Book Description
He challenged the greatest empire on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades—and brought it to its knees. Empire of Blue Water is the real story of the pirates of the Caribbean.
Henry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, crossed the Atlantic in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legendary. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and at sea determined the fates of kings and queens, and his victories helped shape the destiny of the New World.
Morgan gathered disaffected European sailors and soldiers, hard-bitten adventurers, runaway slaves, and vicious cutthroats, and turned them into the most feared army in the Western Hemisphere. Sailing out from the English stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, “the wickedest city in the New World,” Morgan and his men terrorized Spanish merchant ships and devastated the cities where great riches in silver, gold, and gems lay waiting. His last raid, a daring assault on the fabled city of Panama, helped break Spain’s hold on the Americas forever.
Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler—including the notorious pirate L’Ollonais, the soul-tortured King Philip IV of Spain, and Thomas Modyford, the crafty English governor of Jamaica—Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the passions and the violence of the age of exploration and empire.
Customer Reviews:
accesible and intriguing tale of the man that changed the Western Hemisphere.......2007-09-13
A wonderfully well-written (flows perfectly and keeps the interest of the reader with brilliant description and exciting prose), this is the story of Henry Morgan and his historic role in the threshold of New World history between the old, honor-bound, religiously dominated Nationalism of Spanish control and the cut-throat, money-ruled, trade-dominated, mercantile rule of England. Henry Morgan, a patriot and a ruthless privateer, was a bloody genius, a democrat, and he embodied all that the pirates stood for in the New World: freedom, power, and riches--all for the taking by anyone not fettered by ideas of nobility and birthright. Henry Morgan is compared and contrasted with the average pirate (who he increasingly distances himself from) and the Spanish and British nobility. Fascinating and accessible. Grade: A-
The facts behind the legends.......2007-08-13
I'm not a history buff, but I really enjoyed reading what some of the legends about pirates are based on. In particular, I didn't know about Henry Morgan, and found reading about his exploits so enthralling, the book was difficult to put down. It was a nice touch to convert the pirates' takes into todays dollar equivalents. These guys were major players! Very enjoyable book.
Disappointing Read.......2007-08-08
I expected an engaging read about Henry Morgan, but found this writer's style not to be my cup of tea. I found it boring and gave up after 75, or so, pages. I recently finished "Einstein" and expected a similar narrative, but came away disappointed.
Private or privateer? .......2007-08-03
I've never been much interested in pirates, but I found myself enthralled with Stephan Talty's Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign.
Empire of Blue Water begins with the British trying to muscle in on Spain's hold in the New World by conquering Jamaica. At the time, Welshman Henry Morgan was a young sailor. But by the end of his life, he proved to be one of the most influential men in the Caribbean and helped to change the course of world history.
There was a thin line between being a private or a privateer, with Morgan being in the latter group. Privateering was actually invented by Henry VIII. This cash-strapped king offered commissions to sea captains to harass the French, attacking and capturing enemy ships. But unlike regular pirates, privateers gave a percentage of their "profits" to the crown. A romantic imagine exists today about pirates, but pirating was a very hard and dangerous life. But unlike most jobs, pirating was a "democratic institution." "The most important decisions were made from the bottom up." As for leadership, "the captain was only in charge when the crew was fighting, chasing a ship, or being chased."
Henry Morgan made a name (and a fortune) for himself by amassing large groups of pirates and staging four of the most daring raids of that period. They were against Granada, Portobello, Maracaibo and Panama. The Caribbean was akin to the Wild West in these days and Morgan proved to be a bold and brilliant leader. His cunning strategies allowed him to assess the weaknesses of the Spanish and to beat them at almost every turn. When England and Spain finally signed a peace treaty, pirating was outlawed. Morgan was one of the few who made a successful transition to private life, running his Jamaican plantation and becoming deputy governor.
There are fascinating tidbits of information in Blue Waters and I enjoyed how Henry Morgan and his exploits affected the world stage. Morgan had much to do with breaking the back of the Spanish Empire. "Without him, who knows what the map of the Caribbean and even the United States might look like." After 1713, Spain ceased to be a world power. Also, an earthquake in Port Royal four years after Morgan's death destroyed this Jamaican trade capital. Trade with Port Royal was then diverted through the American Colonies, never to return.
So, was Captain Morgan a bold, brilliant privateer or a "rampaging, torturing, thieving pirate?" Read Stephan Talty and decide for yourself!
Hooked from first page!.......2007-07-27
A very enjoyable, informative read. As someone who enjoys reading about this time period, I found this book to be extremely well researched and well written. The author captures the complexity of the time period and conveys it in a very engaging manner! I highly recommend "Empire of Blue Water"
Book Description
To read of sea roving's various incarnations - piracy, privateering, buccaneering, la flibuste, la course - is to bring forth romantic, and often violent, imagery. Indeed, much of this imagery has become a literary and cinematic clich?. And what an image it is!
But its truth is by halves, and paradoxically it is the picaresque imagery of Pyle, Wyeth, Sabatini, and Hollywood that is often closer to the reality, while the historical details of arms, tactics, and language are often inaccurate or entirely anachronistic.
