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(man screaming)
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Pirates.
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Their peg legs and parrots, their thirst for booty,
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and their ships loaded with doubloons
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has fueled our imagination,
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and turned them into popular icons.
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Fire.
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(cannons firing)
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But who were these men in real life,
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and how did they come to be so feared?
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Were they just colorful sailors
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who hid their treasures at the bottom of the bay?
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Or violent criminals?
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How did they structure,
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and what was the scale of their illegal trafficking?
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Until now,
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only a few wrecked pirate ships have been discovered.
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But today, in the western part of the Indian Ocean,
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a team of archeologists is conducting underwater studies,
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in search of the remains of a famous pirate ship,
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which sank in 1702.
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On land, further research is being carried out
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on St. Mary's Island, where pirates used to hide and live.
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Their research gives us clues and tangible proof
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about these men's mysterious lives.
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(adventurous music)
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At the end of the 19th century,
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Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island.
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His book quickly became a bestseller,
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and the public immediately embraced
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its swashbuckling characters,
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these seafaring outlaws, hunting for treasures.
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Pirates like Blackbeard, Red Rickham,
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and Captain Kidd became legendary heroes,
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immortalized by dozens of authors.
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The pirate's sense of adventure and freedom fascinates.
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But how accurate were these stories?
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Where did these freewheeling men come from,
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and why did they take to the sea?
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Where did they hide out
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when they weren't aboard their ships?
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To answer these questions,
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a team of archeologists is headed to the Indian Ocean
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in the waters off the east coast of Mauritius Island.
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Their goal is to resume the investigation of The Speaker,
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A 17th century pirate ship that ran aground
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on a coral reef in 1702,
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and was first explored in the 1980s.
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A rare opportunity to find out more about pirates,
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as only six pirate shipwrecks have ever been found so far.
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Archeologists, Jean Soulat, Anne Hoyau-Berry,
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and Yann Von Arnim have already dived on dozens of wrecks.
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They know how difficult underwater archeology is,
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but here, weather conditions can be rough.
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For 11 months of the year,
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ocean swells batter the Mauritian coast,
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tossing around our scientists.
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Their mission is to map The Speaker's cannons and anchors,
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in order to reconstruct how it sank.
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(water bubbles)
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It's been very difficult today.
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There's a lot of shaking.
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There've been five, five and a half foot waves
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that moved us over 10 feet,
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so it's been challenging for everyone.
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We were ripped apart, tossed around,
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pushed to the surface, and then pushed back down.
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So, the waves gave us a lot to deal with.
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Despite these rough conditions,
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they found some little treasures.
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So, we found a piece of metal,
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which seems to be a musket or a pistol barrel.
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From a pistol or a rifle.
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We'll clean it and then we'll know.
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It's cylindrical. It looks hollow.
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So, this is one of the expedition's first discoveries.
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We also found several pieces of lead pistol bullets.
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You see, each dive has its trove of new discoveries.
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But what was this pirate ship doing
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off the East African coast,
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in the middle of the Indian Ocean,
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and not in the Caribbean, like the legends say?
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In England, a researcher at the University College of London
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studies piracy and the role it played
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in his country's development.
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The humble beginnings of the maritime piracy
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can be traced down to this place, Cornwall.
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By the end of the 17th century,
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the people from Cornwall used the environment
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to make bonfires,
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to make it appear like the fake lighthouses,
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to attract the passing ships,
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and then the ships will be trapped in the rocky shoreline.
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The locals will ambush them, killing them mercilessly,
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and then stealing the goods,
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and selling them in the daylight with no remorse.
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That's why we call the English, nation of pirates.
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Leaving the Cornwall Coast,
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English pirates soon set sail to expand their hunting area.
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The local authorities started
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to pay the ship owners and fishermen to outfit their ships
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with cannons, hard, fearless sailors
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to attack the passing ships.
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But that was not the end of the phenomenon.
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With the rise of the international trade,
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especially with the rise of the Spanish
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and the Portuguese empires,
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they started to attack their convoys laden with the gold.
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A handful of men looking for adventure
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then left Europe to travel the world's sea routes.
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At the beginning of the 16th century,
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Spain and Portugal divided up South America
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and exploited not only the silver mines of Peru in Mexico,
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but also the continent's sugarcane, tobacco,
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and exotic wood.
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As France and England wanted their piece of the pie too,
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they hired the best pirates,
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giving them official letters of protection,
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and permission to attack and loot Spanish ships.
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These special pirates working for the kings and queens
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of England and France were called corsairs.
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(dramatic music)
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(cannons firing)
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(ships exploding)
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(swords clashing)
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To protect themselves, the Spanish organized.
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Their ships now sailed in convoys,
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making them increasingly difficult to attack.
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But in the 1710s,
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the English, French and Spanish formed new alliances
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and stopped their proxy war.
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This is when these corsairs became unwanted and obsolete.
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There was a huge unemployment of the sailors,
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especially the British ones.
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They were looking for a new job, but there was none.
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So they had to join the pirates.
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But these new pirates were leaving these old waters
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looking for the new hunting grounds.
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They were sailing down there,
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across the golden coast of Africa to the Madagascar,
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looking there for the richly laden galleons
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that belonged to the Portuguese.
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Pirates and former corsairs soon operated
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in a new rich hunting ground.
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At the mouth of the Red Sea,
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they lay in weight for the ships of wealthy Muslims
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on pilgrimage to Mecca.
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Off the Indian coast, they hoped to cross paths
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with the great Mughal's merchant fleet,
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which was often loaded with gold, precious gems,
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and valuable goods,
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and to intercept the vessels from the Portuguese,
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English, Dutch, and French Indies
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that transported rich cargoes from China or the Far East.
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(people speaking French)
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(tense music)
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The Speaker is one of these pirate ships.
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Why did it sink here?
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On Mauritius, the swell has calmed,
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so the diving can continue.
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(water splashes)
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(gentle music)
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The ship's wreckage is scattered over a 1000 foot long area,
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where the divers have found around 30 cannons
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and four anchors.
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Slowly, they map the topography of the area,
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noting the precise position and placement of each element,
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in order to better understand how The Speaker sank.
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But what treasure was this pirate ship carrying?
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The first remains of this ship were brought to the surface
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during the first archeological exploration in the 1980s.
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These objects are now kept in the Mahebourg Museum.
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They help us imagine the pirates' daily lives,
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and to evaluate the variety of ships and cargos they looted.
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There are figures linked to deities.
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There are objects of adornment, like rings and medallions,
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but also navigation instruments like compasses,
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or even a portable sundial whose case is missing.
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There are also pipes, fragments of clay pipes.
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There are buttons from the sailors and pirates' clothing.
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From India, the Ottoman Empire,
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China, but also Italy, France, Germany, and Austria,
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the 1,700 objects held by the Mahebourg Museum
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show the diversity of the pirates' hauls
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and their personal possessions.
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(tense music)
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Brigitte Nicolas is a curator
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at the East India Company Museum in Port Louis in France.
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Several centuries ago, the ships of this company,
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hunted by pirates, returned here,
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loaded with valuable merchandise
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captured in the Indian Ocean.
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What lured Europeans to Asia were spices.
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First, they went for cloves and nutmeg,
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spices found on the Maluku islands.
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At that time, they only grew there, and had enormous value,
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very lucrative.
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There was the pepper found on the Malabar coast,
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but also in Java, Sumatra, and Ternate.
