The following year, he was promoted to captain of the 1st rank and sent to the Black Sea, where from 1785 he commanded the Sevastopol ship squadron. In 1787, Catherine promoted Voinovich to rear admiral.
Another Russian admiral was the Greek corsair Anton Alexiano.
He entered the Russian service in 1770.
In 1772, midshipman A. Alexiano was appointed commander of the 22-gun frigate Constance bought in the Archipelago, on which he sailed until the end of the war.
During the second Russian-Turkish war, he commanded the 40-gun frigate "St. Jerome" on the Black Sea. Anton Alexiano died in Sevastopol with the rank of Vice Admiral.
Corsairs who made a career in the Russian fleet were not only Greeks.
Here, for example, the "Maltese Cavalier" Count Masini at the beginning of 1770 bought a frigate with his own money and piracy in the Eastern Mediterranean.
On December 4, 1772, Catherine II granted the count to rear admiral.
Here are four corsairs who later became Russian admirals.

In 1770, the Greek Varvakis, who traded in piracy, joined the squadron of Alexei Orlov along with his 20-gun polakra.
Catherine awarded him the rank of lieutenant. After the end of the war, Varvakis continued to piracy in the Aegean. The Turks somehow managed to capture him and imprison him in the Seven-Tower Castle.
Varvakis was awaiting execution, but he was saved by the Russian ambassador in Istanbul.
Upon arrival in Russia, Varvakis was received by the Empress, from whom he received a thousand chervonets and the right to duty-free trade for 10 years.
(The film "Pirates of the Aegean" was shot about his fate).

By May 1771, there were already 2,659 natives of the Balkan Peninsula in the service of the Russian fleet.
The Greek corsairs operating in the Archipelago shared with the Russian command not only booty, but also captured ships.
At the request of Orlov, the largest and fastest captured Turkish ships were delivered to Auz, where they were converted into frigates.
In 1770–1772 frigates were introduced into the system of Russian squadrons in this way: Archipelago, Delos, Zeya, Milo, Nakcia, Tino, Andro, Mikono, Minerva and Santorin, captured by corsairs.

May 19, 1772 Russia and Türkiye signed a truce. which has been operating in the Archipelago since July 20, 1972.
The Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace treaty, which ended the Russian-Turkish war of 1768-1774, was concluded only two years later - on July 10 (21 according to a new style) of July 1774.

But even during the armistice, the Russian fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean was very active, and even the Greek pirates opened a real pirate war against Turkish commercial and military photographers.
Alexei Orlov demanded that the commanders of Russian ships and corsairs cut off the supply of food to Constantinople, both on Turkish and French ships.
He ordered his manifesto to be sent to the Mediterranean ports of Europe, in which he warned neutral nations against delivering provisions to the Turks.
To block the Dardanelles, A. Orlov sent a squadron of Admiral S.K. Greig, consisting of 10 ships: "Victory", "Three Saints", "Vsevolod"; frigates "Nadezhda", "Afrika", "Pobeda", "Paros", "Gregory", "Constance" and bombardment ship "Lightning".

Corsair actions continued. Here are just some examples:
- On October 22, 1772, four corsair frigates under the Andreevsky flag, accompanied by the Russian bombardment ship Molniya, attacked the Chesma fortress. A landing force of 530 people was landed. But it was not possible to take the fortress, and the landing force, which limited itself to plundering the surroundings, was accepted onto the ships of the detachment;
-September 9, 1772 Panaioti Alexiano on the frigate "St. Paul" approached the island of Stanchio and landed troops, captured the small Turkish fortress of Keffano, where 11 guns were taken. For this, Catherine II awarded Alexiano with the Order of St. George, 4th degree.

But with the conclusion of the Kyuchuk-Kainarji peace treaty in 1774, the campaign in the Archipelago ended ...

The Turks did not allow the Russian fleet to go home by the shortest route - through the Straits to the Black Sea ports.
Under the terms of the peace treaty, all warships were to sail back to the Baltic around Europe.
The passage of Russian warships through the straits was not allowed by the treaty.
The Russian “province” was also subject to evacuation!
The inhabitants of more than twenty Greek islands accepted Russian citizenship, many thousands of Greeks, Albanians, and other peoples fought on the side of Russia.
In the first two or three years of the war, Catherine set a goal for diplomats: to secure the “province” for Russia in peace negotiations.
But, unfortunately, this was not achieved.
Russia tried to correct the situation with the allies by various half-measures.
Firstly, they provided an opportunity for those wishing to move to Russia.
Secondly, the articles of the Kyuchuk-Kaynarji peace contained the obligation of the Sultan not to take revenge on the allies of the Russians from among the Ottoman subjects.

In March 1775, the last Russian frigate Nadezhda left Auzy for the Baltic.

But according to the Kyuchuk-Kainarji world, Russia for the first time got the opportunity to navigate its merchant ships through the Straits.
In the 11th article of this treaty it was written:
“For the profitability and benefit of both empires, there should be free and unhindered navigation for merchant ships belonging to two contracting powers in all the seas washing their lands, and the Brilliant Port allows such Russian merchant ships, which other states use in bidding in its harbors and everywhere , free passage from the Black Sea to the White (Aegean-sad39), and from the White to the Black, as well as to stick to all harbors and marinas on the shores of the seas and in passages, or channels, connecting these seas, located.

They decided to take advantage of this, and sent a number of corsair ships under a merchant flag through the Straits to the Black Sea.
Two problems were solved at once: the delivery to the Black Sea of ​​ships that could be used for military purposes, and the delivery of thousands of Greeks and Albanians to a new place of residence.
From March to May 1775, the frigates Archipelago, Tino, Pobeda, St. Nicholas" and "Glory", polaks "Patmos", "St. Ekaterina" and others.
Smaller ships with Greeks came to Constantinople under the guise of coasters, and then went to the Black Sea.
Catherine II, taking into account the commitment of the Greeks and Albanians to Russia and the services rendered, by a decree of March 28, 1775 addressed to Count Orlov-Chesmensky - the initiator of the admission of the Greeks and Albanians to the service - ordered to find measures for the settlement of new settlers, allocating land to them near the fortresses of Kerch and Yenikale that passed to Russia.
The Empress approved a project on the establishment of a special Greek infantry regiment with a staff of 1762 people.
The regiment consisted of 12 companies, or ekatontarchies, which were supposed to be given historical names: Athenian, Spartan, Thebes, Corinthian, Thessalian, Macedonian, Mycenaean, Sicyonian, Achaian, Ionian, Epirus and Kefalonia.

