Pirate utopia

Pirate utopias were described by controversial anarchist essayist Peter Lamborn Wilson (aka Hakim Bey) in his 1995 book Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes, and in his earlier essay Temporary Autonomous Zone (TAZ), as secret islands once used for supply purposes by pirates that were early forms of autonomous "mini societies" existing beyond the realm and reach of governments. These pirate enclaves typify proto-anarchist societies in that they operated beyond laws and governments and, in their stead, embraced unrestricted freedom.^{[citation needed]}

On the Barbary Coast

Located on the Barbary Coast (Salé, Algiers, Tunis), those pirate utopias were haven for Muslim Corsairs from the 16th to the 18th century. The pirates, dubbed "Barbary Pirates", ravaged European shipping operations and enslaved many thousands of captives. However, thousands of Europeans also converted to Islam, forming the "Renegados" and joining the pirate holy war. Wilson shows that these men and women were not only apostates and traitors, as they were considered in their homelands: their voluntary betrayal of Christendom can also be thought of as a praxis of social resistance.^{[citation needed]} Wilson focuses on the Pirate Republic of Salé, in 17th century Morocco, which can be considered a type of micronation with its own seaport argot known as "Franco", since like other pirate states, it used to pass treaties from time to time with some European countries, agreeing not to attack their fleets. Wilson's idea of Temporary Autonomous Zones developed from his historical review of pirate utopias.^{[citation needed]}

List of examples

• Libertatia
• Barataria Bay
• Campeche
• Tortuga
• Port Royal
• Porto Farina

See also

• Peter Ludlow (author of Crypto Anarchy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias, 2001)
• Cities of the Red Night, a novel by William S. Burroughs, 1981.
• Data haven
• Libertatia

References

• Peter Lamborn Wilson, Pirate Utopias: Moorish Corsairs & European Renegadoes ISBN 1-57027-158-5 (Autonomedia, 1996)
• Peter Ludlow, Crypto Anarchy, Cyberstates, and Pirate Utopias ISBN 0-262-12238-3 (2001)
• Hakim Bey, TAZ - The Temporary Autonomous Zone, Ontological Anarchy, Poetic Terrorism ISBN 1-57027-151-8 (Autonomedia, 2003)

External links

• Pirate Utopias - From "Temporary Autonomous Zone"