Pirates & Privateers: Books for Adults~Disasters, Mutinies, & Shipwrecks

Mutiny on the Rising Sun: A Tragic Tale of Slavery, Smuggling, and Chocolate
by Jared Ross Hardesty
New York University, 2021, ISBN 978-1-4798-1248-6, US $25.00
Also available in other formats

Rising Sun peacefully navigated Caribbean waters in June 1743. “Murder! Murder!” The sudden cries rent the air as three mutineers carried out their bloody work. At least seven people died that night. Two survived because of the knowledge they possessed. Chained in the hold, bearing witness to the bloody deeds, were thirteen children and two young men, all enslaved and bound for the slave market in Barbados.

This account is far more than a simple trade venture gone awry. As Hardesty recounts, the events of that gruesome night – providing insight into what is known and can be hypothesized about the mutineers, the victims, and the witnesses – he reveals details of the smuggling cartel behind the voyage, the miseries of human trafficking, and an insatiable craving for wealth, power, and chocolate. How the mutineers are caught and what happens afterward brings the story to a conclusion.

Newark Jackson, a respected sea captain in Boston, had no idea this would be his final voyage aboard the schooner. Many knew that he owned a store that sold chocolate and that he owned slaves who turned the cacao beans into the popular commodity that people enjoyed; what was less known was that he also smuggled contraband into seaports.

Ferdinand da Costa, Joseph Pereira, and Thomas Lucas carried out the foul deeds. Ship’s mate William Blake and bosun John Shaw survived because of their training and experience, both of which aided them in thwarting the mutineers and bringing them to justice – a justice that was as brutal and horrific as the mutiny itself.

Two appendices cover circumstantial evidence, newspaper reports, and witness testimonies. Maps, advertisements, artwork, ship drawings, and photographs are also included. Endnotes and an index round out the book.

In his introduction, Hardesty describes this book as a “human history of smuggling.” (4) He deftly shows how and why illicit trade play a role in the lives of all those involved, either firsthand or peripherally. What happens aboard Rising Sun allows him to show us what drives these colonists to participate in the buying and selling of contraband, and how smuggling can result in the consequences that occur. Mutiny of the Rising Sun is an eye-opening examination of capitalism, exploitation, and racism during colonial times that still has repercussions for us today.

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Review Copyright ©2022 Cindy Vallar

The Naval Mutinies of 1797: Unity and Perseverance
edited by Ann Veronica Coats and Philip MacDougall
Boydell Press, 2011, ISBN 978-1-84383-669-8, US $99.00 / UK £65.00

Nearly a century ago, Conrad Gill wrote a definitive study, entitled The Naval Mutinies of 1797, about the mutinies in the British Royal Navy that occurred principally at Spithead and the Nore. This current volume, which has the same title, is meant “to complement his scholarship and re-examine some of his conclusions.” (xi) In the process of examining these mutinies, some authors also look at how they inspire later ones. One inspiration for this volume is the “need for new research into the empirical detail and interpretation of these mutinies”. (xiii) That information is assembled and compared here. Each chapter includes period documents such as “court martial papers, muster books, petitions, logbooks, subsequent remarks of naval officers, writings from the lower deck and witnesses.” (xiii)

When the crews of the Channel Fleet mutinied in February 1797 at Spithead, they stunned England because naval personnel had never protested on such a large scale. The mutinies eventually involved more than 100 vessels in five different anchorages, but their actions were later repeated by sailors in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Indian Ocean. Their grievances included poor pay, a more equitable sharing of prize money, better provisions, assistance to injured and retired seamen, and the removal of bad officers. The seamen had attempted more traditional methods of having these problems addressed, but when those failed, they refused to heed the command to put to sea. Although those involved in the Spithead mutiny gained concessions from the Admiralty and Parliament, the outcome of the Nore mutiny was far different than that of Spithead.