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All Indian textiles were of real interest to the French,
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as they were the heart of their trade.
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There were silks from Bengal.
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There were lacquers used to make screens and many boxes.
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There was also saltpeter and precious gemstones.
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There were many different kinds of goods.
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Pirates coveted all of these goods.
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Spices, precious fabrics and porcelain
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were the most common pirate hauls.
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Only rarely did they happen upon gold or precious gemstones.
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One day, I was using a metal detector
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to search an area near The Speaker's guns.
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In a hole, it signaled very loudly,
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so I told myself I needed to have a look.
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So I started moving the coral debris,
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and a sea urchin, and the urchin pinged.
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In fact, the urchin had taken the gold bar
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and camouflaged itself with it.
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It has small suction cups on its spines,
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and it had attached its spines to the bar
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to camouflage itself.
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Normally, it uses pieces of coral or sponges,
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but there it used a little gold ingot.
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So you can see it was cut in half with a knife.
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You can also see the knife slice, and in fact,
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they had to make a little slice, and then broke it by hand.
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There are gold bars that were cut up,
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which really shows the way
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the pirates divided up their booty.
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Though fiercely attached to their freedom,
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these sea scoundrels were not lawless.
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They actually obeyed the famous pirate code.
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These pirate rules,
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like those established by Captain Bartholomew Roberts,
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govern life aboard and ashore.
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For example, their booty was divided equally
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among all the sailors,
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with only the captain receiving a double share.
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But the code also ruled other areas.
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For instance, there was an insurance policy
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for the pirates.
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So for example, if a pirate lost a hand or a leg,
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he got a compensation,
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and still he was a fully fledged member
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of the crew afterwards.
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Perhaps this code of conduct
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helped Bartholomew Roberts become
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one of the most successful pirates.
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He and his men raided over 400 ships.
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Unlike most pirates, he preferred tea to rum,
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refused to rape women, enjoyed classical music,
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and was always clean shaven and well dressed.
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A perfect gentleman,
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who is best remembered for his contribution
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to the pirate code.
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Were pirate naval battles also codified?
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How did they really unfold?
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On the wreck of The Speaker,
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the archeologists continue surveying.
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On the edge of their work area,
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the researchers spot some cannon balls.
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We brought back only some of the cannon balls,
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because with their concretions, it's very difficult.
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They're embedded in the coral, and they're stuck to flint.
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So it was harder than we thought.
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And then, in one of the areas,
266
00:14:37,830 --> 00:14:42,093
where there was a pile of cannonballs, six to be exact,
267
00:14:42,930 --> 00:14:45,810
we managed to remove a whole one that was four inches
268
00:14:45,810 --> 00:14:46,643
in diameter.
269
00:14:47,550 --> 00:14:51,240
Four inch balls could indicate two-headed cannonballs,
270
00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:53,130
which were two cannonballs,
271
00:14:53,130 --> 00:14:55,773
or two half cannonballs joined by a bar.
272
00:14:57,960 --> 00:15:00,540
The purpose of this type of cannonball
273
00:15:00,540 --> 00:15:03,990
was that, as it came out of the cannon, it turned.
274
00:15:03,990 --> 00:15:06,510
They're called angels. They turn like that.
275
00:15:06,510 --> 00:15:09,240
And in fact, they were used to cut the shrouds
276
00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:10,533
holding the masts,
277
00:15:11,490 --> 00:15:13,380
and that would stop a ship in its tracks,
278
00:15:13,380 --> 00:15:15,000
because the masts would fall.
279
00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:16,500
They were very effective,
280
00:15:16,500 --> 00:15:18,723
because they had a high propulsion speed.
281
00:15:20,334 --> 00:15:23,583
And they turned quickly, like nun chucks.
282
00:15:24,690 --> 00:15:26,610
So, they turned.
283
00:15:26,610 --> 00:15:29,160
And in turning, they cut the ropes.
284
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:30,543
They were highly effective.
285
00:15:31,650 --> 00:15:34,080
(cannons firing)
286
00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:35,367
Battles between pirate ships
287
00:15:35,367 --> 00:15:36,960
and their merchant adversaries
288
00:15:36,960 --> 00:15:40,020
followed a specific modest operandi.
289
00:15:40,020 --> 00:15:42,330
As soon as the ship was within firing range,
290
00:15:42,330 --> 00:15:45,123
they used the big guns, then muskets and pistols.
291
00:15:48,030 --> 00:15:51,660
In a famous 16th century ship that's now a museum,
292
00:15:51,660 --> 00:15:54,300
curator Ed Mayhew describes in detail
293
00:15:54,300 --> 00:15:56,253
these intense confrontations.
294
00:15:57,630 --> 00:15:58,920
Once you're on board,
295
00:15:58,920 --> 00:16:02,850
the main weapon would've been the cutlass.
296
00:16:02,850 --> 00:16:05,130
So these are quite short swords,
297
00:16:05,130 --> 00:16:07,533
designed essentially for stabbing and thrusting.
298
00:16:10,170 --> 00:16:11,340
There are also pistols.
299
00:16:11,340 --> 00:16:14,703
So, pirates famously liked to carry their own pistols.
300
00:16:15,810 --> 00:16:16,643
But they would be fired,
301
00:16:16,643 --> 00:16:20,010
and then probably thrown away, probably at your enemy.
302
00:16:20,010 --> 00:16:21,630
You'd probably throw it towards them,
303
00:16:21,630 --> 00:16:25,803
or they turn around and use it to club with the brass.
304
00:16:29,901 --> 00:16:32,734
(swords clashing)
305
00:16:33,930 --> 00:16:37,110
It would just been a cacophony of noise and smoke.
306
00:16:37,110 --> 00:16:38,910
You might not have been able to see what you were firing at
307
00:16:38,910 --> 00:16:40,170
after a while.
308
00:16:40,170 --> 00:16:41,760
If you were reloading a musket,
309
00:16:41,760 --> 00:16:43,980
your mouth would be really dry with the powder
310
00:16:43,980 --> 00:16:44,813
that was getting in there.
311
00:16:44,813 --> 00:16:47,010
So it would be really chaotic,
312
00:16:47,010 --> 00:16:50,553
and hell on water essentially.
313
00:16:51,840 --> 00:16:54,870
Bartholomew Roberts died by having grapeshot
314
00:16:54,870 --> 00:16:56,310
rip his throat out.
315
00:16:56,310 --> 00:17:00,180
Blackbeard had his head almost severed from his body.
316
00:17:00,180 --> 00:17:02,733
So, the wounds that you received were really awful.
317
00:17:03,764 --> 00:17:05,790
And a basic round shot that came through the ship,
318
00:17:05,790 --> 00:17:07,140
if that didn't hit you,
319
00:17:07,140 --> 00:17:09,150
the splinters that flew in with it
320
00:17:09,150 --> 00:17:10,830
would do a lot of damage as well.
321
00:17:10,830 --> 00:17:13,860
So they could have massive shards of wood through a limb
322
00:17:13,860 --> 00:17:16,050
or it could take off whole limbs.
323
00:17:16,050 --> 00:17:17,200
That was really brutal.
324
00:17:20,160 --> 00:17:21,660
If you didn't have a surgeon on board,
325
00:17:21,660 --> 00:17:24,570
the next best bet in some cases was the carpenter,
326
00:17:24,570 --> 00:17:28,200
which kind of tells you the level of of skill needed.
327
00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,700
You just had to be able to saw a limb off quickly.
