Browse Items (35 total)

Captain Barbosa, though not the one for the hit Disney film, was a feared pirate from the island of lesbos during the Turkish Rule of Greece. He along with his brother Oruc, ruled as one of the most powerful pirates during the 18th centuries.

In the mid-1600s, Spain would invade Tortuga four times in an attempt to end the buccaneer threat. However, every time their soldiers would leave, the buccaneers would return, and build up the fortifications they previously left behind. The rocky…

During the age of Spanish exploration and colonization, treasure fleets regularly made trips to the Americas to deliver and collect treasures, including the many precious metals South America had to offer. In late summer these ships would join the…

Sugar production was crucial in the Americas. Molasses and rum were sugar products with lucrative trades, and these products found their way across the world. Alcohol was often the only ready supply of clean drinks, and rum in particular was…

As a young man, Henry Morgan was sold into indentured servitude in the Caribbean. After regaining his freedom, he would go on to be recruited by a pirate crew and later would leave a legacy of unprecedented pirate rampage. His power and prestige were…

This depiction shows a 17th century tobacco plantation in Virginia. Tobacco was an extremely important cash crop and its production fueled many early colonies and was shipped across the world to fuel growing markets. Tobacco production was extremely…

A Spanish soldier aiming an arquebus. The arquebus was a primitive type of early firearm that saw extensive in the Americas use during the early colonial period. As with artillery, guns had a psychological effect on Native populations and as firearm…

The Valdivia fort system is located in at Corral Bay in Chile and were used to protect the city of Valdivia as well as resupply Spanish ships. Coastal defenses such as these were crucial in the colonies as they provided protection from pirates and…

During the colonial period many European nations took advantage of the favorable climate and environment for sugar production in the Caribbean. Sugar is still an extremely valuable crop to this day in the region, and the production process is…

The various colonial empires in the Americas had currencies they either brought from Europe, or developed as the colonies progressed. Currencies such as the Spanish dollar pictured were accepted across the Americas and the widespread use of them…