Cindy Vallar's Blog - Posts Tagged "independence"

No Limits to Their Sway: Cartagena's Privateers and the Masterless Caribbean in the Age of Revolutions by Edgardo Pérez Morales

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The American Revolution gave rise to a new age, one that encompassed the years 1776 through 1830 and came to be known as the Age of Revolutions. Morales’s book examines this historical period, especially as it relates to Cartagena and its bid to gain independence from Spain during the second decade of the 19th century. Although few documents from Cartagena de Indias (modern-day Colombia) exist today, there are other contemporary documents from various archives that permit us to glimpse this often-mentioned, but little-studied, period of Latin American history and, in particular, the privateers who participated in this colony’s bid to break from Spain. One such man, his crew, and their ship helps Morales achieve this goal. The privateer’s name is Louis-Michel Aury.

No Limits to Their Sway opens with a list of key figures who appear within the narrative itself, as well as an introduction to set the stage and ground readers in the historical background that led to this facet of the Age of Revolutions. Divided into nine chapters and an epilogue, this book also includes a list of primary sources on “Cartagena-Flagged Privateers, 1812-1816,” end notes, and an index. (There is no separate bibliography; all source material is cited within the notes section.) To further assist readers are some maps, a graph, and images of documents and other privateer-related materials.

The first two chapters – “Slavery, Seamanship, Freedom” and “Heralds of Liberty and Disobedience” focus on slavery, seamanship, freedom, and revolution and how they interconnect. It is here that Morales explores the intricate intertwining of the wars for independence in the United States, France, and Haiti, as well as the privateers who aided in these bids. The inclusion of all this background material grounds the reader for what is to come and brings to light some interesting details about these men and where they came from.

“Cartagena de Indias and the Age of Revolutions” and “The American Connection” (chapters three and four) examine Cartagena’s bid for independence. Here, Morales specifically examines changes, social and political, that led to this country’s people rising up against Spain. Chapter five (“Detachment from the Land and Irreverence at Sea”), on the other hand, explores the privateers and how these men of the sea differed from people who remained on land, particularly those in authority.

Two outside influences that played differing roles in Cartagena’s struggle were Cuba, which remained loyal to Spain, and Haiti, a former French colony that had already gained its freedom from the motherland. This study, which unfolds in chapters six and seven (“Under the Walls of Havana” and “Haiti: The Beacon Republic”), compare and contrast how each impacted the privateering policies that Cartagena enacted.

The final two chapters and the epilogue – “‘Horrors of Carthagena’;” Robbery, Mutiny, Fire;” and “From Amelia Island to the Republic of Colombia,” respectively – highlight the devastating effects of failed bids for independence and the determination to continue the struggle until objectives were achieved. In discussing these topics, Morales also analyzes the discrimination Afro-Caribbean people faced after independence and why histories on Latin American autonomy have ignored Cartagena’s story and that of the privateers who participated in it.

No Limits to Their Sway is an enlightening and marvelous study that provides readers with a valuable and much-needed resource. Morales skillfully and logically presents the material and his conclusions, while reinforcing key points with archival data in different languages provide a well-rounded and unbiased examination of both the Age of Revolutions in general and the conflicts in the Spanish Main in particular. That he accomplishes this in a manner that allows laypersons and students of history alike to grasp the subject matter without falling asleep or skipping over text is a testament to the depth of his research and his thorough understanding of it.




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Smugglers, Pirates, and Patriots: Free Trade in the Age of Revolution by Tyson Reeder

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The War for Independence in the American colonies during the second half of the eighteenth century issued in a new age, one that has become known as the Age of Revolution. That conflict inspired other nations to seek freedom from tyranny as well, and in the first decades of the following century, republicans in the United States felt that one way to fight against monarchies and their empires was through free trade. This is the focus of this book, which shows the interconnections between smugglers, pirates, and patriots, especially as it relates to the way Brazil gained its independence from Portugal in the nineteenth century.

The book is divided into four parts: Negotiating Empire, Regulation and Revolution, A Liberty of Trade, and “Connexions of Commerce and Liberation.” What soon becomes clear is that those who advocated free trade did so not just to help others achieve independence but to also influence the growth of commerce in ways that were to their best advantage. Americans believed their model was the right one, but not everyone agreed, and this is best shown in the struggle between Brazil and Portugal, especially since during part of the nineteenth century, the Portuguese monarch resided in Brazil and, in the end, the Brazilians chose a monarch over a president.

