Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "caribbean"

The Sugar Sacrifice by Lyle Garford

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When Baron Jean Baptiste Raimond La Chance arrives in St. Lucia in December 1792, he introduces the innovative guillotine to the enlightened citizens of the French island. His assistants, who arrived first, are agents who explained the rights of man to the slaves and confiscated any property belonging to royalists. He should deal with two consequences of freeing the slaves – the decrease in food and sugar production – but he’s more interested in punishing anyone who impedes the Revolution’s agenda. His first target is Marchel Deschamps. Not only is this naval officer a traitor, who refuses to divulge where a cache of gold is hidden, but his father was responsible for ruining La Chance’s family. Once La Chance learns all he needs to know from Deschamps, the traitor has a date with Madame Guillotine.

The summons from the British spymaster in the Caribbean is a welcome diversion from the normal routine of running the Navy Dockyard on Antigua, but Commander Evan Ross and Lieutenant James Wilton also know it means they must risk their lives once again for king and country. The turmoil in France has had a ripple effect that has now spread to their own backyard; and with no word from St. Lucia, they are ordered to go to the island, locate Deschamps, find out what’s going on there, and rescue him if necessary. Speed is of the essence, but with war on the horizon between England and France, they are hampered in quickly leaving Antigua. Nor can a British warship just sail into the French port, so they must convert a navy ship to an American trading vessel, disguise themselves as traders, and acquire a handpicked crew that includes not only seamen, but also a lock picker, a forger, and a burglar. Also accompanying them is Manon, James’s girlfriend, who grew up on St. Lucia and whose father still lives there. While on St. Lucia, she and her father disappear and the attempt to rescue Deschamps is derailed. Out of options, Evan returns to Antigua for more help, but James remains behind to search for Manon.

The Sugar Sacrifice is a roller coaster of excitement that has readers sitting on the edges of their seats and holding their breath. It’s a stunning tale of consequences, courage, loyalty, and heartache into which rays of hope still beam. Some readers may not gain a full understanding of the title until the Author Notes at the end, even though Garford hints at the reason early in the story. Others may find the violence difficult to read, but it is historically accurate and never gratuitous. Garford achieves what all historical novelists strive toward – portraying history in a way that makes it come alive and puts readers in the midst of the action. In fact, the horrors of the guillotine are so vivid readers will hear the blade drop. Whether newcomers to the series or already fans, readers of this third book in the Evan Ross tales will find this one as entertaining as the first and eagerly await the forthcoming title, The Sugar Rebellion.




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The Ballade of Mary Reede: Twilight of the Buccaneers by N.C. Schell

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


One summer in 1752, the son of an old shipmate visits John Tanner at his home in the hills of New England. This lad brings with him a small chest with the message that perhaps it’s time to tell the story. What’s inside awakens a host of memories and emotions – some good, some bad – but his friend is right. Nearly three decades have passed since Captain Johnson published his account of the pirates, and he omitted many details to protect John and others. Better to record the full story now, before it’s too late.

Captain Charles Johnson first entered John’s life at the age of ten. The successful investor had once sailed with William Dampier and later journeyed to the Levant. He also has a particular fascination with pirates, attending their trials, collecting anecdotes, and interviewing them in their gaol cells before they hang. When John turns thirteen, Johnson provides him with the opportunity to learn the trade of ship’s carpenter. Once John receives his papers, Johnson offers him the position of master carpenter aboard the Rachel, a brig he helped to build.

Rachel sails for the Caribbean, where the threat from pirates has lessened since Governor Woodes Rogers arrived at New Providence. She is a happy ship and all goes well until a topsail schooner is sighted off the island of Turks. John’s best friend, able seaman Candy Jones, suspects those aboard the strange sail are pirates, perhaps even some he knows. He hopes not, as he took the King’s Pardon and has no intention of going back on his word.

After the captain is rowed over to the pirate ship, some of the cutthroats board the Rachel. Two in particular catch John’s attention. The first is Black Mike Magoon, whom John likens to a “maddened highland bullock.” He once sailed with Blackbeard and is just as crazy and violent. The other has a handsome face and keen eyes that always watch what’s happening around him. Mark Reede is quiet and polite, but prefers people call him by his surname. When John finds himself on Black Mike’s bad side, Reede saves John’s life. Doing so is to honor their captain’s wishes, but the intervention heightens the animosity between the two pirates and Black Mike vows a day of reckoning will come – sooner rather than later.

