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Frank Sherry

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Raiders & Rebels: A History of the Golden Age of Piracy Kindle Edition

by Frank Sherry (Author) Format: Kindle Edition

4.6 65 ratings

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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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Piracy by European and American ships flourished in the years 16921725, and this absorbing book concentrates on that brief period, an era of such storied figures as Henry Every, Captain William Kidd, Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Bartholomew Roberts (Black Bart). Pirate life released sailors from the brutal oppression of regular merchant ships and national navies, and it was a time when the American colonies fostered piracy by buying stolen cargoes to circumvent Britain's Navigation Act. Sherry, whose avocation is sailing, traces the shifting political alliances that led to privateering, which in turn led to piracy, and show why the center of piratical activity shifted from Madagascar to the Bahamas. His book offers swashing and buckling to please romantics and factual information to satisfy historians. Illustrations not seen by PW.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In this wonderful book Sherry not only offers compelling stories of piracy between 1692 and 1725, but also provides a beautifully written explanation for the rise and fall of the great age of pirates and a fascinating account of the democratic "nation" of pirates. His narrative traces the roots of piracy to the quest for liberty and wealth in an age of oppression and debased poverty for the masses, and to the quasi-official sanction of church and state for privateering, the precursor to piracy. This is a popular history, short on historic subtlety, footnotes, etc., and long on romance, but that is a small price to pay for a book that is fun and action- and information-packed, and that helps us to understand pirates and the magic they stir in our imaginations. Jay R. Kaufman, Massachusetts Bay Marine Studies Consortium, Cambridge
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ B001EM0ZH6
Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperCollins e-books; Illustrated edition (August 19, 2008)
Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 19, 2008
Language ‏ : ‎ English
File size ‏ : ‎ 8911 KB
Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
Print length ‏ : ‎ 402 pages

Best Sellers Rank: #717,436 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- #169 in Maritime History & Piracy (Kindle Store)
- #171 in Ship History (Kindle Store)
- #329 in National & International Security (Kindle Store)

Customer Reviews:
4.6 65 ratings

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Edward Sapp

Can’t set it down

Reviewed in the United States on September 13, 2020

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Great blend of macro & micro detail, full global context why it all happened coupled with fascinating anecdotes of the characters that dominated the pirate outbreak

2 people found this helpful

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C. J. Bondi

You Can Learn Some History from a Book about Pirates

Reviewed in the United States on June 19, 2020

Title: Raiders & Rebels: The Golden Age of Piracy.
Author: Frank Sherry.
Publisher: Quill William Morrow (1986): New York.
ISBN: 0-688-07515-0.
399 pages.

Life among Americans and Europeans was miserable for most, a little more than three hundred years ago. It was a time before the rights of man were taken seriously among the working classes, sailors were without pensions or good medicine, and many men had recourse to an adventurous life at sea. This adventurous life thrived between 1690 and 1720 because there were profits to be made from plunder and because the British Royal Navy was not yet powerful enough to stanch the outlaw life. Those allied with a nation were privateers; those not so allied were pirates.

This is a book with a dozen or so chapters about pirate and privateer adventures. Often, these included men who, though supposedly allied with a nation, would take the opportunity to attack their own nation’s ships. This was the case for example with Henry Every’s mutiny of the slave ship Fancy. Every was such an extreme and varied character that recently a whole book has been written about him, while a chapter suffices for this one. These chapters are interesting in conveying the life style of pirates: the safe harbors, the threats of violence against and the boarding of even heavily armed ships, the use of religious bias to excuse attacking Muslim ships in the Arabian Sea, the relative freedom when not at sea, and the taking of slave ships for ransoming back to their captains.

This book focuses on the real lives of famous, or infamous, men whom many of us would have learned just a bit about by reading children’s stories. For example, we hear we learn about the real William Kidd – born into poverty in Scotland, later a successful merchant captain, and then, as befitting a legend, a frustrated seeker of rank in the Royal Navy. We learn in this book how his ambitions ultimately undo him. For another example, what about Black Bart? Bartholomew Roberts, born into a sternly religious family in Wales, later admired for competencies at sea, was all but a merchant captain. His reputation for imprudence kept him from command until a captain’s demise created an opportunity. He then terrorized shipping from the Guinea Coast to Brazil, and later up along the coast of North America.