This is how the Greeks began their settlement in Russia.
After the departure of the Russians, the capital of the “province”, the port of Auza, and the entire island of Paros quickly returned to their original state.
And gradually it was forgotten about the events that took place there.
In 1922, Russian sailors from the Bizerte squadron, having accidentally found themselves on the island, could not find any traces of the Russians staying there in 1770-1775.
Now Paros is a famous Greek resort, visited by Russians.

It was in these bays of the island of Paros that the Russian ships of the Archipelago squadron once stood.

On July 19, 1787, near the Kinbur Spit, the Turkish squadron attacked the frigate "Skory" and the boat "Bityug" without declaring war.
A new Russian-Turkish war began.
By the beginning of the war, the Russian fleet on the Black Sea consisted of five ships, nineteen frigates, a bombardment ship and several dozen small ships.
On August 31, 1787, the Sevastopol squadron under the command of Rear Admiral Mark Voinovich went to sea. But this exit ended in failure for the squadron. In search of the Turkish fleet, she was caught off the Turkish coast by a terrible long storm. One ship was lost, another without masts was brought into the Bosporus and captured by the Turks here. The rest, in a badly shabby form, returned to Sevastopol
The next exit to the sea of ​​the Sevastopol squadron took place almost a year later - on June 18, 1788.
But this does not mean at all that for a whole year Russian ships were quietly standing in Sevastopol and the Dnieper-Bug Bay, and the Turks were in complete control of the Black Sea.
On July 3 (14), 1788, a battle took place near the island of Fidonisi (now Snake), to which the Turks were defeated. F.F. Ushakov commanded the battleship St. Paul in this battle.

In connection with the numerical superiority of the Turkish fleet over the Russian, His Serene Highness Prince G. I. Potemkin supported the idea of ​​​​creating a corsair flotilla on the Black Sea.

In October 1787, by order of Grigory Potemkin, the first letters of marque began to be issued on the Black Sea.
In 1790, there were already 37 privateer ships and 26 sea boats in the Black Sea Fleet.
These were vessels with Greek commanders and Greek crews. These ships are called "cruising".

Potemkin distributes guns and gunpowder to the Greeks, as well as naval and army ranks. They are even paid a salary, although very irregularly. They thought for a long time what to call these pirate ships. Corsairs and privateers have never been on our ship lists, which is why the term “cruising ship” was introduced,

Where did the Greeks get their ships from?
Firstly, by 1787 some Greek ships were carrying out cabotage on the Black Sea.
During the war of 1787-1792. Turkish authorities tried several times to close the Bosphorus to commercial ships. But prices in the Istanbul markets immediately flew up, and riots began not only among the population, but even the Janissaries.
As a result, after a few weeks, the Bosphorus had to be opened again, which was used by the Greek ships and passed into the Black Sea ..
For example, from Constantinople they came to the Black Sea Fleet: “St. Elena", "St. Matthew", "St. Nicholas", "Abeltazh", "Phoenix", "St. Andrew”, “Prince Alexander”, “Panagia”, “Apotumangana”, “St. Nikolay" and "Krasnoselye". "Panagea di Duceno" and others.
All of them became "cruising ships", and were bought into the treasury.

They cruised the Black Sea under St. Andrew's flags, or even without a flag at all, sank and captured merchant ships, robbed and burned small towns and villages on the Turkish shores.
It must be said that our historians modestly kept silent about the role of these cruising ships, and they caused significant damage to Turkey, more than once even caused famine in Constantinople, often capturing ships with food.
In almost every battle of the squadron F.F. Ushakov, who became commander of the Black Sea Fleet instead of Voinovich on March 14, 1790, several such cruising ships participated.
May 19, 1788 Potemkin writes to the Empress:
“The cruising Greeks act very bravely and willingly. Well, if our marines were like them, but they were destroyed by science, which they use more for excuses than for actions.
Here, of course, Potemkin had in mind primarily Voinovich, who by this time had lost his former corsair prowess and had become very cautious.
In a letter to Potemkin dated April 12, 1791, F.F. Ushakov reports on cruising ships based in Sevastopol:
“I consider it my duty to inform your lordship about the basis for the maintenance of cruising ships at Sevastopol. All cruise ships here are priced at what they cost.
The smallest part for this money was given to the owners, and nothing was given to others at all, therefore they are all under the command of the very commanders who are considered the owners of these ships, they hire sailors from themselves and hire them with their own money.

The Greek corsair Lambros Katsonis (1752–1805) gained particular fame. His name alone terrified the captains of merchant ships.
Back in 1769, seventeen-year-old Katsonis, together with his older brother, captured a merchant ship and began to piracy in the Archipelago. Later, two more Greek ships joined it.
With the advent of the Russian squadron in the Mediterranean, this detachment of corsairs joined it.
Soon, in a naval battle with the Turks, the elder Katsonis died, and the pirate frigate was lost.
Katsonis continued to take part in the capture of Turkish ships, fought on the shore.
In 1775 he moved to Kerch, entered the service in the Greek regiment of the Russian army, rose to the rank of captain.
In April 1783, by decree of Catherine II, Katsonis was "granted to the noble Russian nobility and included in the second part of the Genealogical Book of the Tauride Nobility."
With the beginning of a new Russian-Turkish war, Katsonis put together a detachment of Greeks, who in October 1787, not far from Gadzhibey (future Odessa), captured a large Turkish ship on boats.
It was named "Prince Potemkin-Tauride" and became the flagship of his "cruising" flotilla.

"Prince Potemkin - Tauride"

At first, the Katsonis flotilla operated on the Black Sea, being repaired and wintering in Sevastopol.
In January 1788, Potemkin gives Katsonis a patent for operations in the Mediterranean.
In 1788, under the guise of a private person, Katsonis bought a frigate in the port of Trieste, which he named “Minerva Severa” in honor of Catherine II, and in the next two years he instilled fear in the entire Eastern Mediterranean - the Aegean and Adriatic Seas, intercepted Turkish merchant and warships, ruined Turkish fortresses.
By May 1788, his flotilla numbered 10 ships (about 500 sailors) and became so strong that they were able to carry out a successful assault on the Turkish fortress on the island of Castel Rosso.
In another report to Potemkin, the corsair wrote:
“Throughout Turkey, it is thundering that the Archipelago is filled with Russian ships, but in fact there are no more corsairs in the Archipelago than me and ten of my ships.”
The names of the rest of his ships also spoke of their owner's commitment to Russia: "Grand Duke Konstantin" and "Grand Duke Alexander", "Grand Duchess Maria" and "Grand Duke Pavel", etc.
Katsonis became so bold that he seized ships at the very entrance to the Dardanelles.
But Katsonis also got the courts of neutrals, for which foreign ambassadors complained to the empress, which follows from the decree of the Admiralty Board of September 25, 1788 on the “forgiveness of Major Lambro Katsonis”, in which he was apparently mercifully forgiven for drowning the ships of the “neutrals”.
He wore a fez with the image of a woman's hand, embroidered with silver, and the inscription: "By Catherine's hand."