After Captain Jack Rackham comes aboard Rachel, the looting begins, a trial is held, and volunteers are asked to join their merry band. But John and Candy aren’t given an opportunity to decline Rackham’s generous offer. Both are forced; neither signs the pirates’ articles and each vows to do only what he must to survive. Reede is given the responsibility of protecting and teaching John. As the days pass, John enjoys his time with Reede, yet is also perplexed by feelings that don’t make sense. Although the pirates successfully raid other vessels and trade with maroons and smugglers, their seizures incense the authorities and before long pirate hunters are on their trail.

This is by no means just a pirate tale. It’s also about the maroons and smugglers, people whose lives intersected with pirates. The meaning of nautical jargon may stump a few readers, but its use never impedes the story’s flow. Schell incorporates a mock trial into this narrative, but as a wonderfully descriptive way of showing how pirates entertained themselves and sat in judgment of sea captains and their treatment of the sailors under them. His interpretation of how the animosity sparks between Reede and Magoon is plausible and enlightening. The same is true of what happens to Anne Bonny after she is condemned to hang.

Having Charles Johnson, the author of the most famous pirate history ever published, participate in this story is both delightful and refreshing. His role may be minor, but it is definitely an important one that is easily believed. Schell instills life into this historian’s book so it is no longer mere words on the page. His portrayal of these men and women is as vivid and realistic as the world he weaves around them. He is a master at creating unique, memorable characters be they major or minor ones. Although I share Irish roots with Anne Bonny, it is Mary Reed who has long been my favorite of this famous duo and this story is an admirable and realistic portrayal of her life. As for the minor characters, my favorite is Trinket, a pirate who comes back from the dead.

The Ballade of Mary Reede is the first book in the Twilight of the Buccaneers series. It is a well-crafted, captivating tale rich in historical detail and pirate lore. The love story is both heartwarming and heart wrenching, and even though history tells us how the story must end, never once does Schell permit us to stop hoping that love will triumph. His re-imagining of John’s farewell to Mary is a poignant moment that stays with you long after the story ends.




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Anne Bonny the Infamous Female Pirate by Phillip Thomas Tucker

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Ask for the name of a female pirate and Anne Bonny will inevitably be given. History has left us two main sources of information about this woman – Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates and the account of her trial in Spanish Town, Jamaica in 1720. The former isn’t an entirely accurate history of famous pirates and the latter covers only a short period in Anne’s life that is primarily seen from the victims’ perspectives. Anne herself left no journal or diary detailing her life. Over the centuries, a number of books, mostly collections about women pirates, have included Anne, but author bias and cultural interpretations have sometimes intruded into these biographies. Dr. Tucker’s goal is to separate the mythology from Anne’s story to resurrect the real Anne Bonny and place her within the world in which she lived.

Anne Bonny begins in 1698 and lays the framework for who her parents were, how she came to be born, and how circumstances in Ireland eventually led to Anne and her parents emigrating to South Carolina. Subsequent chapters cover her life in that colony, her marriage to James Bonny, her move to the Bahamas, her love affair with Calico Jack Rackham, her life as a pirate, and her capture and trial. The account of her life concludes with what happened to her after she vanished from her gaol cell until her death in 1782. The narrative ends with a conclusion and endnotes. Maps and other blank-and-white illustrations are included throughout the book.

This book has a number of weaknesses. The absence of an actual bibliography and index make it difficult to locate information within the narrative. The format of the endnotes causes confusion as to which part of the narrative provided either the subject discussed or the quotation. Also, a few of the source materials cited here fall under the category of primary documentation. The majority are either secondary or tertiary resources; a few, such as Wikipedia and Answers.com, are questionable resources. Dr. Tucker incorporates source citations within the endnotes, but only the first usage includes the author, full title, and publication date. If the resource is a website, a URL is never provided and trying to locate it using a search engine is nearly impossible from the limited information that is provided.

