The brevity and severity of ‘Golden Age’ piracy trials

A sampling of piracy and piracy-related trials involving mainly English (later British) and colonial courts between 1670 and 1731 shows that from opening statements through deliberations they were rapid affairs, few extending beyond a single calendar date, and that on average they appear to have convicted about six of every 10 defendants who pleaded Not Guilty. That conviction figure is impacted by high-volume trials in 1700 and 1722 that acquitted relatively large numbers of defendants; eliminating these two trials from the mix yields a significantly higher conviction rate (about seven in 10) for those who pleaded Not Guilty. This article presents its sampling data, noting appropriate cautions, in the context of the era’s legal proceedings and practices

Archaeology · Context (archaeology · Conviction · Criminology · Political science · Colonialism, slavery, and trade · Historical Economic and Social Studies · History · Law · Medieval and Early Modern Justice · Psychology