In the 1690s, successful attacks against Muslim and East Indian ships in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea led to a second burst of activity during the Golden Age of Piracy. This so-called Pirate Round drew many pirates away from the Caribbean and the Americas (while many others became privateers). It was this second burst of piratical activity that saw the rise (and fall) of the notorious William Kidd.
Ironically, Kidd had originally been hired to rid several locales of pirates. And his own turn to piracy produced depredations that were far less destructive and far less lucrative that that of most of his well-known contemporaries (historians continue to disagree about whether Kidd should be characterized as mostly pirate or mostly privateer). Much of the mythology that has arisen about Kidd is due to the fact that, unlike most of his fellow pirates, Kidd was caught, tried and executed. His trial and execution were widely reported and keenly followed by an attentive public, as were reports that he had left behind buried treasure (a tale that has grown considerably in the re-telling):
The final burst of piratical activity generally associated with the Golden Age of Piracy began towards the end of the War of the Spanish Succession, which left a great many seamen idle at the same time that cross-Atlantic shipping was beginning to recover. During the decade or so from roughly 1716-1726, the Indian Ocean, West African coast, eastern coast of North America and the Caribbean all experienced a major resurgence of piratical activity.
This era saw the rise (and, usually, fall) of some of the best-known pirates of all: Edward Teach (aka Edward Thatch, Blackbeard); Anne Bonney; Calico Jack Rackham; Bartholomew Roberts (aka Black Bart, the most successful of all pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy):
The primary source for many of the legends and myths that have grown up surrounding these and other well-known pirates was published in 1724 under the title A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates. Authored by one "Capt. Charles Johnson," this book -- and Exquemelin's Buccaneers of America -- remain, over 300 years after their initial publication, the two most influential works about piracy ever published. (The image of Black Bart, below, is from the First Edition of Johnson's work held by the New York Public Library:)
Originally published in two volumes, A General History is not only the foundational text for the biographies of pirates like Blackbeard, Anne Bonney and Calico Jack Rackham, it also is the originary source of concepts like "buried treasure" and the "Jolly Roger." Too bad we still have no idea who really wrote it!
For a long time, historians thought that Capt. Charles Johnson might be a pseudonym for Daniel Defoe, though this idea is no longer given much credence. In any event, the author's accounts have mostly held up to historical scrutiny, though two or three biographies are believed to be almost certainly fictional. The title has been reprinted numerous times:
In 2007, Pickering and Chatto published a four-volume set, British Piracy in the Golden Age: History and Interpretation, 1660–1730. Folks interested in a truly comprehensive review of the Golden Age of Piracy will almost certainly want to add this set to their bookshelves, despite its great expense (about U.S. $625.00). Volume 1 reprints a number of rare, early accounts of piracy during the period; Volumes 2 & 3 reprint a range of actual trial proceedings for piracy, with accompanying legal history and commentary; Volume 4 records a number of "dying speeches," ballads and fiction to which this age of piracy gave rise.
Of course, as noted in previous posts in this series, other centuries and other parts of the world have not been devoid of piracy, and piracy continues to challenge even our presumably modern world:
On Monday we begin an examination of some of piracy's fictional spawn....
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