OF PRIVATEERS, SEAS AND COASTS: PRIVATEERING IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF MARITIME SPACE AND EXPERIENCES IN THE GULF-CARIBBEAN, 1527-1620

Our purpose is to study the phenomenon of piracy from a spatial perspective. In other words, what was the role of the piracy phenomenon in the social construction of the ocean sea, what were the dimensions of this historical process and how did it develop, who were the social subjects who participated in it and what did they experience? Throughout the text we will argue that the phenomenon intervened in a relevant way in the historical configuration of the maritime sphere of the new world, specifically that corresponding to the Gulf-Caribbean region during the sixteenth century. This dynamic was multidimensional and complex due to the interference of the royal powers of Europe, whose interactions gave support to the privateering to be implemented as a mercantile and political instrument in the disputes over the ocean, particularly between Spain, France and England. Likewise, the Gallic and Anglo-Saxon navigations themselves, in the colonial historical context of the Gulf-Caribbean, were able to produce maritime space in that part of America. In addition to the above, we consider the generation of maritime experiences of navigators and other men who were related or involved, directly or circumstantially, to privateering activity. Our research covers the period from 1527 to 1620.