328
00:17:33,419 --> 00:17:36,252
(water splashing)
329
00:17:39,120 --> 00:17:41,460
Few pirates came out of the Indian Ocean
330
00:17:41,460 --> 00:17:42,753
alive and rich.
331
00:17:44,910 --> 00:17:47,010
So, how can we explain their determination
332
00:17:47,010 --> 00:17:50,580
to live this adventurous life, given the dangers of sailing,
333
00:17:50,580 --> 00:17:52,170
the risk of illness, the fighting,
334
00:17:52,170 --> 00:17:53,703
and the sea's other perils?
335
00:18:00,960 --> 00:18:03,870
I think many sailors had a fervent desire
336
00:18:03,870 --> 00:18:05,670
to escape poverty.
337
00:18:05,670 --> 00:18:09,780
We really can't imagine how difficult life was at that time.
338
00:18:09,780 --> 00:18:12,480
So, a difficult life on board where they were fed
339
00:18:12,480 --> 00:18:14,880
was perhaps less difficult than a life here,
340
00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:17,430
where they weren't sure to eat every day.
341
00:18:17,430 --> 00:18:21,660
So, there was that: escaping poverty. It was truly a goal.
342
00:18:21,660 --> 00:18:25,800
The promise of riches pushed all of these men to Asia.
343
00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:26,973
That was the driver.
344
00:18:31,230 --> 00:18:33,270
Hunted and blacklisted,
345
00:18:33,270 --> 00:18:35,310
often sailing weeks without being able
346
00:18:35,310 --> 00:18:37,200
to replenish their supplies,
347
00:18:37,200 --> 00:18:39,420
pirates relentlessly searched for victims
348
00:18:39,420 --> 00:18:41,373
on the edges of the Indian Ocean.
349
00:18:43,980 --> 00:18:46,680
Two weeks after their expedition started,
350
00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,500
the archeologist discover a clue that identifies
351
00:18:49,500 --> 00:18:51,483
one of the ships The Speaker attacked.
352
00:18:54,939 --> 00:18:56,160
At first glance,
353
00:18:56,160 --> 00:18:58,203
we think it's a slave trade shackle.
354
00:18:59,100 --> 00:19:01,203
Wrist shackles to restrain slaves.
355
00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:05,070
Discovering a slave bracelet on The Speaker
356
00:19:05,070 --> 00:19:06,990
provides evidence that pirate ships
357
00:19:06,990 --> 00:19:08,823
often had slaves on board.
358
00:19:11,130 --> 00:19:13,980
Did the pirates free the slaves they captured,
359
00:19:13,980 --> 00:19:16,380
acting as the liberators of oppressed people,
360
00:19:16,380 --> 00:19:17,793
like certain accounts say?
361
00:19:19,140 --> 00:19:21,063
The reality was more complicated.
362
00:19:23,190 --> 00:19:25,170
Pirates were definitely opportunists,
363
00:19:25,170 --> 00:19:27,660
which means that, when it fits to their course,
364
00:19:27,660 --> 00:19:28,770
they liberated slaves
365
00:19:28,770 --> 00:19:30,930
and make them the members of their crews.
366
00:19:30,930 --> 00:19:33,480
But at other times when there would be overloaded ships,
367
00:19:33,480 --> 00:19:34,923
they just simply sell them.
368
00:19:36,330 --> 00:19:40,080
So of course, there was no charity in their behavior.
369
00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:42,783
It was all motivated by the gain, by the profit.
370
00:19:43,680 --> 00:19:46,680
And indeed, the captain of The Speaker,
371
00:19:46,680 --> 00:19:50,190
John Bowen, was known as a pirate who had no scruples
372
00:19:50,190 --> 00:19:51,873
about becoming a slave trader.
373
00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:55,980
On Mauritius Island,
374
00:19:55,980 --> 00:19:58,530
the 8,000 pictures taken by archeologists
375
00:19:58,530 --> 00:20:00,540
have allowed them to construct a first map
376
00:20:00,540 --> 00:20:02,013
of the shipwrecked Speaker.
377
00:20:03,214 --> 00:20:07,290
(people speaking French)
378
00:20:07,290 --> 00:20:09,960
But will this enable them to complete the information
379
00:20:09,960 --> 00:20:12,663
they found in the India office library in London?
380
00:20:14,580 --> 00:20:16,020
They know from these archives that,
381
00:20:16,020 --> 00:20:19,200
despite the violent shipwreck, the crew survived,
382
00:20:19,200 --> 00:20:21,120
and The Speaker's captain John Bowen
383
00:20:21,120 --> 00:20:22,713
could recount the event.
384
00:20:25,140 --> 00:20:26,730
Our return to Madagascar
385
00:20:26,730 --> 00:20:28,530
was hindered by crosswinds.
386
00:20:28,530 --> 00:20:31,863
With a crew of drunks, the ship moved to and fro.
387
00:20:37,350 --> 00:20:40,620
On the night of January 7th, 1702,
388
00:20:40,620 --> 00:20:42,020
there was a terrible tremor.
389
00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:46,863
With abominable creaking, the ship began to list.
390
00:20:49,650 --> 00:20:52,320
Now, our archeologists can reconstruct
391
00:20:52,320 --> 00:20:56,400
more accurately The Speaker's last moments.
392
00:20:56,400 --> 00:21:00,243
For this ship, it seems the weather was very bad.
393
00:21:01,170 --> 00:21:04,290
It hits a rock. It started taking on water.
394
00:21:04,290 --> 00:21:07,320
So there was a hole. Water flooded the hull.
395
00:21:07,320 --> 00:21:10,350
The boat became heavier and heavier.
396
00:21:10,350 --> 00:21:13,200
You can imagine that they threw two anchors,
397
00:21:13,200 --> 00:21:16,170
those at the front of the site, to slow the ship.
398
00:21:16,170 --> 00:21:18,000
So, they dropped the anchor.
399
00:21:18,000 --> 00:21:19,590
And then despite that,
400
00:21:19,590 --> 00:21:23,610
the ship continues to be carried by the waves and the wind.
401
00:21:23,610 --> 00:21:26,040
So, the tips of these anchors break.
402
00:21:26,040 --> 00:21:29,010
The ship continues on, and little by little,
403
00:21:29,010 --> 00:21:31,140
the men try to lighten the ship's load
404
00:21:31,140 --> 00:21:34,830
by throwing heavy pieces of artillery overboard
405
00:21:34,830 --> 00:21:37,500
until they were completely blocked.
406
00:21:37,500 --> 00:21:41,790
And then, from what I see, the waves hit it again and again,
407
00:21:41,790 --> 00:21:43,293
and it ends up like this.
408
00:21:50,608 --> 00:21:52,350
(animals chattering)
409
00:21:52,350 --> 00:21:53,790
According to a letter
410
00:21:53,790 --> 00:21:56,250
written by the island's Dutch governor,
411
00:21:56,250 --> 00:22:00,150
the pirate set off a few months later on a new ship.
412
00:22:00,150 --> 00:22:03,930
John Bowen and his men were able to continue their looting,
413
00:22:03,930 --> 00:22:06,180
thanks to a secret island that gave refuge
414
00:22:06,180 --> 00:22:10,533
to all of the Indian Ocean's pirates: St. Mary Island.
415
00:22:14,400 --> 00:22:15,963
But how do we know this?
416
00:22:16,890 --> 00:22:18,780
A confession one of them made,
417
00:22:18,780 --> 00:22:22,023
now kept in England's National Archives reports this.