Successful sea rovers were careful practitioners of a complex profession that sought wealth by stratagem and force of arms. Drawn from the European tradition, yet of various races and nationalities, they raided both ship and town throughout much of the world from roughly 1630 until 1730. Using a variety of innovative tactics and often armed with little more than musket and grenade, many of these self-described "soldiers and privateers" successfully assaulted fortifications, attacked shipping from small craft, crossed the mountains and jungles of Panama, and even circumnavigated the globe. Successful sea rovers were often supreme seamen, soldiers, and above all, tacticians. It can be argued that their influence on certain naval tactics is felt even today.
The Sea Rover's Practice is the only book that describes in exceptional detail the tactics of sea rovers of the period - how they actually sought out and attacked vessels and towns. Accessible to both the general and the more scholarly reader, it will appeal not only to those with an interest in piracy and in maritime, naval, and military history, but also to mariners in general, tall-ship and ship-modeling enthusiasts, tacticians and military analysts, readers of historical fiction, writers, and the adventurer in all of us.
Customer Reviews:
A prime resource to Pirate strategy.......2007-09-25
An excellent resource to understand the how-to of piracy. From firing a broadside to boarding, it gives the reader a handle on how the pirates were able to outfight and outsail their prey with smaller ships and sometimes fewer guns.
The Sea Rover's Practice.......2007-08-09
This book is not an easy read, but it's not intended to be. If you like histories of pirates or Colonial America, this is a vital reference.
The author details every aspect of the sea rover's life - ships, weapons, gear, even their compensation system.
Mr. Little is a retired US Navy SEAL officer and his experience shows, especially when discussing strategy and tactics.
The numerous appendices make this a work I'll refer to many times in the future.
Relevant to studies of modern insurgencies and security contractors.......2007-06-23
This is a great backgrounder on what really was behind the privateers, buccaneers / boucaniers, filibusters / flibustier, and pirates. Focusing on a hundred year period beginning in 1630, the former Navy SEAL draws on contemporary diaries and books to describe everything from the background, motivation, tactics, equipment, and even an appendix on drinks. The reality of the sea rover's tactics are in stark contrast to the image of the Hollywood pirate. The reality were crews and officers operating under very democratic rules and performing complex operations seeking to maximize effort (return on investment).
Appropriate to the modern era of small wars? Little generally leaves it to the reading to connect to the present (absent a rare couple of modern analogies in the book), except for one paragraph at the end:
"Whatever their vices, weaknesses, and moral ambiguities, these buccaneers have in common with most sea rovers several tactical virtues, including innovation, loyalty, perseverance, adaptability, and courage. Collectively, they prove that a loose, uncentralized, and informal network can conduct significant, complex military operations. They show the effect that an irregular force can have on the resources of a powerful state, causing great economic damage and tying down significant forces. And, most importantly, they demonstrate that elements of broadly divergent and disparate cultures, races, nationalities, classes, professions, and personalities can act as one with a common goal."
My brief comments here don't do the book justice. The amount of detail Little puts in this book is sometimes mind boggling, not to say amazing. This is not a book that only looks at the past but has surprising applicability to modernity.
I have found it particularly useful in supporting various arguments about privatization of force as well as insurgent warfare.
From first-person source materials.......2007-06-05
THE SEA ROVER'S PRACTICE: PIRATE TACTICS AND TECHNIQUES 1630-1730 is based largely on first-person accounts and describes how pirates and buccaneers made sea roving a profitable business. Successful pirating was conducted on the high seas to acquire wealth: chapters come from first-person source materials and reveal all the basic details perfect for any general-interest collection where lively history is of interest.
Detailed Account of Pirate Strategy in the Caribbean.......2007-05-20
"The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730" by Benerson Little is a great reference tool for anyone interested in the in-depth details of how buccaneers, privateers, and pirates of the West Indies commanded and conquered.
Do not expect a storyline or biographies in this book. It is solely about tactics, as stated in the subtitle. Each section is filled with detail after fascinating detail about pirate battle strategies. You get a real understanding of why a pirate would, for instance, chose a particular weapon to use during the boarding of a ship, examining everything from the weapon's overall capacity to maim to the sturdiness of the materials used to construct it.
The book's first chapter talks of greed and desperation and the last chapter covers dying by the sword. In between, you learn about pirate ships, recruiting, arms used in close combat, watches, flags, cruising strategies, mutiny, broadsiding, pirate tricks, and many other topics. There are also appendices with items like pirate vocabulary and recipes, as well as illustrations depicting weapons (guns, swords, cannons, etc.) and the best boarding positions.
Altogether, the book is easy to read, thorough, and loaded with information. I definitely recommend it to those who want to learn more about the real pirates of the Caribbean.
For those who prefer biographies (or less strategy and more story), read David Cordingly's "Under the Black Flag" for an engrossing look at piracy throughout the ages.
