Pirates & Privateers: Molly Greene's Books

Books on Mediterranean piracy, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries, are often devoted to Barbary corsairs. These rogues aren’t the only pirates preying on merchant ships. The Knights of St. John, also known as the Knights of Malta, and the Knights of St. Stephen also prowl, and they don’t just attack “infidel” ships. They target vessels belonging to or carrying goods of Greek merchants. What Greene explores in this book is whether these were legitimate corso attacks or not.* In conducting her research, she discovered that unlike others who suffered such plundering, the Greeks sought justice against these seizures.

Local merchants often deemed Catholic pirates as the most fearsome, and the white cross on the red flag terrified them the most. The Knights of Malta, who sailed from the 1570s into the 1700s, saw their attacks not as acts of piracy, but as legitimate attacks against Islam.

While other histories concentrate on commerce, Greene focuses on Greek Orthodox victims, rather than pirates or the state, to examine the “realities of traveling across the sea and the norms and customs that structured such crossings.” She incorporates perspectives of “the French, the Vatican, Ottoman merchants, and Catholic pirates,” to provide a well-rounded look into this historic period.

The material covers the 16th and 17th centuries. Chapter 1 (Subjects and Sovereigns) focuses on how and what the Ottomans and Venetians forge to facilitate trade between these nations, while Chapter 2 (The Claims of Religion) examines how the Knights of Malta challenge this established arrangement. The third chapter (The Age of Piracy) discusses Mediterranean piracy during the latter half of the 17th century, with particular emphasis on Catholic sea raiders. Chapters 4 through 7 (The Ottoman Mediterranean, The Pursuit of Justice, At the Tribunale, and The Turn toward Rome, respectively) shows how Greek victims fought back through legal means against these pirate attacks.

Using court records from the Tribunale degli Armamenti, Greene reconstructs this maritime world. The introduction clearly states her premise, while the conclusion succinctly sums up her findings. She also includes illustrations, extensive notes, a bibliography, and an index. If there is a drawback to this book, it is that she sometimes quotes from documents in their original language without benefit of an English translation. This makes it difficult for readers unfamiliar with those languages to better grasp the point she tries to make.

Greene’s examination deftly demonstrates how the maritime world changes for Greek merchants during these two centuries. In the 16th, they are subjects of Venice or the Ottoman Empire. Although they practice Greek Orthodoxy, religion matters little either legally or diplomatically. The Knights of Malta saw everyone as Christian, Muslim, or Jew, and in the 17th century, the Maltese also attack Greek merchants because of their relations with the Ottoman Empire. The difference between this particular group and other piracy victims is that their Christianity allows them channels of recovery not available to others, which Greene ably proves.

Of particular importance is Greene’s adeptness at showing that piracy was a global problem, not one confined to the Caribbean during a time period often considered part of the age of pirates. Catholic Pirates and Greek Merchants is a fascinating, scholarly account that brings a fresh perspective to the maritime world of the Mediterranean.

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Meet the author

*While we tend to call those who plunder enemy ships during war “privateers,” this practice in the Mediterranean is known as “corso.” The difference is that while privateers prey until peace is declared, corso continues. It doesn’t require formal declarations of war because of the ongoing struggle between Christianity and Islam.