 Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime
Piracy
Cindy Vallar, Editor
& Reviewer
P.O. Box 425,
Keller, TX 76244-0425
Books for
Adults ~ History: Piracy
The Republic of Pirates
Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean
Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
by Colin Woodard
Harcourt, 2007, ISBN 978-0-15-101302-9, US $27.00
The
height of the golden age of piracy lasts a mere
ten years, yet the pirates of that time have
influenced writers, readers, and movies to the
present day. The Republic of Pirates
focuses on three of the most notorious pirates –
Blackbeard, Sam Bellamy, and Charles Vane – and
the man responsible for changing the Caribbean
from a haven of pirates to a place where
law-abiding citizens can live. His name is Woodes
Rogers. But the story of these men begins long
before Rogers arrives in the Bahamas. Nor are
these four men the only outlaws and pirate hunters
who participate in the events as they unfold. This
is why Colin Woodard begins his tale in 1696 with
Henry Avery’s arrival in the Bahamas.
What makes this book
different from so many others on this topic is
that Woodard relies on primary documents deposited
in British and American archives to recreate the
places, clothing, vessels, events, and weather in
which these people lived. By combining legal
testimony with letters, logs, and other tidbits
recorded in historical registers, the Caribbean of
the early 18th century comes alive. Woodard
seamlessly interweaves this information into a
gripping account that reads more like a novel than
a nonfiction book. Through vivid imagery, the
reader sees what it is like to be a sailor in this
time period, to grow up hearing tales of
adventurous pirates who earn riches beyond most
men’s dreams, to go down with the ship during a
vicious storm, or to stand before the crowds
waiting for the noose to tighten. The Republic
of Pirates shows what these romanticized men
are really like and what effect they have on
governments and law-abiding people. It is not a
tale for the faint of heart, but it is an honest
portrayal of what it is like to live when pirates
rule the sea.
Review Copyright ©2008 Cindy
Vallar
(FYI Note for Readers: Several
times the author refers to the current ruling
monarch of Britain as being of the House of
Hanover. For those who’ve not studied British
history, the House of Hanover became the House
of Windsor during World War I in an effort to
distance itself from its German connections.)
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