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This title in other editionseBook editionsThe Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Downby Colin Woodard
Review-A-Day"Like any good work of nonfiction, The Republic of Pirates is fascinating simply in the breadth of its research. I can't, of course, vouch for the book's historical accuracy, but Woodard has done an impressive job of sifting through conflicting, often apocryphal accounts and countless myths and legends to offer an engrossing depiction that is every bit as gritty, suspenseful, and electrifying as any fiction." Chris Bolton, Powells.com (read the entire Powells.com review) Synopses & ReviewsPublisher Comments:In the early eighteenth century a number of the great pirate captains joined forces, including Blackbeard, Black Sam Bellamy, and Charles Vane. This infamous "Flying Gang" was more than simply a band of thieves: Many of its member were sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves who turned to piracy as a revolt against the conditions they suffered on ships and plantations. Together they established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote. For a brief, glorious period the pirate republic was enormously successful. At its height it cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Britain, France, and Spain from their New World empires. The Royal Navy went from being unable to catch the pirates to being afraid to encounter them at all. Imperial authorities and wealthy ship owners denounced the pirates as the enemies of mankind, but huge numbers of common people saw them as heroes. Finally one man volunteered to pacify the pirates' Bahamian lair and destroy anyone who resisted — Woodes Rogers, a famous privateer himself and scion of a powerful merchant family. Drawing on extensive research in the archives of Britain and the Americas, Colin Woodard tells the dramatic untold story of the Pirate Republic that shook the very foundations of the British and Spanish Empires and fanned the democratic sentiments that would one day drive the American Revolution. Review:"Woodard (The Lobster Coast) tells a romantic story about Caribbean pirates of the 'Golden Age' (1715–1725)whom he sees not as criminals but as social revolutionariesand the colonial governors who successfully clamped down on them, in the early 18th-century Bahamas. One group of especially powerful pirates set up a colony in the Bahamas. Known as New Providence, the community attracted not only disaffected sailors but also runaway slaves and yeomen farmers who had trouble getting a toehold in the plantation economy of the American colonies. The British saw piracy as a threat to colonial commerce and government. Woodes Rogers, the governor of the Bahamas and himself a former privateer, determined to bring the pirates to heel. Woodard describes how Rogers, aided by Virginia's acting governor, Alexander Spotswood, finally defeated the notorious Blackbeard. Woodard's portrait of Rogers is a little flatthe man is virtually flawless ('courageous, selfless, and surprisingly patriotic'), and the prose is sometimes breathless ('they would know him by just one word...pirate'). Still, this is a fast-paced narrative that will be especially attractive to lovers of pirate lore and to vacationers who are Bahamas-bound. Maps." Publishers Weekly (Copyright Reed Business Information, Inc.) Review:"This breezy, fast-moving book is filled with exciting action and colorful characters. It will provide general readers and those with a special interest in the period much enjoyment." Booklist Review:"Woodard focuses on a trio of pirates....This strategy, which Woodard undertakes with the enthusiasm of a mad researcher...ultimately sinks his ship. This well-written book commits an offense that deserves a plank walk: rendering the piratical life boring. (Grade: B)" Entertainment Weekly Book News Annotation:Woodard, a journalist and author, recounts the lives of early
eighteenth century Caribbean pirates known as the "Flying Gang." He
draws from archival materials from Britain and the Americas to
describe the Golden Age of Piracy and four of its most prominent
figures: pirates Samuel "Black Sam" Bellamy, Edward "Blackbeard"
Thatch, Charles Vane, and Woodes Rogers, who was sent to confront
them.
Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com) Synopsis:In this unique and fascinating book, Woodard brings to life the virtually unexplored chapter of the Republic of Pirates — a notorious and enormously powerful cooperative headed by Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy — and its ultimate defeat. Synopsis:The Republic of Pirates features the 18th-century pirates Edward “Blackbeard” Teach and “Black Sam” Bellamy, both of whom rose from England's underclass to become wealthy, notorious, and enormously powerful. Along with their associates in the Bahamas-based "Flying Gang," Teach and Bellamy banded together to form a pirate cooperative, culminating in a form of government in which blacks were equal citizens, the rich were imprisoned, and a sailor could veto his captain by egalitarian means. For a brief, glorious period they were astoundingly successful, and so disruptive to shipping that the governors of Jamaica, Virginia, Bermuda, and the Carolinas all began clamoring for intervention. One man volunteered to take on the pirates--a man named Woodes Rogers, once a privateer himself and now the owner of a merchant fleet. Rogers vowed he would not rest until he had destroyed Teach and Bellamy. Here is the true story of the rise and fall of the Republic of Pirates. Synopsis:In the early eighteenth century a number of the great pirate captains, including Edward "Blackbeard" Teach and "Black Sam" Bellamy, joined forces. This infamous "Flying Gang" was more than simply a thieving band of brothers. Many of its members had come to piracy as a revolt against conditions in the merchant fleet and in the cities and plantations in the Old and New Worlds. Inspired by notions of self-government, they established a crude but distinctive form of democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which indentured servants were released and leaders chosen or deposed by a vote. They were ultimately overcome by their archnemesis, Captain Woodes Rogers—a merchant fleet owner and former privateer—and the brief though glorious moment of the Republic of Pirates came to an end.In this unique and fascinating book, Colin Woodard brings to life this virtually unexplored chapter in the Golden Age of Piracy. About the AuthorColin Woodard writes for the Chronicle of Higher Education and is the author of The Lobster Coast and Ocean's End. He lives in Portland, Maine. Table of ContentsContents prologue The Golden Age of Piracy 1 chapter one The Legend (1696) 10 chapter two Going to Sea (1697–1702) 28 chapter three War (1702–1712) 52 chapter four Peace (1713–1715) 86 chapter five Pirates Gather (January–June 1716) 115 chapter six Brethren of the Coast (June 1716–March 1717) 144 chapter seven Bellamy (March–May 1717) 169 chapter eight Blackbeard (May–December 1717) 194 chapter nine Begging Pardon (December 1717–July 1718) 226 chapter ten Brinksmanship (July–September 1718) 262 chapter eleven Hunted (September 1718–March 1720) 282 epilogue Piracys End (1720–1732) 311 acknowledgments 329 endnotes 333 index 371 What Our Readers Are SayingAdd a comment for a chance to win!Average customer rating based on 1 comment:
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