418
00:22:23,130 --> 00:22:24,720
According to the account of a pirate
419
00:22:24,720 --> 00:22:25,920
named Adam Baldridge,
420
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:28,110
found in the England's National Archives,
421
00:22:28,110 --> 00:22:30,720
We know that pirates settled on the Madagascan island
422
00:22:30,720 --> 00:22:32,103
in 1691.
423
00:22:34,410 --> 00:22:37,680
He noticed that the Bay of Ambodifotatra,
424
00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:39,990
with its circular shape and small mouth,
425
00:22:39,990 --> 00:22:42,240
made it easy to defend.
426
00:22:42,240 --> 00:22:44,940
Cannons could be mounted on the surrounding hills
427
00:22:44,940 --> 00:22:47,283
to protect themselves from enemy ships.
428
00:22:51,030 --> 00:22:54,900
Adam Baldridge thought, "Why not settle here?
429
00:22:54,900 --> 00:22:57,450
Entice other adventurers, and fortify the place,
430
00:22:57,450 --> 00:23:00,537
making it a base camp for the pirates of the Indian Ocean."
431
00:23:02,250 --> 00:23:06,003
And so, for nearly 40 years, St. Mary's became their refuge.
432
00:23:10,470 --> 00:23:12,750
Adam Baldridge's text was the departure point
433
00:23:12,750 --> 00:23:14,553
for Jean Soulat's research.
434
00:23:17,417 --> 00:23:19,500
Before going to the island described by the pirate,
435
00:23:19,500 --> 00:23:22,893
the archeologist began his research in Europe's archives.
436
00:23:24,330 --> 00:23:28,350
If pirates had constructed dwellings on St. Mary's Island,
437
00:23:28,350 --> 00:23:30,060
perhaps travelers had mentioned them
438
00:23:30,060 --> 00:23:31,383
in one of their stories.
439
00:23:35,130 --> 00:23:37,263
His investigations were successful.
440
00:23:39,210 --> 00:23:41,850
France's National Library did hold a map
441
00:23:41,850 --> 00:23:44,553
mentioning the presence of pirates on this island.
442
00:23:47,400 --> 00:23:50,100
In fact, the village is protected by fences,
443
00:23:50,100 --> 00:23:52,080
By fences, but that's all.
444
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,610
That's the only protection there was.
445
00:23:53,610 --> 00:23:56,193
And finally, in 1730, there's a shipwreck zone.
446
00:24:00,528 --> 00:24:02,670
It was really a huge discovery for us,
447
00:24:02,670 --> 00:24:04,890
because it's the oldest map that shows
448
00:24:04,890 --> 00:24:07,620
the Bay of Ambodifotatra.
449
00:24:07,620 --> 00:24:10,983
So, it's the Bay on St. Mary's that interests us the most.
450
00:24:11,850 --> 00:24:13,710
This map highlights that a certain number
451
00:24:13,710 --> 00:24:16,950
of defensive elements, ports, batteries,
452
00:24:16,950 --> 00:24:19,920
lookout areas around the bay with different anchoring points
453
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,683
and zones, that were more or less protected.
454
00:24:24,540 --> 00:24:27,060
So, there's all this life that develops here,
455
00:24:27,060 --> 00:24:29,550
which gives us an extraordinary and fresh take
456
00:24:29,550 --> 00:24:32,537
on these pirates at the end of the 17th century,
457
00:24:32,537 --> 00:24:34,953
and at the beginning of the 18th century.
458
00:24:37,710 --> 00:24:41,160
Is the map from the national library accurate?
459
00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:44,613
Will it help locate remains of the pirates on the island?
460
00:24:45,600 --> 00:24:46,920
For three centuries,
461
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,140
the vegetation and the island's development
462
00:24:49,140 --> 00:24:51,630
have completely modified its appearance,
463
00:24:51,630 --> 00:24:54,030
making it difficult to imagine today
464
00:24:54,030 --> 00:24:56,463
the areas where pirates used to live.
465
00:24:57,600 --> 00:25:01,350
Archeologists have never explored the land on St. Mary's,
466
00:25:01,350 --> 00:25:04,530
but underwater searches have already been carried out
467
00:25:04,530 --> 00:25:08,013
and have provided proof that pirates frequented this bay.
468
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,860
20 years ago, the world watched as an American team
469
00:25:13,860 --> 00:25:17,490
led by explorer Barry Clifford found part of a shipwreck
470
00:25:17,490 --> 00:25:18,603
at the bay's mouth.
471
00:25:19,530 --> 00:25:21,570
The discovery of several gold coins
472
00:25:21,570 --> 00:25:24,453
and fine Chinese porcelain caused a sensation.
473
00:25:25,380 --> 00:25:28,380
Their archeological findings allowed the team's historians
474
00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:29,853
to identify the ship.
475
00:25:31,950 --> 00:25:34,950
It is most probably the Fury Dragon,
476
00:25:34,950 --> 00:25:38,160
a Dutch ship captured by one of the rare pirates
477
00:25:38,160 --> 00:25:40,290
who managed to become rich;
478
00:25:40,290 --> 00:25:42,700
a certain Christopher Condent.
479
00:25:44,416 --> 00:25:46,916
(tense music)
480
00:25:51,780 --> 00:25:54,180
According to his victims' testimony,
481
00:25:54,180 --> 00:25:56,280
Christopher Condent was sailing in the waters
482
00:25:56,280 --> 00:25:58,560
off the southwest coast of Africa
483
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,860
when he and his men attacked and captured a Dutch frigate,
484
00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:04,233
renaming it the Fury Dragon.
485
00:26:10,440 --> 00:26:13,380
Afterwards, they passed the Cape of Good Hope,
486
00:26:13,380 --> 00:26:14,970
and in the Arabian Sea,
487
00:26:14,970 --> 00:26:17,610
they came upon a ship from the Mughal Empire
488
00:26:17,610 --> 00:26:21,180
with up to 1.2 million rupees in its hold,
489
00:26:21,180 --> 00:26:23,430
a real fortune for the time.
490
00:26:23,430 --> 00:26:25,890
After capturing this exceptional booty,
491
00:26:25,890 --> 00:26:29,043
Condent retreated to St. Mary's near Madagascar.
492
00:26:32,910 --> 00:26:35,700
Barry Clifford's highly publicized discovery
493
00:26:35,700 --> 00:26:38,850
attracted a large number of treasure hunters,
494
00:26:38,850 --> 00:26:42,570
forcing the Madagascan government to take drastic measures.
495
00:26:42,570 --> 00:26:46,770
Today, underwater excavations in the Ambodifotatra Bay
496
00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:47,763
are forbidden.
497
00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:52,080
Given this, Jean Soulat has decided to launch
498
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,380
an unprecedented exploration on land this time,
499
00:26:55,380 --> 00:26:57,273
a first on St. Mary's island.
500
00:26:58,740 --> 00:27:00,360
If pirates lived here,
501
00:27:00,360 --> 00:27:02,370
they must have left evidence of their presence
502
00:27:02,370 --> 00:27:03,453
on its shores.
503
00:27:06,660 --> 00:27:08,670
But before they can begin their work,
504
00:27:08,670 --> 00:27:10,710
the archeologist must ask permission
505
00:27:10,710 --> 00:27:12,603
to probe the Madagascan soil.
