Villains of All Nations by Marcus Rediker

Yet, while pirates obviously need to survive and 'booty' was necessary for this, Rediker paints a much more nuanced understanding of pirate activity. What Rediker does instead is give an overview of the socio-economic background that propelled sailors into 'going on the account'. Others focus on individual pirates, such as Edward Teach (Blackbeard), or Anne Bonny, covering their exploits. Reading them through a libertarian lens, he explains their on-board democracy and other things as simply tools to extract profits from hapless merchants of the era. Peter Leeson, in his The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates, sees them as self-interested criminals intent only on securing the booty- e.g., profits.

One group simply condemns them as thieves and barbarians, but far more celebrate these pirates for a variety of reasons. I use this as a text book in my piracy class! If you want to know more about the famous pirates (e.g., Blackbeard, Black Bart, Anne Bonny, etc.), there are more comprehensive titles, but while Rediker does touch on some of the key figures, they are not the center point of the text.Īuthors writing about the Golden Age of piracy tend to come from several distinct camps. This is from a 'lefty' position, but Rediker considers a range of arguments here. Rediker does an excellent job in examining the social and economic conditions that helped lead to the explosion of piracy that rocked the mid-Atlantic and put it into context. Probably the best account of the Golden Age of piracy (1714-26) out there, and one I have read numerous times.

Villains of All Nations by Marcus Rediker