Book Description
The common seaman and the pirate in the age of sail are romantic historical figures who occupy a special place in the popular culture of the modern age. And yet in many ways, these daring men remain little known to us. Like most other poor working people of the past, they left few first-hand accounts of their lives. But their lives are not beyond recovery. In this book, Marcus Rediker uses a huge array of historical sources (court records, diaries, travel accounts, and many others) to reconstruct the social cultural world of the Anglo-American seamen and pirates who sailed the seas in the first half of the eighteenth century. Rediker tours the sailor's North Atlantic, following seamen and their ships along the pulsing routes of trade and into rowdy port towns. He recreates life along the waterfront, where seafaring men from around the world crowded into the sailortown and its brothels, alehouses, street brawls, and city jail. His study explores the natural terror that inevitably shaped the existence of those who plied the forbidding oceans of the globe in small, brittle wooden vessels. It also treats the man-made terror--the harsh discipline, brutal floggings, and grisly hangings--that was a central fact of life at sea. Rediker surveys the commonplaces of the maritime world: the monotonous rounds of daily labor, the negotiations of wage contracts, and the bawdy singing, dancing, and tale telling that were a part of every voyage. He also analyzes the dramatic moments of the sailor's existence, as Jack Tar battled wind and water during a slashing storm, as he stood by his "brother tars" in a mutiny or a stike, and as he risked his neck by joining a band of outlaws beneath the Jolly Roger, the notorious pirate flag. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea focuses upon the seaman's experience in order to illuminate larger historical issues such as the rise of capitalism, the genesis the free wage labor, and the growth of an international working class. These epic themes were intimately bound up with everyday hopes and fears of the common seamen.
Customer Reviews:
Sailing Socialism.......2003-03-23
Rediker is hardly the only man to notice - though he is one of only a very few to have written on the topic at length - that the Anglo-American Maritime world of the early to mid 18th Century was a socio-political hotbed of burgeoning revolution. To criticize the author for being a Marxist is absurd - the era about which he is writing, and the sailors and specific cultural events of that era, were socialist themselves, though they wouldn't have had the insight to realize it at the time.
Political scientists and economists should find this book of even more interest than historians, as many of the same events in the rise of Capitalism as Rediker writes about are now coming full circle and repeating themselves, with NAFTA and GATT creating the same social conditions that led to widespread - and often remarkably effective (in the case of piracy) - rebellion between 1700 and 1750. As Rediker points out, our very word "strike," in its labor union connotation, originated with merchant mariners striking sail on their ships and halting the movement of their cargoes.
Rediker is a remarkably thorough researcher, backing his thesis with the best possible sources and representing both the Capitalist and Labor points of view from contemporaneous documents. His masterful rendering of the world of "Jack Tar," an average mariner of the age, ably demonstrates that the social upheaval witnessed during the Golden Age of Piracy was an inevitability - as was its eventual downfall. Rediker is not a Marxist apologist, as his critics claim, but a keen and competent observer of statistical trends and social events, which he elucidates with extreme precision. He is less advancing any kind of argument, than simply putting the merchant marine world of three centuries ago into clear focus, and to some degree comparing and contrasting it with our modern landscape.
This is a truly fascinating book, as much for its brilliantly vivid portraiture of the age as for the validity of its social and economic arguments. It would make an excellent textbook for political science, economics, or sociology classes.
No Quarters given.......2000-12-31
First off, before you even think about buying this book, understand that is a socioeconomic study of the maritime profession from 1700 to 1750. The book was written by a Marxist who has succumbed to Hollywood's romantic characterization of the Pirate as a misunderstood individual who only wanted his unalienable rights which were withheld by the running dog lackeys of the capitalist pigs who ran the shipping business and the Navy. Even if he had to murder people to get it.
If you want a semi-legitimate justification of piracy, you may find enough here to keep you happy. Most of the study is a legitmate presentation of maritime economics and the danger of the trade in the early part of the 18th century. Yes, most ship owners and captains were capitalist pigs who would man a ship with a minimum crew and pray they lost no crew members to the many dangers that were common to shipping at that time. Not the least of which was piracy.
His arguements begin to fall down when he describes the commraderie and equalitarian brotherhood that pervailed on board a pirate ship. He intimates that slaves captured were treated as equals. (there is documentation to indicate otherwise including the sinking of a pirate ship which the crew members escaped, but the captured slaves were allowed to drown.
If you are reading this for the economic history of the shipping industry or for information of the quaint Naval custom of impressing their crew (both the Americans and British were known for grabbing able bodied saling men off the docks and encouraging them to join - they'd untie them when they were far enough out to sea) then this book is excellent.
If you are looking for information on a typical sailor's life, I'd suggest "Before the Mast" in conjuntion with this. But if you are looking for real information on pirates and piracy, This book does not provide much. there is is more accurate information regarding piracy in "Under the Black Flag" with a more varied discussion of the possible causes of the choice of piracy, backed by statements taken from court records of the time.
I would not recommend Between the Devel and the Deep Blue Sea as a history to most people as the author is attributing many modern sociological and psychological causes to historical events about which we have only in some cases, the account books for reference.
A Review.......2000-11-03
This text is interesting and engaging, but Rediker's bias ruins the credibility of his arguments. Rediker is a Marxist historian and therefore provides an extremely slanted view of seafaring men. His thesis is centered on the seaman as a member of the working class, and his struggle to rise in a capitalist system. One example of how his bias has clouded his analysis is in his discussion of alcoholism. Rediker assumes that the resort to alcohol is caused by alienation- this draws obvious parallels to Marx's own work focussed on the alienation of the workers (200). A particularly appalling example of his bias is when Rediker discusses the cruel treatment of seaman by their masters. Rediker then asserts that "when Karl Marx noted that the modern wage labor system could not have emerged without the bloody assistance of the lash, he may well have had the early modern shipping industry in mind" (213 n19). Clearly there is no basis for this statement save his personal beliefs.
