‘Hostis humani generis’ is a 17th century legalism
that means ‘enemy of all mankind’. It was at that time applied to the pirates,
particularly those who had set up shop in the Caribbean where they had safe
ports to go to such as Port Royal and even their own ‘pirate republic’ in
Nassau at one stage.
The indiscriminately brutish behaviour of many pirates had
made them thoroughly unpopular with all and sundry, and there was no shortage
of people who were after their blood. But tensions among the European powers –
the Spanish, English, French and Dutch – stood in the way of effective
cooperation towards combating the common threat.
