# The Kislak Pirates Symposium: Panel I, part 1.

Within some 50 years of its discovery, the Americas became a great and growing source of wealth for the Spanish crown. Silks, spices, precious metals and gems flowed across the Pacific to Mexico and Panama as silver and gold were transported across the Gulf of Mexico from Cuba to Spain. Pirates and privateers preyed on these vessels, often as commissioned agents sent out against the enemies of their sovereigns or as renegades for their own personal gain. An all-day symposium, "Pirates and Corsairs of the Americas in History and Literature," was sponsored by the Rare Book and Special Collections Division and the Hispanic Division in conjunction with the "Exploring the Early Americas" exhibition. Featured speakers were Sabrina Guerra, who discussed "Drake and Rogers: Successful Heroes or Frightful Bandits"; and Franklin Knight who presented "Pirates of the Caribbean: An Irregular Form of Imperial Expansion."

- Kind: Talk
- Year: 2007
- By: Library Of Congress
- Genres: Education, History
- Archive: [Library of Congress](https://www.loc.gov/item/2021688147/)
- Licence or status: Rights statement at the Library of Congress (as the archive states it)
- Credit: Library of Congress
- Who can watch: Tweens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/loc/2021688147?play=1)