A remarkable investigation on an original topic........2000-05-28
"Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea" constitutes a very serious study on a topic often covered just superficially by historians: the life, ways , customs and culture at sea in the Anglo - American Maritime World in the Eighteenth Century. The title itself suggests the wooden world of the ship, sailing through the ocean with its sailors trapped in the middle of the Devil, or the harsh conditions on board, and the Deep Blue Sea. The first part of the book provides the reader with a wide view of the port cities and trade routes where this maritime culture evolved. And starting from this geographical tour, the topic is narrowed down to the specific aspects and details regarding "Jack Tar", or the personification of an average sailor of those times. It is amazing to think of such a harsh world, very well portrayed by the autor, that was the heart of the English Commerce, and the cornerstone of the future British Empire. The conditions on board were so insane that only the stongest could survive. This reality, very accurately described by the autor, led to multiple mutinies that often ended up in piracy. The fact that English sailors died in similar proportion as slaves in the African Coast, is a true revelation for the reader. A remarkable fact dealing with piracy, that makes this book different from others, is that this investigation prooves that the pirates are the good guys of the story. These men of free spirit that broke away from the strict discipline on board, constituted a democratic but ruthless society, aside of the law, in their pirate ships and communities. Such form of democracy, based on principles of solidarity between the English poor, was one of the first examples of the fight for equality among men, before the French and American Revolutions.
A remarkable, true account of the lives of ancient seamen........2000-02-02
Markus Rediker explores the amazing way in which the harsh conditions surrounding seafaring in the Eighteenth Century built up a unique environment. The wooden world that constituted the deep sea sailor's reality is carefully detailed and well documented, which makes it very interesting and entertaining to read. Rediker reveals the reader what the real world was like, much different from the romantic idea of the sailor, built up by popular culture. He shows how seamen fought their lives caught "between the devil...", or the harsh conditions on board, and "the deep blue sea", that surrounded everything. He takes the reader in a fascinating trip to the most important port cities of the old Anglo-American Maritime World to experience how and where the personality, ideology, psychological and social characteristics of the deep sea sailor evolved. And, the most interestig feature of all, is how a group of brave and daring men decided to break away and declare a war where "no quarter wold be given" to that unfair reality to which they once belonged. Those rebels became the notorious pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy, who are undoubtedly the most fascinating seamen of the period. Rediker's comparison of the tyrannical conditions of the merchant service and the navy, on one hand, and the democratic principals that guided the Pirate Brotherhood, on the other, is a true revelation of this outstanding book.
Book Description
Fascinating chronicle of the bands of plundering sea rovers who roamed the Caribbean and coastlines of Central America in the 17th century. Detailed accounts of shrewd and fearless men, excellent navigators, and blood-thirsty adventurers who frequently committed inhuman acts of cruelty — among them the infamous Henry Morgan.
Customer Reviews:
Earn Your Sea Legs.......2007-06-25
Originally published in Dutch, this version is translated by Alexis Brown. The author, Alexander O. Exquemelin (spelling varies widely between versions and sources), provides a first hand account of the environs, history and, to him, current accounts of several of the well known buccaneer captains.
Much of the book is in travel log format and describes the various towns, flora and fauna of the Caribbean, especially locales like Tortuga, Panama and Hispaniola. The author describes various animals and often their suitability as food, such as the differing qualities of the various types of turtles and even manatees. His descriptions of the trees and animals are fairly detailed and the modern reader can often make the connection with current names.
The other focus of the book is a set of narratives of two of the better known buccaneers: Francis L'Olonnais and Henry Morgan. The author provides accounts and opinions of the exploits of these two men and their crews, including the less than admirable usage of torture.
This is required reading for any with more than just a passing interest in pirates (I am somewhat ashamed that it has taken me nearly 8 years to get around to this cornerstone for a true understanding of buccaneers). While the biographical content is limited to just two buccaneers, the basic understanding of the buccaneer lifestyle and environment provide a firm basis for understanding much of what transpired during the 17th century in the Caribbean as well as what was to follow in the Golden Age of Piracy.
P-)
Exciting First Hand Account.......2007-05-15
An exciting first hand account of pirate life in the Caribbean. I found the book to be both enlightening and entertaining to read. It was packed full of exciting, interesting tales about how pirate life was really lived.
Better than any "pirates of the Carrabean" movie.......2007-04-11
Want to read about the original Captain Jack? This is the book for you. It's the basis for most of the rest of the pirate books we have. An insider's perspective. Exquemelin was a pirate for a while and both was on some of these adventures and listened in the bars to the stories about the rest of them.
A great read for any Pirate fan! Yar!
historical adventure.......2006-06-26
You can walk through the past in the past, as you view sailing to America through the eyes of a first timer explorer.
The real pirates of the Caribbean........2006-04-15
The Buccaneers of America is a first-hand account of the life and exploits of real-life pirates in the seventeenth century Caribbean region. There are apparently rather few such eyewitness publications, and this one must surely rank highly among them. Alexander Exquemelin was a buccaneer himself, and relates those stories that he actually witnessed or those that he heard. His own participation is always left vague, and while he witnesses plenty he claims few actions for his own.
As a primary source, Buccaneers presents a lively narrative that any reader should be able to enjoy. Exquemelin first briefly discusses his voyage to the West Indies and then tells something about the islands in the region. While he does then continue with the stories of the pirates (a term he uses at the beginning of the text), he slips easily and effortlessly between tales of battle and daring, and descriptions of life among the other inhabitants of the region. This interplay makes the work come alive as we get a fuller picture of things. Thus, while telling the story of Henry Morgan's depredations on the Spanish towns, he stops to describe the catching and preparation of manatees, or turtles, so some other such thing.