Equally frustrating is the frequent use of language conveying hypothetical conclusions, such as likely, might, possibly, perhaps, maybe. In a non-fiction book that purports to set the record straight and to fill in the gaps, how can this be achieved without providing definitive historical evidence to back-up these claims? A subsection of chapter two is “Dynamic Irish Women”, yet the first woman role model discussed is Joan of Arc, who was French. If Anne knew of Grace O’Malley, who was Irish, her story may have inspired Anne as Dr. Tucker claims.

Several of his points also raise red flags. On page 49, Anne was “unaware that piracy was a most dangerous profession.” Captain William Kidd’s imprisonment, trial, and execution in 1701 were big news back then and Anne was not illiterate. Newspapers and broadsheets often carried tales of pirate attacks. The zenith of bringing pirates to justice and executing them may not have been reached at the time Anne became a pirate, but she was associating with them in the taverns of New Providence when Woodes Rogers was tasked with the job of ridding the pirates from the Caribbean. How could she not have known piracy was dangerous?

Two other examples pertain to Edward Teach or Blackbeard. On page 56, Dr. Tucker writes, “Some scant evidence exists that even Edward Teach . . . was of mixed black and white ancestry.” Ten pages later this becomes a rumor and that he was “a light-skinned mulatto,” yet no evidence is provided to support or discount this – why include a rumor in the first place? As to Dr. Tucker’s claim that Anne “might well have seen Blackbeard on the sandy streets” of Nassau, this is highly improbable. Anne didn’t arrive there until November 1718 and in November Blackbeard was in the environs of the Carolinas and was slain on 22 November.

On the other hand, this book provides an interesting perspective of Anne and how cultural influences and societal attitudes may have influenced her life and her decisions. It also shows her as a typical teenager, experiencing the angst of growing up and living in patriarchal societies where religion and on which side of the tracks you were born played a role in who and what you could be, especially if you were female. Dr. Trucker also does a commendable job expressing why society feared Anne and what she represented.




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Black Flag of the North: Bartholomew Roberts, King of the Atlantic Pirates by Victor Suthren

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


On 17 May 1682, a son is born to a Welsh family. His name is John Robert(s) and he has a fifty percent possibility of reaching his third birthday. If he survives until then, his chances of attaining adulthood are even less; against all odds, John lives into his late thirties. Between the recording of his birth and 1718, no record has been found to explain his formative years and how he goes from working on land to being Second or Third Mate of a slave ship. Somehow, he gains navigational skills, fighting tactics, and nautical expertise – all of which prove instrumental in launching him on a path his parents never foresee the day he comes into this world.

Two fateful days mark the beginning and end of John’s final years. In 1718, off the West African coast, the slaver on which he works is taken by pirates. Their captain, Howell Davis, is a fellow Welshman; this common bond connects the two men in spite of John’s initial rebuffs to join in the sweet trade. Yet the day eventually comes when John decides “a merry and short life” is better than his current one. Taking the name “Bartholomew,” he embarks on a career in piracy. Six weeks after meeting the pirates, they elect him captain after Davis’s demise. Although atypical of many of his mates – he abstains from drink and wenching – he possesses traits and skills necessary to lead and succeed. Pillaging more than 450 ships also brings him notoriety, which garners the attention of authorities and forces the pirates to look elsewhere for plunder several times. His career ends where it begins: off the coast of Africa at the hands of the British Royal Navy.

Suthren opens his account with what is and isn’t known about this legendary pirate. He also explores what may have influenced Roberts’ upbringing, as well as possibilities of how he came to be an accomplished mariner. Before delving into particulars about his piratical career, the author devotes three chapters to necessary background information on piracy (especially between 1680 and the 1720s), the slave trade and slave ships, and pirates in Canada – the place where Roberts went from ordinary to unparalleled. Along the way readers meet a variety of other pirates, including Walter Kennedy, Peter Easton, Sheila NaGeira, Edward Low, and Eric Cobham and Maria Lindsey. Also mentioned is pirate hunter Sir Henry Mainwaring, although without any hint of his piratical past. While the majority of passages quoted within the narrative come from other historians, Suthren does include one extant letter from Roberts to the highest ranking soldier on St. Christopher (St. Kitts today), who dared to fire on the pirates. Contrary to what the book says, Roberts is not the first captain to implement a code of conduct to govern his men. These articles derive from a legal document used by buccaneers, a sample of which appears in Alexandre Exquemelin’s The Buccaneers of America (1678).