The sixteen essays in the book and their authors are listed below:

Spithead Mutiny: Introduction; The Delegates: A Radical Tradition; The 1797 Mutinies in the Channel Fleet: A Foreign-Inspired Revolutionary Movement?; and ‘Launched into Eternity’: Admiralty Retribution or the Restoration of Discipline? by Ann Veronica Coats

What Really Happened on Board HMS London? and The Spirit of Kempenfeldt by Daniel W. London

Voices from the Lower Deck: Petitions on the Conduct of Naval Officers during the 1797 Mutinies by Kathrin Orth

Crew Management and Mutiny: The Case of Minerve, 1796-1802 by Roger Moriss

The Nore Mutiny: Introduction; The East Coast Mutinies: May-June 1797; and ‘We went out with Admiral Duncan, we came back without him’: Mutiny and the North Sea Squadron by Philip MacDougall

A Floating Republic? Conspiracy Theory and the Nore Mutiny of 1797 by Christopher Doorne

Lower Deck Life in the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars by Brian Lavery

Discipline, Desertion and Death: HMS Trent 1796-1803 by Nick Slope

The Influence of 1797 upon the Nereide Mutiny of 1809 by Jonathan Neale

The Naval Mutinies of 1797 also includes brief paragraphs about the contributors’ qualifications, illustrations and tables, a select bibliography, and an index. Footnotes appear on the pages where the citation occurs, rather than at the end of the book, making it far easier to refer from one to the other.

Whereas many naval histories examine events from officers’ perspectives, this volume stresses perceptions from those who serve on the lower decks. The authors also re-examine and clarify exactly what mutiny means and how it can work legally within the framework of the Royal Navy. They clearly demonstrate that the participants follow the Rules and Orders and never intend to either cause a total overthrow or endanger national safety. They mutiny because they have no alternatives left. Anyone who reads about the history of the British navy encounters references to the Spithead and Nore mutinies, but the information provided is normally general in nature and of short duration. This volume delves into all aspects of the mutinies, from a variety of perspectives, and answers a host of questions while proposing new avenues for research or where further study is needed. The Naval Mutinies of 1797 is recommended for any student of the Royal Navy and for libraries with a particular interest in naval history.

Cover Art: The
Riddle of the
Caswell
Mutiny

The Riddle of the Caswell Mutiny
by Séamus Breathnach
Universal Publishers, 2003, ISBN 1581125771, US $25.95
Also available in other formats

In July 1876, two men face each other in a courtroom in County Cork, Ireland. Both have served aboard a merchant ship named Caswell. James Carrick, an Englishman, testifies that Christos Bombos, a Greek, participates in a mutiny that results in the deaths of five men.

When the Caswell sets sail from Glasgow in July 1875, sixteen men are aboard. What happens on the trip to South America is unknown, but once the ship docks in Buenos Aires in September, most of the crew opt to find other berths for the return journey. George Best, the captain of Caswell, has to find a new crew, and strives to find men of various nationalities -- English, Greek, Maltese, Irish, and German. On 4 December, they set sail to search for a cargo before returning home. Even before they depart for Queenstown on 1 January 1876, the German and the Irishman jump ship, never to be seen or heard from again.

Three days later, the Greeks and Maltese mutiny. Big George Peno stabs the captain twice before Guiseppe Pistoria shoots Best twice in the head. Next, Peno shoots the second mate, Allan McLean, in the arm, and then Cristos Bombos stabs him twice in the back and Gaspari Pistoria stabs him while singing. Nicholas Morellos and Big George stab first mate William Wilson, after which Giuseppe shoots him. Giuseppe next shoots the eighteen-year-old steward, Emmanuel Griffiths, then “cut[s] out his left breast.” Gaspari Pistoria shoots him in the ear. After the killings, they weight the bodies with anchors and toss them overboard.

The surviving crew members, including two young apprentices, are British, and they bide their time. After the Pistoria brothers take one of the boats and sail away in February, the British stage a mutiny of their own, killing Big George Peno and Nicholas Morellos but sparing Cristos Bombos. Under the command of James Carrick, Caswell sets sail for Queenstown, arriving on 13 May. Bombos is tried for murder twice -- the first trial ending in a hung jury. The second time the jury convicts him. Only one other mutineer, Giuseppe Pistoria, ever stands trial for his crimes but not until three years later.

