THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND: A PIRATE NAMED BLACK CAESAR

History as we know it does not discuss people of African descent as pirates. The tales normally tell of some swashbuckling European hero or villain rebelling against authority,liberating treasures untold, and maybe kidnapping a woman or two along the way. However, piracy played an important role in disrupting the history of Blacks as enslaved people only, and Black Caesar is a well-known disruption of this tale. The golden age of piracy (1650–1730s) is nestled within the Transatlantic slave trade (15th to 19th century). One of the targets was slave ships, where pirates ransomed or sold African people to plantation owners. Or, depending on the crews’ needs, they recruited the future-enslaved to work on pirate ships. Despite their reputation for anarchy, pirate ships were normally egalitarian societies. Each member of the crew was given a vote in which ventures were taken and an equal share in any treasures recovered. This generally also extended to any Africans who were members of the crew. One such pirate was called Black Caesar. Between the 17th and 18th century, the man who would be called Black Caesar was a West African chief who had successfully evaded enslavement.

Numerous times, slavers had tried to bring him and his people into captivity, but because of Black Caesar’s intelligence they were able to escape bondage. However, one sea…