Pirates and Privateers

Accounts Worth Reading	Pirate Treasures
Dark Voyage Ireland and the War at Sea, 1641-1653 Patriot Pirates Piracy and Privateering in the Golden Age Netherlands Privateering, Piracy and British Policy in Spanish America, 1810-1830 Saint-Malo Cap Horn The Terror of the Seas? The Untold War at Sea	The Hated Cage No Limits to Their Sway Pirates & Privateering from Long Island Sound to Delaware Bay Privateering Cindy's review Irwin's review Privateers of the Americas Rebels at Sea Trimming Yankee Sails

Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade
by Christian McBurney
Westholme, 2022, ISBN 978-1-59416-382-1, US $35.00
Also available in other

When Thomas Jefferson penned an early draft of the Declaration of Independence, one passage condemned slavery. Those words were omitted from the final document, in part because many considered the practice of enslaving people acceptable in the 18th century. Another practice during the American Revolution was the issuance of letters of marque that allowed individuals to profit from seizing enemy shipping regardless of whether they did so because of patriotic fervor or for personal gain. Some of these privateers captured British slave ships, although the majority of these were homeward bound after delivering their African cargo in the Caribbean. One man, however, devised a plan to strike at the heart of the British slave trade.

John Brown was a prominent merchant in Providence, Rhode Island. He was also a fervent patriot who supported American independence. The information he gleaned from slave ship captains and privateers, as well as his knowledge of trade, permitted Brown to think beyond the normal parameters of privateering. He wanted to make a statement, and he did so with his plan to attack the British slave trade where no one else had: the west coast of Africa. First, to up his chances of success, he needed a new vessel.

Marlborough was a brig of 250 tons, with two gun decks housing twenty guns. She was sleek and fast, essential qualities for a privateer. Her full crew complement was set at 125 officers and sailors, although when she set sail from Martha’s Vineyard in January 1788, she carried only 96 men. Brown selected a virtual unknown for her captain, although he was already acquainted with the man who had served aboard two of Brown’s other privateers.

George Waite Babock was already an experienced ship’s officer when he took command of Marlborough in late 1787, even though he was only in twenty-seven at the time. He wasn’t one to discipline those who served under him with the whip. When decisions needed to be made, he often sought the counsel of his officers before making a decision. He demonstrated boldness and courage. Among the crew that he handpicked were John Linscom Boss, who kept the ship’s log – one of many documents the author consulted in writing this book – and his younger brother, Samuel Babcock.

Their journey began with running a Royal Navy blockade. After making the dangerous 3,800-mile trek across the Atlantic, the men aboard the Marlborough struck, attacking and seizing not only British slave ships but also a British factory (trading post). The damage done exceeded any wrought by other American privateers during the revolution, with an unexpected consequence; they disrupted the enemy’s slave trade, albeit only temporarily. While they captured both ships (twenty to twenty-eight) and their cargoes, as well as merchandise stored at the British factory, they also solicited assistance from native peoples and captured captains, such as William Moore, the shipmaster of Sally who possessed local knowledge that Babcock lacked.

Dark Voyage relates the stories of the men and the vessel, from John Brown’s original idea through its fruition. Specific episodes examine life at sea (including an attempted revolt, illness, accidents, legal obstacles, and encounters with Royal Navy warships). In between, McBurney weaves details about privateering in general, dangers privateers faced, and the slave trade in Britain as well as Rhode Island. He also shares what is known or can be assumed about the Marlborough and her prizes on their return voyages and what becomes of the men who crewed them. In some regards, the author views the 18th century through a 21st-century lens, rather than strictly relating the history from a contemporary perspective. This is not a flaw, but rather an aspect that readers should keep in mind as they read. He provides a wealth of information often overlooked in other accounts of privateering during the Revolutionary War, which he supplements with maps, pictures, endnotes, a bibliography, an index, and appendices. The last include lists of those who served aboard the Marlborough and other people who appear in the ship’s log; a comprehensive record of British slave ships captured by revolutionary privateers; the numbers of enslaved Africans carried on British and American ships between 1752 and 1792; and Liverpool merchants involved in the slave trade who declared bankruptcy as a result of seizures by American privateers.