In addition to several period maps and two illustrations, the book has a bibliography and index. Endnotes provide source citations, although none is provided for one curious reference in the text to pirates blackening their faces so they appear more threatening. At times, Suthren shares how twists of fate lead men on differing paths. James Cook possessed similar traits and skills with Roberts and both were shaped by the time they spent in Canadian waters. Black Flag of the North provides a good overview of the period, while succinctly entertaining readers with the meteoric rise and fall of the man often referred to as “King of the Pirates.”




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Remarkable Rascal by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Clinging to the top of a ship’s mast with sharks circling below doesn’t bode well for William “Echo” Eden. Faced with such grim prospects for his future, he opts to examine choices made and the consequences that ensued. His journey into the past begins with his first memory, the death of his parents in 1695, which left him and his younger brother totally unprepared for the cruel world that lay beyond their door. Taken in by their great uncle, a retired deacon who works at a basilica, they do the majority of the cleaning, which includes ridding the basilica of its detested rat infestation, because of their uncle’s failing eyesight. They also have to answer a daily riddle – their uncle’s way of educating them. Echo excels in acquiring knowledge and a host of skills, but one particular talent is an innate ability to mimic voices and sounds. Toby, however, fails to master anything, which makes him the perfect target of a bully named Scarf Rockingham.

At night, the brothers frequently venture into the streets where Echo acquires additional knowledge that later serves him in good stead. His inventiveness eventually leads the brothers to become so adept as ratters that they gain employment at Slugger O’Toole’s Sport Emporium. Their search for rats for the fights there eventually takes them farther and farther afield until they find themselves at London’s docks where the ships at anchor provide an ample supply of contestants. They also meet a disabled ship’s cook who enthralls them with tales of his younger days at sea.

One night, Toby disappears, their uncle is killed, and Echo must flee England aboard the Amafata, where his only friend is the ship’s cook. As they sail to the Caribbean, Echo’s encounters bring him face-to-face with the reality of sea life, the brutality of punishment, spinning yarns, ghosts, sea hazards, ingenious games, Voudou, pirates, slavery, superstitions and witches, first love, and duels. His many talents and knowledge elicit the friendship of some and the enmity of others.

Remarkable Rascal, the first entry in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series, is a rollicking tale of adventure, romance, and life in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries for a lad in his teens. Although cited as a book for young adults, the violence and gruesomeness make me question whether all readers of this age group are mature enough to handle some of the covered topics. Throughout the narrative some words are italicized, although the purpose for being so is never given. Some can be found in the glossary, others cannot.

Well-researched, this novel deftly captures the essence of this period. The author, a gifted storyteller, uses a first-person perspective to suck readers deeper and deeper into a whirlpool that, at times, is as violent as a maelstrom or as serene as a halcyon day. Rather than recount every detail of Echo’s young life, he weaves together a series of vignettes that introduce the main character and provide the framework that allows Echo to accomplish all that transpires both in London and the Caribbean. Along the way readers meet a host of unique and memorable characters – some scary, others who bring smiles, all easy to picture.




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Black Tarantula by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


William Echo Eden continues his tale in this second title in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series. In need of a new First Mate, the Amafata’s captain offers that position to Echo. He graciously accepts, but must first testify at the trial of his predecessor, Mr. Bass. Sentenced to hang, Bass escapes before the deed is done. Echo hopes that he has seen the last of yet another enemy in his short life and prepares the ship for the next stop in their travels, Barbados. Before they set sail, news of the Black Tarantula’s latest plundering and destruction reach the island and Captain Adams, the nephew of the three witches who befriended Echo in the previous book, mounts an expedition to end the vicious pirate’s murderous rampage. Echo longs to accompany Adams, but his duties to Amafata prevent him from joining.

