Cannibals. Conquistadors. Buccaneers. Pirates. Visions of cartoon characters dancing around a cauldron with an explorer tied inside. Balboa gazing on the Pacific Ocean. De Leon and the fountain of youth. Pizarro conquering the Incas. Henry Morgan, in red, drinking spiced rum. Smoke curling around Blackbeard as his cutlass slashes through the air. ... all children's tales that mean nothing. Today, we do not know who any of these people were, how they came to do what they did, or why they did it. The struggle for power, freedom, and wealth that shaped the Caribbean for two and a half centuries has, since John Barrie created Peter Pan, been relegated to the same literary section as Barney the Dinosaur; yet, underneath the soil of the modern world, the roots are still there. I started pulling them up on St. Croix, and the roots led to more. Islands connected, nations connected, and legends came to life.
This history of the Caribbean centers on a little island that was an epicenter of piracy for two and a half centuries, the last island to be subdued by colonial "law and order". Officially, St. Croix has flown seven flags. Before the American flag and the Dannebrog, the Spanish came for gold, the Dutch to trade, the English to raid, and the Knights of St. John to be in charge. The French built a colony only to watch it die of fever. From 1493 to 1750, Pirates, Conquistadors, Freebooters, Filibustiers, Corsairs, Buccaneers--whatever you call them--ruled the Caribbean and made St. Croix their home, stealing at sea whether they had 'permission' to do so or not, and paying no attention to whichever European flag flew over the island. It is time to recognize the eighth flag of Saint Croix. It was black. This is the untold story of St. Croix and a Caribbean long forgotten. Come. Sail with me.
