Angus Konstam - Pirate: The Golden Age

A KONSTAM & D RICKMAN

ILLUSTRATED BY G RAVA

Series editor Marcus Cowper

The term The Golden Age of Piracy is accepted by most pirate historians as a historical shorthand, although its chronological definition is loosely defined. The term itself was never used until the 1920s, when Rafael Sabatini penned the pirate novels Captain Blood and The Black Swan, which would later be adapted into swashbuckling films. The term was used with a sense of irony, as even Sabatini would admit that there was nothing romantic about piracy. It was, after all, merely a form of violent crime committed on the high seas. However, as a historical term, it serves the useful purpose of encompassing the great upsurge of piratical activity that took place during the first decades of the 18th century.

Some historians place it between the 1690s and the 1730s, but I favour a tighter historical span, a mere decade, from 1714 until 1724. Its end is marked by the publication of the mysterious Captain Charles Johnsons A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates (referred to hereafter as A General History), which provided readers with a sensational account of the lives of some of the most notorious pirates of the previous decade, including Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, and the female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read. This was the era when the most famous pirates in history made their mark, and where, from Johnson on, fiction began to draw away from fact. The aim of this book is to reveal as best we can the reality of pirate life and their appearance during this turbulent decade.

While not technically accurate, Howard Pyles brilliant illustrations, such as The Buccaneer was a Picturesque Fellow, almost single-handedly changed the worlds view of pirates by making them picturesque and romantic. This has coloured our perception of the pirate ever since.

Countless illustrators imitated Howard Pyle and the costumes he invented for pirates. Their work in turn inspired generations of children and adults. Therefore, the myths perpetuated by Pyle were reinforced.

Becoming a pirate was not a straightforward business very few seamen of the early 18th century actually set out to be pirates. The usual way it happened was that seamen mutinied against their captain, were captured by pirates and elected to join them, or else found their way to a pirate haven and joined a crew. Probably the only exception was Stede Bonnet, the gentleman plantation owner from Barbados, who, suffering a mid-life crisis, bought his own sloop, hired a questionable crew, and so established himself as a pirate captain. For Bonnet, the allure was a romantic vision of piracy and an escape from the monotony of colonial life. He had the money, if not the skill, to indulge in his piratical fantasy, and ultimately he paid for his decision with his life.