Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research
Abstract
This article examines how the political and religious context of seventeenth-century Europe influenced the actions of state officials and sea raiders who worked with the state. It argues that the tensions between Catholic and Protestant Christians between and within states influenced the mostly Protestant buccaneers to be more violent against the clergy and symbols of Catholic worship. Additionally, the religious affiliation of state officials influenced the perception of the buccaneers and the subsequent policies pursued concerning piracy. It tracks how religious conflict affected the buccaneers from the arrival of French Huguenots to Tortuga, to Cromwell’s Western Design and the restoration of the British monarchy, to the end of the buccaneering age after the Treaty of Madrid.
Recommended Citation
Millington, Donavon P.
(2025)
"Cutlasses and Crucifixes: The Christian Denominational Conflict’s Influence on Seventeenth-Century Buccaneers,"
Butler Journal of Undergraduate Research: Vol. 11
, Article 10.
Retrieved from:
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/bjur/vol11/iss1/10