This is a superb introduction to what has become known as the Golden Age of Piracy as it assumes that the reader has little or no prior knowledge of the topic. It's written in a casual, accessible manner and although there is a lot of information the book manages to maintain your interest throughout and stops short of being an information dump. It touches on key historical figures and the history of piracy but I would've liked more discussion on the perceived causes of the rise of piracy such as social and financial injustice leaving people feeling as though there was no alternative but to adopt that lifestyle.

What I found particularly fascinating was the author's differing opinion on pirates and privateers which are really one and the same. The only distinction is that privateers have authorisation from their government to attack foreign shipping and although that does not make it right, apparently every navy was "at it" in that time period. Given that the author has links to the British government and in particular those associated with the running of the Falkland Islands, of which he is an inhabitant, may provide insight into his way of thinking. He also explores the portrayal of pirates in the media where piracy appears to be glamourised, for example in Pirates of the Caribbean. However, I would've liked him to have discussed his thoughts on the historical adventure series, Black Sails given it is meant to be much more realistic. All in all, a concise and fascinating account of a subject most people know little about or what they do know has come from popular culture rather than reality.

Many thanks to Pen & Sword History for an ARC.

This book is a really great introduction to the history of the Golden Age of piracy. It isn't particularly in-depth, and the writing is rather informal, but it's easy to read and well-laid out, and would be an excellent first book for someone just starting to be interested in the history of piracy. Many history books assume a knowledge of the period which can be off-putting for the casual reader, but this is well-organised and easy to read, imparting a lot of information in a relatively short space.

There are biographies of many of the most famous pirates, as well as a few I had not heard of, as well as an overview of the period and the reasons behind the rise of piratical behaviour. As someone who is not familiar with the period, I found that this struck just the right balance between information and interest, and provided some great jumping-off points for further research. This book should appeal to the layman, but may be too simplistic for those who already have good knowledge of the subject.

The author also briefly touches on the reception of pirates in popular culture, but seems dismissive of the swashbuckling modern image of pirates, without really considering why they are the target of such dramatic fantasy - he particularly seems to dislike the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise! I would have loved to see his opinions on the more realistic depictions such as Black Sails, especially as there is a large section in this book about Benjamin Hornigold, Charles Vane, Jack Rackham, and Anne Bonny, all of whom feature heavily in Black Sails.

I enjoyed this book very much, and found it was pitched perfectly to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of the history of pirates.

An interesting look at piracy during the 18th Century however I felt a lot of key information was glossed over or missed. Admittedly it was a topic I had thoroughly researched so this may do very well for the curious layman. I did think the author might have looked at what generated piracy in the first place - social and financial injustice, for example. There were figures and places I would have expected to appear who were just absent which was odd considering a comparison was made with Sir Francis Drake who was definitely not opperating in the 1700s!

Pirates and Privateers tells the story of the buccaneers who were the scourge of 18th century merchants. It looks at their lifestyle, their ‘code’ and punishments. The book also examine the King’s Pardon, a desperate gamble that for once actually worked and looks at the role of various colonial governors in bringing piracy under control.
It may just be my interpretation but for me from the way it is written the author doesn’t seem to have a problem with the actions of English privateers who in reality were nothing more than pirates with a licence but objects to pirates and foreign privateers behaving in the same way, it almost seems as though the actions of Francis Drake and his ilk were acceptable as the money made from their activities went to the Crown helping to make England a global power.
The author briefly asks the question why did men become pirates, he gives two answers
1) They had been captured by pirates and were given the choice of joining the crew or dying
2) They were fed up with the discipline, poor pay and terrible conditions on board merchant ships,
but given that in the early 18th century most of the population was dirt poor surely desperation and injustice played a part as well. Add in the fact that compared to so called civilised society pirates were a lot more democratic and liberal, from one man one vote something that wouldn’t happen in Britain until the 20th Century, to same sex relationships which at that point in time would have had you executed in the ‘civilised world’, only at the end of the book does the author concede that a lot of piracy was and still is, such as that currently occurring off the coast of Somalia, borne out of injustice and while this does not excuse the actions of crime syndicates and warlords it does recognise that piracy has always been with us and unless we take steps to deal with the legitimate grievances of those who turn to piracy then it will always be with us.
The author also looks at the role of pirates in popular entertainment where for the most part the pirates are shown as swashbuckling heroes, given that many of the people he mentions in the course of the book it would have been interesting to know what he thinks about the portrayal of pirates in Black Sails.
Overall this is an interesting read, and a good starting point if you are interested in this time period.