来源：《BBC历史》2023年一月号
In August of 1720, a pirate named Captain Bartholomew Roberts led an attack on a British merchant ship out of Boston. According to the Boston News-Letter, the pirates stripped the sailors of their money and effects (weapons, tools and jewellery) and stole the ship's artillery and gunpowder.
1720年8月，一个名叫巴塞洛缪·罗伯茨船长的海盗在波士顿外袭击了一艘英国商船。据《波士顿新闻快报》报道，海盗抢走了船员的钱和财物（武器、工具和珠宝），并偷走了船上的大炮和火药。
The pirates knew that if they were captured, they would publicly hang, but they paid no heed to these consequences. They claimed that "if it should chance that they should be attacked by any superior power or force which they could not master, they would immediately put fire with one of their pistols to their powder and all go merrily to hell together".
海盗们知道，如果他们被抓住，他们就会被公开绞死，但他们并不在意这些后果。他们声称，“如果他们偶然受到任何他们无法控制的强大力量的攻击，他们会立即用一支手枪点燃火药，然后一起愉快地下地狱”。
There were hundreds, if not thousands, of incidents like this during an era now known as the golden age of piracy – a 60-year period when organised piracy nourished in the Caribbean, East Indies and along the North American seaboard.
在如今被称为海盗黄金时代的60年里，有组织的海盗活动在加勒比海、东印度群岛和北美沿海地区蓬勃开展，这样的事件即使没有数千起，也有数百起。
Pirates have plied their trade throughout history, but most of them were so-called privateers, working for kingdoms and governments to attack enemies and bring wealth back home. The 17th century saw a new breed of pirate emerge: men (and sometimes women) who plundered ships entirely for their own gain.
海盗在历史上一直有人从事，但他们大多数是所谓的私掠船，为王国和政府工作，攻击敌人，并将财富带回国内。17世纪出现了一种新型海盗：男性(有时是女性)抢劫船只完全是为了自己的利益。
Piracy was a dangerous world, and anyone caught was almost guaranteed to hang. Despite this, the life appealed to many people. Pirate ships were extremely diverse. Crews were made up of men and women from Britain, France, Spain, the Netherlands, Germany, North America, India and even China. Christians, Jews and Muslims sailed together.
海盗活动是一个危险的世界，任何被抓住的人几乎都肯定会被绞死。尽管如此，这种生活还是吸引了很多人。海盗船船员来源多样。船员由来自英国、法国、西班牙、荷兰、德国、北美、印度甚至中国的男女组成。基督徒、犹太教徒和穆斯林一起航行。
Pirate ships were places where people could escape social persecution, and their crews had often chosen piracy over careers in the Royal Navy or on merchant ships, where conditions were notoriously poor. Naval and merchant ships offered the prospect of harsh punishments, meagre rations and a lack of sanitation. Pirate ships were often more egalitarian places where sailors could vote captains in and out based on their abilities. They also promised better and more abundant food and every pirate was guaranteed their equal share.
海盗船是人们可以逃避社会迫害的地方，海盗船船员往往选择当海盗，而不是在条件恶劣的皇家海军或商船上工作。海军和商船惩罚严酷、口粮微薄并且缺乏卫生设施。海盗船通常是一个更加平等的地方，水手们可以根据船长的能力投票决定船长的去留。海盗还承诺更好更丰富的食物，每个海盗都能得到平等的份额。
Yet egalitarianism and the prospect of a good hearty meal weren't the only factors driving the surge of piracy in the 17th century. Geopolitics played a critical role, too. Intense competition between Europe's colonial superpowers along the Americas' eastern seaboard left the waters unsupervised and chaotic. This was the perfect environment for pirates to turn the seas into their own private playground, raiding, plundering and killing with seeming impunity.
然而，平等主义和享用丰盛大餐的前景并不是17世纪海盗猖獗的唯一因素。地缘政治也发挥了关键作用。欧洲殖民超级大国在美洲东海岸的激烈竞争使得这片水域无人监管，混乱不堪。对于海盗来说，这是一个完美的环境，他们可以把海洋变成自己的私人游乐场，抢劫、掠夺和杀戮，并且看起来似乎不会受到惩罚。