506
00:27:14,952 --> 00:27:17,535
(lively music)
507
00:27:19,740 --> 00:27:21,840
Before every dig in Madagascar,
508
00:27:21,840 --> 00:27:25,533
a ceremony honoring the land's ancestors must take place.
509
00:27:27,226 --> 00:27:29,976
(people singing)
510
00:28:01,777 --> 00:28:03,660
As soon as you touch the soil,
511
00:28:03,660 --> 00:28:06,840
as soon as you touch the sacred ground,
512
00:28:06,840 --> 00:28:08,310
you have to ask for blessings.
513
00:28:08,310 --> 00:28:11,220
You have to ask for them to open the way for you.
514
00:28:11,220 --> 00:28:14,460
All of these mystical forces around us,
515
00:28:14,460 --> 00:28:16,533
that's also Malagasy culture.
516
00:28:20,520 --> 00:28:22,230
How can they locate the remains
517
00:28:22,230 --> 00:28:24,240
of the fortifications mentioned on the map
518
00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:26,343
found in France's National Library?
519
00:28:27,690 --> 00:28:28,890
For this first mission,
520
00:28:28,890 --> 00:28:31,350
Jean Soulat has asked Isabelle Le Tellier,
521
00:28:31,350 --> 00:28:33,420
a specialist in aerial investigation,
522
00:28:33,420 --> 00:28:35,430
to come along with her LIDAR,
523
00:28:35,430 --> 00:28:37,200
a type of radar whose laser beam
524
00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,453
is able to detect the remains of dwellings.
525
00:28:42,780 --> 00:28:44,580
Of course, the biggest obstacle here
526
00:28:44,580 --> 00:28:46,890
is that there's a ton of vegetation,
527
00:28:46,890 --> 00:28:49,110
and the rays of light must reach the ground
528
00:28:49,110 --> 00:28:50,763
to be able to create a map.
529
00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:54,280
That's the main challenge today.
530
00:28:56,548 --> 00:28:59,048
(tense music)
531
00:29:08,100 --> 00:29:09,930
After programming the drone to fly
532
00:29:09,930 --> 00:29:12,270
over all the areas to be searched,
533
00:29:12,270 --> 00:29:13,833
Isabelle begins recording.
534
00:29:21,000 --> 00:29:23,400
Without waiting for the LIDAR's findings,
535
00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:25,860
Jean Soulat and the members of his team have decided
536
00:29:25,860 --> 00:29:27,333
to begin prospecting.
537
00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:32,910
They've chosen to go to the island in the middle of the bay,
538
00:29:32,910 --> 00:29:35,610
whose name has piqued their interest for a month:
539
00:29:35,610 --> 00:29:36,933
Pirate Island.
540
00:29:40,110 --> 00:29:42,750
With his colleagues, Jean plans to follow
541
00:29:42,750 --> 00:29:46,110
the island's shoreline to identify any possible remains,
542
00:29:46,110 --> 00:29:48,060
writing on rocks or pieces of ceramic
543
00:29:48,060 --> 00:29:50,260
that could indicate the presence of pirates.
544
00:30:16,260 --> 00:30:17,340
They comb the island
545
00:30:17,340 --> 00:30:19,590
for several days without success,
546
00:30:19,590 --> 00:30:22,740
until one evening, a villager shares information with them
547
00:30:22,740 --> 00:30:24,513
that arouses their curiosity.
548
00:30:27,300 --> 00:30:31,260
Several years before, on a hill across from Pirate Island,
549
00:30:31,260 --> 00:30:33,570
a bay resident discovered a small cannon
550
00:30:33,570 --> 00:30:34,923
while building his house.
551
00:30:36,960 --> 00:30:38,880
Without a moment's hesitation,
552
00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:41,223
the team decide to go see this vestige.
553
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:45,500
There is concretion.
554
00:30:49,129 --> 00:30:51,873
What's really surprising is that.
555
00:30:52,860 --> 00:30:54,030
What's that?
556
00:30:54,030 --> 00:30:57,333
Oh, but that's a concretion, an element containing iron,
557
00:30:58,200 --> 00:31:01,623
which got stuck to it while it was at the bottom of the sea.
558
00:31:05,160 --> 00:31:06,360
Accounts of Caribbeans
559
00:31:06,360 --> 00:31:08,640
say that cannons were often removed from the ships
560
00:31:08,640 --> 00:31:10,470
and used on land.
561
00:31:10,470 --> 00:31:12,300
Mounted on the top of a hill at the mouth
562
00:31:12,300 --> 00:31:14,430
of the bay of Ambodifotatra,
563
00:31:14,430 --> 00:31:16,890
the small cannon was meant to protect the moored ships
564
00:31:16,890 --> 00:31:18,093
or sound the alarm.
565
00:31:30,030 --> 00:31:31,980
For the second week of exploration,
566
00:31:31,980 --> 00:31:34,833
young Malagasy archeologists have joined the team.
567
00:31:36,150 --> 00:31:39,030
Judith, Rari Naro and Fanny Sabe are students
568
00:31:39,030 --> 00:31:41,163
at the University of Antananarivo.
569
00:31:42,720 --> 00:31:44,340
They're interested in the relationship
570
00:31:44,340 --> 00:31:46,653
between pirates and the island's natives.
571
00:31:48,570 --> 00:31:52,770
According to records, they lived well with the Malagasy.
572
00:31:52,770 --> 00:31:54,630
They were on good terms.
573
00:31:54,630 --> 00:31:58,350
They married Malagasy princesses, they had children,
574
00:31:58,350 --> 00:32:01,830
and those biracial children became clan chiefs
575
00:32:01,830 --> 00:32:06,363
on the Malagasy coast, so that really interests me.
576
00:32:13,950 --> 00:32:16,530
A few dozen yards from Judith and Fanny,
577
00:32:16,530 --> 00:32:18,420
archeologist Alexandre Coulaud
578
00:32:18,420 --> 00:32:21,273
has just spotted a small flat area near the water.
579
00:32:25,140 --> 00:32:26,490
We've located a clump of coral
580
00:32:26,490 --> 00:32:28,090
that seemed to have been burned,
581
00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:32,040
and that could have been used to make lime for masonry,
582
00:32:32,040 --> 00:32:34,263
as a binder or to clean ships' hulls.
583
00:32:36,660 --> 00:32:38,910
And we found lots of nails.
584
00:32:38,910 --> 00:32:40,833
Old, square, hand forged nails.
585
00:32:41,730 --> 00:32:44,610
Yeah, this is the famous nail.
586
00:32:44,610 --> 00:32:47,130
It seems pretty clear that that could have been
587
00:32:47,130 --> 00:32:49,773
to connect the wooden planks of a boat or a ship.
588
00:32:50,970 --> 00:32:55,083
So, this amount of burnt coral is not an accident.
589
00:32:57,780 --> 00:32:59,880
Crushed and heated coral allowed them
590
00:32:59,880 --> 00:33:02,040
to make a kind of whitewash that was used
591
00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:03,543
to clean the ships' hulls.
592
00:33:05,760 --> 00:33:08,100
This maintenance zone is a strong indication
593
00:33:08,100 --> 00:33:10,503
of pirates having been on St. Mary's island.
594
00:33:11,580 --> 00:33:14,040
They surely took advantage of the island's shallow waters
595
00:33:14,040 --> 00:33:15,573
to take care of their ships.
596
00:33:22,860 --> 00:33:26,400
For her part, Isabelle has been able to process the data
597
00:33:26,400 --> 00:33:29,523
of her LIDAR, with some success too.
