Pirate Democracy - 1.0

Pirate Democracy - 1.0

Francois Mission was born in Provence France sometime before 1660.

What little is actually known about Mission is the result of first hand accounts made by Thomas Tew and his crew to Daniel Dafoe in the early 1700's as well as what shipping Hansard's as are available from the era.

However, Captain Charles Johnson's 'A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates' was a bedside favorite of both Franklin and Voltaire and they both discussed the implications of the Libertatia Colony and its lost treasure at great length when they met. Further, it is said Lafayette named his revolutionary warship in honor of Libertatia and Capt Mission.

The story of the first Pirate Democracy began when a Dutch frigate hove out a mist and raked the Victoire with grape and chain before the Frenchman could chock her guns and reply.

The Dutchman had killed the Victoire's captain and several officers in the first volley and the remaining Second officer, having been unable to regain order from the bridge and having been raked a second time without reply, made to run up the flag of surrender.

Mission had served many years in many french ships of the line and had never surrendered before. Moreover, he knew the Dutchman would show no mercy being far from home and unable to rescue prisoners. So Mission knocked the panicked second officer unconscious and took command, ultimately leading the brave crew of the Victoire to rally, and thereby survive the encounter.

However, despite saving the ship, Mission would certainly be hanged for assaulting a superior officer during an engagement. Moreover, given they had been badly surprised and the Victoire severely damaged without capturing the Dutchman - the entire crew would all bear the inquisition regarding their role in damaging the King's property and the death of their noble born Captain.

Thus, after a lengthy and heated debate on the gun deck Mission and a radical young Priest named Caraccioli conferred amid the wreckage on the Bridge till finally the radical Priest spoke to the men and said:

'You, Francois, and you, my friends, have often spoken idly of wanting to be not subjects to a king but free citizens in a better world, in which liberty and equality of rights prevail. You have wished for an ideal Republic. Then here it is, the Pirate Republic of the Victoire!'

There were several heated exchanges as the swell rang the anchors and the wash rolled the wounded and the dead - but thus was the first modern, but almost universally unremembered, Democracy founded.

Instead of the Black Roger - the Victoire flew a pure white flag embroidered with the motto 'A Deo a Libertate'.

They equally divided all money and all belongings and dwelt in physical equality and on every possible occasion, Captain Mission exercised his belief in equality and liberty. Upon capturing his first Dutchman, he freed all slaves and made them citizens of his amphibious democracy.

The Victoire raids on shipping were often as bloodless as they were cunning.

Using strength of word alone, Captain Mission won 11 volunteers for his floating Republic from their next Dutch trader. From the next, a fat English merchantman carrying shot and powder, Mission lured 30 British converts and a considerable supply of ammunition.

It was noted that while as deadly as anything at sea at the time, the Victoire performed with great sensitivity and good humor ensuring that pillaged ships were prepared and provisioned to make landfall following raids with what officers and passengers as wished to take their leave after scuttling their guns.

While booty was plentiful, the Victoire primary raided to obtain food, arms, supplies and voluntary citizens.

Finally, when the sea colony of freemen and their riches had grown large, and their dreams had grown fat with them, Captain Mission realized that he must set anchor.

On a previous sail for the King, Mission had once rounded the Cape and remembered a warm hidden island with a broad expanse of white beach and a deep harbor. The crew was piped to vote and it was decided to make sail for the Maldives, between Madagascar and the east coast of Africa. Over the course of several years, Captain Mission and his several hundred colonists built a bustling island paradise.

A printing press and its fonts of type were captured in a raid - and a newspaper was born. All money went into a common state treasury. Neither walls nor hedges were permitted to divide neighbors' homes.

What cultivated land as was furrowed belonged to the labor that broke the soil. Since the colonists spoke French, English, Portuguese, Dutch and several other tribal dialects - a new official language, a kind of Esperanto, was invented and taught. Thus, the experimental Island nation flourished.

Finally, a small amphitheater was specially constructed to hold meetings.

According to Charles Johnson writing in 1724 - Mission rose, lifted his flagon of wine and spoke:

'Here comes into being today the Republic of Libertatia. You, my people, are the Liberi. We dedicate ourselves to the spread of liberty, and the love of liberty, toleration, and the love of humanity under whatever faith and whatever skin. May our fortune equal the greatness of our hope!'

It was decided that Libertatia would have to have an organized democracy and popular law separate from the rules that are needed to govern fighting men at Sea, several members of the fledgling Republic being instead slaves, debtors and bond wives.

So, to this end the pirates and colonists were divided into groups of 10, each group electing one of its number as a representative to a Central Assembly. The representatives elected Mission their first Lord Conservator for a term of 3 years. The Assembly approved Thomas Tew, a notable Rhode Island Privateer, as Admiral of the Libertatia pirate fleet. Caraccioli was approved as Secretary of State.

Mission and his aides married native royalty in an attempt to foster local tribal relations - but complaints began to be heard at Assembly regarding the lack of enough wives for all.

A lack of wives was not an uncommon colonial problem in the early 18th century, but a pressing concern for the men (and few women) of the sometimes short tempered Republic of Libertatia. Mission quickly realized that to evade a serious, perhaps violent, depopulation problem he must find additional mates for everyone.

So Tew took the Fleet on a special raid and intercepted a huge Mecca-bound harem galley and following a brilliant night assault - Tew released well over a 100 stunned but unharmed females locked below.

Later, the bands having been read, the Lord Conservator formally presented them individually to Father Caraccioli and their waiting grooms.

But despite their success, following several raids on Slavers, Portuguese Men of War started assaulting Villages up the Eastern coast of Africa attempting to track down and crush the Pirate colony.

While the Portuguese were readily repulsed by Tew and the Fleet and several new colonists added to the roles - relations amongst the local coastal tribes had been brought to a boiling point.

A coalition of neighboring tribes, fearing the Colony might grow too powerful and subsequently overwhelm them, united and struck.

Again the crew of the Victoire were caught off guard, but this time the cunning second mate was unable to win the day and in a bloody continuous two day battle across the Island, Mission and the Pirate Army cut down wave upon wave of enraged warriors, but to no avail.

Finally beaten, shocked at the horror of the battle despite their many years as veteran raiders, what remained of the Pirate Republic withdrew their ships. From the blood soaked main decks, they stood silent at attention while the first modern democracy was pillaged, looted and burned to the ground. Then sailed away.

Mission's spirit and mind were broken and weeks later a hurricane demolished what was left of his fleet somewhere off the African coast. Mission and what number of the original crew as had survived were supposed to have been witnessed by Tew's ship foundering and awash.

No further report of the colonists or any subsequent evidence of the considerable treasure they amassed has been recorded.

When I first read about Francois Mission 40 years ago, I did not understand the story of the Victoire and the lost colony of the Libertatia.

At first it appeared to me a lost Pirate treasure of great value. As I grew older and more successful I held it to be a caution, which it is. But now as I look back upon my long life and blessed luck, I think I may have been right in the first place. I just didn't understand the real value of Treasury of the Libertatia.

Interest in the Colony was revived last century by William S Boroughs when he noted it as an early Utopian movement in Cities of the Red Light and Johnson's General History has been recently republished - Lyons Press, 1998. ISBN 1-55821-766-5. This account is based on the work of Wallechinsky and Wallace, Book of Lists .. The first WikiPedia ..