Catherine II was concerned about cases of attacks by Greek corsairs on neutral ships. She did not want to become the patroness of pirates at all.
By her decree of May 23, 1788, she sent Major General S. Gibbs to Livorno "to stop the harassment exerted by subjects of neutral powers by armorers flying the Russian military flag."
With him were sent for the "Particular Corsairs" special rules with its resolution "Be according to this."
On May 27, 1788, Catherine signed the Decree “On penalties to which corsairs may be subjected,” which violated the highest approved rules.
Corsairs were required to "refrain from harassing neutral subjects and act against the enemy."
On May 7, 1790, the Katsonis flotilla was defeated by the Turkish squadron. But Katsonis recruited a new team and again began to piracy, despite the fact that in 1791 the Iasi peace treaty was signed between Russia and Turkey.
After another defeat from the Turks, he managed to avoid the gallows and made his way to Russia in 1792.
At the end of hostilities, Catherine ordered all the ships of Katsonis to be disarmed in Trieste. And then sell part of the ships on the spot, while others are sent through the Straits to the Black Sea, loading Greeks who want to leave for Russia on them.
In the spring of 1792, six corsair (cruising) ships arrived in Sevastopol from the Mediterranean Sea. All six ships were commissioned into the Black Sea Fleet, where they served for several years.
In 1795, Katsonis was introduced to Catherine, she gave him an estate in the Crimea.
Living in the Crimea, Katsonis bought a place near Yalta Panas-Chair, which means "sacred meadow" in Greek. There he begins the construction of his estate, which he renames to Livadia, after his native town of Livadia, where he was born.
So Crimean Livadia owes its appearance to Lambros Katsonis.
In connection with the dispatch in 1798 of the squadron of Admiral Ushakov to the Adriatic Sea for the war with France, Katsionis turned to Paul I with a request to allow him to equip a ship at his own expense "for traveling against the French" in the Mediterranean Sea.
While the highest permission was given - “allow him to arm this”, the war with France ended, and Katsonis was no longer able to go to sea.
Katsonis died in 1805 under unclear circumstances, suggesting that he was poisoned.
The tomb of Katsonis was lost at the end of the 19th century.
After the death of Katsonis, his estate changed owners several times, was rebuilt, and since 1860 became the southern residence of Emperor Alexander II.
The current Livadia Palace was built in 1911.

The son of Lambros Katsonis, Lycurgus Katsonis, entered the Black Sea Fleet in 1812, then became the commander of the Balaklava battalion, and ended his career as an inspector of the Kerch quarantine. The grandson of the pirate Alexander Likurgovich began serving in the Black Sea Fleet, and then in the Baltic.
The great-grandson of Lambros Spyridon Katsonis, who was born in 1858 in Feodosia, became a famous lawyer, and then a writer. He was the brother-in-law of the artist I.K. Aivazovsky.
In Greece, Lambros Katsonis became a national hero.
Yes, and in Europe they remembered him much better than in Russia.
In 1813, Byron wrote the famous poem "The Corsair". The prototype of the protagonist of Conrad's poem was Lambros Katsonis.,
In our time, Valentin Pikul was the first to remember Katsonis, who dedicated his historical miniature “The First Listrigon of Balaklava” to him.

As stated at the beginning of this article, privateering is historically considered to have ceased in the second half of the 19th century, when the Paris Maritime Declaration of 16 April 1856 declared privateering abolished.

But attempts to conduct a corsair war by Russia were also made at the beginning of the 20th century.
The “special meeting” held on February 13, 1904, recognized the possibility of carrying out such operations with the involvement of either mobilized and armed high-speed steamers of the Volunteer Fleet, or ships specially purchased abroad.
The general management of the organization and conduct of cruising operations was entrusted to Rear Admiral Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich.
The purpose of these operations was to interrupt Japan's maritime communications and supplies from neutral states not participating in the Russo-Japanese War. The task was to stop cargo ships in the area of ​​the islands and inspect them for the presence of military contraband on board.
The search, inspection and detention of ships of neutral states was supposed to be carried out on the basis of data received from the General Naval Headquarters through special agents.

To carry out such operations, six auxiliary cruisers were armed: Don, Ural, Terek, Kuban, Petersburg and Smolensk.
Here are just a few examples of the actions of these courts.
- In June 1904, in the Red Sea, near the island of Maly Khanish, "Petersburg" stopped the English steamer "Malacca". To check the documents on the steamer came down the prize party.
On board the Malacca, military contraband was found: about two hundred steel plates, bridge parts, an electric crane, vehicles whose purpose was not indicated in the documents, as well as alcohol, canned food, biscuits, acids and other cargo. The cargo was addressed to Japan. The steamer was arrested;
- In July 1904, "Petersburg" and "Smolensk" arrested three more British ships in the Red Sea with a cargo of military contraband. "Smolensk" was also stopped for inspection by the German steamer "Prinz Heinrich". The prize party seized all the mail addressed to Japan from the steamer and released the "Prince Heinrich";
- In May 1905, when the 2nd Pacific squadron of Admiral Rozhdestvensky approached the Ryukyu Islands, the cruisers Kuban and Terek separated from it, which headed for the Pacific coast of Japan, and the cruisers Dnepr and Rion headed for operations on enemy communications in the southern part of the Yellow Sea.
The cruisers were given the task of “not embarrassingly sinking” all the ships on which military contraband would be found.
On May 23, 1905, the cruiser Terek intercepted the English steamer Ancona, which was carrying five thousand tons of rice to Japan. The cargo was recognized as contraband, they decided to flood the ship, and 73 people of the English team were delivered to the Terek. Several artillery salvos were fired at the ship and it sank.
On June 8, the Danish steamship Princess Mary was discovered. The prize party found about 3.5 thousand tons of steel and iron for Japan on the ship.
It was decided to flood the ship, laying several explosive cartridges in its holds. In total, during the cruising, the Terek inspected several dozen ships, and sank two of them.
The cruiser Rion, operating in the southern part of the Yellow Sea, detained and inspected several ships.
On two of them (the German transport "Tetortos" and the English "Schilurium"), the prize party found military contraband. After the teams were removed from the detained transports, they were flooded along with the cargo.
The cruiser Dnepr, a hundred miles from Hong Kong, sank the English steamer St. Kildety with a cargo of military contraband.

