Specialized
Non-Fiction on Piracy, Privateering & Related Topics
(** = Book is in editor's library)
(# = While not possessing it, editor has read the book)
Andrews, K. H., Elizabethan Privateering: English Privateering During the Spanish War, 1585-1603 [London & New York, 1964]. Authoritative and enthralling.
Beater, Jack, Pirates and Buried Treasure, [Great Outdoors Publishing Co., 1959]. A colourful, if not totally accurate, account of Pirates in Florida as compiled from a mixture of historic fact, myth and fabrication.**
Belgrave, Sir Charles, The Pirate Coast, [G. Bell & Sons, LTD, London, 1966] Hardcover, 200 pp. Piracy in the Persian Gulf and along the Trucial Coast (the Pirate Coast), told by the man who was adviser to the Sheiks of Bahrain for 31 years.**
Berckman, Evelyn, Victims of Piracy: The Admiralty Court 1575-1678 [Hamish Hamilton, 1979] A collection of court records (in lovely Elizabethan language) with a neat little commentary that bubbles with humor and enthusiasm. (from Joan Druett)
Biddulph, John, The Pirates of Malabar, and An Englishwoman in India Two Hundred Years Ago [1907]. Online version , Gutenberg online version
Briggs, Peter, Buccaneer Harbor. [N.Y., Simon & Shuster. 1970]. History of the famous pirate haven, Jamaica's Port Royal.
Buissert, David & J. Tyhdale-Biscoe, Historic Jamaica: From the Air, [Ian Randle Pub, Kingston, Jamaica; ISBN: 9768100648, 1997] This is chock full of photographs, historic and modern maps, and historic prints on most every page. After describing the land and people before Columbus arrived, Buisseret covers the 16th c. Spanish period, the 17th c. invasion of the English and pirates, the 18th c. plantation system, 19th c. emancipation, and 20th c. independence, often giving fascinating tidbits of information that are hard to find elsewhere. The crown jewel of this book is the frontispiece – a reconstructed sketch map of the famous pirate haven, Port Royal "as it may have appeared in about the year 1690".**
Buisseret, David & Michael Pawson, Port Royal, Jamaica,, [Oxford, 1975]. Very well documented and detailed account of the buccaneer port and British naval base.**
Burg, B. R., Sodomy and the Perception of Evil: English Sea Rovers in the Seventeenth-Century Caribbean, [New York University Press, NY & London, 1983]. In-depth study of the social environment and economic pressures of Britain and the Caribbean colonies that encouraged a very homosexually-oriented British Navy, and an even more homosexually-oriented Buccaneer community.**
Butler, Lindley S., Pirates, Privateers and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast, [University of North Carolina Press, 2000]. Eight fascinating characters are portrayed in this book of the Carolina waters. Pirates Edward Teach and Stede Bonnet, and privateer Otway Burns are amongst those featured. Impressive bibliography, and good index.**
Cahill, Robert Ellis, New England's Pirates & Lost Treasure [Chandler-Smith Pub. House, 1987] Small interesting booklet, on known & unknown pirates of the area.**
--, Finding New England's Shipwrecks & Treasures [Chandler-Smith Publishing House, 1984] Small booklet on the "Whydah", and various other shipwrecks.**
Clifford, Barry, The Pirate
Prince: Discovering the Priceless Treasures of the Sunken Ship Whydah
[Simon & Schuster, 1993]. From childhood, Barry Clifford heard
tales of the pirate Sam Belamy, and his stolen ship the Whydah, said to
have sunk off the Cape Cod coast during a storm, not far from his childhood
home. Follow Clifford as he takes on the project of finding and recovering
the wreck of the Whydah. Many photos, some in color, showing artifacts
recovered..**
__, Expedition Whydah, [Cliff Street Books, 1999], updates
the adventure begun in "The Pirate Prince". Well illustrated
with many photographs and illustrations.**
Cochran, Hamilton, Freebooters of the Red Sea. [Bobbs-Merrill, 1965].
--, Pirates of the Spanish Main, [American Heritage Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1961]. Though a young adults book, this book is a very good reference, with information presented clearly and concisely, with many illustrations & charts.#
Course, Captain A. G., Pirates of the Eastern Seas. [Frederick Muller, 1966]. Pirate exploits from the Gulf of Aden to the Sea of Japan.
