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| Source: Amazon.com |
From the book’s cover:
Welcome to the Pirate Republic—the early-eighteenth-century home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates—former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves—this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.
For a brief, glorious period the Pirate Republic was enormously successful. It cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. Imperial authorities and wealthy shipowners denounced its residents as the enemies of mankind, but common people saw them as heroes. Colin Woodard tells the dramatic untold story of the Pirate Republic that shook the very foundations of the British and Spanish Empires and fanned the democratic sentiments that would one day drive the American Revolution.
Synopsis:
After the bloated length of both my review for Catcher and the Rye, and then also The Dark Knight Rises, I've decided to attempt a new tactic. I will try to give an overview of the particular item being reviewed (book/movie) in two paragraphs or less. This will be difficult for me, as I love details, but I'm gonna give it my best shot. Oh, but just so you know, that paragraph doesn't count this time. But from now on, two or less for the synopsis. Fingers crossed, and let's begin.
The Republic of Pirates details the lives of some of history's most notorious pirates and the republic they formed. Covered within is the history of the pirates of the Caribbean and their domination of the island region of Nassau, from the period of Henry Every, through to the end of the republic period during the time of Calico Jack Rackham and the female pirates, Anne Bonny and her companion Mary Read.
Between these come a score of successful pirates, and the book includes the tales of their exploits, as well as the efforts of the British, French, Dutch and the dastardly Spanish at keeping these rascals under control. They failed terribly for a long time. Not only that, but these imperial powers played the pirates off each other from time to time, though some of the pirates took to the practice of privateering better than others. Some - notably Edward Low, who lived up (or should I say "down") to all the bad that a pirate was said to be by the powers that be - felt all shipping was fair game, and thus came into conflict with their brothers who were more of the noble sort.
Two paragraphs. Not bad, huh?
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| The author, Colin Woodward / Source: ColinWoodward.com |
The book is full of fascinating details. There's a wealth of information about the lives of both British Royal Navy sailors and the pirates that many of them would become. Note to self: if accidentally transported back in time, avoid the press-gang like a 21st Century man would avoid a root canal in a third world dentist chair one day before the end of the world. Sounded like a really horrible thing (for those not in the know, the press gang came around and grabbed people - practically off the street - to join the Royal Navy. The food was bad, the duty was hard and dangerous, the pay was next to non-existent, and the chances of seeing your family and loved ones again was really poor, at best).
I especially liked the material in The Republic of Pirates on Edward Teach / Thatch (there is some debate as to what his last name really was, as the book explains) otherwise known as "BlackBeard." Here was a bad dude, if there ever was one, and yet the book goes to lengths to point out that he personally killed very few people. This man was a strategist, not a just a bloodthirsty pirate. And a showman to boot. Imagining this tall man with cutlass in hand, his eyes blazing and his hair and beard swirling in smoke and small specks of flame from the fuses he set in his dreads... That's a fellow you wouldn't want to meet in your nightmares.
I also liked the information on Woodes Rogers, who was ultimately responsible for putting down the pirate republic, and who subsequently suffered impoverishment and near ignominy for his troubles. He brought the "long arm of the law" to the pirate bases, but was almost entirely unsupported by England and her German-born king. For more details on that tale, read the book.
I especially liked the story of the Spanish treasure fleet and its wreck during savage seas on the coast of Florida (which was a Spanish possession at the time). This was one place where the authors stodgy descriptions seemed to lighten up a bit, or maybe it was because any grown man who had once been a boy has dreamed of sunken pirate treasure. This is a pretty close story to that kind of fiction that makes up such great romantic notions as Treasure Island and Long John Silver. Although the author manages to make it real for the reader to feel that sense of wonder sometimes, truth be told. In some cases that makes Woodward's book a bit dull (see below), but in the case of the Spanish Treasure fleet story, the reality only makes the account seem more relevant to the modern audience (in my opinion).
Last, but actually first in the book, was the pirate Henry Every, who actually built the pirate's republic due to the success he had in capturing ships and treasure. He was the man who, when BlackBeard and his fellows were still just kids, was out making the pirates legend. As the book points out, the golden age of piracy, or the general idea that pirates were noble scallywags who were rebelling against a corrupt and cruel system, came before the pirates who lived it, and not in as a reflection of their lives, as most would assume. If the actual winners of the conflict that was the golden age of piracy had wrote this tale, and not the people who admired the pirates way of life, we'd certainly not have such films as the four Pirates of the Caribbean flicks. And that'd be one and a half films worth of a loss to the world!