The author begins the book with the intent of trying “to piece together . . . the events, which led to the mutiny -- and to shed some light on its antecedents as well as its awful consequences.” While he fails to achieve that goal, he does hypothesize as to why the foreigners mutiny rather than the British sailors. Breathnach’s research and knowledge of the case, the law, the time period, and life at sea aboard a sailing ship are quite evident, but in attempting to explain what happens and why, he sometimes spends too much time examining peripheral points, as he does when he devotes an entire chapter to the man who hangs with Bombos, or when explaining the business of hanging. At times, too, the author’s opinions on terrorism and jurisprudence intrude in the telling of the story. Those interested in mutinies, the legal system in Ireland, and unsolved mysteries will find this an intriguing puzzle of a mutiny rarely heard about in the annals of maritime history.

Cover Art:
Samuel Pepys
and the
Wrecking of
the
Gloucester

Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester: The Shipwreck that Shocked Restoration Britain
by Nigel Pickford
Pegasus Books, 2023, ISBN 978-1-63936-320-9, US $27.95 / CAN $36.95
Also available in e-book format

Samuel Pepys. His is a name well-known in naval and maritime circles. In 1682, he is forty-nine years old and wants to reclaim his former power and prestige. He has been ousted as secretary of the admiralty, where he had worked for two decades, until being accused of “Piracy, Popery and Treachery” and briefly imprisoned in the Tower of London. (6) Three years have passed and he is still unemployed, but now his prospects are looking up. Among his influential acquaintances are James, Duke of York, and his older brother, King Charles II, who is finally permitting James to return to London. Pepys is determined to be among the first to greet the prince and renew their friendship.

James had been named heir to the throne, but he and his wife, Mary of Modena, were neither Protestant nor popular with many people of the country. In fact, there were more than a few who wanted him dead. Now that he was back home, James wanted his wife, who was pregnant and still residing in Scotland, to join him. One might assume he would travel by land, but James loved ships and sailing, and never missed an opportunity to enjoy his passion, one that he shared with Pepys. So, in May 1682, he and some of his party boarded Gloucester. Although invited to sail with James, Pepys decided to board one of the other vessels that comprised the small flotilla heading north. This last-minute decision would later be described as one of divine providence.

Gloucester had been built in 1654, as a third rate of 755 tons and with a crew of 210 men and 52 guns. She was an old warship, had been in ordinary (meaning laid up rather than plying the oceans), and corruption was rife in the Royal Dockyards. Still, she and the vessels that would accompany her were made ready to sail. Soon after this flotilla set sail, observers saw that navigation skills left much to be desired. One ship became grounded on a sandbank. Two others got lost. Eventually, only five vessels remained with Gloucester. Then, at 5:30 in the morning, while sailing at around seven knots with a strong wind propelling her forward, Gloucester ran aground, the waves alternately lifting and dropping her onto a sandbank. Forty-five minutes later, she was gone and 200 people lost their lives.

Pickford recounts the events leading up to, during, and after the wrecking of Gloucester based on historical records (such as letters, diaries, log books, wills, and charts) to recreate what happens and to relate how it affects those who are participants either on the voyage or in the aftermath. The primary focus is on Pepys and James, but many others’ stories unfold here, including those who often go unnamed, such as Thomas Smith, who signed on as an able seaman to get out of debtor’s prison, leaving behind a wife who is blind and indigent; or Rowland Rowleson, who, two weeks before his departure, legally declares what should happen to his belongings should he die. The book includes two appendices (People On Board the Gloucester and Bounty Payments), eight pages of color illustrations, notes, a bibliography, and an index.

Perhaps more interesting than the groundwork and the wrecking itself is Pickford’s rendering of the aftermath of the wreck. He focuses not just on the facts, but also incorporates the rumors that pop up, such as the Fanatick Party’s avowal that the wrecking is a plot to kill James. Equally compelling is the fact that two courts-martial are held on the same day and at the same place, but only the transcript of the second trial remains. And the court-martial for Gloucester was anything but impartial, given that seven of the judges commanded other vessels in the same flotilla and one publicly argued with the defendant before the sinking. Pickford also ably demonstrates how media is manipulated even in the 17th century. Although he tends to jump back and forth in time throughout the narrative, Samuel Pepys and the Strange Wrecking of the Gloucester is an entertaining and enlightening glimpse into the past that reveals that, although centuries have passed, not much has changed.

