Pirates & Privateers: Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R. Ewen's Books

Much of what is known of pirates of yore comes from historical records, but is there archaeological evidence to support or enhance that information? Editors Russell K. Skowronek, associate professor of anthropology and founder of the Archaeology Research Lab at Santa Clara University, and Charles R. Ewen, professor of anthropology and director of the Archaeology Laboratories at East Carolina University, decided to see what insights archaeology has offered about “the world of the pirates.” X Marks the Spot is divided into three parts: Pirate Lairs, Pirate Ships and Their Prey, and Pirates in Fact and Fiction. The various essays within each section are written by archaeologists or those who have worked closely with them to unearth new data and artifacts. "Pirate Lairs" explores the pirate haven Port Royal, Jean Laffite’s Barataria, and the Bay of Honduras. "Pirate Ships and Their Prey" examines the Speaker (the first pirate ship ever excavated archaeologically), the Fiery Dragon (Christopher Condent’s ship), the Whydah (Samuel Bellamy’s ship), and the Queen Anne’s Revenge (Blackbeard’s flagship), as well Mississippi River pirates and identifying pirate victims in the Spanish Caribbean. The final section examines pirate imagery and whether or not "X" marks the spot.

Perhaps, the two opening quotes of the Introduction best sum up the editors’ goals in compiling these essays:

Archaeology is the search for fact. Not truth. If it’s truth you’re interested in, Dr. Tyree’s philosophy class is right down the hall. So forget any ideas you’ve got about lost cities, exotic travel, and digging up the world. We do not follow maps to buried treasure and “X” never, ever, marks the spot! – Indiana Jones

Sometimes it does. – The authors of this book

X Marks the Spot includes a brief look into the history of piracy, with particular focus on the Caribbean, North America, and the Indian Ocean. What the editors discovered as they researched was that there are myriad historical works about pirates, but very little archaeological literature on them. Each essay includes maps, charts, illustrations, and pictures of artifacts. There is also an extensive bibliography and index.

This proved to be a most interesting book, and for the most part the essays make fascinating reading. It’s a look at piracy from a perspective rarely seen, and the conclusions the archaeologists have drawn are intriguing. While the price is a bit dear, X Marks the Spot is a worthy addition to any serious pirate’s collection.

Dead Man’s Chest
Exploring the Archaeology of Piracy
edited by Russell K. Skowronek and Charles R. Ewen
University Press of Florida, 2023, ISBN 978-0-8130-6974-6, US $45.00

Archaeology studies what remains of people who lived in the past. History tells us what happened and why. One examines the physical items left behind, whereas the other peruses the written records. Over the years many histories of pirates have been written, but no one had seriously considered studying the archaeology of piracy. Skowronek and Ewen wanted to change that; in 2006, they found other like-minded people and published X Marks the Spot. Ten years later, they brought us Pieces of Eight. In both titles, their intent was not to craft stuffy, pedantic volumes that were meant only for students and practitioners of archaeology. They wished to also share the knowledge found with others interested in maritime piracy. Now, they add a third volume to the mix. Dead Man’s Chest shines a light on new avenues of study and revisits a few finds to provide different perspectives. The sixteen essays found here are written by doctoral candidates, archaeologists, curators, consultants, historians, paleographers, professors, anthropologists, conservationists, archivists, and oceanographers.

Although popular culture tends to celebrate pirates, the men and women who preyed upon merchantmen during the Golden Age of Piracy were actually thieves and murderers who utilized violence and intimidation to acquire their ill-gotten goods. Ewen’s opening salvo shines a thought-provoking light on this reality in “On Celebrating Piracy: But Should We?”

From here, the book is divided into four sections: Pirate Swag: Material Culture Studies, Transatlantic Piracy, Pirates of the Caribbean and Tierra Firma, and Piracy in the Indian Ocean. The first set of essays discusses some of the artifacts that archaeologists have unearthed and what those tell us about pirates. Kimberley P. Kenyon’s “The Stories They Tell: Recent Finds from Queen Anne’s Revenge/La Concorde” highlights recovered items from Blackbeard’s flagship. Since this vessel was a slaver before pirates acquired it, she highlights the dilemma of determining whether an artifact belonged to or was used by pirates (a theme that surfaces in several other essays in the book). Jessie Cragg and Michael Thomin remind us that pirates also lived ashore in “Sail Bags and Black Flags: Identifying Material Culture of Nineteenth-Century Pirates.” It concerns a ship that set sail in 1794. Instead of the few weeks it should have taken to arrive at her destination, the voyage lasted five months because pirates attacked twice. In “‘Running a Rig’: Pirates and Archaeology in Video Games,” Coy J. Idol and Katherine D. Thomas discuss the influences of archaeology on Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Jean Soulat’s focus in “The Material Culture of Pirate Wrecks and Lairs: A Reflection of Colonial Archaeology through Multicultural Assemblages from the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries” explores the delineation of items found at archaeological digs and how it may be possible to differentiate between those that belonged to pirates and those that did not.

