He fell upon Government, and shew'd, that every Man was born free, and had as much Right to what would support him, as to the Air he respired. In Rome he ran into Caraccioli – a "lewd Priest" who over the course of long voyages with little to do but talk, gradually converted Misson and a sizeable portion of the rest of the crew to his way of thinking:
The pirate utopia's motto was "for God and liberty," and its flag was white, in contrast to a Jolly Roger.Īccording to the account in A General History of the Pyrates, Misson was French, born in Provence, and it was while he was in Rome on leave from the French warship Victoire that he lost his faith, disgusted by the decadence of the Papal Court. They created a new language for their colony and operated a socialist economy. Like some historically documented pirates, they practiced direct democracy, where the people as a whole held the authority to make laws and rules, and also used systems of councils composed of delegates who were supposed to think of themselves as "comrades" of the general population, not rulers. The pirates were against the authoritarian institutions of their day, including monarchies, slavery, institutional religion, and the abuses associated with wealth. By waging war on behalf of "the Oppressed" against the "Oppressors," they would see that "Justice was equally distributed." These pirates who settled in Libertalia would be "vigilant Guardians of the People's Rights and Liberties" they would stand as "Barriers against the Rich and Powerful" of their day. Historian and activist Marcus Rediker describes the pirates as follows: He wanted to give the people of Libertalia their own demonym, not one of a past country of origin. Misson's idea was to have his society be one in which people of all colours, creeds, and beliefs were to be free of any scrutiny.
Libertalia got its name from the Latin word liberi which means "free". Libertalia was a legendary free colony founded by pirates led by Captain Misson, although most historians have expressed doubts over its existence outside of literature. Whether Libertatia was real but somehow "lost" to history, a pirate legend that the author recorded based on interviews with sailors, or a concocted work of utopian fiction by the author from the start is contested. Little to no corroborating evidence for Libertatia beyond this account has been found, however. The main source for Libertatia is Volume 2 of A General History of the Pyrates, a 1724 book which describes Captain Misson and Libertatia. Libertatia (also known as Libertalia) was a purported pirate colony founded in the late 17th century in Madagascar under the leadership of Captain James Misson (last name occasionally spelled "Mission", first name occasionally "Olivier").
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