What can the reader expect to learn about the Buccaneers? Quite a lot, though I found myself questioning some of it, and have to wonder how much Exquemelin embellished the stories for the sake of publication. The Buccaneers are invariably presented as warriors of almost superhuman endurance and martial skill, and also as the most sadistic and depraved of human creatures. Time and time again he presents descriptions of the tortures and murders that captive Spaniards were put through. A more extreme example of exaggeration comes when he writes about how four Indians ran two hundred feet into the trees carrying a one ton canoe with them, finally dropping it to make their escape. While such things may find favor with gullible readers of the late seventeenth century, today we can dismiss them as ridiculous.
I suspect that much of it is genuine, or at least close to genuine. It certainly takes no great leap of knowledge to find stories of man's inhumanity to man, and men can become good warriors when their lifestyle calls for it. Certainly while the Buccaneers themselves come across as far from sympathetic, this portrayal certainly makes their lives and exploits come alive.
Book Description
Blackbeard’s extraordinary life of excess during the Golden Age of Piracy ignited a reputation that struck terror into men’s hearts from Virginia to Barbados. Leading a flotilla of ships through the clear waters of the Indies, he left in his wake the image of a "ranting, roaring, swaggering, swearing" sea captain that is still remembered today. Blackbeard’s life on the high seas, chasing wealth, freedom, and power, ended in a bloody battle that ultimately marked a turning point in history.
This book accompanies a multimillion-dollar BBC-National Geographic drama that explores the reality of the man behind the beard. Far from the caricature of films and novels, Blackbeard was a complex character who was as charming as he was ruthless. The atrocities he indulged in, and how they eventually proved to be his undoing, are here explored through a fresh appraisal of surviving contemporary documents. Today, we might associate pirates with peg-legs, parrots and dreamy tropical islands, but the disturbing truth is the stuff of nightmares.
Customer Reviews:
A fun, accurate book on piracy.......2003-02-26
Kris Lane apparently grew up with the same wide-eyed awe of pirates that most of us grew up with. His "Pillaging the Empire" does it's best to reshape our opinions of pirates as a fun-loving bunch of misfits and saucy rogues, but like many recent works on the subject of piracy, he doesn't quite do it. One can't help but retain a skewed view of pirates, despite the unpleasant tales of how dirty ships were, how rotten the food was, how murderous the population was, etc. Like David Cordingly's excellent "Under the Black Flag", the pirate myth is largely debunked, the truth is revealed to be stranger than fiction, but you can still tell that at the end Lane (like Cordingly before him) still gets a kick out of recalling the pirate lifestyle.
The book itself tells the story of American piracy in a fun manner, but everything is presented scholarly; sources are cited and there are enough annotated footnotes to keep dorks like me happy. The sidebar pieces are handy, and cover related topics like gambling in the 17th century, a typical pirate's diet, etc. Interesting stuff for the curious and a good awakening to those who think pirates are all guff-talking, one-eyed parrot owners with scurvy and gangrene.
An average history book, lacking many primary sources.......1999-06-17
This book is made mostly from second sources such as already printed books, but uses very few primary ones. In fact, it is missing key authors such as Hakluyt, he uses only the 1724 edition of Captain Johnson book (neglecting the 1726 which is the most complete), and it seems he used only a resumed version in one volume of Labat's massive work of more than 6 volumes, among other shortcomings. Then he puts in his bibliography the __Don Quixote__, but this novel has nothing to do with piracy in the Americas. I bought this book because it was advertised as being composed of many Spanish sources. But sadly, it has very, very few. In fact he only uses _one_ primary Spanish source (Alsedo), and about two or three books written by Spaniards of our time. His "select bibliography" is very short (68 books in all), and I doubt he read any more. In general terms, the information he provides is okay, and he is carefull not to make mistakes. Problem is, it is not an original book, nor it keeps up to what it promises. Readers that expect to find in it a rich quantity of Spanish references, archives, chroniclers, etceteras, do not be misleaded.
Average customer rating:
- The Spanish Viewpoint
- Pirates from the other side
|
Pirates in the Caribbean :1493-1720
Cruz Apestegui
Manufacturer: Book Sales
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
 General
| Caribbean & West Indies
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0785815864 |
Customer Reviews:
The Spanish Viewpoint.......2004-03-31
Having read through a couple of score books on piracy, many of them mere knockoffs of Charles Johnson's A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates; you have to look at yet another book on piracy and almost yawn. Reading through the first chapter of this book you get a feeling that something is amiss, and it dawns on you that you are reading about the depredations of the Sea-dogs, buccaneers, flibustiers and pirates from the Spanish viewpoint. After years and years of reading the heroic exploits of the Elizabethan Sea-dogs it is refreshing to read another opinion.
The author has provided ample illustrations, maps and pictures to help the reader visualize the narrative. While there are the usual names and places, Morgan, de Graf, Drake, Tortuga, Port Royal, Hipanola; the author has provided additional material on Spanish Costa Guarda and privateers. He also, spends a good deal of time detailing the Spanish efforts to deal with the scourge of piracy, from fortresses to warning towers. At times the reading is slow, but the novelty of the viewpoint always carries the reader forward wondering what new twists on the old stories might appear.
