Most of the pirates were greedy and unscrupulous cruelty. But there was an idealist among them who wanted to create a perfect state.
To this day, it is not known whether Captain Misson, who lived at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries - because this is what it is all about - was a real figure. Some historians tend to see him as a fantasy by Charles Johnson, the most famous pirate historian. However, in pirate biographies, truth was often mixed up with legend in ways that were impossible to separate. And this was probably the case here too.
A visionary from Rome
Misson came from an old Provencal family. His father was a wealthy man, but due to the large number of children, he was not able to provide him materially. Instead, he took care of his education and sent him to the University of Angers.
When Misson graduated, his father planned to send him to the Musketeers, but the young man had other plans. He read his travel books and was drawn to the sea. The father accepted his son's dreams with a heavy heart and, using his private connections, embarked him on the ship "La Victoire". Young Misson quickly fell in love with the maritime trade.
Even though Misson grew up in a wealthy Provencal family, he chose to abandon the safety of living on land and chose the life of a sea wolf.
During one of his journeys, he met the Dominican and philosopher Caraccioli in Rome. The thinker - oddly enough in the case of a clergyman - saw religion as a bundle of lies whose value lies mainly in allowing the powerful and wealthy to subjugate the poor and superstitious majority. He claimed that God exists, but has nothing to do with what is written in the Bible. He emphasized that:
This God has endowed us with reason, thanks to which we can create an ideal society where there will be no poor and rich but all equal and happy. Because every human being is born free and has the same right to everything that meets the needs of life as to the air he breathes.
Misson's path to fame was opened by a single volley of the English ship "Wichelsea", which killed all the officers on the "La Victoire".
Caraccioli's views appealed to the imagination of the young sailor. He persuaded the clergyman to drop his habit and go to sea with him . Caraccioli embarked on "La Victoire" and both idealists chased after their dream of a perfect state and society.
"For God and freedom!"
During one of the voyages, the French ship engaged in combat with the English ship "Wichelsea". The first volley of the enemy unit killed the captain and officers. Without leaders, the crew desperately needed a leader. Misson, without asking anyone for permission, took command of the ship and defeated the English .
After the fight, Caracciola asked him if he wanted to keep the leadership forever. Misson hesitated, but the former monk convinced him with the words:
With the ship you are on board and your brave comrades under your command, you can defile the might of Europe, enjoy whatever you want, rule like a king in the south seas, and strive your rights in a war with the whole world, trying to deprive you of the freedom due to man according to the laws of nature .
The crew's approval was also needed. Misson made a fiery speech to his companions. He encouraged them to to become free people and to live good, just, innocent and noble lives in accordance with God and Nature . The crew unanimously approved the new leader.
Although Misson worked in pirate stuff, which is brutal in principle, even his victims emphasized that he was extremely gentle. Only the captains of the slave ships had no mercy. When they fell into his hands, certain deaths awaited them.
The Bo'sun asked what flag the ship would now be flying. He proposed a black flag - a symbol of pirate units. He strongly opposed Caraccioli, saying that they are not greedy and immoral pirates at all, but people driven by justice and a love of freedom. Soon a white flag flashed on La Victoire with the slogan Deo a Libertate (For God and freedom).
The gentle pirate
Captain Misson and the philosopher Carracioli wandered the waters of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. They attacked ships along the way, but they always took only what they needed . Johnson in his "The Story of the Most Famous Pirates" quotes one of the English skippers who said that he had never met such a gentle pirate . Misson spared the prisoners - he offered them to join his company or he let them go.
But this gentleness also had its limits. The captain treated slave ship commanders mercilessly - he hanged them in the yard . On the other hand, he gave slaves freedom and offered to join the crew. If they refused, he would drop them off on the African mainland so that they could return to their homeland. He sensitized the crew to treat their new black companions with dignity and respect, because they are the work of the same Almighty Being and infused with the same mind .
Misson was a reformer of pirate customs. For example, forbade the crew to use profanity . Failure to comply with this law was punishable by flogging. He treated defeated opponents with great respect. After one of the extremely heavy skirmishes he fought with an English warship, he had the fallen captain of the royal unit buried with all honors. On his grave he ordered to put a stone with the inscription: Here lies the brave Englishman .
Libertatia - the ideal pirate state
Eventually, the pirate and the philosopher found a place where they could make their political dream come true - creating an ideal state. It turned out to be the well hidden bay of Diego-Suarez in the northern part of Madagascar. At the end of the 17th century, they founded Libertatia - a pirate republic. They called their crew - the first citizens - Liberas - free people. Misson and Carracioli convened a democratic constitutional assembly and began to form a new regime.
The inhabitants were divided into dozens, each of which had a representative in the assembly. During the deliberations it was decided that the Lord Conservator will be the head of the state - the highest official elected once every three years. His closest associates were to be the prime minister - the head of the government - and admiral - the head of the pirate armed forces. The rest, on the other hand, were to be represented on the Council, to which the Lord Conservator appointed the most talented and upright pirates.
Pirate map of Madagascar with the area marked on the pirate ideal state - Libertatia.
Material goods were to be shared among all comrades equally, and money - as a "devilish invention" - forbidden . The first Lord Conservator was Misson, Prime Minister Caraccioli, and admiral was Thomas Tew - a brilliant captain who had recently joined the Provencal.
The Libers built fortifications protecting the access to the fort from the ocean. They became friends with local peoples and traded with them. They also looked for wives among them. They often went on raids. To increase their fleet, they even built a small shipyard where two new ships were built - "Enfance" ("Childhood") and "Liberté" ("Freedom").
Unexpected end
Misson's practice of releasing captives from captured ships quickly revealed the location of the pirate fort. The Portuguese sent a sea expedition to put an end to the colony's activities. But the fortifications of Libertatia withstood the salvos of Portuguese cannons. Pirate cannons sank two ships and the rest began to flee. Misson and Tew gave chase and managed to destroy another enemy ship. The pirate settlement has had its first baptism of fire.
The end of Libertatia came not from the ocean but from the land. One night, the sleeping settlers were attacked by the Malagasy tribe. A land attack was never expected. Therefore, the attackers easily slaughtered most of the inhabitants . Caraccioli was killed, but Misson managed to escape by ship. He found Tewa in the ocean and shared with him the treasures he had saved from the colony. After that, both captains said goodbye and separated. Hearing about Missona is lost. Tew claimed that the French had died in the storm. But what was the truth - no one knows.
The legendary corsair and pirate Thomas Tew was said to be the commander of the fleet of the newly established Libertatia.
No pirate crew has ever undertaken to rebuild Libertatia and its ideals. On the other hand, pirate-slave traders eagerly settled in Madagascar, who had nothing to do with Misson and Caraccioli and their dream of universal freedom ...