NEW 2015 RESOURCES
Pirates, Privateers, and Buccaneers Theme Page
This "Theme Page" has links to two types of resources related to the study of pirates, privateers, and buccaneers. Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme. Please read our disclaimer.
[The]
Barbary Treaties
- Text of a treaty signed between the Bey of Tunis and the United States
in 1799 intended to control the Barbary pirates.
-
Beej's
Pirate Image Archive
- A collection of images organized under 8 categories: Pirates, Battles,
Ships, Punishment, Pirate Fun, Documents and Maps, and Howard Pyle Images.
Caution: The site's copyright notice on the images that it displays is somewhat
nebulous.
-
[The]
Canadian Privateering Homepage
- "In Canada's past privateers were an accepted and respected way of waging
war, and often the only means of defence for isolated Canadian communities.
" Dan Conlin wrote a Master's Thesis on Privateering in Canada with a special
interest in Nova Scotia events. His web site offers a FAQ section, a searchable
database of Canadians involved in privateering, and a list of Canadian privateering
ships.
-
Captain
Scharf's Pirate Project
- An example of what can be done with a web quest project. Some of the links
were dead when the site was reviewed, but the concept is generalizable.
-
Explorers
Theme Page
- Pirates, privateers and buccaneers were most prevalent during the great
age of exploration. This CLN Explorers Theme Page brings together curricular
resources for students and instructional materials for teachers who are interested
in learning more about this time period.
-
I
Sailed with Chinese Pirates
- A reportedly true story from Aleko Lilius that was first published in 1930.
-
[The]
Jackals
- Background information on pirates and privateers during the 16th and 17th
centuries, particularly with respect to Spanish treasure ships. There's also
specific information on Francis Drake, L'Ollonois, and Henry Morgan. This
page is from a web site on "The Era of the Spanish Galleons." For further
information on that era, including the ships, gunnery, and Spanish treasure,
click the 'home' button on the bottom of the page.
-
[The]
Legend of Captain Dave's Lost Treasure
- An entertainingvehicle for encouraging students to learn more about pirates
by visiting web sites.
-
Oak
Island
- The history and mystery behind Nova Scotia's Oak Island.
-
Piracy:
An Old Profession
- An article on the state of piracy in the world today.
-
[The]
Pirate Captain's Cabin
- A collection of information on pirates that is hampered by a high degree
of advertising. The best part of the resource is its roster of pirates. This
list goes beyond the typical collection of the famous.
-
Pirates
- A grade 5 class at Rochedale State School (Australia) developed this web
site. In addition to the value of the content itself, teachers may find the
site useful in generating ideas for what they could do with their own class.
-
Pirates
- Brief biographies of 5 women pirates.
-
Pirates!
- This ThinkQuest 99 entry has two sections - Fact and Legend. In the Fact
section, you'll be able to learn about general history, time lines, types
of piracy, famous pirates, facts, ships, and vocabulary. The Legend section
has information on how piracy has been treated in literature, lists of movies,
books and poems about pirates, and common misperceptions about piracy.
-
[The]
Pirate's Life: Dead Men Tell No Tales
- General information about famous pirates, their ships, and their flags.
Caution: the text can be difficult to read.
-
Pirates
of the Caribbean
- One of the early web sites on pirates, you'll find lots of general information.
In addition to bios on famous pirates and definitions/explanations of pirates,
privateers and buccaneers, there's also harder-to-find information on "Facts,
Legends and Myths of Pyracy" and "Notorious Place of Pirate Lore". Caution:
This is a Tripod site and that means you'll get intrusive advertising every
time you load or reload a page.
-
Pirates
of the Spanish Main
- A comprehensive metalist of links to pirate web sites. Be sure to check
out their section on famous pirates. There are also sections on Pirate Literature
and Artists of Piracy which are not commonly found.
-
Pirates,
Privateers, Buccaneers
- Survey-style information on the pretexts, methods, and locations of commiting
North American sea crimes in the 16th and 17th century.
-
Pyrates
Providence
- When complete, this site will have information (with images) on 12 famous
pirates and their treasure, ships, weapons, crime and punishment, and colours.
Caution: There were a number of incomplete sections when the site was reviewed.
-
Quest
for a Pirate
- Information on some famous pirates and their lifestyle, treasure, maps,
weapons. An historical time line is included.
-
[A]
Teaching Unit for Treasure Island
- A seven week teaching unit for grade 6 students.
-
Trackstar:
Pirates
- A web quest by by Jennifer Holvoet in which students learn more about ships,
provisioning them, and famous pirates. They also make a 'wanted' poster, look
at see battle images, play treasure games, and complete the unit with a feast.
Caution: you need 'frames' to use this webquest effectively and you'll encounter
some intrusive advertising.
-
Treasure
Island
- Click on "the book" for a summary of the plot, outslines of the characters,
and an online version of Stevenson's book. There's also information about
Stevenson himself (see 'the author') and some suggested activities for students.

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a source of curricular content in Pirates, Privateers, and Buccaneers. For other resources in Social Studies (e.g., curricular content, lesson plans, and theme pages), click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.