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Loading... The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Downby Colin Woodard
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. A book of surprising detail which sometimes belies the author's newspaper background. The coverage is a bit disjointed as in not chronological and therefore a bit repetitive at times. The chapter on 'Blackbeard' was especially useful to me as it gives me accurate background on his relationship with the 'Outer Banks'. For instance, 'Blackbeard's' real name was Thatch, but somehow in the 'Outer Banks' it was 'Teach'! My usual complaint about the lack of detailed maps was really important when the seemingly random cruises of these men were hard to follow from descriptions and the very general map given. I learned several things, the Royal amnesty, the importance of Nassau, the many types of vessels available, used and preferred. The career of Rogers was also a personal discovery. I believe this author had as his mission to write the best researched, most thorough account of the Republic of Pirates, founded by pirate Benjamin Hornigold, in the Caribbean. The escapades of many a pirate (so many I forget who’s who), and every ship won or lost, are detailed in this book. Which, unfortunately, makes for a boring pirate book. This book is a well-written assembly of facts and for that reason it’s a pick for me. It’d be an excellent textbook—original sources are cited. Where facts are unknown, he informs us. And I learned an enormous amount of history of the Caribbean and proved how little did I know how the early American east coast was so ravaged by pirates. Just beware, it’s a long slog. I seem to know a lot of people who have strong feelings about how a history of pirates should be written. I'd love to know what they think of this one. I thought it was well done, not too dry or too sensationalistic, and I appreciated the information on source materials. My only complaints are the overselling of the cover, perhaps, and the font, which tries to look piratey but was very distracting, leading me to read the first third in 3-4 page sessions. no reviews | add a review
References to this work on external resources. Wikipedia in English (22)History.
Nonfiction.
HTML: The untold story of a heroic band of Caribbean pirates whose defiance of imperial rule inspired revolt in colonial outposts across the world In the early eighteenth century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates-former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves-this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote. They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. And for a brief, glorious period, the Republic was a success. .No library descriptions found. |
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Action packed but the only reason it got 4/5⭐ is because the "Republic" itself arrived so late in the book - the end of Ch. 5. It opens with Henry Avery, who I understand was an important part of the history of Nassau, but he died long before these events. I wanted more of William Dampier, a cohort of Avery, who had a much bigger role in Roger's early privateering schemes and rise to prominence. Thatch, starting to go by Blackbeard, takes a backseat to Bellamy's stardom, despite being a co-founder. Be prepared for a lot of backstory before all the pirates begin to gather and set up for the great showdown. But Woodard successfully explains why the Golden Age emerged when it did, describes life aboard a naval vs pirate vessel, and the politics of pirate hunting through Rogers. Overall, this one succeeded where Under the Black Flag did not and was thoroughly enjoyable! ( )