Cover Art:
Shipwrecks and
Lost Treasures
Outer Banks

Shipwrecks and Lost Treasures Outer Banks: Legends and Lore, Pirates and More!
by Bob Brooke
Globe Pequot, 2008, ISBN 978-0-7627-4507-4, US $14.95 / CAN $18.95

Barrier islands stretching from Virginia to Cape Lookout, the Outer Banks have witnessed more than 100 shipwrecks and is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.” This collection of stories recounts twenty-four of those disasters between 1822 and 1912. It also provides a glimpse at the heroic deeds of those who help rescue the victims. The final chapter discusses the wrecking of and search for Queen Anne’s Revenge, Blackbeard’s flagship. Also included are a map depicting the locations of the shipwrecks, a glossary of nautical terms, and a list of additional resources. Paul G. Hoffman does the black-&-white illustrations that accompany the tales.

Rather than just a recitation of facts, these narratives unfold like short stories and mix dialogue with description. This makes the events more vivid and harrowing, and for the most part, the author achieves his goal. A few stories seem unfinished or lacking in suspense. They are presented in chronological order, which means the more gripping accounts are scattered throughout. Readers will need to read more than the first tale before being transported to the deck of a ship and becoming an eyewitness to the events that unfold.

Shipwrecks in 100 Objects: Stories of Survival, Tragedy, Innovation and Courage
by Simon Wills
Frontline Books, 2022, ISBN 978-1-52679-221-1, US $49.95 / UK £25.00
Also available in other formats

A rosary from the wreckage of Mary Rose, which Henry VIII witnessed sink. “The Shipwreck,” William Falconer’s poem based on his experience aboard Ramillies as a midshipman. A letter placed within a bottle from an officer who thought he and his family were about to die. The life jacket that saved one man’s life when his comrades, who wore none, succumbed. The anchor of a ship that sank in 1878 but was seen several times since then.

These are a few of the items showcased in this book about shipwrecks. They do not represent the 100 worst shipwrecks in history nor vessels other than British. Instead, the author seeks to touch our heartstrings, to make us care about the lives lost, the living, and the aftermaths of such tragic occurrences. To guide him in achieving this goal, Wills asks himself two questions: “is there a notable personal story to tell” and did the shipwreck contribute “something to the overall narrative of ancestors’ experiences at sea across centuries”? (13)

While tragedy abounds within these stories, there is also hope. Mention “shipwreck” and our thoughts immediately turn to the men, women, and children on the vessels at the time of the sinking. Or perhaps to their loved ones who bear the grief and adjust to severe changes in their circumstances because of the losses suffered. But there are also those determined to survive or to help, such as Grace Darling, who helps her father, the lighthouse keeper, rescue stranded victims.

Wills, perhaps better than another author, is the best person to write these stories. His family has gone to sea since the time of Queen Elizabeth I and some experience the wrecking of their ships firsthand. As a result, Wills’s abiding respect for the sea and empathy for victims, survivors, and rescuers are evident in each tale.

The selected objects include artifacts, medals, images, writings, charts, memorials, music, and buildings. Some are as intangible as storm clouds or sea monsters. Of particular interest to readers interested in maritime piracy are William Dampier’s giant clam, a Jolly Roger (representing pirates, like Samuel Bellamy who dies in a shipwreck or Edward Teach who wrecks his flagship), and a first edition of Robinson Crusoe, the lone survivor of a fictional shipwreck who survives on an island for twenty-eight years before being rescued.

Wills arranges the entries in chronological order, beginning with 1539 and ending in 2012 when two Titanic museums open 100 years after that ship sinks. Both an index and a table of contents that identifies and dates each object allow for easy access to individual shipwrecks.

This book is an eclectic collection of objects that introduces us to shipwrecks we probably may not know about but should. Wills hopes these intriguing stories spur us to learn more about the vessels and the tales they have to reveal.

