Review of Baylus C. Brooks' Dictionary of Pyrate Biography

Dictionary of Pyrate Biography 1713-1720 by Baylus C Brooks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Over the years, a number of biographical dictionaries have been published that focus on pirates, or pirates and subjects of peripheral interest. The primary time period of these books focuses on the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This volume further narrows this span to the most prolific period of pirate history, known as the golden age of piracy. What sets Dictionary of Pyrate Biography apart from all other similar volumes is its content, making it both unique and vital to anyone seeking quality information on these sea marauders.

Perhaps, Brooks says it best: “This book is an attempt to retell the stories of each pirate, but only from the actual primary source records available.” (2) As he explains, one of the go-to resources that researchers often consult and quote is the 1724 edition of Captain Johnson’s A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. Relying on this book isn’t the best documentary evidence because the true identity of the author is unknown; the chapters are a blend of fact and fiction; and it’s a secondary resource that fails to identify where the author secured his information. To provide historians, researchers, and pirate aficionados with a resource that is more accurate and provides citations for the quoted documents, Brooks compiled this collection. He began with the list of 209 pirates who took advantage of the King’s pardon in 1718 and surrendered to Captain Vincent Pearse. From there, he expanded the contents through his own research and with the help of other experts.

A number of entries consist only of the fact that they gave themselves up to Pearse. Many entries provide additional details about individual pirates. What these are not are cohesive, seamlessly interwoven narratives of each pirate. Instead, they begin with a brief paragraph that includes known biographical details – such as birthplace and date, piratical career, and, if captured, what became of the person – after which are quotations from contemporary documents pertaining to the individual. Where feasible, these are quoted in full. It is up to the reader to sift through and decipher the provided information, and then do further research to fill in the gaps. The length of each entry depends on the person and what is known about him or her. It can be as short as a single sentence or extend from a few paragraphs to several pages.

While the majority of individuals in this dictionary, which is arranged alphabetically by last name, are pirates, readers will also find entries on pirate hunters, naval personnel, victims, merchants, captives, and governors. Most are men, but there are a few women. The inclusion of a handful of personages is unclear, since their connections to pirates are murky at best. (Examples of these are Colonel Daniel Axtell, who is connected with regicide, and Dr. William Axtell, who petitioned to rebuild Port Royal after it was destroyed twice.) Many names will be unfamiliar to readers, but others are quite well-known: Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Colonel William Rhett, Governor Alexander Spotswood, Captain William Snelgrave, and Edward Thache to name a few. (One name that is absent is Governor Woodes Rogers, but Brooks assures me that this oversight will be corrected in the second edition.)

There are a few drawbacks to accessing the valuable information contained in this book. Variant spellings are only listed with the main entry for the pirate. For example, the user has to know that documentation for Blackbeard will only be found under Edward Thache. There are no see references to this entry if you look under Blackbeard, Theach, Teach, or Thatch. Although the appendix contains a list of those pirates who surrendered to Captain Pearse, there is no master index or table of contents and no list of pirates who served under specific captains. For example, if you’re looking for all the pirates connected to Stede Bonnet, you need to know their names ahead of time or page through the entire book in hopes of finding them.

Testimonies are included with some entries. These are invaluable, but they aren’t easy to read because of the ink color chosen to differentiate between Query and Response. The questions are in black, but the answers are in light gray, which is difficult to see, let alone read.

On the other hand, there are advantages to this book beyond the primary documents. Brooks includes maps, photographs of actual sources, pictures, and family trees throughout the book. Among these are examples of Round Robins, a way of signing a paper without any one name being higher than another. Everything is footnoted on each page, so readers readily know where the material comes from. Another notable feature is the inclusion of a few “unknown pirate” entries; their deeds are known, but their names have been lost to history.

“Treasure” is a word intricately associated with piracy, and this volume is indeed a treasure as invaluable as any the sea marauders acquired during the golden age. It provides at one’s fingertips a wealth of knowledge that will save countless precious hours of research, which may, in turn, unearth even more material that will be included in future editions of this work. The Dictionary of Pyrate Biography belongs in every collection where the truth about pirates and their deeds is highly sought and prized.




View all my reviews