Dark Voyage is a provocative account of a little-known facet of American privateering during our fight for independence. The writing is both expressive and enlightening. The book is a must-read for anyone seeking information on the American Revolution, privateering, or the slave trade.

Meet the author

Review Copyright ©2023 Cindy Vallar

Ireland and the War at Sea, 1641-1653
by Elaine Murphy
Boydell, 2012, ISBN 978-0-86193-318-1, US $90.00 / UK £50.00

[S]everall Pyratts whoe are newly come upon these Coastes, and for want of a sufficient guarde of shipps of force they doe us much mischief; they have already taken many men tradeing hither; and indeed will wholly spoyle our trade if you doe not apply a speedie remedie. – Henry Cromwell, head of the English administration in Ireland, September 1656

During the 1600s, pirates and privateers plagued English shipping and the navy in waters surrounding the coast of Ireland. Murphy, in this first title in the Royal Historical Society’s new series Studies in History, examines the Irish rebellion and naval warfare during the middle of that century. Her introduction provides an overview of the situation and the effects of piracy and privateering on the English government, people, and economy. The first half of the book looks at the naval events in light of political and military changes within and without Ireland. The second half analyzes the “conduct of the war at sea,” which begins in 1642 with the formation of the Confederate Catholic Association and its granting of letters of marque. While the leaders of the uprising expect a short war, it eventually spread s throughout the country and impacts all of society, not just the elite that lead the initial effort.

Table of Contents

Part I: The War at Sea, 1651-1653

1. The outbreak and spread of the rebellion, October 1641-September 1643
2. ‘Weathering the storm’, September 1643-July 1646
3. ‘Infested with pirates’, August 1646-August 1649
4. The support of the navy, September 1649-April 1653

Part II. Navies and the Conduct of the War at Sea

5. A job well done enough? The parliamentary naval effort in Ireland, 1641-1653
6. For the defence of the coasts of this realm: the confederate naval effort, 1641-1653
7. Fighting the war at sea in Ireland, 1641-1653

The author includes figures, maps, and tables to illustrate various points in the narrative. The six appendices cover Parliamentary Summer and Winter Guards for Ireland, Identified Confederate/Irish Privateers, Parliamentary Prizes in Ireland, Confederate and Irish Prizes, Parliamentary Warships Lost on the Irish Coast, and Prominent Parliamentary Shipowners on the Irish Coast. There are also a glossary, a bibliography, and two indices – general and ships.

This important study of privateering and the Irish rebellion provides readers with perspectives from both sides of the coin – the rebels and the Cromwellian navy. The narrow focus of the time period allows for a more thorough investigation into the privateers and their hunters against the context of the political upheavals within Ireland and Britain. By analyzing the parliamentary naval effort, as well as that of the confederates and royalists, the reader is presented with a better understanding of what transpires and how effective both sides are.

Review Copyright ©2013 Cindy Vallar

Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution
by Robert H. Patton
Pantheon Books, 2008, 978-0-375-42284-3, US $26.00 / CAN $30.00

Every school child in America studies the Revolution, but Patriot Pirates reveals a side that is often overlooked or omitted from that instruction. Patton admits from the start he was never impressed with this particular conflict until he began delving into privateering. The thirteen colonies don’t really have a navy and George Washington is thwarted time and time again.

The emergence from that hodgepodge of some of the most intrepid mariners in American history highlights the strategic element of Revolutionary privateering, for they would spearhead what became a massive seaborne insurgency involving thousands of privately owned warships whose ravages on the enemy dwarfed those of the fledgling United States Navy.

Within the pages of this book, Patton explores the War of Independence from this perspective. He doesn’t concentrate on a particular port city but presents the events in chronological sequence from various places of import at different times. The story unfolds in Machias, Maine in 1775 with the incident involving the Gaspee. From there readers visit Boston, Providence (Rhode Island), Brooklyn, Barbados, Penobscot, New London, Newfoundland, Portsmouth (England), and Guadeloupe. Not only does he show how these daring privateers help win the war, he also examines the economics and how what these patriot pirates do impacts society and the conflict at large.