In July 1905, the British ambassador in St. Petersburg handed over to the Russian Foreign Ministry a note from the British government, which pointed out the illegality of the seizure of the Malacca steamer, which allegedly did not have contraband cargo on board.
After that, Emperor Nicholas II ordered to stop all these cruising activities and return all the arrested ships.

The actions of Fedor Raskolnikov, when in the summer of 1918 he was appointed commander of the Volga Flotilla by Trotsky, can also be attributed to corsair actions.
Arriving on the Volga, where he met with Larisa Reisner, who worked in the political department of the flotilla.
His flotilla, moving along the river, literally landed pirate landings that plundered all the estates on the shore.
The sailors dragged the most valuable things and jewelry to Reisner, who made her flagship the Mezhen yacht, on which the imperial couple had previously sailed.
The writer Vsevolod Vishnevsky will make Larisa Reisner the prototype of his main heroine, the commissar in the play Optimistic Tragedy. Frankly, not a very well-chosen prototype ...
But the whites also had sea robbers, in their flotilla in the Caspian Sea, created by order of General Denikin.
Fighting the Bolsheviks, they also robbed all the fishing schooners and terrorized the coast.
The commander of this pirate flotilla, or as it was called "expedition", was Captain 1st Rank Konstantin Schubert.
This flotilla consisted of sailing fishing schooners, called rybnitsa in the Caspian. These were wooden boats up to 17 meters long. They were armed with machine guns, and some were equipped with small guns.
The sailors of this flotilla even composed a song to themselves (to the motive of the song “Beyond the island on the line.”):
“Because of the island on the seaside,
Where there is free water
Came out fighting
Bones of the Schubert Court”.

With the end of the Civil War, this pirate bacchanalia also ended.
This is where we can finish a short digression into the history of Russian corsairs.

Large and tiny, powerful and maneuverable - all these ships, as a rule, were built for completely different purposes, but sooner or later ended up in the hands of corsairs. Some ended their "career" in battle, others were resold, others were drowned in storms, but all of them glorified their owners in one way or another.

The Adventure Galley is the favorite ship of William Kidd, an English privateer and pirate. This unusual frigate galley was equipped with straight sails and oars, which made it possible to maneuver both against the wind and in calm weather. The 287-ton vessel with 34 guns accommodated 160 crew members and was primarily intended to destroy the ships of other pirates.

Queen Anne's Revenge is the flagship of the legendary captain Edward Teach, nicknamed Blackbeard. This 40-gun frigate was originally called the Concorde, belonged to Spain, then moved to France until it was finally captured by Blackbeard Under his leadership, the ship was strengthened and renamed.Queen Anne's Revenge sank dozens of merchant and military ships that got in the way of the famous pirate.

The Whydah is the flagship of Black Sam Bellamy, one of the pirates of the golden age of piracy. The Ouida was a fast and manoeuvrable vessel, capable of carrying many treasures. Unfortunately for Black Sam, only a year after the start of the pirate "career" the ship was caught in a terrible storm and was thrown ashore. The entire team, except for two people, died. By the way, Sam Bellamy was the richest pirate in history, according to Forbes recalculation, his fortune totaled about 132 million dollars in the modern equivalent.

"Royal Fortune" (Royal Fortune) belonged to Bartholomew Roberts, the famous Welsh corsair, whose death ended the golden age of piracy. Bartholomew changed several ships in his career, but the 42-gun, three-masted ship of the line was his favorite. On it, he accepted his death in battle with the British warship "Swallow" in 1722.

The Fancy is the ship of Henry Avery, also known as Lanky Ben and the Arch-Pirate. The Spanish 30-gun frigate Charles II successfully plundered French ships, but eventually a riot broke out on it, and power passed to Avery, who served as first mate. Avery renamed the ship Imagination and sailed on it until he ended his career.

The Happy Delivery is a small but favorite ship of George Lauter, an 18th century English pirate. His crowning tactic was to ram his enemy ship with simultaneous lightning-fast boarding.

The Golden Hind was an English galleon under the command of Sir Francis Drake who circumnavigated the world between 1577 and 1580. Initially, the ship was called the Pelican, but upon entering the Pacific Ocean, Drake renamed it in honor of his patron, Lord Chancellor Christopher Hutton, who had a golden doe on his coat of arms.

The Rising Sun was a ship owned by Christopher Moody, a truly ruthless thug who took no prisoners on principle. This 35-gun frigate terrified Moody's enemies until he was safely hanged - but it went down in history with the most unusual pirate flag known, yellow on a red background, and even with a winged hourglass to the left of the skull.

All pirate ships, regardless of size and origin, met certain requirements to one degree or another. First of all, a pirate ship had to have sufficient seaworthiness, as it often had to endure storms in the open ocean. The so-called "golden age of piracy" (1690-1730) is marked by particular piracy activity in the Caribbean, the Atlantic coast of North America, the west coast of Africa and the Indian Ocean. The first two of these areas are famous for frequent hurricanes, the season of which lasts from June to November, reaching a peak in August-September. At the beginning of the 17th century, sailors were already well aware of the existence of the hurricane season in the Atlantic and that these hurricanes originate off the West African coast. Navigators have learned to predict the approaching hurricane. Knowing that a storm was coming, the ship's captain might try to get away from it or find shelter. Winds blowing at over 150 km/h caused catastrophic damage to the coast and sank ships for centuries. For pirates, who had no access to most ports, storms were a particular threat. Their ships had to be especially stable and withstand any storm. Mandatory attributes of a pirate ship were a set of storm sails, a strong hull, reliable pumps for pumping water from the hold, and an experienced crew. For pirates, hurricanes also had a positive side, as they damaged other ships, leaving them defenseless. Pirate Henry Jennings began his career plundering Spanish galleons washed ashore by the hurricane of 1715. In the Indian Ocean, no less dangerous were tropical cyclones, which in the western Pacific are known as typhoons. In the northern Indian Ocean, tropical cyclones rage from May to November, while further south the cyclone season is from December to March. Meteorologists average 85 hurricanes, typhoons and tropical cyclones per year. Apparently, during the years of the "golden age of piracy" this number was about the same. Hurricanes and typhoons are dangerous even for modern ships. How dangerous they were for sailing "vessels", deprived of the opportunity to receive a storm warning by radio! Add to this the constant risk of Atlantic storms and unrest in the area of ​​the Cape of Good Hope ... Interestingly, in those days, transatlantic crossings (and circumnavigations!) were often made by sloops and even smaller vessels, which today are used only for coastal fishing (meaning vessels of the same size). For example, Bartholomew Roberts crossed the Atlantic several times, and also walked along the coast of the New World from Brazil to Newfoundland. The load on the wooden hull of a vessel during a long voyage is compatible with the short-term load during a storm. The problem is further aggravated by the constant fouling of the bottom with algae and shells, which seriously impair the sailing performance of the vessel. A heavily overgrown sailing ship cannot reach a speed of more than three or four knots. Therefore, it is very important to periodically clean the bottom of the ship. But if the military and merchants had shipyards in port cities at their disposal, then the pirates had to clean the bottom of their ships secretly, hiding in secluded bays and river mouths. Cleaning the bottom (creeling, keeling) of a small ship (sloop or brig) usually took a week. Larger ships required proportionally more time for this operation. During the cruising, the ship was vulnerable to attack, and attacks on pirate ships in a similar position are known.

