 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 18 January 2025)
Pirate Quote of the
Month
This Moor’s
ship had more value in
diamonds, rubies and emeralds,
with the richest of drugs, and
a great quantity of balm of
Gilead; all of which these
pyrates made waste of, and
suffered the same to lie
exposed to the wind and
weather on the island of St
Mary. There we found the ruins
of several ships and their
cargoes piled up in great
heaps, consisting of the
richest spices and drugs; all
of which they valued not: but
money, rich silks, diamonds
and other jewels, they took
care of; and all eatables and
drinkables which they fancied
. . .
— Clement
Downing, 1722
 January Article |
 January
Reviews |
Pirates
Party Hearty
Fun
When I
party, I party hearty
Fun is on
my mind . . .
(“Fun”
recorded by Sly & the Family
Stone,
Lyrics by Sylvester Stewart)
Pirate life was a combination of
tedious boredom and frenzied activity.
The former, which took up the majority
of their time, consisted of sailing
around, waiting for prey. The latter
occurred when prey was sighted, a
pirate hunter crossed their bow, or
dirty weather endangered the ship. So
when opportunity knocked, pirates
liked to party and they did so without
restraint.
Author’s Note:
While I
worked on this article, my father
passed away. He shared his affinity
for the water and boats with me in
my youth, which helped awaken a
desire to write about pirates. This
article is for him. Now that you are
at peace and without pain, Dad, may
you eat, drink, and be merry.
Lee Aker
Rest in peace
|
New
Kid on Deck
by Justin Somper
Adventure
Missing
at Sea
by Justin Somper
Adventure
Capitana
by Cassandra James
Fantasy
Across
the Sea
by Nie Dening & Zhang Yuan
Exploration,
Trade, & Travel
By
the Wind
by Xu Bin & Zhang Jinhong
Exploration,
Trade, & Travel
Fujian in
the Sea
by Chen
Shuoxuan
Exploration,
Trade, &
Travel
Clay and the River
of Silver
by Philip K.
Allan
Nautical
Fiction
A Return to Duty
by William C.
Hammond
Nautical
Fiction
Corsair
and the Sky
Pirates
by Mark
Piggott
Science
Fiction &
Steampunk
|
|
|
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.
Update: All review pages have been
completed. Rather than a front list of
all the books in a particular
category, reviews have been subdivided
into like topics, such as Biography:
Pirates and Privateers.
Also completed is a revised Recommended
Pirate Links page. Categories
have been expanded. Broken links
removed. New websites added. There is
also a link to a page that explains
the ratings given to these links.
If ye be wantin’ to read about
pirates, there be no better way
than to sneak a peek at the Summer
issue of Wreckwatch.
’Tis yours for simply visitin’
their website and addin’ your name
to the roll. The first treasure to
explore be about a 300-year-old
mystery. Your editor, Cindy
Vallar, investigates “Who Wrote
the First Pirate Blockbuster.” Ye,
o’ course, ken she’s wonderin’
just who be Captain Charles
Johnson, who put pen to paper to
regale us wi’ tales of famous
scurvy knaves.
 Editions
Cristale has published a new book
on French and European corsairs.
Longtime subscriber Roberto
Barazzutti is one of the
contributors to this collection of
essays that answers questions such
as were these privateers seeking
glory or profit, how were they
recruited, what happened to these
individuals, what impact did they
have on specific conflicts between
1689 and 1815. The book is in
French and is available directly
from the publisher
or through Amazon.
|
Winter
Shipyard Tour
3 January - 14
March 2025
Mystic Seaport Museum
Mystic, Connecticut
Gasparilla
Pirate Festival
25 January 2025
Tampa, Florida
USS Constitution
and the Barbary Wars Proving
Ground: The US Navy's
First Fight Against Piracy
5 February 2025
Live Virtual Museum Series
USS Constitution Museum
Brick
Wrecks
Sunken Ships in LEGO Bricks
8 March - 31 August 2025
The Historic Dockyard Chatham
Chatham, Kent, United Kingdom
Pirates
29 March 2025 - 4 January 2026
National Maritime Museum
Greenwich, United Kingdom
Bow
Lines
Maritime Literary Festival
6-7 June 2025
Exeter Custom House
Exeter, United Kingdom
Maritime
Heritage Conference
24-27 September 2025
Buffalo Convention Center
Buffalo, New York
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
e-mail provider returned it
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reasons: they deem it to be
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we will try to resolve the
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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