Creighton, Margaret & Lisa Norling, ed. Iron Men & Wooden Women: Gender and Seafaring in the Atlantic World, 1700 -1920 [Johns Hopkins, 1996]. While exploring the history of women in the seafaring community during the Anglo-American age of sail, the editors include a chapter on the careers of the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. They also look at other women who dressed as men to serve on the crews of sailing ships.**
Day, A. Grove, Pirates of the Pacific, [Meredith Press, New York, 1968]
de Pauw, Linda Grant, Seafaring Women, [Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, 1982]. Very interesting book. Covers sea-faring women who were pirates, warriors, whalers and traders.#
Dow, George Francis & Edmonds, John Henry, Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730, [1923 (Dover reprint 1996)]. Based on original documents from Mass. & Vice-Admiralty Courts. Includes maps & illustrations.**
Druett, Joan, She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea, [Simon & Schuster, 2000]. This is a book about bold women of the sea. While not just about pirates, several chapters do focus on female pirates, including: Alfhild, Grania O'Malley, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, Chinese pirates, and more. This author does not try to impose a feminist agenda.**
Earle,Peter, Corsairs of Malta & Barbary, [London, 1970]. Detailed account of the Mediterranean Corsairs.
Fisher, Sir Godfrey, Barbary Legend: War, Trade and Piracy in North Africa, 1415-1830 [Oxford and New York, 1957].
Forester, C. S., The Barbary Pirates [London, 1956; New York, 1970]. A juvenile book written by the author of the Capt. Hornblower series. Good information.#
Furneaux, Rupert, The Money Pit Mystery, [Dodd, Mead & Co., NY, 1972] Treasure hunt, mystery story, and pirate tale all rolled into one. Maps, charts, and numerous photographs.**
Galvin , Peter R., Patterns of Pillage : A Geography of Caribbean-Based Piracy in Spanish America 1536-1718, [Peter Lang Publishing, 1999].
Gerhard, Peter, Pirates of the Pacific: 1575-1742 [1960, reprint Univ. of Nebraska Press 1990]] Covers almost two centures of piracy on the West Coast of Mexico by English, Dutch and French buccaneers. Well researched, extensive bibliography. **
Grey, Charles, Pirates of the Eastern Seas (1618-1723). [1933; reprinted, Kennikat Press, 1971].**
Hepburn, James, The Black Flag: True Tales of Twentieth-Century Pirates, [Headline Book Publishing, London, 1994]. The 15 stories of modern piracy in the 20th c. contained in this book range from the bizarre to the purely bloody--from the anarchy of the China coast in the twenties to the cocaine wars of the seventies and the present-day perils off the Straits of Malacca--clearly showing that piracy is not dead.
Hill, Richard, The Picaroons; or, One Hundred and Fifty Years Ago, [1869 (reprinted, Books for Libraries Press, Freeport, New York, 1971)]. The little book focuses on the activities of DuCasse, Blackbeard, Rackam, Mary Read, and Anne Bonney, as well as with some of the later pirate activities of the 18th Century.#
Horner, Dave, The Treasure Galleons,[ New York, 1971; London, 1974].
Howse, Derek & Thrower, Norman J. W. (ed.), A Buccaneer's Atlas: Basil Ringrose's South Sea Waggoner [University of California Press, 1992] Elaborate reproductions of charts & maps, with annotations.**
Jacquier, Henri, Piracy in the Pacific, June P. Wilson trans., [Dodd, Mead & Co., New York, 1976]
Johnson, Cathy, Pirates in Petticoats: A Fanciful & Factual History of the Legends, Tales and Exploits of the most notorious Female Pirates and also Some Lesser Known Women Who Plied the Seas and inland Waterways for Fortune, Adventure & Romance From Ireland, China, The Bahamas, and the Barbary Coast to the Americas [Graphics/Fine Arts Press, 2000] This is a nice little booklet (with a very long title) about most of the known female pirates. **
Kemp, P. H., and Christopher Lloyd, The Brethren of the Coast: British and French Buccaneers in the South Seas (London, 1960; New York, 1961). Morgan, Sharp, Dampier, Rogers, & others who invaded the Pacific waters. 16 good illustrations.**
Klausmann, Ulrike; Marion Meinzerin and Gabriel Kuhn, translated by Nicholas Levis, Women Pirates and the Politics of the Jolly Roger, [Black Rose Books, 1997?] Very good sections on Asian pirates, but I would take their material on European and New World pirates with a lot of grains of salt. The authors seem to have a feminist agenda. Frustratingly, no index.**
Lane, Kris, Pillaging the Empire, [M.E. Sharpe, 1998], also published as Blood & Silver: A History of Piracy in the Caribbean and Central America, [Signal Books, 1999]. New study of the subject, exploring many primary sources, looks at the motives of piracy. Intriguing sidebars at the end of each chapter covering topics such as navigation, food, drink, period games and gambling, contempory salvaging techniques, coins and 17th c. shipbuilding. **
Lloyd, Christopher, English Corsairs on the Barbary Coast, [London, 1981].