Treasure Hunt: Shipwreck, Diving, and the Quest for Treasure in the Age of Heroes
by Peter Earle
Thomas Dunne, 2007, ISBN 978-0-312-38039-7, US $26.95 / CAN $31.25

The treasure galleons of Spain entice pirates and adventurers who seek easy riches, but far more of these ships sink during storms than are successfully seized by scoundrels of the sea. Others, too, seek the lost cargoes of gold, silver, and jewels, but their searches and finds require the skills of divers, who oftentimes submerge themselves without any equipment. This book explores the shipwrecks, the divers, and the history of diving from the 16th into the early 19th centuries. Through the use of primary documents, readers meet the people who finance diving operations and risk their lives to salvage the lost treasures. The primary focus concerns England and her colonies. There are extensive footnotes and bibliography, and the book has a comprehensive index.

"It is known that your islands are peopled by men who are intent rather on pillaging Spanish wrecks than planting, that they carry on their work by Indians kidnapped or entrapped on the coast of Florida . . . The sea ought to be free and the wrecks [belong to] the Spaniards." This quote is from Sir Thomas Lynch, Governor of Jamaica, whom students of piracy will readily recognize, but pirates play only a peripheral role in history within Treasure Hunt and are often referred to in a general manner, rather than by specific name. (One exception to this is Laurens de Graff.) Nevertheless, this account of maritime history provides a unique perspective from early divers, who clutch stones and dive beneath the waves, to the men who devise diving bells and other equipment to allow divers to remain under water longer.

Treasure Wreck: The Fortunes and Fate of the Pirate Ship Whydah
by Arthur T. Vanderbilt II
Schiffer, 2007, ISBN 978-0-7643-2739-1, US $19.95

Told tales of the pirate ship Whydah and her captain, Samuel Bellamy, as a child, Vanderbilt decides to explore the primary documents of the 1700s and discover the truth behind the legend of this pirate and the wreck of his ship off the coast of Cape Cod. The book opens with the tale of the 1643 Spanish fleet that encounters a hurricane and William Phips’s determination to locate the missing treasure that disappears beneath the waves. Stories of his successful find spur many, perhaps including Bellamy, to follow in Phips’s footsteps.

As is true with many pirates, Bellamy’s origins remain elusive until he steps onto the historical stage in 1716. Just the year before, another treasure fleet sinks off the coast of Florida, and Bellamy decides to attempt to reclaim some of the silver that is lost. Legend says he left to gain his fortune before he reunites with the love of his life, Maria Hallett, but she remains as mysterious as Bellamy’s life prior to his sailing. (That Halletts live on Cape Cod is documented, but no record of Maria has yet come to light.)

Bellamy hooks up with Paulsgrave Williams of Newport, Rhode Island, and while they initially search for the sunken bounty, the sea is reticent to divulge her secrets. They eventually team up with Benjamin Hornigold and begin plundering ships. One of these is Whydah, and once their fortunes are made, they sail north for home. A fierce storm blows up off Cape Cod, and the ship sinks, taking all but a handful of men with her to their graves. Although many contemporaries attempt to recover the sunken treasure, little is found.

No book on Bellamy and Whydah is complete without the story of Barry Clifford and his crew discovering the shipwreck. The original edition of this book ends with proof positive that they have found her – the ship’s bell with the inscription “The Whydah Gally 1716.” This revision includes a tenth chapter that discusses what other “treasures” Clifford uncovers, the court cases he fights, the conflicts between archaeologists and treasure hunters, and the establishment of a museum in Provincetown on Cape Cod to display the finds. My only complaint about the book is that this chapter’s different and noticeable format changes appear smaller in font size and lighter in print, which make it more difficult to read and is jarring to the eye. While there are no footnotes, a section at the end of the book provides information on the author’s sources. A nice addition to this edition is an index, which makes it easier to locate information within the book.

Vanderbilt also incorporates a lot of pirate history unrelated to Bellamy into his tale, which provides the reader with a better understanding of both the time period and what it was like to be a sea rover. Treasure Wreck is a rousing adventure of pirate success and demise, and the wonder of locating treasure long after Whydah takes the lives of many men so long ago.

