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Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate

by Angus Konstam (no photo)

Synopsis:

The definitive biography of history'smost fearsome and famous pirate
Of all the colorful cutthroats who scoured the seas in search of plunder during the Golden Age of Piracy in the early eighteenth century, none was more ferocious or notorious than Blackbeard. As unforgettable as his savage career was, much of Blackbeard's life has been shrouded in mystery--until now.

Drawing on vivid descriptions of Blackbeard's attacks from his rare surviving victims, pirate expert Angus Konstam traces Blackbeard's career from its beginnings to his final defeat in a tremendous sea battle near his base at Ocracoke Island. Presenting dramatic accounts of the pirate's very effective tactics and his reputation for cruelty, Konstam offers a fascinating examination of the life and business of piracy and the lure of this brutal and bloody trade.

On this day in history (July 12, 1726) , one of the last pirates of the golden age of piracy, William Fly, was executed in Boston along with and several members of his crew. At the trial a week before, Fly and three other men -- Samuel Cole, Henry Greenville, and George Condick -- were convicted. Then, on July 12, all but Condick were executed before a large crowd in Boston Harbor near the mouth of the Charles River. Condick, a “drunken, ignorant fellow who served as ship’s cook,�� was granted a last-minute reprieve at the gallows.

Later that same day, several men steered a boat out of Boston Harbor. The wooden craft rode low in the water, weighted down by its cargo. Their destination was Nixes Mate Island, a small patch of land less than six miles from Boston. Today, Nixes Mate Island is little more than a mound of rocks capped by a cone-shaped harbor marker with black and white stripes. But in July 1726, before much of the slate on Nixes Mate had been dug up, there was more to the patch of land. The men were headed there in a boat loaded with the corpses of the three executed pirates. Two of the pirates, Cole and Greenville, were buried. Fly was hung in chains on the small harbor island to rot, a gruesome symbol of the pirates that sailed the Atlantic during this bloody era.

I posted a recent picture of Nixes Mate Island in Boston Harbor, as it looks today, on my web site:

What happened to the group read of by Gregory N. Flemming?

Hi Kressel, this discussion has been postponed, but we will keep you up to date on a new start time.

Aww. I got the book on interlibrary loan!

Sorry, Kressel. We had an unexpected delay; it happens sometimes with volunteers. We will keep you posted, though.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 4, 2015

The Pirate King: The Incredible Story of Captain Henry Morgan

by Graham A. Thomas (no photo)

Synopsis:

The Pirate King is the compelling true story of a Welshman who became one of the most ruthless and brutal buccaneers of the golden age of piracy. The inspiration for dozens of fictionalized pirates in film, television, and literature—as well the namesake of one of the world’s most popular rum brands—Captain Sir Henry Morgan was matchless among pirates and privateers. Unlike most of his contemporaries, he was not hunted down and killed or captured by the authorities. Instead he was considered a hero in England and given a knighthood and eventually was made governor of Jamaica. As Graham Thomas reveals in this fresh biography of this complex and intriguing character, Morgan was an exceptional military leader whose prime motivation was to amass as much wealth as he could by sacking and plundering settlements, towns, and cities up and down the Spanish Main.

Featuring graphic accounts of Morgan’s exploits, eventually leading to an unparalleled rise to power and legitimacy, The Pirate King is a riveting read sure to become a key text in pirate literature. Thomas dispels myths and separates fact from fiction as he presents an intriguing new portrait of one of history’s most compelling figures.

Another:
Release date: September 18, 2018

Black Flags, Blue Waters: The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates

by Eric Jay Dolin

Synopsis:

Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy’s “Golden Age”―spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s―when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond.

Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them towering Blackbeard, ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Also brilliantly detailed are the pirates�� manifold enemies, including colonial governor John Winthrop, evangelist Cotton Mather, and young Benjamin Franklin.

Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life.

have you read the book Jerome ?

James wrote: "have you read the book Jerome ?"