Macintyre, Donald, The Privateers, [1975] From Elizabethan times through the U.S. civil war: The Spanish Main, the French corsairs and the British & American privateers.
Marley, David F., Pirates and Privateers of the Americas, [1994] An encyclopedia of piracy in the New World. While not as generally as encompassing as Rogozinski's "Pirates: An A-Z Encyclopedia", but more detailed and trustworthy for those entries it does have. Provides references for each entry. Well indexed, and with a good bibliography. **
Marx, Robert F., Pirate Port: The Story of the Sunken City of Port Royal, [Ohio, 1967].# Port Royal Rediscovered, [Garden City, NY, 1973]. Written by the underwater archeologist exploring Port Royal, both texts discuss the history of Port Royal and the buccaneers.**
Nesmith, Robert I., Dig for Pirate Treasure, [Devin-Adair Co., New York, 1958]. Tells about the people who are finding treasure left by pirates and buccaneers, about sunken galleons known to be loaded with treasure still waiting to be discovered. Also contains the story about Blackbeard’s silver-plated skull.#
Ormerod, H. A , Piracy in the Ancient World, [c. 1924 (republished by Johns Hopkins University Press)]. This scholarly book focuses on piracy in the Mediterranean during the Greco-Roman period. Drawing on historical records from ancient Greece and Rome, Ormerod reconstructs the early days of piracy, detailing the pirates' routines and tactics.
Paine, Ralph D. The Book of Pirate Treasures, [Rio Grande Press (reprint of the 1911 "The Book of Buried Treasure")]. Informative & reliable, dealing with treasures beneath the sea, pirates, plunder, gold, jewels, silver and adventure. Lots of clues for treasure hunters.#
Pawson, Michael & David Buissert, Port Royal, Jamaica, 2nd ed. [University Press of the West Indies, Kingston, Jamaica, 2000], 1st ed. 1974; ISBN: 9766400725 With its wealth of detail & eyewitness accounts (numerous direct quotes from visitors, residents, and administrators of Port Royal), this book is a treasure trove for anyone who wants to learn about the same wicked town familiar to the pirates & buccaneers of the late 17th century.**
Petrie, Donald A., The Prize Game: Lawful Looting on the High Seas in the Days of Fighting Sail, [Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, MD, 1999] Hardcover, 224 pp (also paperback edition). The origins of prize taking, the rules of the sea that became universally accepted among the maritime powers of the world, and the final decline of prize taking during the 19th c. Excellent bibliography, well indexed.#
Poolman, Kenneth, The Speedwell Voyage: A Tale of Piracy and Mutiny in the Eighteenth Century , [Naval Institute Press, 1999] The real-life adventures of George Shelvocke, captain of the privateer Speedwell, in 1718. Notes, index. **
Pyle, Howard, ed., The Buccaneers and Marooners of America: Being an Account of the Famous Adventures and Daring Deeds of Certain Notorious Freebooters of the Spanish Main, [reprinted by Rio Grand Press (originally printed 1890)]. The famous pirate artist Howard Pyle edited and combined excerpts from two pirate classics: Esquemeling's The Buccaneers of America and Capt. Charles Johnson's A General History of the Robberies and Murder of the Most Notorious Pyrates. Long introduction by Pyle.
Rankin, Hugh F., The Pirates of Colonial North Carolina, [State Dept. of Archives and History, Raleigh, NC, 1965]. Gives are good overview of piracy in general (1687 and 1726), and then detailed accounts of the pirate round, Kidd, Bonney & Read, Bonnet, Blackbeard.**
Rediker, Marcus, Between the Devil & the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates, & the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700-1750 [Cambridge University Press, 1987] Very in-depth & scholarly approach. Lot of basic info on sailors of the time, as well as a chapter on "The Seaman as Pirate".**
Rogozinski, Jan, A Brief History of the
Caribbean: From the Arawak and the Carib to the Present, [Facts on File,
NY 1992]. Good thorough section on the buccaneers of the area, and their history.**
__Honor
Among Thieves: Captain Kidd, Henry Every, and the Pirate Democracy in the Indian Ocean,
[Stackpole Books, 2000] St. Mary's Isle was a haven of piracy off the coast of
Madagascar. This book details the pirates who used this safe port and
marauded out into the Indian Ocean. Many pages of notes and
appendices. Well indexed.**
Russell, Edward F. L., The French Corsairs [London, 1970].
