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Book Review: The Republic of Pirates

The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard is a fun overview of the so-called Pirates Republic that operated out of the Bahamas during the Golden Age of Piracy from 1715–1725. It explores how notorious outlaws, including Blackbeard, Samuel Bellamy, and Charles Vane, formed the "Flying Gang" to establish a pirates' haven before their continuous predations on regional merchant shipping forced a crackdown on their activities.

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    The Republic of Pirates isn’t just a narrative history of the Golden Age of Piracy.  Woodward advances the argument that the Pirates Republic was a political, possibly revolutionary project, based on democratic and egalitarian values. While pirates often behaved in ways that were more egalitarian than on navy or merchant vessels, I found it difficult to buy into the narrative that the pirates were there for revolutionary democracy.  Most pirates seemed to be opportunists that used their seafaring skills to leverage better deals and outcomes than their wage-earning brethren in the navy.  

    Regardless, the book is primarily about the raids by pirates and the counter raids by the various colonial powers and isn't too political. It provides a good overview of piracy generally, how it fits in with other related concepts like privateers, and the geographic areas that pirates operated in at the time - albeit focused on the Caribbean and US east coast.

    Woodard details the careers of many of the most successful and notorious of the Golden Age pirates, men like 

  • Edward "Blackbeard" Teach who was one of the most feared and iconic of the pirate captains who anchored his operations in the Republic;
  • "Black Sam" Bellamy who was a charismatic and successful pirate captain known for his democratic leadership style, and also his soft touch with the sailors on captured ships; and
  • Charles Vane who was one of the last holdouts among the pirates and was much more prone to engaging in violence with the ships and victims of his various engagements.
    Woodward also details of one of the era’s least successful Pirates, Stede Bonnet, a gentleman landowner that suddenly decided to become a pirate. He didn't grow up on the ocean and wasn't the best decision maker. In fact, he was one of the most famous bad pirates hung for his actions.
 
    The Golden Agre of Piracy finally ended when the British Crown utilized pardons to fracture the pirates' alliances, granting clemency to those who surrendered. The holdouts, like Bonnet, Blackbeard and Vane were hunted down and killed or hung after trial. 

    All in all, I thought the book was good. The Republic of Pirates provides an overview of some of the most famous pirates and so this would be a great book for someone looking for a first read on the history of piracy in the Caribbean.  The argument about the political agenda of pirates might be a little soft, but I think someone interested in the history of piracy, the Caribbean and naval warfare will get a lot out of this book.

Publication date: Oct 2008  | Publisher: Mariner Books    | Page Count:  400


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