Date of Award
Spring 2000
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Abstract
Within this paper, I intend to explain the significance of Elizabethan pirates as financial and defensive assets to Elizabethan England. Because the pirates existed as plunderers and thieves, outright state support of their ventures by Parliament and the Queen is difficult to determine. Evidence indicates, however, that Queen Elizabeth I developed relationships with specific pirates, chiefly Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. Elizabeth entrusted Hawkins and Drake to employ cold war tactics against Spain and secure England's financial stability with stolen goods. Through state documents, primary accounts, biographies, and secondary sources, I aim to explain certain aspects of the complex relationship and its significance in and influence on Elizabethan England.
Recommended Citation
Jones, Dodie, "Royal protectors, explorers and thieves : pirates of the Elizabethan cold war, 1558-1685" (2000). Honors Theses. 312.
https://scholarship.richmond.edu/honors-theses/312