Golden Age of Piracy, 1716

Background
The year is 1716. While the European powers are rushing to colonize the Caribbean in the late 17th and early 18th centuries, they are also balancing violent and delicate military conflicts. The War of the Spanish Succession ended only two years ago in 1714, however due to the understood edict of No Peace Beyond the Line, the ships of the European powers continue to hijack each other at great economic and moral cost. Formally, the alliance of England and the Dutch Republic are now at peace with Spain and France. However, their colonial holdings in the New World would never be able to tell. The addition of other strong, non-governmental powers, including the Dutch West India Company, the Pirate Republic, and the Papal States, introduced an unprecedented complication to foreign affairs. So, King George has organized this Summit at St. Kitts to create a more positive economic environment for all parties involved.

Make no mistake, this is a cross-theatre conflict. The actions taken in the Caribbean will have a myriad of consequences on the mainland too – you cannot simply sack Havana and expect the Spanish in Madrid to take it lightly. Nations that turn a blind eye to the demands of the church will face considerable consequences. While the primary issue that must be addressed is finding a mutually beneficial solution for the economic travesty that is the sinking of trade shapes in the Caribbean Sea, plenty of other urgent topics may hit the agenda: the issue of the sovereignty of the newly-formed Republic of Pirates, the role of chartered companies on an international scale, and mitigating the influence of religion on a global scale.

Director Biography
Georgia is a senior at the college living in Winthrop House. She studies Psychology and Economics, with a focus on Moral and Political Psychology. She is a proud cat-loving caffeine addict often found traveling with Harvard’s Intercollegiate Model UN team and staffing conferences far from her hometown of Philadelphia. When she’s not working for the U.S. Congress, conducting research for Harvard’s Moral Psychology Research Lab, or writing for one of Harvard’s student publications, she likes to think she can finally catch up on sleep. This will be her final Model UN conference and she couldn’t be more excited to share it with you.