Patriot Pirates is a fascinating assessment of the role privateers played in the American Revolution. Readers meet the mariners, statesmen, and merchants whose daring, ingenuity, and patience are invaluable to gaining independence. A few are well-known men like Benjamin Franklin and John Paul Jones, but the majority are people rarely mentioned in history books. Once you read this book, you’ll never think of our forefathers’ struggle against tyranny in quite the same light.

Review Copyright ©2023 Cindy Vallar




 Privateering, Piracy and British Policy in Spanish America 1810-1830
by Matthew McCarthy
Boydell, 2013, ISBN 978-1-84383-861-6, US $115.00 / UK £65.00

From 1810 to 1830, Spanish America undergoes a period of political turmoil as Spain’s colonies seek independence and revolt against Napoleon’s attempt to place his brother on the Spanish throne. Conditions are ripe for a proliferation of privateering and piracy, and it is against this backdrop that McCarthy enlightens readers on maritime depredation and the role Britain plays in the region. In this study, he attempts to a) clarify the difference between insurgent privateers and pirates; b) identify the consequences of their actions and governmental countermeasures implemented against them; and c) assess the political responses in light of British policy, both commercial and foreign, in Spanish America.

Chapter one summarizes British interests in Spanish America as they pertain to commerce and politics. The second chapter examines the characteristics that differentiate revolutionary privateers from those sponsored by the Spanish government, and distinguishes them from pirates. Some names mentioned in this chapter are Luis Aury and Jean Laffite. In chapter three, McCarthy analyzes the impact such depredation had on British merchants and seamen. Here, he includes information from Lucretia Parker and Aaron Smith, both of whom write accounts of their captivity by pirates. The next two chapters investigate the effectiveness of British strategies in countering the privateers. Chapter six explores the Anglo-Spanish Claims Commission (1823) and how well it is able to offer redress against the losses merchants incur. The last chapter focuses on Britain’s diplomatic and naval measures to thwart pirates based in Cuba.

Footnotes, rather than endnotes, make it easy for readers to check the consulted resources. (At least two of these provide readers with the URL where they can view the data sets and tables the author compiled during his research.) Graphs accompany some chapters, allowing readers to visualize comparative data. Following the conclusion, there is an extensive bibliography and detailed index.

These two decades are often glossed over in studies of maritime and piratical history; it’s far more interesting to focus on earlier periods in the region. Nor has much attention been paid to privateers and pirates during the Spanish American Wars of Independence. McCarthy relies on Lloyd’s List and other 19th-century newspapers, correspondence found in British government archives, and Foreign Office records to compile this analysis. This rich and invaluable study of maritime diplomacy from a British perspective is fascinating to read, but anyone seeking specific information about actual individual pirates and privateers of this period may find themselves disappointed.

Review Copyright ©2014 Cindy Vallar




Saint-Malo Cap Horn: La Route de l’Argent
by Peter Meazey
Astoure, 2005, ISBN 2-84583-108-0, 8 Euros

Pirates and privateers from England are most often discussed in books dealing with marauding adventures around South America. Peter Meazey’s book covers the French privateers, in particular those from Saint Malo, who also venture around Cape Horn to seek their fortunes. The opening chapters explain why this city is a haven for corsairs; the historical and legal framework within which they sail during the late 17th and early 18th centuries; and the difference between them and pirates. Few outside of France may know their names, but Meazey introduces readers to Jack Walsh, René Duguay-Trouin, François Massertie, and Jacques Gouin de Beauchesne. Several English pirates --Thomas Stradling, William Dampier, and Alexander Selkirk -- are also included in the narrative. The author incorporates information about French ships, trade between Saint Malo and Cadiz, England’s attempts to destroy this vital port, and how trade via the Cape of Good Hope leads to the demise of this vital maritime center.

Rather than being a scholarly work, this book is written for the general public. The short chapters include many black-&-white illustrations and maps, as well as passages from firsthand accounts. The inclusion of what happens to who ties up loose ends. For those who can read French, Saint-Malo Cap Horn is a captivating introduction to one facet of privateering history.