The ship is also threatened by woodworms. The waters of the Caribbean Sea are the most infested with woodworms, so wooden ships sailing in this region deteriorate faster than others. The Spaniards adhered to the rule that a ship making regular voyages to the Caribbean could not last more than ten years, even if measures were taken to protect the hull. It should be noted that the problem of the ship's durability never arose before the pirates, because even the most successful of them, like Bartholomew Roberts, rarely operated for more than two years. Large ships were better suited for sailing across the Atlantic, but required more time for cruising. It is much easier to clean the bottom of a small ship. Small ships have a shallow draft, which allows them to navigate more confidently in coastal waters, as well as swim in estuaries, sandbars and inland waters. In 1715, Governor of New York Hunter wrote the following lines to London: "The coast is teeming with privateers, who, taking advantage of the opportunity to sail on oars in shallow water, leave His Majesty's ships." The governor demanded at his disposal a flotilla of sloops capable of fighting pirates in the shallow waters of Long Island and the mouth of the Hudson.

Another mandatory requirement for a pirate ship was high speed. There is a mathematical formula that determines the relationship between the size of a ship, the shape of the hull, and the number of sails a ship can carry. Theoretically, a large ship can carry more sails, but its hull also has a large displacement. A large sail area has a positive effect on speed, while a large displacement, on the contrary, limits it. Smaller craft such as the brigantine have little windage, but the ratio of sail area to displacement is greater than that of square-rigged ships, giving them a speed advantage. Small narrow and shallow-draft vessels, such as sloops and schooners, have refined hydrodynamics, which also increases their speed. Although the speed is determined by a complex equation of the third degree, the main reasons that determine it are well known. Pirate ships were generally faster than straight-rigged merchant ships. Pirates valued certain types of ships precisely for their speed. So, single-masted sloops built in Jamaica or Bermuda were especially popular among pirates.

The speed of the ship is also affected by factors that are difficult to mathematically express. We have already talked about the fouling of the bottom. Pirates needed to regularly keel their ships, as every extra knot of speed was important to them. Certain types of ships sailed better in certain winds. For example, ships with gaff sails could steer steeper to the wind than ships with square sails, a latin sail is especially good in a side wind, but helps little in a fair one. But the most important thing was the experience of the captain and the qualifications of the team. Experienced sailors can squeeze out an extra knot of speed by knowing the characteristics of their vessel. Other things being equal, an experienced crew will definitely outplay the enemy. When in 1718 the ships of the Royal Navy set off towards the Bahamas to intercept Charles Vane, the pirate, thanks to his skill and the qualities of the ship, was able to break away from his pursuers. According to one of the English officers, Vane did two feet when the royal ships did one. Finally, adequate armament was important for a pirate ship. The more guns the ship carries, the greater its displacement, the lower the speed. For a successful pirate, getting cannons was not a problem. They could be found on any ship boarded. Pirates avoided solving a naval battle with an artillery duel, as they did not want to damage the hull of the trophy. However, it is surprising to learn that the pirates tried to arm their ships as much as possible, sometimes turning them into real floating batteries. All this was done exclusively in case of a meeting with warships. Large ships can carry more guns and provide a more comfortable fighting platform. We will tell you more about the armament of pirate ships below. Now we just note that the pirates found a balance between weapons, speed and seaworthiness of their ships in different ways. While some preferred small, fast sloops with a minimum of armament, others strove to acquire large ships capable of carrying impressive artillery and sailing weapons.

The most famous pirates

Bartholomew Roberts(1682-1722). This pirate was one of the most successful and successful in history. It is believed that Roberts was able to capture more than four hundred ships. At the same time, the cost of the pirate's extraction amounted to more than 50 million pounds. And the pirate achieved such results in just two and a half years. Bartholomew was an unusual pirate - he was enlightened and loved to dress fashionably. Roberts was often seen in a burgundy waistcoat and breeches, he wore a hat with a red plume, and a gold chain with a diamond cross hung on his chest. The pirate did not abuse alcohol at all, as was customary in this environment. Moreover, he even punished his sailors for drunkenness. We can say that it was Bartholomew, who was nicknamed "Black Bart" and was the most successful pirate in history. In addition, unlike Henry Morgan, he never cooperated with the authorities. And the famous pirate was born in South Wales. His maritime career began as third mate on a slave ship. Roberts' duties included looking after the "cargo" and its safety. However, after being captured by pirates, the sailor himself was in the role of a slave. Nevertheless, the young European was able to please the captain Howell Davis, who captured him, and he accepted him into his crew. And in June 1719, after the death of the leader of the gang during the storming of the fort, it was Roberts who led the team. He immediately captured the ill-fated city of Principe on the coast of Guinea and razed it to the face of the earth. After going to sea, the pirate quickly captured several merchant ships. However, booty off the African coast was scarce, which is why in early 1720 Roberts headed for the Caribbean. The glory of a successful pirate overtook him, and merchant ships already shied away at the sight of Black Bart's ship. In the north, Roberts sold African goods profitably. All summer of 1720 he was lucky - the pirate captured many ships, 22 of them right in the bays. However, even while engaged in robbery, Black Bart remained a pious person. He even managed to pray a lot in between murders and robberies. But it was this pirate who came up with a cruel execution with the help of a board thrown over the side of the ship. The team loved their captain so much that they were ready to follow him to the ends of the world. And the explanation was simple - Roberts was desperately lucky. At various times, he managed from 7 to 20 pirate ships. The teams included fugitive criminals and slaves of various nationalities, calling themselves the "House of Lords". And the name of Black Bart inspired terror throughout the Atlantic.