598
00:33:32,310 --> 00:33:33,720
At the bottom of the bay,
599
00:33:33,720 --> 00:33:36,663
the radar detected a straight and regular shape.
600
00:33:40,140 --> 00:33:43,710
For Jean Soulat, this zone corresponds to the spot
601
00:33:43,710 --> 00:33:47,167
on the map in the national library where it says,
602
00:33:47,167 --> 00:33:49,980
"Place where we make water."
603
00:33:49,980 --> 00:33:52,020
This is certainly the spot where the pirates
604
00:33:52,020 --> 00:33:53,343
could get fresh water.
605
00:33:55,394 --> 00:33:57,894
(tense music)
606
00:34:00,540 --> 00:34:01,980
For the pirates,
607
00:34:01,980 --> 00:34:04,620
the presence of drinking water in this area
608
00:34:04,620 --> 00:34:05,880
was an essential element,
609
00:34:05,880 --> 00:34:08,330
without which they would never have settled here.
610
00:34:09,420 --> 00:34:11,040
Without fresh water,
611
00:34:11,040 --> 00:34:14,250
they would never have contemplated making St. Mary's
612
00:34:14,250 --> 00:34:15,753
their support camp.
613
00:34:19,650 --> 00:34:22,710
Today, this watering hole is difficult to reach.
614
00:34:22,710 --> 00:34:25,230
Vegetation has largely taken over the area,
615
00:34:25,230 --> 00:34:27,980
and has surely covered the traces of this installation.
616
00:34:34,943 --> 00:34:37,140
On the ground, that goes up to the water source,
617
00:34:37,140 --> 00:34:39,003
which actually was behind.
618
00:34:48,212 --> 00:34:52,410
Here, you can see an element of the pipe network.
619
00:34:52,410 --> 00:34:55,383
It's shown on the plans from 1730, in this zone.
620
00:34:57,480 --> 00:34:59,098
Look here.
621
00:34:59,098 --> 00:35:01,848
(dirt scratches)
622
00:35:04,680 --> 00:35:08,460
You can see quite clearly the installations on each side,
623
00:35:08,460 --> 00:35:10,710
as well as the gutter in the center,
624
00:35:10,710 --> 00:35:13,680
which allowed the water to flow to the shore
625
00:35:13,680 --> 00:35:16,020
where they filled the barrels that were loaded
626
00:35:16,020 --> 00:35:17,223
on board the ships.
627
00:35:20,430 --> 00:35:21,870
Following the pipe,
628
00:35:21,870 --> 00:35:24,723
the archeologists discover another essential element.
629
00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:30,543
Careful. It's slippery.
630
00:35:39,420 --> 00:35:42,153
It looks like that's the dam, the first dam.
631
00:35:44,370 --> 00:35:47,580
Yes, and it's damn high. How high is that?
632
00:35:47,580 --> 00:35:49,080
It must be at least 10 feet high.
633
00:35:49,080 --> 00:35:49,980
It's big.
634
00:35:54,270 --> 00:35:56,430
Originating at the foot of the dam,
635
00:35:56,430 --> 00:35:59,310
the 230 foot long pipe carried the spring water
636
00:35:59,310 --> 00:36:00,213
to the shore.
637
00:36:04,230 --> 00:36:06,210
Thanks to it, the pirates could fill their barrels
638
00:36:06,210 --> 00:36:07,893
before heading back out to sea.
639
00:36:12,677 --> 00:36:15,177
(tense music)
640
00:36:17,250 --> 00:36:19,320
The time has come to examine the structure
641
00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:22,560
that most strongly suggests the pirates' presence:
642
00:36:22,560 --> 00:36:24,513
the fort overlooking the bay.
643
00:36:30,150 --> 00:36:31,770
At the beginning of the 20th century,
644
00:36:31,770 --> 00:36:34,503
this structure on the hill was completely modified.
645
00:36:39,870 --> 00:36:42,540
Malagasy soldiers took over the strategic location
646
00:36:42,540 --> 00:36:44,373
to monitor the Indian Ocean.
647
00:36:46,140 --> 00:36:49,260
Unfortunately, the construction covered its oldest parts,
648
00:36:49,260 --> 00:36:51,480
and now it's difficult to see any remains
649
00:36:51,480 --> 00:36:52,533
of the pirate period.
650
00:36:56,913 --> 00:36:59,496
(drone buzzes)
651
00:37:02,580 --> 00:37:05,370
Isabelle Le Tellier and her LIDAR are once again
652
00:37:05,370 --> 00:37:06,573
called to the rescue.
653
00:37:14,130 --> 00:37:14,963
In the evening,
654
00:37:14,963 --> 00:37:16,740
they take a first look at the data.
655
00:37:16,740 --> 00:37:19,623
On the screen, the outlines of the ancient fort appear.
656
00:37:24,030 --> 00:37:26,250
What's extremely interesting
657
00:37:26,250 --> 00:37:30,030
is that we can really see these bastions flanked here
658
00:37:30,030 --> 00:37:31,110
in this older part,
659
00:37:31,110 --> 00:37:34,080
that corresponds to the 17th or 18th century map
660
00:37:34,080 --> 00:37:35,163
in the archives.
661
00:37:38,700 --> 00:37:40,380
Based on the aerial survey,
662
00:37:40,380 --> 00:37:42,330
the remains of the old fort are uncovered
663
00:37:42,330 --> 00:37:44,193
thanks to the help of some soldiers.
664
00:37:46,800 --> 00:37:48,750
It's an opportunity for the archeologists
665
00:37:48,750 --> 00:37:51,900
to examine this 134 long edifice,
666
00:37:51,900 --> 00:37:54,003
and to complete a first physical survey.
667
00:38:02,490 --> 00:38:04,140
In this type of architecture,
668
00:38:04,140 --> 00:38:07,950
the angles of the fortification are protected by bastions.
669
00:38:07,950 --> 00:38:10,293
Side bastions that are polygonal in shape,
670
00:38:11,790 --> 00:38:13,470
which protect the walls of the forts
671
00:38:13,470 --> 00:38:15,570
from both short range attacks,
672
00:38:15,570 --> 00:38:18,513
and from medium to long range ones with canon fire.
673
00:38:20,670 --> 00:38:23,910
For example, a ship's attack or a land attack
674
00:38:23,910 --> 00:38:26,193
by Europeans or natives.
675
00:38:35,730 --> 00:38:37,770
The fort reveals many things,
676
00:38:37,770 --> 00:38:39,870
and we think that the oldest part actually dates
677
00:38:39,870 --> 00:38:41,820
from the pirates' occupation of the bay
678
00:38:41,820 --> 00:38:43,500
at the end of the 17th century,
679
00:38:43,500 --> 00:38:45,510
and the beginning of the 18th.
680
00:38:45,510 --> 00:38:48,330
In other words, where the old maps in the old archives
681
00:38:48,330 --> 00:38:50,850
mentioned the construction of the first fort.
682
00:38:50,850 --> 00:38:54,150
That's a very nice surprise. It feels really great.
683
00:38:54,150 --> 00:38:56,760
Many hours of archival research culminated
684
00:38:56,760 --> 00:38:58,950
with the opportunity to compare these findings
685
00:38:58,950 --> 00:39:00,603
with onsite observations.