Cover Art: The
Truth About
the Mutiny on
HMAV Bounty
and the Fate
of Fletcher
Christian

The Truth about the Mutiny on HMAV Bounty and the Fate of Fletcher Christian
by Glynn Christian
Pen & Sword, 2021, ISBN 978-1-39901-418-2, US $36.95 / UK £19.99

review by Irwin Bryan

This latest version of the Bounty mutiny is billed as “the truth” and claims to be based on details that come from the author’s exhaustive research into every aspect of the story. Newly-discovered details and contradictions of the known story are used to present this revised history. What follows are the details about Captain William Bligh and Fletcher Christian, beginning with their first merchant voyage together and incorporating their subsequent naval voyages too. Bligh has the higher rank and is Christian’s commander for years prior to the Bounty voyage. This is lorded over him often.

When some thinkers of the Royal Society considered ways to improve the diet and nourishment of Caribbean slaves, the botanists touted the breadfruit plants found in Polynesia. King George III was asked to send an expedition to get the plants. The small merchant ship Bethia was converted to house the plants for the voyage to the Caribbean, and re-christened as His Majesty’s Armed Vessel Bounty. Bligh and Christian were captain and lieutenant. A couple of midshipmen joined the crew, which included a master, carpenter, boatswain, cooper, and botanist, but no marines for keeping watches and defending the officers from harm.

The preparations for departure took too long and Bounty left late in the season, with winter storms and heavy seas expected off Cape Horn. After weeks of horrible weather, Bligh gave up and took the opposite course, heading east to the Indian Ocean. One midshipman, Peter Heyward, wrote an account of their battle with the storms in a letter sent from Cape Town. Despite the fact that his story was previously published and parts of his writings appeared in other books or documents, including Frank Snyder’s Life Under Sail (1964), the author of The Truth about the Mutiny claims he discovered this “new account.”

The months between Bounty’s departure from England, until the breadfruit plants are loaded for the voyage to the Caribbean, are discussed in detail. Also covered is Bligh’s treatment of the men, including how he micro-managed them, the lack of a fresh diet aboard Bounty while surrounded by fruits and animals on Tahiti, and his restrictions on the men’s lust for the Polynesian women.

Once the ship sails, there is clear evidence of Bligh’s harassment of Fletcher Christian. The author highlights several ways this animosity keeps increasing and how most of the crew witnesses its impact on Christian. He knows the voyage will take many months before he sees England again, and that he cannot survive under Bligh and his ways. Christian considers taking one of the boats to escape, but decides it will be better to make Bligh leave and install himself as the captain to lead and care for the crew.

The book’s author includes a chapter entitled “Mad to do it – or Mad?” in which he discusses the question of Christian’s health and sanity. Here again, the author touts his research for uncovering this “new” suggestion. But this issue of Christian’s mental state appears in earlier published accounts about the mutiny, including Sir John Barrow’s Eventful History of the Mutiny and Piratical Seizure of H.M.S. Bounty: Its Cause and Consequences (1831), which quotes Fletcher Christian’s statement, “That, — Captain Bligh, — that is the thing; — I am in hell! — I am in hell!” This statement clearly indicates Christian feels pressure from Bligh’s treatment and explains why he removed Bligh.

The mutiny is told in great detail, followed by a chapter about Bligh’s open boat voyage and an account of Bounty as a storeship travelling through Polynesia in search of a home. The author also talks about a second breadfruit expedition; HMS Pandora’s search for the mutineers; and their subsequent capture and courts-martial. There is an inset of black-&-white photos, a short list of sources, and an index to provide more details to readers.

In addition, this book covers life on Pitcairn Island. It includes a step-by-step recounting of Massacre Day when male natives kill several white men and take their women, as well as Bounty’s post-mutiny wandering through Polynesia. This new information comes from Jenny, the only native woman to leave the island. She tells the stories to a sea captain in 1817. More than a century later, the incidents and places she describes are mapped out to show Bounty’s many wanderings.

Written by the great-great-great-great-grandson of Fletcher Christian and his Tahitian consort, Mauatua, this book is an enjoyable retelling of the Bounty mutiny and its aftermath with some new material added. Royal Navy fans and folks interested in examples of the life of a sailor, or law students interested in following every detail of the courts-martial and punishments will benefit from reading this new entry on the subject.