Buccaneers were a kind of privateer or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 1688, during a time when governments in the Caribbean area were not strong enough to suppress them.
"Buccaneer of the Caribbean" from Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates.
Howard Pyle – Buccaneers attacking a much larger Spanish galleon
Howard Pyle – Buccaneers extorting tribute from the citizens of a captured city.
Tortuga Island is a Caribbean island that forms part of Haiti, off the northwest coast of Hispaniola. It constitutes the commune of Île de la Tortue in the Port-de-Paix arrondissement of the Nord-Ouest department of Haiti.
Tortuga seen from space
A drawing of Tortuga island from the 17th century.