Henry Morgan(1635-1688) became the most famous pirate in the world, enjoying a kind of fame. This man became famous not so much for his corsair exploits as for his activities as a commander and politician. Morgan's main merit was the help of England in seizing control over the entire Caribbean Sea. Ever since childhood, Henry was a fidget, which affected his adult life. In a short time, he managed to be a slave, collect his own gang of thugs and get his first ship. Along the way, many people were robbed. Being in the service of the queen, Morgan directed his energy to the ruin of the Spanish colonies, he did it perfectly. As a result, everyone learned the name of the active sailor. But then the pirate suddenly decided to settle down - he got married, bought a house ... However, a violent temper took its toll, moreover, at his leisure, Henry realized that it was much more profitable to capture coastal cities than just rob ships. Once Morgan used a tricky move. On the approach to one of the cities, he took a large ship and stuffed it to the top with gunpowder, sending it to the Spanish port at dusk. A huge explosion led to such turmoil that there was simply no one to defend the city. So the city was taken, and the local fleet was destroyed, thanks to Morgan's cunning. Storming Panama, the commander decided to attack the city from land, sending the army around the city. As a result, the maneuver was a success, the fortress fell. Morgan spent the last years of his life in the status of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. His whole life was spent at a frantic pirate pace, with all the charms appropriate to the occupation in the form of alcohol. Only rum defeated the brave sailor - he died of cirrhosis of the liver and was buried as a nobleman. True, the sea took his ashes - the cemetery plunged into the sea after the earthquake.
Francis Drake(1540-1596) was born in England, in the family of a priest. The young man began his maritime career as a cabin boy on a small merchant ship. It was there that the smart and observant Francis learned the art of navigation. Already at the age of 18, he received command of his own ship, which he inherited from the old captain. In those days, the queen blessed the pirate raids, so long as they were directed against the enemies of England. During one of these voyages, Drake fell into a trap, but, despite the death of 5 other English ships, he managed to save his ship. The pirate quickly became famous for his cruelty, and fortune fell in love with him. Trying to take revenge on the Spaniards, Drake begins to wage his own war against them - he robs their ships and cities. In 1572, he managed to capture the "Silver Caravan", carrying more than 30 tons of silver, which immediately made the pirate rich. An interesting feature of Drake was the fact that he not only sought to loot more, but also to visit previously unknown places. As a result, many sailors were filled with gratitude to Drake for his work in clarifying and correcting the map of the world. With the permission of the queen, the pirate went on a secret expedition to South America, with the official version of the exploration of Australia. The expedition was a great success. Drake maneuvered so cleverly, avoiding the traps of enemies, that he managed to make a trip around the world on his way home. Along the way, he attacked Spanish settlements in South America, circled Africa and brought home potato tubers. The total profit from the campaign was unprecedented - more than half a million pounds. Then it was twice the budget of the whole country. As a result, right on board the ship, Drake was knighted - an unprecedented case, which has no analogues in history. The apogee of the pirate's greatness came at the end of the 16th century, when he took part as an admiral in the defeat of the Invincible Armada. In the future, luck turned away from the pirate, during one of the subsequent voyages to the American shores, he fell ill with dengue fever and died.

Edward Teach(1680-1718) better known by his nickname Blackbeard. It was because of this external attribute that Tich was considered a terrible monster. The first mention of the activities of this corsair refers only to 1717, what the Englishman did before that remained unknown. By indirect evidence, one can guess that he was a soldier, but deserted and became a filibuster. Then he was already pirating, terrifying people with his beard, which covered almost the entire face. Tich was very brave and courageous, which earned him the respect of other pirates. He wove wicks into his beard, which, smoking, terrified opponents. In 1716, Edward was given command of his sloop to conduct privateer operations against the French. Teach soon captured a larger ship and made it his flagship, renaming it Queen Anne's Revenge. The pirate at this time operates in the Jamaica region, robbing everyone in a row and gaining new henchmen. By the beginning of 1718, there were already 300 people under the command of Tich. In a year, he managed to capture more than 40 ships. All the pirates knew that the bearded man was hiding a treasure on some of the uninhabited islands, but no one knew exactly where. The atrocities of the pirate against the British and the robbery of the colonies forced the authorities to declare a hunt for Blackbeard. An impressive reward was announced and Lieutenant Maynard was hired to track down Teach. In November 1718, the pirate was overtaken by the authorities and was killed during the battle. Teach's head was chopped off, and the body was hung on a yardarm.

William Kidd(1645-1701). Born in Scotland near the docks, the future pirate decided from childhood to connect his fate with the sea. In 1688, Kidd, being a simple sailor, survived a shipwreck near Haiti and was forced to become a pirate. In 1689, having betrayed his associates, William took possession of the frigate, calling it "Blessed William". With the help of a letter of marque, Kidd took part in the war against the French. In the winter of 1690, part of the team left him, and Kidd decided to settle down. He married a wealthy widow, taking possession of land and property. But the heart of a pirate demanded adventure, and now, after 5 years, he is already a captain again. The powerful frigate "Brave" was intended to rob, but only the French. After all, the expedition was sponsored by the state, which did not need unnecessary political scandals. However, the sailors, seeing the scarcity of profits, periodically revolted. The capture of a rich ship with French goods did not save the situation. Fleeing from his former subordinates, Kidd surrendered into the hands of the British authorities. The pirate was taken to London, where he quickly became a bargaining chip in the struggle of political parties. On charges of piracy and the murder of a ship's officer (who was the instigator of the mutiny), Kidd was sentenced to death. In 1701, the pirate was hanged, and his body hung in an iron cage over the Thames for 23 years, as a warning to the corsairs of imminent punishment.

Mary Reid(1685-1721). Since childhood, the girl was dressed in the clothes of a boy. So the mother tried to hide the death of her son who died early. At the age of 15, Mary went to serve in the army. In the battles in Flanders, under the name Mark, she showed miracles of courage, but she did not wait for promotion. Then the woman decided to join the cavalry, where she fell in love with her colleague. After the end of hostilities, the couple got married. However, the happiness did not last long, her husband died unexpectedly, Mary, dressed in men's clothes, became a sailor. The ship fell into the hands of pirates, the woman was forced to join them, cohabiting with the captain. In battle, Mary wore a male uniform, participating in skirmishes on an equal basis with everyone else. Over time, the woman fell in love with an artisan who helped a pirate. They even got married and were going to end the past. But even here the happiness did not last long. Pregnant Reid was caught by the authorities. When she was caught along with other pirates, she said that she was committing robberies against her will. However, other pirates showed that there was no one more determined than Mary Read in the matter of robbing ships and boarding. The court did not dare to hang a pregnant woman, she patiently waited for her fate in a Jamaican prison, not being afraid of a shameful death. But a high fever killed her first.
Bonnie, Ann(1690 -?) - one of the most famous female pirates. Born in Ireland in the family of a wealthy lawyer William Cormac. She spent her childhood in South Carolina, where her family moved when Ann's father bought a plantation. Pretty early she married a simple sailor James Bonnie with whom she fled in search of adventure. Then Anne Bonnie got involved with a famous pirate.Jack Rackham. She began to sail on his ship and participate in pirate raids. During one of these raids, Ann metMary Reed. , after which they continued to engage in sea robbery together. It is not known exactly how many lives the spoiled daughter of the ex-lawyer ruined, but in 1720 the pirate ship was ambushed, after which the gallows awaited all the robbers. However, by that time, Ann was already pregnant, the intervention of rich daddy came in handy, so that in the end the pirate managed to avoid the well-deserved gallows and even go free. Then all traces of it are lost. In general, the example of Ann Bonnie is interesting, as a rare case in those days when a woman took on a purely masculine craft.