But there’s a political context in which all this happens, in a world of over 300 years ago. This book, by mentioning the historical environment, incited me to investigate more fully the topics that are mentioned to better understand that era of the world preceding the American Revolution, but also very much involving Americans as British subjects.

First there’s the political economy of British colonization. The British viewed the North American colonies as a captive market for the monopolistic sale of its products, and likewise a captive source for raw materials. To enforce this idea, the British passed Navigation Acts, or more formally, Acts of Navigation and Trade. These were enacted from the 1650s and remained in effect until 1849. Such an act restricting trade created a environment in which black markets, e.g., markets for pirated goods, would flourish. Thus, the goal of monopoly created incentives for entrepreneurs of the privateer and pirate life.

Next, we can consider the role of one British king, William III, otherwise known as William of Orange. Though carrying some British ancestry, he was also a descendant of a German family, and was eventually the king of Holland. He was invited by Parliament to lead Britain in 1689 following his successful invasion (the last to successfully invade Britain) and the “bloodless revolution”. He is brought in as a Protestant, as someone amenable to Parliamentary power, and not least, as a staunch enemy of France’s Louis XIV. He is significant in this book at least by his efforts to protect British shipping, his diversion of forces from more distant places such as Madagascar to fight the French, and as the repository of Kidd’s ambitions for a naval commission, despite the latter’s errors in judgement.

Finally, among the major historical events that I will mention here, was the War of Spanish Succession. When Charles II, the last Hapsburg ruler of Spain died childless, succession would pass to a grandchild, Philip of Anjou, of Louis XIV. The combination that would result, between France and the intact Spanish Empire, was intolerable to Britain, Holland and others. In order to enhance their efforts against Spain and France in this war, Britain authorized privateering against its enemies. So, we can think of one’s own pirates as a potential force multiplier, enhancing the efforts of one’s navy. The culmination of this war was the Peace of Utrecht in 1713, which permitted Philip to become king of Spain (Philip V), but not of France and its possessions. This also happened to be the treaty which ceded to Britain the Mediterranean areas of Gibraltar and Menorca.

This mostly entertaining book brings the reader back to the world before American independence. In this world, trade in the oceans helped provide power but also required power to keep it safe. This book invites the reader to read its stories and also to be more aware of the evolution of European power relationships that would lead up to conflicts over North America, such as the French and Indian War, some 35 years following the time span this book covers.

Reviewed in the United States on January 28, 2017

Verified Purchase

By far the most informative book I have read on pirates. Sherry spins a a story about these robbers of the seas like no other. He touches on all the famous characters of golden age of piracy. Acedemics can learn a thing or two from this excellent account.

4 people found this helpful

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TL

There was more to piracy than lust for wealth, women, and rum

Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2016

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If you want a fun, easy reading, comprehensive history of piracy in the late 1600s and early 1700s this should be your first choice. Larger than life cast of characters. Interesting analysis on the social, economic, and governmental forces that gave rise to this intense outburst of seaborne piracy. Illustrations. Highly recommended.

4 people found this helpful

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Emily D. Hale

Difficult to put down.

Reviewed in the United States on December 28, 2013

Verified Purchase

An exceedingly interesting and informative book on the pirates and others of their ilk in the late 1600's, including what life was like on a pirate ship and what led up to their "golden age." Just as an example of detail, "walking the plank" was NEVER done on pirate ships, regardless of what the movies tried to make us believe.

4 people found this helpful

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Eric Hess

Aaaaarrrrrgh!

Reviewed in the United States on March 20, 2019

Verified Purchase

Great synapses of the short timeframe piracy was occurring & an unabashed overview of the main players involved

Reviewed in the United States on December 1, 2020

captivating!

Excellent book written in a clear and concise manner that ...

Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2017

Verified Purchase

Excellent book written in a clear and concise manner that a child can understand. recommended for anyone with an interest in history.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

John Doe

Causes & Evolution

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 30, 2015

Verified Purchase

This book is an excellent surprise, not only easy to read but also hard to put down, well organised, engaging and, yes, epic indeed.

It is an explanation of the causes and evolution of piracy itself and short chapters about given pirates that caused it rather than a serie of detailed biographies already read a thousand times in other books.

A recommended read for anybody.