Pirates Treasure / Piratenschatz Traditional Cache

By the 16th century the Canaries were prime pirate hunting grounds; unpopulated inlets were ideal bases for pirate cruisers waiting to pray on galleons, filled with jewels and gold, returning from the New World via Canarian ports. Even the legendary Canary Island of San Borondón got in on the act with some pirates insisting that they used its mythical bays to keep their ships hidden from the Spanish fleet. Pirate attacks intensified on Tenerife, coastal communities moved inland and fortifications like those at Garachico, Adeje and Los Realejos were built to strengthen defences, but not all precautions were successful. Françoise Le Clerc, ‘Peg Leg’, ransacked Santa Cruz de la Palma in 1553, burning much of it to the ground before crossing the Atlantic to replicate his dastardly deeds in the Caribbean. Nowadays, there’s no need to keep a sharp eye on the horizon for black flags and scallywags; but with Cap’n Jack Sparrow capturing the imagination of a new generation of would-be swashbucklers, pirates may be long gone, but they’re definitely not forgotten.