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Pirate utopias were defined by
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
writer
Peter Lamborn Wilson, who coined the term in his 1995 book ''Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes'' as secret islands once used for supply purposes by
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s. Wilson's concept is largely based on speculation, although he admits to adding a bit of fantasy to the idea. In Wilson's view, these pirate enclaves were early forms of autonomous proto-
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not necessari ...
societies in that they operated beyond the reach of
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...
s and embraced unrestricted
freedom.
On the Barbary Coast
Located on the
Barbary Coast (
Salé,
Algiers and
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
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, utc_offset1 ...
), these bases were havens for renegade
Muslim pirates from the 16th to the 18th century. The pirates, dubbed "
Barbary Corsairs", ravaged European shipping operations and enslaved many thousands of captives. Wilson focuses on the Pirate
Republic of Salé
The Republic of Salé was a city state at Salé (modern Morocco), during the 17th century. Located at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, it was founded by Moriscos from the town of Hornachos, in Western Spain. Moriscos were the descendants ...
, in 17th century Morocco, which may have had its own lingua franca. Like some other pirate states, it even used to pass treaties from time to time with some European countries, agreeing not to attack their fleets. Wilson/Bey's idea of
Temporary Autonomous Zones developed from his historical review of pirate utopias. In describing them, Wilson has said:
Connection to Islam
Wilson writes about the large influx of Europeans converting to Islam, forming the "Renegados" and joining the pirate
holy war. He then takes an interesting approach regarding 17th century Europeans and their opposition to Islam. He asks if Europeans were opposed to Islam or if Islam had a "positive shadow" that made it so attractive for pirates? Was there something that was intriguing to a pirate about Islam, or was there a change in belief that many Europeans experienced? Wilson goes on to write that these men and women were not only
apostates and
traitors
Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...
, as they were considered in their homelands, but their voluntary betrayal of
Christendom
Christendom historically refers to the Christian states, Christian-majority countries and the countries in which Christianity dominates, prevails,SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christendom"/ref> or is culturally or historically intertwin ...
can also be thought of as a
praxis
Praxis may refer to:
Philosophy and religion
* Praxis (process), the process by which a theory, lesson, or skill is enacted, practised, embodied, or realised
*Praxis model, a way of doing theology
* Praxis (Byzantine Rite), the practice of fai ...
of social resistance.
Libertatia
Libertatia (also known as Libertalia) was a possibly fictional anarchist colony founded in the late 17th century in
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
by
pirate
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...
s under the leadership of Captain James Misson. Whether or not Libertatia actually existed is disputed.
Captain Charles Johnson describes Libertatia in his book ''
A General History of the Pyrates''. Much of the book is a mixture of fact and fiction, and it is possible the account of Libertatia is entirely fabricated. According to Johnson's description, Libertatia lasted for about 25 years. The precise location is not known; however, most sources say it stretched from the
Bay of Antongil to
Mananjary
Mananjary is a city located in Vatovavy, Madagascar with a population of 25,222 inhabitants in 2018.
It is the chief city of the Mananjary district.
It contains a town of the same name, situated on the southern part of the east coast, where the M ...
, including
Île Sainte Marie and
Foulpointe.
Thomas Tew
Thomas Tew (died September 1695), also known as the Rhode Island Pirate, was a 17th-century English privateer-turned-pirate. He embarked on two major pirate voyages and met a bloody death on the second, and he pioneered the route which became kn ...
, Misson, and an Italian Dominican priest named Caraccioli were involved in founding it.
In literature and popular culture
''
Cities of the Red Night'', a novel by American author
William S. Burroughs, revolves around a group of radical pirates who seek the freedom to live under the articles set out by
Captain James Misson.
The attempted establishment of a
Republic of Pirates utopia (free from either British or Spanish rule) is a significant plot element in the
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include ''Assassin's Creed'', '' Far Cry'', ...
video game ''
Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag''.
In the movie ''
Pirates of the Caribbean 3: At World's End'' the main characters gather at "Shipwreck Cove", a city built out of wrecked ships and constructed platforms.
The TV series ''
Black Sails'' is largely based on the history and famous historical pirate inhabitants of
Nassau, as well as characters based on
Robert Louis Stevenson
Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as '' Treasure Island'', '' Strange Case of Dr Jekyll ...
's novel ''
Treasure Island
''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure n ...
''. Several characters' motivations are rooted in the idea of establishing a pirate republic based on egalitarian and democratic principles in Nassau.
Libertalia is also a central plot element and setting in the video game ''
Uncharted 4: A Thief's End''. However, in this interpretation, Libertalia was founded by the pirate
Henry Avery and others including Tew,
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (8 March 1697 – disappeared April 1721), sometimes Anne Bonney, was an Irish pirate operating in the Caribbean, and one of the few female pirates in recorded history. What little that is known of her life comes largely from Capta ...
and
Edward England.
The 2015 video game ''
Fallout 4'' features an area in the game called Libertalia. The area is a series of off-shore platforms (made of various debris) that has become home to a large gang of raiders.
British Author Warren Ellis writes in
Bruce Sterling's book ''Pirate Utopia'' about Libertalia and the objections against its existence.
See also
*
Porto Farina
*
Republic of Pirates
References
Further reading
*Hakim Bey, ''TAZ - The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism'' (Autonomedia, 2003)
*Peter Ludlow, ''Crypto Anarchy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias'' (2001)
External links
Pirate Utopias (Do or Die) - Piracy and Anarchism
{{Pirates
Utopias and reality
Barbary Wars
Political philosophy
Social philosophy
Utopia
A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book '' Utopia'', describing a fictional island socie ...
Anarchism