Raiders and Rebels: The Golden Age of Piracy

by Sherry, Frank

• ISBN13: 9780061572845
• ISBN10: 0061572845
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2008-07-01
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

I he most authoritative history of piracy, Frank Sherry's rich and colorful account reveals the rise and fall of the real "raiders and rebels" who terrorized the seas. From 1692 to 1725 pirates sailed the oceans of the world, plundering ships laden with the riches of India, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean. Often portrayed as larger-than-life characters, these outlaw figures and their bloodthirsty exploits have long been immortalized in fiction and film. But beneath the legends is the true story of these brigands-often common men and women escaping the social and economic restrictions of 18th-century Europe and America. Their activities threatened the beginnings of world trade and jeopardized the security of empires. And together, the author argues, they fashioned a surprisingly democratic society powerful enough to defy the world.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. 7
Illustrations	p. 11
Our Lady of the Cape	p. 15
The Opening Gun: The Cruise of the Amity	p. 22
A Brilliant Time, a Brutal Time	p. 35
A Seaman's Lot	p. 52
The Very Model of a Pirate Villain	p. 67
The Outlaw Nation	p. 85
The Rage of Rich Men Balked	p. 101
On the Account: A Pirate's Life	p. 122
The Trusty and Well-beloved Captain	p. 149
A Voyage to Wapping	p. 181
Counterstroke and Intermission: The War Moves West	p. 196
Republic of Rogues	p. 207
Nemesis of Pirates: Woodes Rogers	p. 218
Blackbeard Himself	p. 235
Rogers at Bay	p. 253
The End on New Providence	p. 263
King of Madagascar	p. 280
Where White Men Die	p. 298
The Black Captain	p. 321
Demon's Destiny	p. 334
Saga's End	p. 346
Epilogue	p. 359
Notes	p. 367
Bibliography	p. 390
Index	p. 393
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