1/72 Pirates (Buccaneers) 1620-1660--48 figures in 12 poses--TWO IN STOCK.
$12.95
Item Number: MAF72082
1/72 Pirates (Buccaneers) 1620-1660
48 figures in 12 poses
After the European discovery of the Americas, Castile and Portugal ratified the Treaty of Tordesillas (in 1494) dividing that territory between them. The treaty, brokered by the Pope, made the Castilians feel the Caribbean and Central America was legally theirs, but naturally every other power in Europe, particularly those that were not Catholic, saw it differently, and there were many raids on Spanish shipping and settlements over the following decades. In 1606, the Spanish government ordered all its colonists on the island of Hispaniola to congregate around the southern coastal town of Santo Domingo to avoid interaction with pirates, but this left the rest of the abandoned island for others to inhabit, and many did. One group in particular were French pig hunters, who cured their meat using a wooden frame called a boucan, causing them to be called boucaniers which in English became buccaneer. During the 1620’s, Spanish efforts to oust these foreigners caused many to take to piracy, which had started out as something of a side-line. Such men were of many nationalities, but only attacked Spanish targets during our period, and the major contingents came from France, the Netherlands and England. 1660 saw such men approach the peak of their power, and they would continue to flourish for much of the rest of the century, so this set from Mars covers only the first half of their story.