686
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:09,930
With its fort, its maintenance area,
687
00:39:09,930 --> 00:39:11,280
its fresh water supply,
688
00:39:11,280 --> 00:39:14,280
its dwelling and storerooms, Ambodifotatra Bay
689
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,073
was a refuge to over 2000 pirates.
690
00:39:36,030 --> 00:39:37,500
The animal bones discovered
691
00:39:37,500 --> 00:39:39,480
on the shipwrecked Fury Dragon
692
00:39:39,480 --> 00:39:41,370
show that pirates also found the island
693
00:39:41,370 --> 00:39:43,410
to be an abundant source of food.
694
00:39:43,410 --> 00:39:45,600
With chickens, pigs, and fish,
695
00:39:45,600 --> 00:39:47,640
their diet there was quite varied,
696
00:39:47,640 --> 00:39:49,983
in stark contrast to what they had on board.
697
00:39:52,000 --> 00:39:54,583
(gentle music)
698
00:39:59,571 --> 00:40:01,410
(people speaking French)
699
00:40:01,410 --> 00:40:02,730
In this ideal rear base,
700
00:40:02,730 --> 00:40:04,950
they maintain their ships and good living conditions,
701
00:40:04,950 --> 00:40:06,930
which allowed them to organize their trade
702
00:40:06,930 --> 00:40:08,480
and the selling of their booty.
703
00:40:18,270 --> 00:40:21,510
Silks, spices, porcelain.
704
00:40:21,510 --> 00:40:24,240
Most of these goods were of no use to them.
705
00:40:24,240 --> 00:40:26,790
They had to find buyers if they wanted to get rich.
706
00:40:28,830 --> 00:40:31,443
Historians have long wondered how they did it.
707
00:40:33,480 --> 00:40:35,640
Behind this seemingly innocuous question
708
00:40:35,640 --> 00:40:38,193
lies a completely unknown dimension of piracy.
709
00:40:40,920 --> 00:40:43,560
Archives report that the pirates on St. Mary's
710
00:40:43,560 --> 00:40:46,383
signed agreements with merchants to sell their plunder.
711
00:40:48,240 --> 00:40:50,853
What they stole didn't stay in their hands long.
712
00:40:52,800 --> 00:40:55,320
The goods quickly left for the other side of the globe,
713
00:40:55,320 --> 00:40:56,433
aboard a new ship.
714
00:41:04,410 --> 00:41:06,480
From the early 1700s,
715
00:41:06,480 --> 00:41:08,820
pirates regularly sailed to North America,
716
00:41:08,820 --> 00:41:11,643
supplying its black market with goods they'd stolen.
717
00:41:18,870 --> 00:41:20,160
In the new world,
718
00:41:20,160 --> 00:41:23,070
luxury merchandise delivered by England to the colonists
719
00:41:23,070 --> 00:41:24,903
was rare and highly taxed.
720
00:41:27,090 --> 00:41:29,760
So, the governors of the New England colonies
721
00:41:29,760 --> 00:41:32,943
often preferred to trade with former pirates to get some.
722
00:41:38,700 --> 00:41:41,340
For England, this organized black market
723
00:41:41,340 --> 00:41:42,753
threatened British trade.
724
00:41:48,030 --> 00:41:50,100
Parliament issued a series of edicts
725
00:41:50,100 --> 00:41:52,623
to eliminate piracy in the Indian Ocean.
726
00:41:57,570 --> 00:41:59,910
One of the most important things
727
00:41:59,910 --> 00:42:02,880
that the Navigational Acts brings into the notion
728
00:42:02,880 --> 00:42:06,570
is a term called hostis humanis genis.
729
00:42:06,570 --> 00:42:11,430
It comes from Latin, and it means, "Enemies of all mankind,"
730
00:42:11,430 --> 00:42:15,030
which means that pirates are now ousted from the society.
731
00:42:15,030 --> 00:42:17,973
They're being outside, as the worst criminals.
732
00:42:19,950 --> 00:42:22,740
Now depicted as the enemies of all mankind,
733
00:42:22,740 --> 00:42:24,753
pirates felt the tide was turning.
734
00:42:29,850 --> 00:42:32,823
Large French and English fleets sailed to hunt them down.
735
00:42:34,170 --> 00:42:37,530
On St. Mary's, the pirates prepared the defense.
736
00:42:37,530 --> 00:42:39,810
But how could they resist the overwhelming power
737
00:42:39,810 --> 00:42:40,803
of their enemies?
738
00:42:41,940 --> 00:42:44,520
Studying the ancient map reveals an iron chain
739
00:42:44,520 --> 00:42:45,900
at the mouth of the bay,
740
00:42:45,900 --> 00:42:48,780
undoubtedly meant to prevent access.
741
00:42:48,780 --> 00:42:50,190
But that's not all.
742
00:42:50,190 --> 00:42:52,950
The presence of wrecked ships at that same spot
743
00:42:52,950 --> 00:42:54,993
reveals the pirates' strategy.
744
00:42:56,700 --> 00:42:58,350
You must know that there are four
745
00:42:58,350 --> 00:43:01,080
or five pirate ships that were sunk in the bay
746
00:43:01,080 --> 00:43:02,343
at its entrance.
747
00:43:03,510 --> 00:43:06,540
And in fact, the pirates purposely sank their ships
748
00:43:06,540 --> 00:43:09,060
in order to really stop their enemies from entering
749
00:43:09,060 --> 00:43:10,803
in the Ambodifotatra Bay.
750
00:43:12,510 --> 00:43:15,060
The pirates most probably sank the Fury Dragon
751
00:43:15,060 --> 00:43:17,910
on purpose as a defensive strategy,
752
00:43:17,910 --> 00:43:20,793
blocking their enemies from entering their secret cove.
753
00:43:25,260 --> 00:43:26,433
But did it really work?
754
00:43:27,690 --> 00:43:30,900
And what happened to its captain, Christopher Condent?
755
00:43:30,900 --> 00:43:33,963
Was he captured? Did he finish his life miserably?
756
00:43:36,780 --> 00:43:38,580
At the request of Jean Soulat,
757
00:43:38,580 --> 00:43:40,950
historian Philippe Hrodej did some research
758
00:43:40,950 --> 00:43:42,903
in France's regional archives.
759
00:43:44,550 --> 00:43:47,790
He was able to find a manuscript that tells the rest
760
00:43:47,790 --> 00:43:49,440
of the tale.
761
00:43:49,440 --> 00:43:53,670
It shows that Edward Condon, alias Christopher Condent,
762
00:43:53,670 --> 00:43:55,830
accepted the amnesty conditions offered
763
00:43:55,830 --> 00:43:58,383
by the French governor of Bourbon Island.
764
00:43:59,400 --> 00:44:02,610
He offered to pardon any pirate who gave up piracy
765
00:44:02,610 --> 00:44:04,233
and settled to his colony.
766
00:44:06,900 --> 00:44:10,680
His first document is just simply an amnesty proposal
767
00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:13,920
to finally allow these pirates to retire
768
00:44:13,920 --> 00:44:15,963
to the Bourbon Island unpunished.
769
00:44:16,859 --> 00:44:21,420
So it asks them to settle down, give up violence,
770
00:44:21,420 --> 00:44:23,103
and their former lives.
771
00:44:24,390 --> 00:44:27,630
Often, they were asked to sink their ships,
772
00:44:27,630 --> 00:44:28,780
which is the case here.
773
00:44:29,837 --> 00:44:33,330
And then the second condition is simply to come
774
00:44:33,330 --> 00:44:37,590
with their goods and to promise to spend their money
775
00:44:37,590 --> 00:44:41,000
or their goods in the colony.
