The Golden Age of Piracy

The full title of this act:

An Act for making perpetual so much of an Act made in the Tenth Year of the Reign of Queen Anne, for the reviving and continuing several Acts therein mentioned, as relates to the building and repairing County Gaols; and also an Act of the Eleventh and Twelfth Years of the Reign of King William the Third, for the more effectual Suppression of Piracy; and for making more effectual the Act of the Thirteenth Year of the Reign of King Charles the Second, intituled, “An Act for establishing Articles and Orders for the regulating and better Government of His Majesty’s Ships of War, and Forces by Sea.”

This act commenced on 23^rd November 1719. Section 3 amends the Piracy Act 1698, which was about to expire, making it perpetual, as well as extending existing Vagrancy acts. It was repealed on 15^th July 1867 by the Statute Law Revision Act.…

The Piracy Act 1717 was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain. Its long title was “An Act for the further preventing Robbery, Burglary, and other Felonies, and for the more effectual Transportation of Felons, and unlawful Exporters of Wool; and for declaring the Law upon some Points relating to Pirates.”

Not only dealing with pirates, the act established a seven-year banishment to North America as a possible punishment for those convicted of lesser felonies, or as a possible sentence that capital punishment might be commuted to by royal pardon. Transportation of criminals to North America continued until 1776, when the American War of Independence made it unfeasible to carry out the practice. After that, felons were sentenced to be punished with imprisonment or hard labour instead. It wasn’t until 1787 that convicted convicts were transported to Australia, continuing until 1868.

Furthermore, it allowed courts to prosecute at their discretion either under civil law (The Suppression of Piracy Act 1698) or common law (Offences at Sea Act 1536).…

This act was passed during the reign of William III. The main purpose behind the statute was to make some corrections to the Offences at Sea Act 1536. These changes included allowing for acts of piracy to be “examined, inquired of, tried, heard and determined, and adjudged in any place at sea, or upon the land, in any of his Majesty’s islands, plantations, colonies, dominions, forts, or factories”. This enabled admirals to hold a court session to hear the trials of pirates in any place they deemed necessary, rather than requiring that the trial be held in England, thus avoiding the costly and time-consuming transport of captured pirates across the Atlantic. It also meant those accused of piracy didn’t necessarily have to be tried by a jury.