Olivier (Francois) le Wasserbecame the most famous French pirate. He bore the nickname "La blues", or "buzzard". A Norman nobleman of noble origin was able to turn the island of Tortuga (now Haiti) into an impregnable fortress of filibusters. Initially, Le Wasser was sent to the island to protect the French settlers, but he quickly drove the British out of there (according to other sources - the Spaniards) and began to pursue his own policy. Being a talented engineer, the Frenchman designed a well-fortified fortress. Le Vasseur issued filibuster very dubious documents for the right to hunt the Spaniards, taking the lion's share of the booty for himself. In fact, he became the leader of the pirates, without taking a direct part in the hostilities. When in 1643 the Spaniards failed to take the island, having discovered fortifications with surprise, the authority of le Wasser grew noticeably. He finally refused to obey the French and pay deductions to the crown. However, the spoiled character, tyranny and tyranny of the Frenchman led to the fact that in 1652 he was killed by his own friends. According to legend, Le Wasser collected and hid the largest treasure of all time, worth 235 million pounds in today's money. Information about the location of the treasure was kept in the form of a cryptogram around the governor's neck, but the gold was never found.

Zheng Shi(1785-1844) is considered one of the most successful pirates. The facts that she commanded a fleet of 2000 ships, on which more than 70 thousand sailors served, will tell about the scale of her actions. The 16-year-old prostitute "Madame Jing" married the famous pirate Zheng Yi. After his death in 1807, the widow inherited a pirate fleet of 400 ships. Corsairs not only attacked merchant ships off the coast of China, but also swam deep into the mouths of the rivers, devastating coastal settlements. The emperor was so surprised by the actions of the pirates that he sent his fleet against them, but this did not have significant consequences. The key to Zheng Shi's success was the strict discipline she established on the courts. She put an end to traditional pirate freedoms - plundering allies and raping prisoners was punishable by death. However, as a result of the betrayal of one of her captains, a female pirate in 1810 was forced to conclude a truce with the authorities. Her further career was held as the owner of a brothel and a gambling den. The story of a pirate woman is reflected in literature and cinema, there are many legends about her.

William Dampier(1651-1715) is often referred to not just as a pirate, but also as a scientist. After all, he made as many as three round-the-world voyages, discovering many islands in the Pacific Ocean. Orphaned early, William chose the sea path. At first he took part in trading voyages, and then he managed to make war. In 1674, an Englishman came to Jamaica as a trading agent, but his career in this capacity did not work out, and Dampier was forced to become a sailor of a merchant ship again. After exploring the Caribbean, William settled on the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, on the Yucatan coast. Here he found friends in the form of runaway slaves and filibusters. Dampier's later life took place in the idea of ​​traveling through Central America, plundering Spanish settlements on land and at sea. He sailed in the waters of Chile, Panama, New Spain. Dampier began to keep notes of his adventures almost immediately. As a result, in 1697, his book "A New Journey Around the World" was published, which made him famous. Dampier became a member of the most prestigious houses in London, entered the royal service and continued his research by writing a new book. However, in 1703, on an English ship, Dampier continued a series of robberies of Spanish ships and settlements in the Panama region. In 1708-1710, he took part as a navigator of a corsair round-the-world expedition. The works of the pirate scientist turned out to be so valuable for science that he is considered to be one of the fathers of modern oceanography.

Edward Lau(1690-1724) also known as Ned Lau. For most of his life, this man traded in petty theft. In 1719, his wife died in childbirth, and Edward realized that from now on nothing ties him to the house. After 2 years, he became a pirate operating around the Azores, New England and the Caribbean. This time is considered the end of the century of piracy, but Lau became famous for the fact that in a short time he managed to capture more than a hundred ships, while showing a rare bloodthirstiness.

Aruj Barbarossa(1473-1518) became a pirate at the age of 16, after the Turks captured his native island of Lesvos. Already at the age of 20, Barbarossa became a merciless and brave corsair. Having escaped from captivity, he soon seized a ship for himself, becoming the leader. Aruj entered into an agreement with the Tunisian authorities, who allowed him to organize a base on one of the islands in exchange for a share of the booty. As a result, the pirate fleet of Arouge terrorized all Mediterranean ports. Having got involved in politics, Arouj eventually became the ruler of Algeria under the name of Barbarossa. However, the fight against the Spaniards did not bring good luck to the Sultan - he was killed. His work was continued by his younger brother, known as Barbaross II.

Jack Rackham (1682-1720). And this famous pirate was nicknamed Calico Jack. The fact is that he loved to wear Calico pants, which were brought from India. And although this pirate was not the most cruel or the most successful, he managed to become famous. The fact is that Rackham's team had two women dressed in men's clothes at once - Mary Reed and Ann Boni. Both of them were mistresses of a pirate. Thanks to this fact, as well as the courage and courage of his ladies, the Rackham team also became famous. But luck changed him when in 1720 his ship met with the ship of the governor of Jamaica. At that time, the entire crew of pirates was dead drunk. To get away from persecution, Rackham ordered to cut the anchor. However, the military were able to catch up with him and take him after a short fight. The captain of the pirates, along with his entire crew, was hanged in Jamaica, in Port Royal. Just before his death, Rackham asked for a meeting with Ann Boni. But she herself refused him this, saying that if the pirate had fought like a man, he would not have died like a dog. It is said that John Rackham is the author of the famous pirate symbol - the skull and crossbones, the "Jolly Roger". Jean Lafitte (? -1826). This famous corsair was also a smuggler. With the tacit consent of the government of the young American state, he calmly robbed the ships of England and Spain in the Gulf of Mexico. The heyday of the activity of the pirate fell on the 1810s. It is not known where and when exactly Jean Lafitte was born. It is possible that he was a native of Haiti and was a secret Spanish agent. It was said that Lafitte knew the coast of the bay better than many cartographers. It was known for sure that he sold the stolen goods through his brother, a merchant who lived in New Orleans. The Lafittes illegally supplied slaves to the southern states, but thanks to their guns and people, the Americans were able to defeat the British in 1815 in the battle for New Orleans. In 1817, under pressure from the authorities, the pirate settled on the Texas island of Galveston, where he even founded his own state of Campeche. Lafitte continued to supply slaves as well, using intermediaries for this. But in 1821, one of his captains personally attacked a plantation in Louisiana. And although Lafitte was ordered by an insolent man, the authorities ordered him to sink his ships and leave the island. The pirate has only two ships left from the once entire fleet. Then Lafitte with a group of his followers settled on the island of Isla Mujeres off the coast of Mexico. But even then, he did not attack American ships. And after 1826, there is no information about the valiant pirate. In Louisiana itself, there are still legends about Captain Lafitte. And in the city of Lake Charles, "smugglers' days" are even held in his memory. Even a nature reserve near the coast of Barataria is named after the pirate. And in 1958, Hollywood even released a film about Lafitte, played by Yul Brynner.