On the way to Barbados an outbreak of typhus forces them to put in at an uninhabited island to replenish their water supply. When the captain and shore party fail to return, Echo discovers that the island isn’t as deserted as they thought and his mates are slowly being slaughtered as sacrificial lambs. Relying on inventiveness and knowledge, he soon extricates some captives, but shortly after they are back aboard their ship, they encounter an even deadlier foe – pirates!

After the captain is fatally wounded, Echo must take command and deems it prudent to surrender. Neither he nor his mates wish to be pirates, but Captain Rambling Dirk Shivvers makes it clear that those he selects to replace his dead men have no choice. Echo and the others acquiesce, although they agree o just play pirate until they can escape the clutches of this band of misfits and miscreants. To this end, Echo finds ways to outsmart those pirates who would do him harm while ingratiating himself with Shivvers, who is stealing from his own crew. Echo tucks this fact away until a time when it will prove beneficial, but as the days pass, Shivvers becomes increasingly jealous of Echo. To protect himself and his mates, Echo resurrects the ghost of the Black Monk and uses some of his herbal medicines to concoct a special brew that eventually results in him being elected captain of the pirates.

As Echo ponders whether to accept this “honor,” news of the Black Tarantula’s depredations reaches him. The latest attack destroys Saint Domingue and his girlfriend, who evades the pirates, becomes the object of the evil pirate’s obsession. To thwart this nemesis and safe his love, Echo and his pirates must become masters at deception, battle, and many other tactics if they hope to survive a confrontation with the most fiendish pirate in the Caribbean.

Early in this tale Echo mentions that he’s still haunted by the loss of his younger brother, but there is little of evidence to show this or the effect it has on him. As in the previous title, Remarkable Rascal, his enemies come in all shapes and sizes and they provide ample adventures for him to pursue, including kidnapping, torture, and madmen. Descriptive and unique characters once again populate The Black Tarantula: Powder Monkey, Long Tall Willie, Creeping Jeremy, Charlie Crowfeet, Muttering Moses Hart, Fighting John English, Sharkface Topper, and Tiger Eyes. Smith is equally adept at demonstrating how Echo likes to think outside the box, such as his use of Angry George’s hobby to acquire needed information. The depth and breadth of Smith’s research is also evident, and he has a storyteller’s giftedness to deftly weave pirate lore and history into a believable and compelling tale. But Black Tarantula is not for the faint of heart. It is entertaining, but also violent and gruesome. By story’s end, fans will look forward to the next book in the saga, Demon Pirate.




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Demon Pirate by Kevin Charles Smith

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


With Captain Adams in the hands of the Black Tarantula, William Echo Eden sets aside his plans to rescue a kidnapped French woman to save his friend. To venture into the deadly lair of this merciless pirate requires an unorthodox plan. A plague offers the perfect cover story – even if it springs from Echo’s cunning imagination – and he and four of his men venture into the pirate’s lair perched high on a bluff overlooking a cove on Tortuga. Unfortunately, his arch nemesis is off seeking Echo’s girlfriend, Rue, but his second-in-command is no less vicious. With consummate acting skills and the perfect cure – Devil’s Trumpet – Echo and his “medical team” incapacitate the pirates long enough to rescue Adams and abscond with two chests.

Echo shares the one treasure filled with gems with his men; the other he keeps for himself. The counterfeit coins within may be of use in retrieving the kidnapped French woman from Captain LeMerde. Upon Echo’s return to Jamaica, circumstances permit him to implement his plan using his newfound “wealth” and Aimee Turbout shows unexpected gratefulness for being rescued. The captured LeMerde stands trial and is sentenced to hang, but escapes and, after meting out his twisted sense of justice on Echo’s friend Powder Monkey, flees the island with the Aimee.

His search for Aimee Turbout leads Echo first to Saint Domingue, where he is arrested and thrown in jail. After extracting himself from the trumped up charges, he sails to Grand Cayman, where he discovers the islanders are in league with LeMerde and his pirates. Once again, Echo employs inventive strategies to find Aimee and dispense with his enemies, but during his absence from Jamaica, dear friends are murdered most hideously and he’s arrested by the new governor upon his return. He also learns that the Black Tarantula has finally captured Rue.