No, this isn't out yet; looks interesting, though.

Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt

by Steven Johnson

Synopsis:

Henry Every was the seventeenth century's most notorious pirate. The press published wildly popular--and wildly inaccurate--reports of his nefarious adventures. The British government offered enormous bounties for his capture, alive or (preferably) dead. But Steven Johnson argues that Every's most lasting legacy was his inadvertent triggering of a major shift in the global economy. Enemy of All Mankind focuses on one key event--the attack on an Indian treasure ship by Every and his crew--and its surprising repercussions across time and space. It's the gripping tale one of the most lucrative crimes in history, the first international manhunt, and the trial of the seventeenth century.

Johnson uses the extraordinary story of Henry Every and his crimes to explore the emergence of the East India Company, the British Empire, and the modern global marketplace: a densely interconnected planet ruled by nations and corporations. How did this unlikely pirate and his notorious crime end up playing a key role in the birth of multinational capitalism? In the same mode as Johnson's classic non-fiction historical thriller The Ghost Map, Enemy of All Mankind deftly traces the path from a single struck match to a global conflagration.

An upcoming book:
Release date: May 10, 2022

Born to Be Hanged: The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune

by Keith Thomson

Synopsis:

The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than three hundred daring, hardened pirates—a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers—gather in a remote bay of modern-day Panama. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Panamanian coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become a legend.

Inspired by the intrepid adventures of pirate turned Jamaican governor, Captain Henry Morgan, the company sets out upon one of the greatest escapades in the history of piracy, crossing the jungle isthmus of Darien, liberating a native princess, sacking the port of Panama City, and setting off a cascade of hysteria and panic as they maraud up and down the western coastline of South America.

With novelistic prose and a rip-roaring sense of adventure, Keith Thomson guides us through the pirates�� legendary two-year expedition. We witness the buccaneers evading indigenous tribes, Spanish conquistadors, and even their own English countrymen, all with the ever-present threat of the gallows for anyone captured. By fusing contemporaneous accounts with intensive research and previously unknown primary sources, Born to Be Hanged unfolds the rollicking story of one of the most astonishing pirate adventures ever told.

Thank you Jerome for your posts regarding upcoming selections.

Pirates once swashbuckled across the ancient Mediterranean
Thousands of years before Blackbeard, these buccaneers raided ships, stole booty—and even kidnapped a young Julius Caesar.

Interesting.

An upcoming book:
Release date: August 6, 2024

Enemies of All: The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age of Piracy

by Richard Blakemore (no photo)

Synopsis:

The pirates that exist in our imagination are not just any pirates. Violent sea-raiding has occurred in most parts of the world throughout history, but our popular stereotype of pirates has been defined by one historical the period from the 1660s to the 1730s, the so-called "golden age of piracy."

A groundbreaking history of pirates, Enemies of All combines narrative adventure with deeply researched analysis, engrossing readers in the rise of piracy in the later seventeenth century, the debates about piracy in contemporary law and popular media, as well as the imperial efforts to suppress piracy in the early eighteenth century.

The Caribbean and American colonies of Britain, France, Spain, and the Netherlands—where piracy surged across these decades—are the main theater for Enemies of All , but this is a global story. Evoking London, Paris, and Amsterdam, Curaçao, Port Royal, Tortuga, and Charleston, the narrative takes readers, too, from Ireland and the Mediterranean to Madagascar and India, from the Arabian Gulf to the Pacific Ocean.

Familiar characters like Drake, Morgan, Blackbeard, Bonny and Read, Henry Every, and Captain Kidd all feature here, but so too will the less well-known figures from the history of piracy, their crew-members, shipmates, and their confederates ashore; the men and women whose transatlantic lives were bound up with the rise and fall of piracy.

Transforming how readers understand the history of pirates, Enemies of All presents not only the historical evidence but, more importantly, explains the consequences of piracy's unique influence on colonialism and European imperial ambitions.