Thomas Cavendish(1560-1592). Pirates not only robbed ships, but were also brave travelers, discovering new lands. In particular, Cavendish was the third sailor who decided to travel around the world. His youth was spent in the English fleet. Thomas led such a turbulent life that he quickly lost all his inheritance. And in 1585, he left the service and went for his share of the booty to rich America. He returned home rich. Easy money and the help of fortune forced Cavendish to choose the path of a pirate to gain fame and fortune. On July 22, 1586, Thomas sailed from Plymouth to Sierra Leone at the head of his own flotilla. The expedition aimed to find new islands, to study winds and currents. However, this did not prevent them from engaging in parallel and outright robbery. At the very first stop in Sierra Leone, Cavendish, along with his 70 sailors, robbed the local settlements. A good start allowed the captain to dream of future exploits. January 7, 1587 Cavendish passed through the Strait of Magellan, and then went north along the coast of Chile. Before him, only one European traveled this way - Francis Drake. The Spaniards controlled this part of the Pacific Ocean, generally calling it the Spanish Lake. The rumor of English pirates forced the garrisons to gather. But the Englishman's flotilla was worn out - Thomas found a quiet bay for repairs. The Spaniards, however, did not wait, finding the pirates during the raid. However, the British not only repelled the attack of superior forces, but also put them to flight and immediately robbed several neighboring settlements. Two ships have gone on. On June 12, they reached the equator and until November the pirates waited for the "treasury" ship with all the proceeds of the Mexican colonies. Persistence was rewarded, and the British captured a lot of gold and jewelry. However, when dividing the booty, the pirates quarreled, and Cavendish was left with one ship. With him he went to the west, where he obtained a load of spices by robbery. On September 9, 1588, Cavendish's ship returned to Plymouth. The pirate not only became one of the first to circumnavigate the world, but also did it very quickly - in 2 years and 50 days. In addition, 50 people of his team returned with the captain. This record was so significant that it lasted more than two centuries.
Creating a topic, I could not help but remember about the game, no, I would say the masterpiece of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. But I won’t tell you about it, but I advise those who haven’t played to try it, you won’t regret it!

Incredible Facts

Blackbeard

Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, instituted a reign of terror in the Caribbean that lasted from 1716 to 1718.

The sailor began as a privateer fighting for England during the War of the Spanish Succession, honing his skills as a pirate before turning to piracy.

A fierce fighter, Blackbeard was known both for his particular style of taking over ships and for his huge mane of hair.

Anne Bonnie

The most famous female pirate in history was as intimidating as her male counterparts, and besides, she was very smart and educated.

The daughter of a plantation owner, Ann left her settled life in the early 1700s and went to conquer the seas.

She joined the crew of Jack Rackham's Calico ship disguised as a man, but legend has it that she was spared the death penalty after the crew was captured because she was pregnant.

Captain Samuel Bellamy

Although he died at a very young age (he was only 28 years old), "Black Sam" made a name for himself after he captured several ships, including the Whydah Gally, a ship that was full of gold, silver and other valuable commodity. Bellamy made the ship his own in 1717, but he sank in a storm that same year.

Jin Shih

The golden age of piracy did not pass by China, and women on board or even at the helm were not uncommon.

From 1801, her "career" developed very rapidly, and she became one of the most powerful female captains, and, in the end, the commander of a fleet of 2,000 ships and 70,000 sailors.

It is believed that the key to Jin's success was the iron discipline that reigned on her ships.

Bartholomew Roberts

"Black" Bart Roberts was one of the most successful pirates of the Golden Age, patrolling the waters off the coast of Africa and the Caribbean.

In less than four years, he captured 400 ships.

Bart was very cold-blooded and rarely left anyone alive on the captured ships, so the British authorities actively searched for him. He died at sea.

Captain Kidd

Pirate or privateer? Scottish sailor William Kidd is known for high-profile litigation with the British government over his heinous crimes and piracy attacks.

However, the veracity of this claim is still disputed. According to some modern historians, Kidd acted according to his letter of marque and did not attack allied ships.

However, he was hanged in 1701. Rumors about the whereabouts of the vast treasures he hid still haunt the minds of many adventurers to this day.

Henry Morgan

So popular that a rum was named after him, Captain Morgan first served as a privateer in the Caribbean, then became a pirate, and famously wreaked havoc in the "golden" Spanish colony of Panama City in the mid-1600s.

He is also known as one of the few pirates who managed to "retire".

Calico Jack (Calico Jack)

"Jolly Roger Flag Pioneer" Calico Jack Rackham was a pirate of the Caribbean who had several epic names, but is known for his association with Anne Bonnie as well as his classic pirate death.

Captured in Jamaica in 1720, Rackham was hanged, doused with tar and set on fire to show what would happen to every pirate. Now the place where this event took place is called Cay Rackham.

Sir Francis Drake

Noble to some and criminal to others, Drake spent the time between the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 and his world tour active in piracy and the slave trade in the Caribbean.

The conquests he carried out, especially the attacks on the Spanish colonies in Central America, were considered among the richest in the amount of piracy taken in the history.

Brothers Barbarossa

Names such as Aru and Khizir may not seem familiar to you, but the nickname given to Turkish corsairs by Europeans - Barbarossa (red beard) - probably conjures up images of tough and stern sailors in the Mediterranean.

In the 16th century, using North Africa as a base, the Barbarossa brothers attacked several coastal towns and became one of the most powerful people in the area.