Demon Pirate is the third book in the Bilge Rat, Pirate Adventurer series. Smith weaves a riveting tale spiced with betrayal, vengeance, a femme fatale in the guise of a fortuneteller, and a mock pirate trial (a favorite entertainment of real sea marauders). Although the Black Tarantula’s true identity isn’t surprising, there are plenty of other unexpected twists to beguile readers. Previous titles have begun and ended with Echo awaiting his own demise – a writer’s device dispensed with here – yet Smith ably resolves all other subplots that began in earlier volumes. He entices readers with a promise of future installments detailing Echo’s adventures, but he also raises the brutality bar to extremes in Demon Pirate, which I found troubling given that this series is written for teenagers, as well as adults. Some readers, myself included, may decide that three books about Echo and his mates (as unique and intriguing as they are) are as far as they wish to venture into this series.




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The Golden Age of Piracy: The Rise, Fall, and Enduring Popularity of Pirates by David Head

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The scholarly essays in this collection examine both historical pirates and those in popular culture. Although the focus is on piracy in the Caribbean, the time perspective is broader, extending from the seventeenth to the nineteenth centuries. Some analyze how what we have learned from the past can be applied to the present to suppress these marauders today. Others demonstrate how society has viewed pirates at different times and on different levels. Together the essays show how we’ve expanded our understanding of pirates and piracy, as well as future avenues of study to continue the learning process.

This volume is comprised of four sections. It opens with “Pirates and Empire,” which investigates the growth of piracy during the 1500s and 1600s when European nations vied for control of the Caribbean. The second section, “Suppression of Pirates,” discusses piracy’s decline in the region. “Modeling Piracy” pertains to lessons learned and the application of those lessons today. The final section, “Images of Pirates in Their Own Time and Beyond,” scrutinizes how those ashore viewed pirates.

Three essays comprise Section I: Pirates and Empire. In “Why Atlantic Piracy” Carla Gardina Pestana looks at the geographical, economic, and political influences that resulted in the spread of piracy from Europe to the New World. She discusses the importance of understanding what piracy was and was not, and then applying that knowledge to archival records when analyzing accusations against pirates. She also stresses that the inherent violence accompanying piracy ebbed and flowed rather than remaining a constant.

John A. Coakley uses the term private seafarer, instead of privateer or pirate, to discuss the men who played key roles in both the politics of and marauding raids from Jamaica between 1655 and 1692 in “Jamaica’s Private Seafarers: Politics and Violence in a Seventeenth-Century English Colony.” He also examines how these relationships changed over time and the attempts to regulate these expeditions.

Many histories mention pirates and their connections to logwood, but in “‘Sailors from the Woods’: Logwood Cutting and the Spectrum of Piracy” Kevin P. McDonald offers readers a different perspective. Rather than being pirates who harvested the wood that provided much-desired dyes in Europe, they were seamen who sometimes strayed into smuggling or ventured into the more serious crime of piracy.

Section 2: Suppression of Pirates also contains three essays. Douglas R. Burgess leads off with “Trial and Error: Piracy Trials in England and Its Colonies, 1696-1723.” He discusses the evolution of England’s definition of piracy, as well as how American colonists viewed pirates. Initially, these did not coincide, but as time passed piracy changed and so did the latter’s thinking. He shows this by looking at pirate trials over time until the prosecution and punishment of pirates occurred on both sides of the Atlantic.

David Wilson analyzes the effectiveness of this suppression in “Protecting Trade by Suppressing Pirates: British Colonial and Metropolitan Responses to Atlantic Piracy, 1716-1726.” Rather than being a united and coordinated endeavor, he demonstrates that the effectiveness of such efforts was influenced by merchants, agents of colonial governments, and captains in the Royal Navy.

Guy Chet, on the other hand, contradicts the common belief that British efforts to suppress piracy were successful in “The Persistence of Piracy in the British Atlantic.” He provides evidence to show that sea marauding remained a threat long past the end of the “golden age” into the mid nineteenth century.

