Synopses & Reviews
"It's a rollicking tale, filled with rich details of the lives of men who, for their own personal gain, challenged the spread of empires."--Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Captains like Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane rallied with their fellow pirates to create the "Flying Gang," thus establishing The Pirate Republic-- a crude, distinctive, and all-too-brief democracy in the Bahamas. Indentured servants became free, blacks and runaway slaves could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by vote.
In cutting off trade routes, sacking slave ships, and severing Europe from its New World, the Pirate Republic shook the very foundations of imperialism and fanned democratic sentiments that would one day drive the American Revolution. They became heroes in the eyes of the people and, in this, their untold story, their glorious Republic lives again.
"The Republic of the Pirates" is the ultimate in beach reading - breezy, colorful, and rich in history and action."--Christian Science Monitor
"[A]n entrancing tale of piracy colored with gold, treachery and double-dealing."--Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram
COLIN WOODARD is an award-winning journalist. The author of The Lobster Coast: Rebels, Rusticators, and the Struggle for a Forgotten Frontier and Oceans End: Travels Through Endangered Seas, he is also a foreign correspondent for The Christian Science Monitor and The Chronicle of Higher Education. He lives in Portland, Maine. Contact him at www.republicofpirates.net.
Review
PRAISE FOR
THE REPUBLIC OF PIRATES"Fascinating . . . beyond rip-roaring adventure stories from the distant past, [the book offers] an opportunity to understand pirates as they truly were."and#151;The New York Times Book Review
"It's a rollicking tale, filled with rich details of the lives of men who, for their own personal gain, challenged the spread of empires."and#151;The Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
Synopsis
Welcome to the Pirate Republicthe early-eighteenth-century home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow piratesformer sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slavesthis "Flying Gang" 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. It cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. Imperial authorities and wealthy shipowners denounced its residents as the enemies of mankind, but common people saw them as heroes. 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.
Synopsis
An entrancing tale of piracy colored with gold, treachery and double-dealing (Portland Press Herald), Pulitzer Prize-finalist Colin Woodward's The Republic of Pirates is the historical biography of the exploits of infamous Caribbean buccaneers.
In the early eighteenth century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Edward Blackbeard Teach, Black Sam Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates -- former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves -- this Flying Gang 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.
They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. For a brief, glorious period the Republic was a success as the pirates became heroes in the eyes of the people.
Drawing on extensive research in the archives of Britain and the Americas, award-winning author 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.
Synopsis
The Republic of Pirates features the 18th-century pirates Edward andldquo;Blackbeardandrdquo; Teach and andldquo;Black Samandrdquo; Bellamy, both of whom rose from Englandand#39;s underclass to become wealthy, notorious, and enormously powerful. Along with their associates in the Bahamas-based andquot;Flying Gang,andquot; 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 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 members 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 shipowners 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 Bahaman lair and destroy any 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.
Synopsis
and#160;
The untold story of a heroic band of Caribbean pirates whose defiance of imperial rule inspired revolt in colonial outposts across the world
In the early eighteenth century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, andquot;Black Samandquot; Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow piratesandmdash;former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slavesandmdash;this andquot;Flying Gangandquot; 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. They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires, and for a brief, glorious period the Republic was a success.
About the Author
COLIN 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 Contents
Contents
prologueand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Golden Age of Piracyand#160; 1
chapter oneand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; The Legend (1696)and#160; 10
chapter twoand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Going to Sea (1697and#150;1702)and#160; 28
chapter threeand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; War (1702and#150;1712)and#160; 52
chapter fourand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Peace (1713and#150;1715)and#160; 86
chapter fiveand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Pirates Gather (Januaryand#150;June 1716)and#160; 115
chapter sixand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Brethren of the Coast (June 1716and#150;March 1717)and#160; 144chapter sevenand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Bellamy (Marchand#150;May 1717)and#160; 169
chapter eightand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Blackbeard (Mayand#150;December 1717)and#160; 194
chapter nineand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Begging Pardon (December 1717and#150;July 1718)and#160; 226
chapter tenand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Brinksmanship (Julyand#150;September 1718)and#160; 262
chapter elevenand#160;and#160; Hunted (September 1718and#150;March 1720)and#160; 282
epilogueand#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160;and#160; Piracyand#8217;s End (1720and#150;1732) and#160;311
acknowledgmentsand#160; 329
endnotesand#160; 333
indexand#160; 371