The second group of essays continues this comparison between legal and illegal behavior as it relates to piracy. In “Casting Piracy a Line: An Examination of the Influence of Piracy in the Archaeological Record of Two New England Fishing Settlements,” Megan Rhodes Victor shows how difficult it can be to distinguish between fishermen and pirates when they inhabit the same area. Patrick J. Boyle’s “The Archaeology of Lundy Pirates: A Case Study of Material Culture” concerns a known area frequented by pirates and whether found items are connected to pirates. Bradley Rodgers and Jason T. Raupp’s “The Mystery of Morgan’s Island: Archaeological Insights into a Possible Pirate Wreck at Somerset, Bermuda” demonstrates how the confluence of historical documentation and archaeological studies allow for a reexamination of a past event and its proper interpretation.

The third set of essays opens with Kenneth S. Wild’s “What’s to Become of Me? Pirates and Refugees in the Archaeological Landscape of the Virgin Islands.” Here, he focuses on pirateering, a profession where the line between privateering and piracy blurred. Alexandre Coulaud, Nathalie Sellier-Ségard, and Martijn van den Bel demonstrate the possibility of an emerging pattern in locations where pirates are thought to have set up temporary camps in “Pirates at Grand Case Bay, St. Martin (French West Indies): Interpreting Archaeological Evidence from a Late-Seventeenth-Century Settlement.” Tortuga has long been associated with pirates, but archaeological studies of the island have not been possible; Laurent Pavlidis suggests avenues of research should that change in “Mysterious Tortuga Island, Republic of Haiti.” Geraldo J. S. Hostin’s investigation into “The Pirate of Cotinga Island: The History and Archaeology of a Mysterious Shipwreck in the South of Brazil” puts forth a convincing case as to the identity of the pirate who lost his ship in 1718. Lynn B. Harris concentrates on the connections between “Buccaneers and Harpooners of the Miskito Coast.”

Archaeological investigations in the Indian Ocean are the topic of the fourth section of essays. John de Bry and Jean Soulat discuss recent and upcoming explorations of “Pirate Lairs in Ambodifototra Bay (Saint-Marie Island, Madagascar)? Traces of Fortifications and Camps in Archives and Archaeological Remains.” A French expedition discovered one of the earliest pirate shipwrecks in 1979. Soulat, Yann von Arnim, and Patrick Lizé reconsider what archaeologists discovered and how they made their determination in “The Speaker (1702) Pirate Shipwreck on the East Side of Mauritius: Review of Archaeological Data and Research Perspectives.”

The parting shot in this collection comes from Skowronek with “Unpacking the Dead Man’s Chest.” When X Marks the Spot came out, the majority of the research shared came from historical inquiries. Whereas archaeological waters were uncharted then, much like in the days of these pirates, Dead Man’s Chest and its companion volumes show that the archaeology of piracy does exist and can shed new light on pirates and how they lived.

We tend to think of archaeology as stodgy and dull. Sometimes, it takes just one book to show us the error of that thinking. (My awakening came when I read Anna Ritchie’s Viking Scotland.) To find not one but three offerings that achieve this for pirate afficionados is a true treasure trove. Dead Man’s Chest is enlightening, entertaining, and compelling. The pictures, tables, and maps provide us with concrete examples, while the references and index permit us to explore the archaeology of piracy further. Skowronek and Ewen, as well as the contributors, share their enthusiasm and knowledge to mentor and inspire us, whether we are armchair wannabes, exploring a possible career, or already working in the field of archaeology. If you want to know about piracy during the early eighteenth century, Dead Man’s Chest is a must read. Once read, you’ll want to delve into the earlier volumes to learn even more.

Meet the editor
Meet the editor