In the third section of this collection, Modeling Piracy, Virginia W. Lunsford and Peter T. Leeson scrutinize human and piratical behavior of the past in hopes that these lessons can be applied to the problem today. Lunsford’s “A Model of Piracy: The Buccaneers of the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean” presents a case study that identifies six significant characteristics of piracy that resulted in the dissolution of the buccaneers. Leeson presents a new rationale for looking at pirates in “The Economic Way of Thinking about Pirates.” By examining these rogues through the eyes of an economist, he provides fresh insight into why pirates governed themselves as they did, why they used the black flag, and why they tortured their victims.

Images of Pirates in Their Own Time and Beyond, the final section of this book, looks at pirates through the eyes of those ashore who heard and read of their tales. Margarette Lincoln leads off with “Henry Every and the Creation of the Pirate Myth in Early Modern Britain.” Every’s piratical deeds in the 1690s provided much fodder for literary pens, which allowed audiences of all classes with opportunities to digest issues relevant to them and gave rise to the pirate as a popular hero. By examining these publications, Lincoln shows what they tell us about those who lived when these pirates roamed. She also demonstrates how portrayals of Every changed over time.

In “‘Blood and Lust’: Masculinity and Sexuality in Illustrated Print Portrayals of Early Pirates of the Caribbean,” Carolyn Eastman examines what the descriptions and illustrations in Alexandre Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America (1678) and Captain Charles Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates (1724) showed about the pirates and male readers themselves. (This essay also includes several illustrations from these publications.)

“A Woman Is to Blame: Gender and the Literature of Antebellum Pirate Confessions” is Matthew Taylor Raffety’s contribution. Those caught and punished often cited a woman in their past as the real culprit for their downfall. This female failed to provide the moral fabric necessary to keep the pirates from straying from the straight and narrow. Through an exploration of these confessions, printed in publications prior to the American Civil War, Raffety demonstrates how such portrayals mirrored contemporary morality and the difference between the female and male domains of the middle class during the nineteenth century.

The final essay is Adam Fortner’s “Pirate Ghosts and Buried Treasure: Hunting for Gold in the New American Republic.” He explores how pirates came to be entangled in folklore and what such tales truly tried to teach readers.

David Head, the editor, makes several key points about this collection in his concluding remarks. The contributors have taken sources long available to historians and examine them in new ways. Learning what pirates of yore can tell us is an ongoing process. These scholarly essays add to the existing body of published research to provide “the latest word, not the last word.” (240) Equally important to the factual study of pirates is that context matters and that much can be learned from exploring the cultural history.

The Golden Age of Piracy includes an index, and notes appear at the end of each essay. These provide tidbits about or clarification of statements made, as well as source material where readers can further explore covered topics.

The broader time frame explored in this book is important because there is far more to piracy in the Caribbean than just the early seventeenth century. It’s a common misconception among lay readers that pirates ceased to prey after 1730, yet the opposite is true as some of these scholars ably point out. Although these are scholarly articles, they are written in ways that appeal to all readers. They make us rethink what we think we know about pirates and the world in which they live. The Golden Age of Piracy is an invaluable and insightful addition to any library because it examines pirates through the world in which they lived, rather than through modern-day lenses. In doing so, the scholars skillfully provide important ways in which officials today can address this continuing problem.




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Pirates: The Truth Behind the Robbers of the High Seas by Nigel Cawthorne

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Since the first trading boats traveled by sea, piracy has plagued mankind. As early as 694 BC an Assyrian king attempts to suppress the marauding, but still it continues. More than one man, including Miguel de Cervantes, suffers because of pirates. Whether in the past or today, these sea rogues endanger passengers and seamen alike, yet of all the various time periods in which it has been rife, piracy reached its zenith from the west coast of Africa to the Spanish Main, from Canadian waters to the South Seas during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This historical period, often referred to as the “golden age,” is the focus of this book.

Unlike many volumes on these pirates, this one opens with the victims. It includes some firsthand accounts, such as those experienced by victims of George Lowther or Aaron Smith – a man who tangled with pirates twice, was forced to accompany one group, and was tried three times for piracy.

From there, the book delves into privateering and the buccaneers. This period begins with Jean Fleury’s astounding capture of Spain’s treasure-laden ships – an event that confirmed rumors of fantastic wealth and spurred other countries to explore for these riches. According to the subheading within privateering, those of England are featured. Yet half the chapter focuses on the French Huguenots, while the remainder concentrates on the exploits of Sir Francis Drake, concluding with a snippet about the Dutch, especially Piet Heyn.