Review Copyright ©2005 Cindy Vallar

The Untold War at Sea: America’s Revolutionary Privateers
By Kylie A. Hulbert
University of Georgia Press, 2022, ISBN 978-0-8203-6071-3, US $29.95

Once the thirteen original colonies have enough of a king’s tyranny, they declare war and fight for independence. Much has been written about the American Revolution on land and at sea, but the members of the colonial army, militias, and navy aren’t the only ones to fight. Some choose to fight an economic war. These privateers hold legal commissions that permit them to attack enemy ships during times of war. History books may or may not mention them, even though they play an integral part in the war. This book corrects this dearth of information; Hulbert recounts their stories from financing and building the ships, to recruiting crews and setting sail, through navigating the admiralty courts that decide whether a prize is legally or illegally captured. Once deemed heroes, they come to be treated as pariahs and Hulbert shows how and why this happens.

The story of privateering unfolds in five chapters, each titled after a line from a popular song of 1776 about a privateer named Manly. Chapter one, “Hardy Sons of Mars,” focuses on how privateering comes to be one of the avenues that the colonies and Continental Congress pursue as a means of fighting the war. It also concerns the steps in acquiring a ship, manning it, and accumulating the necessary legal documents for a privateering venture. The second chapter, “A Privateering We Will Go,” shares what life at sea is like, from the mundane to the exciting, while chapter three discusses actual engagements from the sighting of a potential prize to pursuit and capture. “Make Your Fortunes Now, My Lads,” the fourth chapter, examines the prize court system and how it can be as perilous or as rewarding to privateers as the actual captures are. The final chapter, “To Glory Let Us Run,” scrutinizes how privateers are viewed during and after the conflict.

Those who participated in privateering, either in actual combat or behind the scenes, came from different walks of life. Some were prosperous. Some dreamt of becoming so. The gamut of motivations ranged from patriotism to self-interest. What could not be denied was that the privateers and their deeds impacted the war effort. Initially, they were hailed as heroes, especially when most reports of the conflict were grim. Later, their reputations became tarnished and didn’t fit the persona of how the fledgling nation wished to be portrayed.

Declaring independence is a bold deed, especially when the new nation has no navy to speak of. Privateers fill that void and take the war directly to the British. Among the events discussed in the book are the Rhode Islanders’ attack on HMS Gaspee before the war, Massachusetts’s determination to lead the way in authorizing privateering, and case studies from the prize courts. Many individuals are introduced, some of whom are unknown to most readers, such as Elbridge Gerry, Thomas Willing, John Langdon, Josiah Bartlett, and Gustavus Conyngham. Others – John Adams, Edward Rutledge, Elias Hasket Derby, Captain Jonathan Haraden, and Benjamin Franklin to name a few – are more familiar. Endnotes provide source citations and additional information, while the bibliography provides additional avenues to explore, and the index permits readers to directly locate information. In addition, occasional illustrations enhance the reading experience.

One of Hulbert’s goals in writing The Untold War at Sea is to show the complexity of privateering and how it is viewed. In doing so, she demonstrates that the American Revolution is far more complex than we think and that privateers play a pivotal part in helping the colonies win their independence from Great Britain. This facet of maritime history and culture needs to be better understood and integrated into the historical narrative, and she does an excellent job in laying the groundwork for this. Even readers knowledgeable about privateering and the War of Independence will be surprised by what she has unearthed. All readers come away with a better understanding of who the privateers are, how they do what they do, and why it’s taken so long for their stories to be shared.

Review Copyright ©2022 Cindy Vallar

The Terror of the Seas? Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1713
by Steve Murdoch
Brill, 2010, ISBN 978-90-04-18568-5, US $199.00 / EUR €140.00

The Terror of the Seas? examines a 200-year period in Scotland’s maritime history. Although nearly surrounded by water, this country’s maritime history is often overlooked or given short shrift in history books. Steve Murdoch, a Professor in History at the University of Saint Andrews, remedies this in the fifty-eighth volume in the History of Warfare series. His research corrects erroneous conclusions other historians have drawn about Scottish naval warfare, and he consults a variety of primary documentation to present a more accurate and pioneering portrayal that provides readers and scholars with new perspectives on the importance of Scotland and her maritime history.