Yet another book for my pirate library; it enjoys a place next to my copy of Angus Konstam's The History of Pirates. P-)
Pirates from the other side.......2002-12-09
While a very good compendium of buccaneer tales from the days of derring-do, what makes this book unique (at least from an English-speaking perspective) is that it is an account of the pirates, buccaneers, etc from the Spanish viewpoint. Those of you who have read about the Caribbean pirates and have seen the usual Hollywood movies are in for a treat! Historical correction number one; the pirates didn't always win against the Spanish, and in fact, most of their encounters ended with disasterous consequences for the buccaneers, even the most famous! Historical correction number two; there were a lot more than just English-speaking pirates in the Caribbean (sorry, Henry Morgan!), and the efforts of the numerous Dutch and French (and even Spanish) pirates get full treatment in this book. All this is very well, and it is quite interesting to note the strenuous and often very successful efforts that the Spanish government of the times made to prevent pirate successes. That said, historical bias goes both ways, and the reader will quickly recognise that while they have been reading English-biased accounts in the past, they will soon recognise that they are reading a Spanish-biased version in this book, and some of the statements made can be quite ludicrous from time to time. Most pertinent in this regard is the gaffe that although a portion of the Spanish Armada did indeed make it back to Spain, the Armada as a whole lost over a third of its ships and men. Senor Apestegui would have us believe that this was in fact 'not militarily significant.' I don't know which military Sr Apestegui has served with, but every one that I have come in contact with will readily confirm that losses of a third of any military force constitutes a military disaster of the first order! My final criticism involves the often repeated assertion that piracy in the Caribbean essentially disappeared around 1720. I can assure you that nothing is further from the truth! This area suffered from pirates right through the 1840's, some of whom are very well known to this day (remember Jean Lafitte? Gained pardon from the US for helping to defeat the British at New Orleans in 1815? What do you think he was up to before then?). And the causes of piracy in this area remained the same; unemployed ex-privateers, lowered prices and a resurgence in trade based on the end of a war (the Napoleonic wars, the subsequent wars of independance throughout Central and South America). Oh well, perhaps in the next book!
Book Description
In the early eighteenth century a number of the great pirate captains, including Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy, joined forces. This infamous "Flying Gang" was more than simply a thieving band of brothers. Many of its members had come to piracy as a revolt against conditions in the merchant fleet and in the cities and plantations in the Old and New Worlds. Inspired by notions of self-government, they established a crude but distinctive form of democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which indentured servants were released and leaders chosen or deposed by a vote. They were ultimately overcome by their archnemesis, Captain Woodes Rogers—a merchant fleet owner and former privateer—and the brief though glorious moment of the Republic of Pirates came to an end.
In this unique and fascinating book, Colin Woodard brings to life this virtually unexplored chapter in the Golden Age of Piracy.
Customer Reviews:
Pirate book a treasure.......2007-10-05
Thoroughly enjoyed reading Colin Woodard's book The Republic of Pirates. There was a wealth of researched information compiled in this one source that gives readers a clearer picture of this colorful era from both a political and socioeconomic point of view. He helps to humanize the legendary characters of the Golden Age of Piracy by showing you the probable relationships and motivations between individuals and nations, all while he tells a lively tale of seafaring men and women. Best book I've read on the subject as a whole. Jan Schubert, N. Carolina
The Republic of Pirates.......2007-09-19
Welcome to the Golden Age of Piracy, at least that's what it can be considered from the pirates' point of view. The ten years between 1715 and 1725 was the time when pirates ruled the high seas of the Caribbean. This is their story during those ten years when they had the times of their lives, and had it all brought to a halt by one man.
Woodard starts at the beginning, giving a brief history lesson from the seventeenth century, setting the scene and explaining the rise of piracy in this area of the world consisting of colonies controlled by countries on the other side of the world. It was a time when a captain with a faithful crew and a good ship could do whatever he wanted. Woodard explains in the prologue the distinction between three key terms that often are applied to those conducting themselves in piratical ways. Privateers: these were people who in wartime plundered enemy ships under instruction and allowance from their respective governments, and would then share the plunder between themselves and their governments. Pirates: naturally these people are similar to privateers, except they operated under no governmental control or order, and always kept the plunder for themselves. Buccaneers: these were pirates and privateers mostly from the seventeenth century operating out of the West Indies, were mostly French, and hunted cattle on the island of Hispaniola; the meat was dried on a bouccan.
Woodard then goes on to create the setting of the Caribbean at the beginning of this ten year period, explaining the democratic nature of pirates in dividing plunder, giving captured slaves the option to remain slaves or become pirates. He dedicates a chapter to each of the important pirate captains, including Captain Bellamy, Captain Bonnet, and Captain Blackbeard, whose actual name was Edward Thatch, but because of his decision to never shave or trim his beard, letting it grow freely and wild, was given this epithet. At the same time Woodard discusses the history of Woodes Rogers who, after gaining acceptance from King George, put together his own flotilla of ships and mounted a campaign to stop these pirates and chase them down one by one. In the waning days of this golden age, we learn of the pirate women Mary Read and Anne Bonny, who would disguise herself in men's clothing. When they were to be executed, they pleaded that they were with child and under law could not be executed and so were able to live out their lives.