Other chapters examine Port Royal, the weapons and ships of the pirates, what life was like for one of these marauders, the lure of oriental riches, tactics, and attempts to stop piratical depredations. The usual suspects can be found within these pages – Bartholomew Roberts, William Kidd, and Blackbeard to name a few – as well as lesser-known ones, such as Charles Gibbs, Robert Waal, and François le Clerc (better known as Pie de Palo or Peg Leg). Mention is also made of two primary sources: Captain Johnson’s A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates and Alexandre Exquemelin’s Bucaniers of America.

This is a highly readable introduction to piracy. The majority of the presented information is factual, although source citations are omitted for the most part. Readers should be aware, however, that there are occasional statements that aren’t true or supported by facts. For example, not everyone believes that Daniel Defoe and Captain Johnson are one and the same; in fact, there is supporting evidence to suggest someone else as the author. Or that Blackbeard frequently strangled and tossed his female victims overboard; in reality, there is little historical evidence to support such violence, although he was a master of intimidation. A third example is the blanket statement that the majority of pirates were homosexuals without any supporting documentation to back up this claim.

In spite of these caveats, Pirates is an entertaining and informative romp through the golden age of piracy. Additional kudos to the author for giving victims first priority in this account, when many volumes often give them secondary or even lesser attention. Combined with a list of titles for further reading, an index, and occasional pictures, Pirates is also a good jumping off point for readers who want to dip their toes into the history of sea marauders before diving deeper.




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Pirates: True Stories of Seafaring Rogues: Incredible Facts, Maps True Stories About Life on the High Seas by Anne Rooney

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


An alternate subtitle of this book is “Incredible facts, maps & true stories about life on the high seas,” and in this claim the volume, geared toward older children who can read and comprehend this complicated subject, ably succeeds. It is stuffed full of pirate facts and lore; it even includes a glossary and index. Readers understand from the opening pages that this is not just another dull recitation of facts. It begins with a unique table of contents – one that is predominantly colorful pictures with some text to clarify what each chapter is about.

The first topic explored is “Who Would Want to be a Pirate?” After this short introductory question, there follows a question-answer format with a boxed highlight. This arrangement is followed throughout subsequent pages, which cover each topic in two-page spreads of color illustrations, blank spaces, and succinct paragraphs pertaining to the explored subject.

Maps introduce each region were piracy blossomed. The highlights denote such things as treasure, attacks, battles, haunts, ghost towns, and shipwrecks. The first map focuses on the Mediterranean, since this is the region where pirates first began their attacks. Within the topic readers learn about Barbary corsairs, life as a galley slave, and the switch from privateering to piracy. Subsequent regions explore the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and Asian waters. Each includes a special focus page on a specific pirate: the Barbarossa brothers, Blackbeard, Mary Read and Anne Bonny, Bartholomew Roberts, and Zheng Shi. The subject matter for each region essentially covers who, what, when, where, and how. Also discussed are universal topics such as ships, punishments, and life at sea and stopovers on land.

American readers might not understand one of the subheadings under “Who Would Want to be a Pirate?” “Pirate Porkies” is British slang for fat lies (or myths) about pirates, such as walking the plank. The only drawbacks in an otherwise entertaining, but realistic, romp through history are the small font size and dark colored words on dark pictures. This will be a problem for children fascinated by pirates, but who have sight challenges. More than once I resorted to using a magnifying glass with a light to read the text, and I have good eyesight. There are a few questionable statements, but only a true pirate aficionado would recognize these missteps and they do not detract from the overall introductory nature to pirate history.

Reminiscent of a scavenger hunt, Pirates is a fun-filled exploration of pirates throughout history in sixty-four pages. Yet neither the author nor the illustrator portrays pirates as romantic heroes. Perhaps one of this book’s strengths is that it introduces pirates often excluded from or glossed over in children books. One example is the Wokou. Readers young and old will find interesting tidbits that cover the whole of piracy from the Mediterranean to the Far East.


One additional note: This is the paperback edition of Pirates: Dead Men’s Tales (2018), so those who have read that book won’t find anything new in this volume.




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