These struggles focus on both commercial changes and networks, as well as politics. Empires instituted a number of laws and edicts to limit trade, which then resulted in the growth of smuggling contraband. When the monarchy chose to lift some, if not all, of these restrictions, free trade prospered and smuggling died. This plays a crucial role in why history unfolds as it did in Brazil, as Reeder aptly demonstrates. He provides numerous examples of commodities, both illicit and legal, such as wine, sugar, gold, flour, and slaves. Aside from smugglers, pirates and privateers are also discussed, in particular those who sailed under letters of marque from the revolutionary leader José Gervasio Artigas. Since his government never acquired recognition from other nations, these men plied their trade in the murkiness of legal privateer or illegal pirate.

Scattered throughout the book are maps, graphs, tables, and illustrations to show points Reeder makes in the narrative. The Notes section provides citations for sources consulted or quoted, as well as additional information on particular topics mentioned in the main text. The extensive bibliography lists manuscript collections in Brazil, Portugal, the United Kingdom, and the United States; newspapers and periodicals; primary sources; and published works. There is also an index.

Readers with a special interest in Brazil and its relationships with the early United States, as well as those seeking information on maritime commerce, will find this book particularly interesting. Those seeking a rousing account of maritime piracy and privateering may want to look elsewhere. Reeder does discuss both throughout the narrative, especially in chapter eight, and does mention North African corsairs (91) and the suppression of piracy in the 1820s (211), but his primary focus is on trade, traders, and trade networks and their effects on the shaping of Brazil as it strove toward independence. He does an excellent job of providing readers with a good understanding of the Monroe Doctrine and how it evolved.




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The Untold War at Sea: America’s Revolutionary Privateers by Kylie A. Hulbert

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Once the thirteen original colonies had enough of a king’s tyranny, they declared war and fought for independence. Much has been written about the American Revolution on land and at sea, but the members of the colonial army, militias, and navy weren’t the only ones to fight. Some chose to fight an economic war. These privateers held legal commissions that permitted them to attack enemy ships during times of war. History books may or may not mention them, even though they played an integral part in the war. This book corrects this dearth of information; Hulbert recounts their stories from financing and building the ships, to recruiting crews and setting sail, through navigating the admiralty courts that decided whether a prize was legally or illegally captured. Once deemed heroes, they came to be treated as pariahs and Hulbert shows how and why this happened.

The story of privateering unfolds in five chapters, each titled after a line from a popular song of 1776 about a privateer named Manly. Chapter one, “Hardy Sons of Mars,” focuses on how privateering came to be one of the avenues that the colonies and Continental Congress pursued as a means of fighting the war. It also concerns the steps in acquiring a ship, manning it, and acquiring the necessary legal documents for a privateering venture. The second chapter, “A Privateering We Will Go,” shares what life at sea was like, from the mundane to the exciting, while chapter three discusses actual engagements from the sighting of a potential prize to pursuit and capture. “Make Your Fortunes Now, My Lads,” the fourth chapter, examines the prize court system and how it could be as perilous or as rewarding to privateers as the actual captures were. The final chapter, “To Glory Let Us Run,” scrutinizes how privateers were viewed during and after the conflict.

Those who participated in privateering, either in actual combat or behind the scenes, came from different walks of life. Some were prosperous. Some dreamt of becoming so. The gamut of motivations ranged from patriotism to self-interest. What cannot be denied is that the privateers and their deeds impacted the war effort. Initially, they were hailed as heroes, especially when most reports of the conflict were grim. Later, their reputations became tarnished and didn’t fit the persona of how the fledgling nation wished to be portrayed.

Declaring independence was a bold deed, especially when the new nation had no navy to speak of. Privateers filled that void and took the war directly to the British. Among the events discussed in the book are the Rhode Islanders’ attack on HMS Gaspee before the war, Massachusetts’s determination to lead the way in authorizing privateering, and case studies from the prize courts. Many individuals are introduced, some of whom are unknown to most readers, such as Elbridge Gerry, Thomas Willing, John Langdon, Josiah Bartlett, and Gustavus Conyngham. Others – John Adams, Edward Rutledge, Elias Hasket Derby, Captain Jonathan Haraden, and Benjamin Franklin to name a few – are more familiar. End notes provide source citations and additional information, while the bibliography provides additional avenues to explore, and the index permits readers to locate information directly. In addition, occasional illustrations enhance the reading experience.

One of Hulbert’s goals in writing The Untold War at Sea is to show the complexity of privateering and how it was viewed. In doing so, she demonstrates that the American Revolution was far more complex than we think and that privateers played a pivotal part in helping the colonies win their independence from Great Britain. This facet of maritime history and culture needs to be better understood and integrated into the historical narrative, and she does an excellent job in laying the groundwork for this. Even readers knowledgeable about privateering and the War of Independence will be surprised by what she has unearthed. All readers come away with a better understanding of who the privateers were, how they did what they did, and why it’s taken so long for their stories to be shared.

(Review originally published at Pirates and Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/adultpirat...)




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