What I didn’t like about it:
The book had some slow spots for me. As a lay historian, I am supposed to be able to delve through long stretches of less exciting content, and that may be so, but I don't have to love every minute. This book took too long in places when it talked about the political situation back in England, or the intrigues going on between merchants and local governors in the Caribbean. That is my take on it.
He did make the point that nothing he put in was made up to add emphasis. It would seem that maybe he should have spent a bit less time detailing laundry lists of ships captured, and more on the personal details. But then again, these are pirates, so such details would probably prove difficult to obtain. Also, Woodward seems to have done so much research that he almost seems to have felt the need to put it all in his book, which made it seem a bit unwieldy.
One last point: I have read a scattering of reviews on the book since finishing it, and some of those authors complained that Woodward gave the Jacobian revolution short shrift. To me, I have two things to say. One, it isn't a book about the Jacobian revolt, as he clearly indicates, so the brief overview he gives should suffice. And two, if you are already so familiar with the Jacobian thing, why do you need it rehashed? If like me, you are not up on the subject, it makes for interesting reading and made me desire to learn more. If that was the author's intent, I'd say he did well, at least on that point.
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| Capture of the Pirate, Blackbeard, 1718 depicting the battle between Blackbeard the Pirate and Lieutenant Maynard in Ocracoke Bay. Or thus says Wikipedia, anyway. He wasn't exactly captured, but rather killed and... well there is a rather gruesome account about the rest, but you can read that in the book. / Source: Wikipedia.com |
What I learned, if anything:
A lot! The so-called "golden age of piracy" was only ten scant years. 1715 to 1725. And yet today, pirates are famous and credited among the ultimate "anti-heroes." After all, we've had four Pirates of the Caribbean movies in the past decade, and like I said, one and a half of them were actually pretty good (bet you can't guess which half of which one I thought was good).
I didn't know that many pirates followed their course because they were supporters of James the Third, the supposed rightful heir to the British throne. I knew George the First of the Hanover line was not popular, but hadn't put together the whole thing. Not until reading this one. Like I mentioned, the whole Jacobian thing I was basically aware of, but it was kind of disconnected from time until the author put it in context (basic, as some have pointed out) in The Republic of Pirates.
I also learned about "careening," or working on the bottom of a sailing vessel to remove worm rot and other sea-going pests. I'd heard the term before, but imagined pirates careening their vessels meant they were playing chicken with each other for sport. You know, the sort of practice a bunch of drunk guys with nothing better to do might engage in? But no. It is actually a lot of work, and a necessary task for those who would use wooden ships in the warm waters regions of the world.
I learned a lot about Edward Thatch / Teach, known by the sobriquet "BlackBeard," as I have discussed in What I Liked About the Book.
More than the basic facts, of which the book is rampant, I learned a greater appreciation for the facts behind the myths of piracy that is so romanticized these days. And I learned that a real tale of the pirates of the Caribbean might actually be better received - if it was well done - than Disney's last two and a half Pirates of the Caribbean films (you'd think that gave away which half of which movie I liked, but no, it really didn't, as I didn't say which half of which movie. Give up? No, I'm not saying. I like this game!).
Recommendation:
If yer gullet be too weak to stomach this tale of the historical pirate, I curse ye for a pack 'o milk sopped fools. Arrrhhh! No seriously, The Republic of Pirates is pretty good stuff. It is heavy on history, drawing from accounts of the men and women involved, and can be a bit slow at times. So basically its like the worst of Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean films, only instead of a pointless CGI action sequence in a totally implausible situation, we get lots of "this person was here at this time and that person was sick with a fever"-stuff. But hey - it's still better than two and a half Pirates of the Caribbean movies! That's saying something, in of itself!
Learn more about The Republic of Pirates, by Colin Woodward, on Amazon.com
The parting comment:
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| Source: LolSnaps.com |
I didn't have anything handy for pirates, but some of these guys look like pirates, so there you go.
Aye me matey, tis a good review.
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