Enemies of all The rise and fall of the golden age of piracy

Maritime piracy in the late 1600s and the early 1700s inspired popular contemporary accounts that established images of piracy, and of particular pirates, that endure today. The ur-text is The General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724, with multiple editions full of fact and fiction that Blakemore compares with historical records to determine what is true and not. Pirates Henry Morgan, Henry Every, William Kidd, Edward Teach (Blackbeard), and Anne Bonney did exist, and Blakemore strives to explain what propagated their practices of sea-borne robbery. The principal catalyst was imperial rivalry in the New World between Spain, France, England, and Holland. Whenever a declared war commenced amongst these powers, sailors fought; when a treaty ended the war, they were unemployed. They gravitated to Caribbean Sea localities like Jamaica's Port Royal, where they could sell anything they could steal. As Blakemore describes ventures launched from there and elsewhere, he chronicles London's governmental attempts to suppress piracy in the colonies, including Jamaica, resulting in convictions and hangings in 1696 (of Every's crew) and in 1701 (of William Kidd). With an emphasis on the legal technicalities that define piracy, and a narrative thread of pop-culture pirate icons and images rooted in this era, Blakemore presents an informative and entertaining history.

Although a malefactor throughout history, the stereotypical pirate appeared in the turbulent decades from 1650 to 1730, and this is an entertaining account of that era. In his first nonacademic book, Blakemore, who teaches social and maritime history, opens with a summary of post-Columbus Europe, when nations seemed mostly at war; even when they were at peace, they burned with envy at Spain, which had hit the jackpot in the New World. Many other European nations' colonies turned up no mountains of gold and silver, but war offered the opportunity of raiding Spanish cities or seizing their treasure ships, an occupation open to entrepreneurs. Individuals could obtain official permission to attack enemy commerce and sail off in their own "privateers" to do so. Francis Drake, who delivered a fortune in Spanish wealth to Queen Elizabeth, was considered a pirate in Spain for actions that were legal in England. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 vastly reduced conflicts between European imperial powers but left a mass of unemployed "freebooters." Furthermore, the agreement did not apply in the New World, where maritime plundering continued without official support. Traditional accounts portray pirates as captains of rogue warships preying on peaceful commerce, but it was more profitable, if riskier, to loot seaside towns. Blakemore's iconic figure is Henry Morgan (1635-1688), a successful Welsh privateer who continued raiding after it became illegal. The so-called golden age of piracy lasted until the 1730s, and the author's lively account features the well-known (Blackbeard, William Kidd), along with more obscure figures. Blakemore concentrates on the Caribbean and Atlantic sea lanes but does not ignore the rest of the world, and he pays close attention to European governments, which became increasingly concerned with suppressing piracy and, despite severe difficulties, enjoyed some success. Compelling maritime history. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.