The Pirate Wars by Peter Earle

The Pirate Wars by Peter Earle

Investigating the fascination pirates hold over the popular imagination, Peter Earle takes the fable of ocean-going Robin Hoods sailing under the "banner of King Death" and contrasts it with the murderous reality of robbery, torture and death and the freedom of a short, violent life on the high seas.

The Pirate Wars charts 250 years of piracy, from Cornwall to the Caribbean, from the 16th century to the hanging of the last pirate captain in Boston in 1835. Along the way, we meet characters like Captain Thomas Cocklyn, chosen as commander of his ship "on account of his brutality and ignorance," and Edward Teach, the notorious "Blackbeard," who felt of his crew "that if he did not now and then kill one of them they would forget who he was." Using material from British Admiralty records, this is an account of the Golden Age of pirates and of the men of the legitimate navies of the world charged with the task of finally bringing these cutthroats to justice.

Earle, Peter: - Peter Earle formerly taught at the London School of Economics and is now Emeritus Reader in Economic History at the University of London. He is the author of more than a dozen books on English social and maritime history, including The Sack of Panamü¾Œ–”¼, and The Pirate Wars, among many others. He lives in England.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780312335809
ISBN 10	0312335806
Title	The Pirate Wars
Author	Peter Earle
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	St. Martins Press-3PL
Year published	2006-06-27
Number of pages	320
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.