Republic of Pirates
Republic of Pirates | |||||||||
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| 1713–1718 | |||||||||
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The Death's Head flag | |||||||||
The islands of modern-day Bahamas | |||||||||
| Capital | Nassau | ||||||||
| Common languages | English | ||||||||
| Religion | Christianity (de facto) | ||||||||
| Demonym(s) | Privateer (1706–1714) Pirate (1714–1718) | ||||||||
| Government | Confederated republican proto-state under "Code of Conduct" | ||||||||
| Legislature | None (de jure) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Golden Age of Piracy | ||||||||
• Established | 1706 | ||||||||
• Disestablished | 12 December 1718 | ||||||||
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| Today part of | The Bahamas Turks and Caicos Islands | ||||||||
The Republic of Pirates was the base and stronghold of a loose confederacy run by privateers-turned-pirates in Nassau on New Providence island in the Bahamas during the Golden Age of Piracy for about five years from 1713 until 1718. While it was not a republic in a formal sense, it was governed by an informal pirate code, which dictated that the crews of the Republic would vote on the leadership of their ships and treat other pirate crews with civility. The term comes from Colin Woodard's book of the same name.
The activities of the pirates caused havoc with trade and shipping in the West Indies until newly-appointed Royal Governor of the Bahama Islands Woodes Rogers reached Nassau in 1718 and restored British control. Rogers, a former privateer himself, offered clemency to the pirates of the Bahamas, known as the "King's Pardon", an offer many pirates took advantage of. Though a few returned to piracy in the following years, British control of the Bahamas had been secured.