776
00:44:41,000 --> 00:44:43,803
In fact, it was a win-win situation.
777
00:44:44,940 --> 00:44:48,150
Authorities promised not to investigate them
778
00:44:48,150 --> 00:44:49,473
or bring them to trial.
779
00:44:50,910 --> 00:44:53,340
However, on the other hand,
780
00:44:53,340 --> 00:44:56,070
the French colonies meant to profit
781
00:44:56,070 --> 00:44:57,813
from the pirate's plunder.
782
00:45:02,743 --> 00:45:05,850
(birds call)
783
00:45:05,850 --> 00:45:08,100
Christopher Condent left Bourbon Island
784
00:45:08,100 --> 00:45:11,073
several months later and went to Port Louis in France.
785
00:45:13,260 --> 00:45:15,150
According to a second French document,
786
00:45:15,150 --> 00:45:18,093
he then married a French woman and became a boat master.
787
00:45:20,760 --> 00:45:22,200
A small flotilla skipper,
788
00:45:22,200 --> 00:45:23,460
who then transported goods
789
00:45:23,460 --> 00:45:25,233
from one Atlantic port to another.
790
00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:32,910
He gave up the crazy and exciting adventures
791
00:45:32,910 --> 00:45:37,080
of piracy to live the obscure and laborious existence
792
00:45:37,080 --> 00:45:39,093
of an owner of coastal shipping boats.
793
00:45:43,800 --> 00:45:45,990
At the end of the 1720s,
794
00:45:45,990 --> 00:45:48,633
the golden age of piracy came to an end.
795
00:45:49,500 --> 00:45:52,653
Few had futures as favorable as Christopher Condent,
796
00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,070
in large part because governors in North America,
797
00:45:56,070 --> 00:45:57,840
who had encouraged pirates before,
798
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:01,320
would soon betray them, like the Governor of New York,
799
00:46:01,320 --> 00:46:03,720
Lord Bellomont, who after associating
800
00:46:03,720 --> 00:46:05,430
with a certain Captain Kidd,
801
00:46:05,430 --> 00:46:08,460
brought him to his city, confiscated his cargo,
802
00:46:08,460 --> 00:46:11,460
threw him in prison, and sent him to England to stand trial.
803
00:46:17,340 --> 00:46:19,740
The atmosphere of the trial there was weird.
804
00:46:19,740 --> 00:46:21,900
Half of the public cheering for Kidd,
805
00:46:21,900 --> 00:46:24,720
and the second half eager to see him hanged.
806
00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:28,470
The trial itself was publicized on both sides of Atlantic,
807
00:46:28,470 --> 00:46:31,260
making it one of the most famous pirate trials
808
00:46:31,260 --> 00:46:33,090
of these times.
809
00:46:33,090 --> 00:46:36,480
Then he spent a whole year in the Newgate prison,
810
00:46:36,480 --> 00:46:39,060
but he would've been here at the executioner's dock,
811
00:46:39,060 --> 00:46:41,130
where he met his final days.
812
00:46:41,130 --> 00:46:44,730
He arrived drunken, to make his defiant speech,
813
00:46:44,730 --> 00:46:47,010
but even his last moments went wrong,
814
00:46:47,010 --> 00:46:50,253
as the rope snapped and he had to be hanged second time.
815
00:46:51,840 --> 00:46:54,480
And then his body displayed for the public
816
00:46:54,480 --> 00:46:57,813
to discourage them from committing the same acts of piracy.
817
00:47:00,150 --> 00:47:02,730
Following that of William Kidd,
818
00:47:02,730 --> 00:47:05,190
executions continued apace.
819
00:47:05,190 --> 00:47:09,540
In addition, as many pirates accepted royal amnesty,
820
00:47:09,540 --> 00:47:11,523
piracy continued to decline.
821
00:47:15,300 --> 00:47:17,700
After 40 years of plundering the seas
822
00:47:17,700 --> 00:47:21,960
between India, China, the African coasts, and the Far East,
823
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:24,360
these sea rovers received their punishment
824
00:47:24,360 --> 00:47:26,553
with neither leniency nor mercy.
825
00:47:28,800 --> 00:47:30,690
Captured, thrown in prison,
826
00:47:30,690 --> 00:47:32,970
and dragged to the hangman's noose,
827
00:47:32,970 --> 00:47:35,130
some convicts continued to defy authority
828
00:47:35,130 --> 00:47:37,653
by conveying the final message to onlookers.
829
00:47:40,320 --> 00:47:43,200
For instance, at his execution,
830
00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,540
a pirate nicknamed The Buzzard
831
00:47:45,540 --> 00:47:48,090
threw a cryptogram he'd held in his fist to the crowd,
832
00:47:48,090 --> 00:47:52,740
shouting, "My treasure to whoever can decipher it."
833
00:47:52,740 --> 00:47:56,910
Just before he and 17 of his men were hanged.
834
00:47:56,910 --> 00:47:58,860
The treasure has never been found,
835
00:47:58,860 --> 00:48:00,873
but still feeds the legend today.
836
00:48:04,860 --> 00:48:07,650
It's the last night on St. Mary's.
837
00:48:07,650 --> 00:48:09,480
Like the pirates before them,
838
00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:13,110
the archeologists are getting ready to leave the island.
839
00:48:13,110 --> 00:48:14,820
Though their research has not uncovered
840
00:48:14,820 --> 00:48:17,250
the pirates' dwellings or storerooms,
841
00:48:17,250 --> 00:48:19,550
they have shown their presence on this island.
842
00:48:22,500 --> 00:48:26,100
Analyzing the latest LIDAR data has indicated the presence
843
00:48:26,100 --> 00:48:28,050
of buildings on a few hilltops,
844
00:48:28,050 --> 00:48:30,180
designating new research possibilities
845
00:48:30,180 --> 00:48:31,353
in the coming years.
846
00:48:32,263 --> 00:48:34,846
(somber music)
847
00:48:39,600 --> 00:48:41,520
After their demise,
848
00:48:41,520 --> 00:48:44,310
pirates became emblematic characters,
849
00:48:44,310 --> 00:48:47,700
rough, free, and sometimes cruel sailors,
850
00:48:47,700 --> 00:48:50,700
who disappeared at the beginning of the first globalization.
851
00:48:56,520 --> 00:49:00,450
The golden age of piracy only lasted a few decades,
852
00:49:00,450 --> 00:49:03,450
a brief period that revealed the hunger of these men
853
00:49:03,450 --> 00:49:07,083
who dreamed of fortune, but often only encountered misery.
854
00:49:11,070 --> 00:49:14,520
The real treasure and legacy they left behind
855
00:49:14,520 --> 00:49:17,610
is an enduring fascination with this particularly daring
856
00:49:17,610 --> 00:49:18,993
and adventurous era.
857
00:49:25,758 --> 00:49:28,758
(adventurous music)
858
00:49:31,542 --> 00:49:36,542
♪ Oh, the (indistinct) tale and the requiem ♪
859
00:49:36,825 --> 00:49:41,825
♪ Rang off in the end ♪
860
00:49:41,831 --> 00:49:45,067
♪ These men, both fight ♪
861
00:49:45,067 --> 00:49:47,571
♪ By freedom's light ♪
862
00:49:47,571 --> 00:49:51,738
♪ By child through the valley too ♪
68578
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