State-sponsored piracy opened the Caribbean to French and English colonial settlement

Evidence

Throughout the sixteenth century, ships heavy with silver and gold dug by indigenous slaves out of the mines of the Americas constantly crossed the Atlantic. These floating treasure chests, often traveling relatively unarmed, were all-too-tempting prey. The Spanish and Portuguese defended their ships against these marauders, at significant cost, while English and French governors saw that it was in their interest to support piracy against their enemies. By weakening the Spanish hold on the seas and establishing unofficial settlements elsewhere in the Caribbean, the pirates opened the way for more permanent, colonial settlement supported by European royal governments. — Dubois, Laurent, Avengers of the New World_ The Story of…, 66

Categorization

Category: Causal Relationships

Related

• State-backed piracy carved out the colonial footholds in the Caribbean (similarity 0.85)