ENEMIES OF ALL

Although a malefactor throughout history, the stereotypical pirate appeared in the turbulent decades from 1650 to 1730, and this is an entertaining account of that era.

In his first nonacademic book, Blakemore, who teaches social and maritime history, opens with a summary of post-Columbus Europe, when nations seemed mostly at war; even when they were at peace, they burned with envy at Spain, which had hit the jackpot in the New World. Many other European nations’ colonies turned up no mountains of gold and silver, but war offered the opportunity of raiding Spanish cities or seizing their treasure ships, an occupation open to entrepreneurs. Individuals could obtain official permission to attack enemy commerce and sail off in their own “privateers” to do so. Francis Drake, who delivered a fortune in Spanish wealth to Queen Elizabeth, was considered a pirate in Spain for actions that were legal in England. The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 vastly reduced conflicts between European imperial powers but left a mass of unemployed “freebooters.” Furthermore, the agreement did not apply in the New World, where maritime plundering continued without official support. Traditional accounts portray pirates as captains of rogue warships preying on peaceful commerce, but it was more profitable, if riskier, to loot seaside towns. Blakemore’s iconic figure is Henry Morgan (1635-1688), a successful Welsh privateer who continued raiding after it became illegal. The so-called golden age of piracy lasted until the 1730s, and the author’s lively account features the well-known (Blackbeard, William Kidd), along with more obscure figures. Blakemore concentrates on the Caribbean and Atlantic sea lanes but does not ignore the rest of the world, and he pays close attention to European governments, which became increasingly concerned with suppressing piracy and, despite severe difficulties, enjoyed some success.

Compelling maritime history.