Which pirate republic thrived at Nassau around 1715?

The Bahamas, where a loose community of pirates operated out of Nassau for about seven years after Britain effectively abandoned the colony - Blackbeard, Charles Vane, Benjamin Hornigold and Anne Bonny among them, in a harbour deep enough for their ships and too shallow for warships.

They ran on written articles. A pirate crew typically elected its captain and could depose him, voted on where to go, divided plunder by an agreed share with the captain taking perhaps twice a crewman's portion, and operated a compensation schedule for injuries - so much for a right arm, less for a left, less again for an eye. Naval sailors of the period were pressed, flogged and unpaid, which explains a good deal about recruitment.

It ended in 1718 when Britain sent Woodes Rogers with a royal pardon in one hand and a squadron in the other. Most accepted the pardon; those who did not were hunted and hanged. The whole golden age lasted about a decade, and its afterlife in fiction is entirely out of proportion - most of what people picture comes from Treasure Island and from one actor's performance in a 1950 Disney film, including the accent.