00:00On September 7, 1695, somewhere by the sea, near Cape Bonne-Espérance, a merchant ship, loaded with treasures, was sailing from present-day Yemen to its port in India.
00:13Its escort, previously captured by pirates, could no longer protect it, and soon a frigate appeared on the horizon, heading straight for it.
00:22From the mast, a red pavilion adorned with a skull was floating in the wind.
00:26When the battle was over, the British pirate Henry Avery sailed away, taking one of the most important catches of the time.
00:34All these events took place during the golden age of piracy, between 1790 and 1730.
00:41At that time, every ship crossing the Atlantic feared the European pirates, and the expression « a thousand sabors » resonated in the taverns of many continents.
00:50From the coasts of North America to those of South America, these pirates attacked the merchant ships to seize their precious loot.
00:58The Caribbean was at the heart of piracy.
01:01Are the names of Blackbeard and Captain Kidd familiar to you, or am I the only one to immerse myself in the stories of pirates?
01:08Anyway, at the end of the 17th century, the quest for wealth led some to sail east, along the African coast and penetrating the Indian Ocean.
01:18This is how Avery ended up so far east.
01:21But he was not the only European to sail in this direction.
01:25The Indian Ocean was then a real commercial harbour,
01:28where ships carrying luxury goods or pilgrims were sailing to the Mecca or the Mughal Empire, located in the Indies.
01:37Their cargaisons consisted of parties, spices, incense and perfumes.
01:42In addition, the East Indies Company sailed in the name of several European empires such as England, the Netherlands and France,
01:49goods as diverse as liquid silver and jewels.
01:53The dream of every pirate, you will agree.
01:56The most coveted ships were those of the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb,
02:00whose immense empire extended over almost the entire Indian subcontinent.
02:04Back in the Caribbean, the most common cargaisons were made of fabric, wood and spirit.
02:11However, these goods did not satisfy the most ambitious pirates, who turned to more luxurious purchases.
02:17However, silver and jewellery were available in abundance in the Indian Ocean.
02:21Among the first to go there was Adam Baldridge,
02:25wanted for the murder of a man in Jamaica, then under British domination.
02:29By unscrupulous means, he managed, in 1691, to establish a pirate refuge on St. Mary's Island,
02:37near the north coast of Madagascar, 400 km from the African continent.
02:42This place was ideally located at the crossroads of the main maritime routes linking Europe to Asia.
02:48The pirates made sure to fortify the island.
02:50As one might expect, they did not appreciate impromptu visits and enjoyed staying on this island,
02:56where they could party safely.
02:59A Frenchman named Olivier Levasseur and his English colleague, John Taylor,
03:04were among the most prosperous inhabitants of the island.
03:07In 1721, they easily captured a Portuguese ship loaded with treasures.
03:13However, the operation did not go smoothly.
03:16A violent storm damaged the ship, forcing them to dock on the island of La Réunion for repairs.
03:21On board were individuals of marque, such as the Viceroy of Portuguese India and the Bishop of Goa.
03:27But what truly marked the success of the tandem was the loot.
03:32Doublons, diamonds, and porcelain worth several hundred million euros.
03:38The loot was so colossal that the pirates did not even bother to rob the rich passengers.
03:44However, this feat did not succeed in eclipsing that of Henry Avery, made 26 years earlier.
03:50We know little about this Englishman, except that he was born in Plymouth and served in the merchant navy.
03:56In 1694, Avery became the first lieutenant on board the Charles II,
04:00a racing ship seized by the Spanish crown.
04:03These ships, private property, were engaged by the nations in times of war against other powers.
04:09Avery's role was to track down French smugglers in the Caribbean.
04:13But things were about to change.
04:16Remarkably persuasive, Avery fomented a mutiny in 1694, which was crowned a success.
04:23After leaving the unfortunate captain on the ground and renaming the ship Fancy,
04:28the new captain headed for Madagascar.
04:31There, he learned that an imposing fleet of 25 ships was about to rally its docking port in India.
04:38Among the ships, in addition to the pilgrims, were several ships loaded with treasures belonging to the Great Mughal.
04:45Without wasting time, Avery formed an armada of six ships to track down the Mughal convoy.
04:50As soon as they saw the fleet, the pirates launched into a frenzied pursuit.
04:54They managed to board an escort ship, taking gold and silver for a value exceeding the current 17 million euros.
05:01And as if that were not enough, Avery and his crew launched in pursuit of the admiral ship.
05:06The Ganges-Hawaii, India's largest ship at the time, capable of defending itself better than the entire fleet.
05:13Luck smiled on the pirates, because one of their flights seriously damaged the Indian ship, cutting its main mast in two.
05:20Taking advantage of the opportunity, Avery docked the immobilized Mughal ship, and his men climbed aboard.
05:26Despite the abandonment of their captain, the Indian sailors opposed an impressive resistance.
05:31Finally, Avery's men triumphed, making one of the most lucrative takes in the history of piracy.
05:39They filled their coffers with hundreds of thousands of jewelry and precious metals.
05:44After that, they took the direction of the Bahamas, emitting their immense wealth for profit, to convince the governor to let them coast.
05:53Their most precious good, fancy, was part of the deal.
05:57When the news of this plunder reached the great Mughals, a diplomatic scandal broke out.
06:03The furious emperor accused the East India Company of plotting against him, and had several of his high-ranking officials arrested.
06:11Fearing that the sovereign would cancel their precious trade agreements, the Company decided to prove its good faith by dragging those responsible to justice.
06:20With the help of British ships specially equipped for the high seas, a pursuit was launched across the globe, aiming to capture Avery and his crew.
06:30With the promise of a reward to anyone who would succeed in capturing them.
06:35This pursuit was only partially fruitful, because the Navy only managed to capture and judge a handful of pirates.
06:42Most of them dispersed throughout Europe and the Americas, taking their share of the loot with them.
06:49Avery, on the other hand, won the nickname of Pirate King thanks to his exploits in the Indian Ocean.
06:55Historians suppose that he took refuge in Ireland with his share of the treasure under a false name, George Washington's.
07:02No, I'm kidding.
07:05Piracy was a dangerous trade, and all European adventurers did not meet the same success in the East.
07:12Take for example the Dutch pirate Dirk Schivers, who managed to trap four ships in the Indian port of Calicut.
07:19He ransacked the city as well as the East Indies Company, but was only offered half of the amount required.
07:25Finally, another amount was negotiated.
07:28But as this one did not arrive, Schivers set fire to another ship.
07:32At that moment, both the British and the Indians were fed up and sent ten Corsair ships to chase Schivers, which they managed to do.
07:42The captain of the regained St. Mary's Island had his hands empty.
07:46At the turn of the 18th century, the increased European presence in the region marked the end of the golden age of piracy.
07:52While the British authorities intensified their raids against pirate landmarks, the number of these fell drastically.
07:59In 1692, a terrible earthquake followed by a tsunami destroyed a famous pirate landmark, Port Royal in Jamaica.
08:09However, piracy in the Indian Ocean has never completely disappeared.
08:13Modern pirates may no longer have eye covers or parrots on their shoulders, but they are just as determined as those of the past.
08:20The Malacca District connects the Indian Ocean to the Pacific, and today nearly 40% of world trade passes through this route.
08:28However, piracy was still present in the 21st century.
08:33The authorities of Malaysia and Indonesia, the two countries that separate this district, managed to curb piracy in 2016.
08:41And no, this is not a romantic fable.
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