Kingfisher Knowledge: Pirates & Smugglers

by Moira Butterfield

Pirates and Smugglers is a swashbuckling introduction to the highwaymen and women of the seas -- from the cruel Cilician pirates who terrorized the Mediterranean more than 2,000 years ago to the well-organized and ruthless modern-day buccaneers who target supertankers on the South China Sea -- and the loot they plunder and smuggle.

Genres: History, Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

First published September 19, 2005

About the author

I wrote my first book when I was 8 years old. I glued photos of my cats in a blank book and wrote about them, too. Now I am an internationally-published children's author commended by the Library of Congress for my work encouraging children to read.
I write in a room between a deli and an art gallery on a small town street. I can see families walking by, and I can hear children laughing and playing. It helps me to remember what exactly I'm doing this for - creating books for families all over the world to use together, and helping children to love words.

Reviews

[Epos Opus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Title: Merirosvot ja salakuljettajat
Author: Moira Butterfield
Translator: Matti Kinnunen
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 64
Language: Finnish
Isbn: 951-32-2180-6-82645
Published: 2006
First Published: 2005
Read and review: 2025
Stars: ⭐⭐⭐(3)

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Merirosvot ja salakuljettajat

(“Kingfisher Knowledge: Pirates & Smugglers”)

by Moira Butterfield is a shortish non-fiction book about Pirates and Smugglers by Moira Butterfield. Nothing too deep. I think it’s meant for kids and me. But it is a nice overview in the world and history of pirates.

The book begins with the history of piracy. As early as ancient Egypt, and later in ancient Greece and Rome, people came face to face with pirates. Later, the Vikings sailed the seas from the north. During the Ottoman era in Turkey, in the 15th and 16th centuries, Muslim pirates captured Christians and sold them into slavery.

The golden age of piracy was between 1690 and 1739. At that time, the Caribbean Sea was home to Spanish treasure ships, pirates, and the legendary Blackbeard.

The book describes in detail what life was like aboard pirate ships - how they maintained discipline with their own pirate codes, how they attacked, what they ate, how they spent their time both at sea and on land, and what diseases, such as scurvy, afflicted them. It also discusses what their ships were like and what kinds of goods they carried.

Some countries even hired pirates to attack the ships of rival nations for political or other reasons. Since much trade took place by sea, attacking another nation’s ships could harm its economy - and the blame could of course conveniently be placed on the pirates rather than the country's own navy.

The book also covers modern piracy and especially smuggling. Alcohol, drugs, people, and even rare plants and animals are smuggled. According to WWF estimates, criminal organizations can earn as much as 20 billion dollars a year from trafficking live animals and rare plants.

Of course, I wouldn’t use this book as a reliable source, but it gives a quick overview of the history of piracy and its “modern” forms as they were about twenty years ago. The book is filled with great pictures and more interesting stuff that I didn’t already mention above.

[Draco Sanguinis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro sobre piratas, especialmente por que hace referencia a los piratas actuales, aunque falta mas datos sobre algunos piratas que no eran tan malos refiriendome en antaños tiempos, si es verdad que la pirateria actual es mas agresiva relacionandose con el trafico. en conclusion me ha gustado el libro.

[Phil Deschler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent short host of piracy and smuggling from acient times to the present. Piracy have never disappeared. They continue today. Governments used pirates to raid & destroy another countries ships. It was & is not as exciting as it is protrayed today. In all the history it was dangerous and deadly. Excellent book for juveniles.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

a simple but interesting book. It won't shiver your timbers but you'll learn all you might want to know about Blackbeard, Captain Kidd and Captain Morgan.