In the introduction, he disagrees with other historians as to the number of Scots who take part in the golden age of piracy. He also discusses the importance of privateers and the purposes they served in protecting Scottish maritime interests, especially since the lack of resources make it nearly impossible for the monarchy to maintain a large navy. Unlike other countries’ Lord High Admirals, Scotland’s is a hereditary office, and Murdoch shows how this affects the nation. Other points of discussion concern International Jurisdictions and Enforcing Jurisdictions: The Admiral, Maritime Warfare and the Privateer.

Since many Admiralty records from Scotland’s past are no longer available, Murdoch searches elsewhere for primary documentation, particularly the Scottish Admiralty Court records discovered in Scandinavia. This permits him to examine how the country’s maritime forces progress through a series of armed conflicts. Below is a list of the chapters and subtopics discussed in each. All chapters begin with a brief introduction and end with a summary.

Chapter One: Scottish Maritime Warfare, 1513-1560

• Maritime warfare in the Post-Flodden Period
• The Guerre de Course in the Majority of James V
• The Rough Wooings: The 1544 Hertford Campaign
• The Rough Wooings: Episodic Conflict, 1545-1547
• The Rough Wooings: Protector Somerset’s 1547 Campaign
• Maritime Operations, 1549-1552
• The Anglo-French War and the Scottish Reformation
• Scottish Admiralty Decisions in the 16th Century

Chapter Two: Letters of Reprisal

• The Barton-Portuguese Reprisal War
• Scottish Imperial Reprisals and the ‘Six Years War’, 1544-1550
• Reprisal Wars in Scandinavia and the Baltic
• Individual Reprisals

Chapter Three: ‘Peacetime’ and Piracy, 1560-1618

• Anglo-Scottish Piracy, 1560-1590
• Piracy and the Anglo-Spanish War
• Combined British Naval Operations after 1603
• The Politics of Piracy: Domestic
• The Politics of Piracy: International

Chapter Four: The ‘Marque Fleets’ of Scotland, 1618-1638

• The Spanish Threat
• The 1623 ‘Dunkirker’ Episodes
• The Marque Fleets of Scotland
• The Spoils of War: Analysis of Scottish Prizes and l
• Losses, 1626-1630
• The Hamburg Reprisal War, 1628-1643

Chapter Five: Scottish Maritime Warfare in the British Civil Wars, 1638-1660

• The Covenanters and Maritime Warfare
• The Solemn League and Covenant at Sea, 1643-1648
• Denmark and the British Civil Wars. Part One: The Blockade, 1642-1645
• Denmark and the British Civil Wars. Part Two: The Proxy War, 1644-1645
• From the Scottish Engagement to the Patriotic Accommodation, 1647-1651
• Charles II, Covenanted King of Great Britain
• The Cromwellian Usurpation, 1651-1660

Chapter Six: The ‘Scottish-Dutch’ Wars, 1665-1667 and 1672-1674

• Scottish Maritime Operations, 1665-1667
• ‘Per Mare Per Terras’
• Engagements in the Forth, April-May 1667
• Scottish Operations, 1672-1674
• Difficult Decisions
• Sweden, Holstein and the Problem of Neutrality

Chapter Seven: The Franco-Scottish Wars: 1689-1697 and 1702-1713

• French Operations, 1689-1697
• Queen Anne’s War, 1702-1713
• The Franco-Jacobite ‘Attempt’ of 1708
• Commercial Considerations

After the author’s conclusion, readers will find an extensive bibliography, seven appendices, a section of illustrations, and three indices: names, places, and subjects.

Of particular interest to those who study pirates and privateers are the conclusions and evidence Murdoch presents concerning pirates and privateers. It’s refreshing to learn about those outside of the English and their treatment under the law and the various monarchies. Most readers probably won’t be able to afford this book, but serious students of Scotland’s maritime history and collectors of maritime history will find a wealth of new and intriguing information. The book is authoritative and puts forth conclusions that dispel previous accounts of the country’s naval and maritime history, and Murdoch hopes this will encourage further studies in these topics.

Read an excerpt

Review Copyright ©2011 Cindy Vallar

Home

Pirate Articles

Book Reviews

Pirate Links

Sea Yarns Galore

Thistles & Pirates