speedmaster
New Member
The book's full title is: Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates by David Cordingly.
* Paperback: 320 pages
* Publisher: Harvest Books (September 15, 1997)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0156005492
I don't recall where I first learned of this book but it's been in the queue for a while. The book covers what is often referred to as the "Golden Age of Piracy" which is generally considered to be approx. the 1650s to 1725.
There are a few things I learned from the book that surprised me. First, I had assumed the Caribbean pirates limited themselves primarily to the Caribbean islands. Apparently, they travalled much more widely, moving from as far North as Boston and New York to as far South as the coast of Brazil! And often raiding everything in between. Some of the largest pirate attacks took place in the Carolinas for example, with pirates having no qualms with raiding a coastal village if the opportunity presented itself. Second, the pirates would have no qualms about taking lengthy (and generally perilous) trips back and forth between the Carolinas and Brazil, and between the Caribbean and the West coast of Africa.
["Walking the plank" was rare if it ever happened.]
I left the full review here:
Book Review: Under The Black Flag by David Cordingly
* Paperback: 320 pages
* Publisher: Harvest Books (September 15, 1997)
* Language: English
* ISBN-10: 0156005492
I don't recall where I first learned of this book but it's been in the queue for a while. The book covers what is often referred to as the "Golden Age of Piracy" which is generally considered to be approx. the 1650s to 1725.
There are a few things I learned from the book that surprised me. First, I had assumed the Caribbean pirates limited themselves primarily to the Caribbean islands. Apparently, they travalled much more widely, moving from as far North as Boston and New York to as far South as the coast of Brazil! And often raiding everything in between. Some of the largest pirate attacks took place in the Carolinas for example, with pirates having no qualms with raiding a coastal village if the opportunity presented itself. Second, the pirates would have no qualms about taking lengthy (and generally perilous) trips back and forth between the Carolinas and Brazil, and between the Caribbean and the West coast of Africa.
["Walking the plank" was rare if it ever happened.]
I left the full review here:
Book Review: Under The Black Flag by David Cordingly