Senior, Clive, A Nation of Pirates: English Piracy in its Heyday, [Newton Abbot, 1976]. Covers English piracy from 1600-40. Scholarly and well-written.
Severin, Timothy, The Golden Antilles [London and New York, 1970]. Covers Raleigh & the buccaneers, and good on the acquisitive society in the Caribbean.#
Shomette, Donald G., Pirates on the Chesapeake: Being a True History of Pirates, Picarroons, and Raiders on Chesapeake Bay, 1610-1807 [Tidewater Publishers, 1985] . From the earliest colonial days piracy began, and affected colonial politics, which in turn affected the eventual make-up of the American East Coast.**
Smith, Aaron, The Atrocities of the Pirates, [1824, (republished by Prion Books, London, with additional material added, 1997)]. In 1822 Aaron Smith, a young English seaman, was taken captive by Spanish pirates from Cuba when his ship was boarded on route from Jamaica to England. After escaping, he wrote this dramatic account of his experience in 1824.#
Snow, Edward Rowe, Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast [Yankee Pub. Co., 1944] Illustrated with B/W plates, with an useful index and bibliography. Tales of pirates who roamed the Atlantic Coast. Well documented.
Stanley, Jo, Bold in Her Breeches: Women Pirates Across the Ages [Pandora, 1995] Rather obvious feminist look (very PC] at female pirates. Very interesting in spite of it.**
Tracy, Don, Carolina Corsair, [The Dial Press, NY 1955]
Walton, Timothy R., The Spanish Treasure
Fleets [Pineapple Press, Sarasota, FL, 1994] About the silver galleions
so plagued by the pirates & privateers. Illustrations & maps.**
Whipple, A. B. C., Famous Pirates of the New World,
[Random House, New York, 1958].
Whipple, A. B. C., Pirate Rascals of the Spanish Main,
[Doubleday & Co, Inc., Garden City, NY, 1957]
Wilbur, C. Keith, Pirates & Patriots of the Revolution,
[Globe Pequot Press,
$14.95.] Very detailed book, illustrates every facet of a Rev. Era privateer experience
with detailed line drawings. Much of the nautical information would be appropriate to
earlier periods.**
Wilbur, C. Keith, Revolutionary Medicine - 1700 to 1800,
[The Globe Pequot Press, P.O. Box 833, Old Saybrook, CT 06475] This nifty little book (80
pages) provides, in layman's terms, an overview of the diseases & other ills faced by
surgeons of the era; their causes (sometimes hilarious), treatment, and the instruments
and concoctions used to treat them (What WAS in that medicine chest for which Blackbeard
blockaded the port of Charleston, SC?). As with Wilbur's "Pirates and Privateers of
the Revolution", this book is profusely illustrated (even shows how to amputate a
leg, by golly!) [Reviewed by Tony Malesic]
Williams, Lloyd Haynes, Pirates of Colonial Virginia,
[The Dietz Press, Richmond, Virginia, 1937].
Williams, Neville, The Sea Dogs: Privateers, Plunder and Piracy in the
Elizabethan Age, [London, 1975]. Well-illustrated, good biographies of
Drake, Hawkins, & Gilbert.#
Winston, Alexander, No Purchase, No Pay: Morgan, Kidd and Woodes Rogers in
the Great Age of Privateers and Pirates 1665-1715 [London, 1970].
Originally published as No Man Knows My Grave (Boston, 1969).
Wood, Peter, The Spanish Main (TIME LIFE’s: The
Seafarer’s Series), [Time-Life Books, 1979]. Very good account of the Jamaican and
Tortugan buccaneers.**
Wycherley, George, Buccaneers of the Pacific
[Indianapolis, 1928; London, 1929].
Zepke, Terrance, Pirates of the Carolinas,
[Pineapple Press, 2000]. Thirteen pirates are featured: Henry Avery,
Edward Teach, Anne Bonny, Mary Read, Wm. Kidd, John Rackham, Stede Bonnet,
Wm. Fly, Wm. Lewis, Thomas Tew, Richard Worley, Charles. Vane, and John
Redfield. Indexed.**
(** = Book is in editor's library)
(# = While not possessing it, editor has read the book)
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