 Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime
Piracy
Cindy Vallar, Editor
& Reviewer
P.O. Box 425,
Keller, TX 76244-0425
 
Welcome aboard Pirates and
Privateers, a site devoted to the history
of maritime piracy, privateering, and the sea
before the Age of Steam.
Within these pages you will find articles
dealing with the history and culture of these
topics from ancient times to modern day. Click
one of the links above or below to explore the
treasures within this website.
Each month, I send out a newsletter
about the latest article and reviews posted
here. I also include information that doesn't
appear at Pirates and Privateers, but is
still of interest to adherents of piracy and
maritime history. By subscribing to the
newsletter, you'll never miss out on the latest
happenings here at Pirates and Privateers.
As
always, if you have a question about pirates,
please write
and ask. If there is a particular pirate
or subject, you'd like me to write about, let
me know.
One cautionary note for those
seeking genealogical information: Historical
records about pirates are rare. Much of what
is known comes from government records,
newspaper accounts, and the few contemporary
accounts written during a particular period.
This information rarely contains details
pertinent to what you need to know to identify
an ancestor. The simple fact is that the vast
majority of pirates' names remain unknown. I cannot answer
genealogical questions. Instead, I recommend
contacting genealogical depositories and
websites, historical societies, and
national archives --
places where the librarians and curators are
better trained to assist in this type of
query.
A special note to teachers
and students: If
you need help with a project or
report, please contact
me. Should you use any of my
articles or reviews, please let me
know and remember to include the
proper citation. The majority of
material contained with this
website is copyrighted.
Fair winds and following seas,
Cindy
(site last updated 20 February 2026)
Pirate Quote of the
Month
Judge Hopson: Why were you so
cruel as to kill so many persons, when you
have got all their money, which was all
you wanted?
Charles Gibbs: The laws are the cause of
so many murders . . . Because a man has to
suffer death for piracy; and the
punishment for murder is no more. They you
know, all witnesses are sent out of the
way, and I am sure if the punishment was
different, there would not be so many
murders.
~ Journal of
Commerce, 7 April 1831
 February Article |
 February
Reviews |
A New Nation
Joins the Fight against Piracy
Law & Order: Pirate Edition (part 6)
When in the Course of
human events, it becomes necessary for
one people to dissolve the political
bands which have connected them with
another, and to assume among the powers
of the earth, the separate and equal
station to which the Laws of Nature and
of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind
requires that they should declare the
causes which impel them to the
separation.
The
opening words of the Declaration of
Independence not only proclaimed a
separation of thirteen American colonies
from Great Britain, but the document also
established the foundation of a new
country. In order to succeed, this infant
nation needed to establish law and order
separate from the rules and legislation
that originally governed these states.
This included dealing with the age-old
problem of piracy.
|
The Summons
by
MaryLu Tyndall
Romance
Land
of the Wolf
by James L.
Nelson
Historical
Fiction & Historical
Mystery
Pirates,
Punters, and
Politicians
by Val
Hamilton
History
|
|
|
Pirate & Maritime News
|
Events & Activities
|
Some pages remain in the
old style, while others are in the new
style. We apologize for this. After
twenty-four years, there are many
pages to overhaul and this takes time.
We appreciate your understanding and
patience.
|
Gasparilla
Outbound
Voyage
(final voyage)
28 February
2026
Tampa, Florida
Searle's Sack of St. Augustine
6-8 March 2026
St. Augustine,
Florida
Pirates on the Prairie XIII
21 March 2026
Grand Prairie,
Texas
Pirate Days
16-17 April
2026
Mystic Seaport
Museum
Mystic,
Connecticut
Pirate Fest
25 April 2026
Greenville,
North Carolina
Pirate & Boots Festival
25 April 2026
Houma Downtown
Marina
Houma,
Louisiana
Sail 250th New York
4 July 2026
New York City, New York
|
The Rebel & the Spy
These
five people played roles in the War of 1812.
James Madison (far left) was president at
the time and, in my current
work-in-progress, he has a special
assignment for Lucas Burnett, one of the
protagonists in the novel. Jean Laffite
(beside Madison) operates a smuggling
operation, based on barrier islands
southwest of New Orleans. One of his
captains, is Dominique You, whose sister
Alexine has been raised in this nefarious
world of smugglers, pirates, privateers, and
cutthroats. Dolley Madison is the country's
presidentress (first lady) and plays a vital
role in preserving some of our national
treasures during the British invasion of
Washington City. General Andrew Jackson
(second from right) has no intention of
allowing the British to gain entry to the
United States through its back door (the
Mississippi). Governor William C. C.
Claiborne (far right) is Lucas's cousin and
a constant thorn in Laffite's side. They
come together within the pages of The
Rebel & the Spy, a historical
novel where it's not always easy to decide
who is the rebel and who is the spy.
The links below are to a gallery of places
depicted in my novel and a resource list for
those seeking information on the people
pictured above, pirates, ships in the age of
sail, the Battle of New Orleans, the
invasion and burning of Washington, the
bombardment of Fort McHenry, and much more.
(Please note that these pages are updated
from time to time, so check back to see
what's been added.) I hope you enjoy.
Pirates & Privateers
Newsletter
Each month I alert
readers to the posting of the
latest piracy article and book
reviews, new additions made to the
website, and interesting maritime
tidbits. If you would like to
receive the monthly Pirates
& Privateers Newsletter,
send
me an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in
the subject line.
If you're not sure,
here's a sample
newsletter to read. I hope
you enjoy!
Note
to subscribers: If you fail
to receive your newsletter,
it's possible that your
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problem.
If your
newsletter bounces two months
in a row and you don't contact
me, I just delete you from the
subscriber list. You're
welcome to resubscribe if that
occurs.
Copyright ©2023 Cindy
Vallar
Click to contact me
Background image compliments
of Anke's Graphics |
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