The Republic of Pirates is a sobering piece of nonfiction after the successful Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy as the reader learns it was rarely as fun and swashbuckling as Johnny Depp depicts it. Ultimately these people were breaking the law and many lost their lives; it was a harsh reality that is revealing and informative. It ultimately leaves one in contemplation over what life must have truly been like during this time in the deadly Caribbean.
For more book reviews, and other writings, go to www.alexctelander.com
Great yarn (and apparently true!).......2007-09-14
Arrrrgh, ye swabs! Seize yer cutlasses and stand by to board yon vessel!--I mean, get ready for a good read! Author Colin Woodard strikes an excellent balance of historical detail, local color, high adventure, and human interest. Despite modern stereotypes, it emerges that pirates were--as we might have expected--individual human beings with a variety of personalities, motivations, and degrees of criminality. Woodard sets these tales in the context of larger historical events of the time, a period few Americans know anything about (including yours truly). It becomes understandable why the pirate life (the real one, not the Peter Pan or Jack Sparrow versions) might have been attractive to real, apparently normal people, when the alternatives were things like debtor's prison, indentured servitude, or impressment by the navy (if you, like my spell checker, don't know what impressment means, you should read this book). Woodard presents portraits, as intimate as can be supported by the sparse historical record, of individual pirates, such as Benjamin Hornigold (who evidently considered himself a loyal subject of Great Britain, but not necessarily of the Hanoverian king), Charles Vane (as nasty a person as you can imagine), and John King (of Antigua, about 10 years old when his ship was captured by Samuel Bellamy, who evidently threw a tantrum until his mother--and Bellamy--allowed him to join the pirate crew). Highly recommended.
Better on Compact Disk.......2007-09-05
I highly recommend listening to this book on CD.
I've found that most history is dry when read and exciting when "told" to you.
Listening to Republic of Pirates is like hearing your grandfather telling of all the scary stuff that happened in the past long before you were born.
Beyond Parrots: A Fascinating History of the Pirates .......2007-09-04
Generally speaking, if you take a closer look at historical events such as the surge in piracy in the early 1700, you will find rational explanations for why they occurred.
In the case of the pirates of the Caribbean, who threatened to shut down the shipping of at least three empires, a combination of factors came together which meant most sailors had little to lose and much to gain by turning pirate. This richer history is contained in "The Republic of Pirates" by Colin Woodward, a highly readable book that goes well beyond the old clichés of eye patches, parrots, and the throaty growl "argh."
To start with, the overwhelming majority of the pirates came from the British Isles and a look at the conditions most people in Britain endured makes a mockery of the nickname merry old England. As the 1700s began, aristocrats began kicking tenant farmers off their lands so they could raise sheep and cattle swelling a tide of impoverished, rootless people flooding into the cities. By some estimates, up to half of Britain's six million people were living at or below subsistence. One surprising statistic in the book is the claim that members of the aristocracy and middle class stood an average of six inches taller than the underclass, a by product of the starvation endured by many.
Both the Royal Navy and even regular merchant ships kidnapped men from the streets of the port cities and forced them to become sailors and then imposed a brutal discipline under which a ship's captain could mete of floggings with impunity. When the War of Spanish Succession, 1702-1713, broke out, the number of men forced to serve in the Royal Navy surged. Likewise, when peace came, the Royal Navy simply kicked the men of the ships with no thought of what the highly-trained sailors would do next.
When Queen Anne died without an heir, the way was open to rival claimants to the throne. While George I took the throne, he faced uprisings in 1715 and 1719 intent on setting a Stuart king on the throne. These Jacobite uprisings provided a political rallying point for the pirates coalesce around.
Finally, sailors of the day were very familiar with the story of Henry Avery, a pirate who raided the Moghul of India's treasure fleet in 1694. Avery's took a haul of treasure of mind-boggling proportions and managed to disappear in England with his loot. Here was a clear example of the point that crime does, in fact, pay and pays very well.
All the pirates needed was a safe haven to operate from and they found it on Providence Island in the defunct English colony of the Bahamas in 1713. Once Nassau was open for pirate business, men and ships poured in, founding a society based on democracy and an equal chance for everyone. Soon, the pirates brought the shipping of the Spanish, French and English empires nearly to standstill in the Caribbean.
A handful of pirate captains even offered to back a Stuart claimant to the British throne in a bid to overthrow the monarchy.
Needless to say, the aristocrats and rich merchants of the day loathed the pirates seeing them as threat not only to their goods but their way of life. By early 1718, a counter attack had been organized and Woodes Roger mounted a military expedition to take back Nassau. He did this through a combination of a force of arms and the offer of a pardon from King George I for any pirate that surrendered.
Deprived of their base which they needed to repair their ships, the era of the pirates began to run out. By 1720, the pirates were a spent force and while small bands of men would still hold out, never again would the pirates be the threat they once were.
However, in a testimony to how brutal society was at the time, the authorities faced a hostile population every time they tried to bring pirates to justice. For example, in Charleston, South Carolina, the people rioted in the streets when Stede Bonnet was tried in 1718. In many ways, the pirates, who operated their ships through a democratic system of voting by the men, were as much the founding fathers of the American democracy as George Washington.
Average customer rating:
|
Black Barty: The Real Pirate of the Caribbean
Aubrey Burl
Manufacturer: Sutton Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
General
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Historical
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
Criminals
| Specific Groups
| Biographies & Memoirs
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Caribbean & West Indies
| Americas
| History
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Ships
| Transportation
| World
| History
| Subjects
| Books
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0750943122 |
Book Description
Bartholomew Roberts was easily one of the most successful and deadly pirates in all of history. He went to sea at a young age and took to pirate life well. Two years after Roberts was made captain he had accumulated over L51 million worth of treasure throughout the Americas, Africa and Europe. He was fearless in battle, but good to his prisoners.
