From the late 1600s to the early 1700s, pirates, privateers and buccaneersruled the waves around The Bahamas. The shallow offshore waters being close to busy shipping lanes and reefs that could prove hazardous to all but the most experienced of ship's captains, afforded wreckers excellent opportunities to lure a heavily laden merchant ships. With its sheltered all-weather harbour, the city of Nassau, originally established as a commercial port around 1670, was particularly favoured and soon became a true 'pirate paradise' for lawless seafaring men who frequently used false 'lighthouses' to lure ships onto the reefs. One of the most notorious pirates of all time was Edward Teach, aka Blackbeard. When Blackbeard lived in Nassau, his fellow pirates appointed him magistrate of their 'Privateers' Republic' until Royal Governor Woodes Rogers arrived.