Museum IV · A newSchoolWorks.com museum
The Golden Ageof Piracy
The Atlantic World, 1550–1750
A museum of the sea between two ports — the cold north and the warm south — and the outlaws who ran the water between them.
12 galleries · 266 works · open to every visitor
On view today
Fishing
Fishing sustained Golden Age maritime communities. Hand-lines, nets, and hooks enabled subsistence and commerce. Archaeological evidence from Caribbean and Atlantic sites reveals daily provisioning practices that supported both legitimate seafarers and pirate crews operating 1650–1725.
The 12 galleries
Choose a room
Twelve rooms, from ships and weapons to commerce, geography, and the people themselves.
Ships of the Golden Age
Introduce every major vessel used by pirates, merchants and navies.
Enter Gallery II · 30 worksShip Construction
The anatomy of a wooden ship — how she was framed, planked, rigged and worked.
Enter Gallery III · 24 worksWeapons
The arms of the age, from cutlass to cannon.
Enter Gallery IV · 20 worksCrew
Every hand aboard — rank, role and responsibility.
Enter Gallery V · 25 worksLife at Sea
The daily reality of living upon the water.
Enter Gallery VI · 23 worksOperations
How a ship fought, sailed and worked her trade.
Enter Gallery VII · 14 worksPirate Democracy
The sea-rovers' radical self-government.
Enter Gallery VIII · 24 worksCommerce
The goods, money and paper that drove the whole enterprise.
Enter Gallery IX · 22 worksGeography
The waters, passages and ports of the pirate world.
Enter Gallery X · 23 worksTechnology
The instruments and crafts that made seafaring possible.
Enter Gallery XI · 14 worksThe Natural World
The sea itself — weather, creatures and the living ocean.
Enter Gallery XII · 18 worksPeople of the Golden Age
The men and women whose names outlived them.
EnterSpecial exhibition · Closes August 31
Ships of the Atlantic World 1550-1750
Ships of the Atlantic World 1550-1750
Now showing in the special exhibition hall. Walk in →
Now hanging
One work from every room
A fresh pick from each gallery, changed every day.