Book Description
In this riveting book, Masetti takes the reader inside the war room of the Cuban revolution. His life involved international revolutionary intrigue: smuggling diamonds and ivory; counterfeiting U.S. dollars; trafficking in narcotics. He served in Angola and other war zones in the 1980s. He was an adviser with groups such as the M-19 guerrillas in Columbia and the Sandinistas.
Customer Reviews:
The criminal world of Cuba communist intelligent services.......2006-12-18
This is a window into the illegal world which the Cuban's communist secret service operates in, narrated by an Argentinian with ties to high levels of the secret apparatus of Castro's government inside and outside of the island.
This apparatus justifies, stimulates and supports criminals acts committed around the world to collect funds. These illegal acts are generally committed by and for the benefit of two groups. The first are committed by members of their own communist Cuban government to collect funds for government departments and projects, The second group is constituted by Latin Americans sympathizers of Cuban's communist government; they commit criminals acts that range from bank robberies to hostage taking to finance their armed fights.These criminals acts are supported economically and logistically by the communist government of Cuba in their pursuit to export and duplicate the Cuban model across Latin America.
very interesting........2005-08-24
this book is very informative on how castro orders his underlings to embark on illegal activities,but lets them know if you get caught your on your own.a prime example is the execution of ochoa,de la guardia and the other two.i wont give it away,but if you know a little about the revolution this book will pretty much fill in the holes that surrounded that tragedy.good job jorge!
Unveiling the Truth about Cuba.......2005-01-19
An insider's fascinating and engrossing look at the machinations of Fidel Castro's Communist regime. In what amounts to a stimulating autobiography of an Argentinian who grew up in Castro's Revolution, Masetti weaves his life's story by revealing astonishing facts concerning Cuba's aggressive attempts at undermining both the US and Latin America. The son of an Argentinian revolutionary who supported Fidel's guerilla movement, Masetti describes his loyal commitment to Castro's worldview, only to be dissilutioned by the brutal betrayal of his father-in-law. Readers will learn of Cuba's support for anti-US terrorist organizations and their attacks on US soil. You'll also learn how Fidel Castro successfully supported/advised triumphant Marxist groups. Yet, the most powerful message is left for last, as Masetti undergoes a painful awakening to Castro's brutality, coupled with a deeply moving self-examination about his blind support for an inhumane system.
This is a great read. An eye-opener that peels back the thick layer of lies that protects Fidel Castro and his broken Revolution. Important information for Cuba watchers, and an exciting, intriguing real life story for those who want to be entertained - a superb mix.
Unusual, revealing, and highly recommended reading.......2003-02-09
In The Pirate's Den: My Life As A Secret Agent For Castro is the autobiography of Jorge Masetti, a man who worked as a secret agent for Fidel Castro for twenty years. Bringing the reader a uniquely personal and informative viewpoint from inside the war rooms of the Cuban revolution, In the Pirate's Den is filled with accounts of international intrigue, drug smuggling, counterfeiting U.S. dollars, and international missions for Cuban Intelligence that often extended into war zones. An often dramatic, sometimes horrifying, and always keenly insightful testimony, In The Pirate's Den is unusual, revealing, and highly recommended reading.
Our Worst Enemy.......2002-12-26
This book is required reading for anybody who wishes to understand the truth about Fidel Castro's Cuba and the damage it has done to the United States, Latin America, and the world. The bunglers who convinced John Kennedy (against his instincts)to refrain from removing Castro at all costs while we still could at relatively moderate cost, have the blood of countless thousands on their hands. This "little island" led by a sinister, violent crackpot, has done as much real damage to our interests and to the lives of millions of innocent, decent people, as all our other enemies combined. From 1959 to the present day Castro has been intimately involved in fomenting war, terrorism, and the obstruction of genuine democratic reform in countries the world over. Cuban-backed guerrilla movements, though they wandered into a bloody political and military dead end, did much to rob Latin America of the opportunity for 40 years of political and economic development. Military dictatorships across the continent were provoked time and again by terror campaigns directed from Havana. I could say more, but it will suffice to say I know Cuba well, and this book is true.
Books:
- Exploring Mesoamerica (Places in Time)
- Feng Shui Your Life
- Hana's Suitcase
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- Public Choice III
- No Higher Honor: Saving the USS Samuel B. Roberts in the Persian Gulf
- Global Ideas: How Ideas, Objects and Practices Travel in the Global Economy
- Heroes at Home: Help and Hope for America's Military Families
- Managing Interactively: Executing Business Strategy, Improving Communication, and Creating a Knowled
- Hurricane Season: A Coach, His Team, and Their Triumph in the Time of Katrina
- Kyrgyzstan Business and Industrial Directory
- Study Guide to accompany Individual Taxation
- Input-Output Economics
- Motherhood Made a Man Out of Me: A Novel
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
Last Flag Down: The Epic Journey of the Last Confederate Warship
Leviathan: The History of Whaling in America
Three Empires on the Nile: The Victorian Jihad, 1869-1899
The Sack of Panama: Captain Morgan and the Battle for the Caribbean
