Pirates: A History

by Tim Travers

Most histories of piracy start with the Caribbean in the 1500s and move on to the 'golden age' from the 1660s to the 1720s, with chapters on the Barbary corsairs, Chinese piracy and a brief look at modern piracy. These areas cannot be overlooked, but A History is a comprehensive history of piracy, starting with the ancient and classical periods, then shifting to the Middle Ages and the Mediterranean, before treating the more traditional areas of the Caribbean, the 'golden age' of piracy in the west, the Barbary corsairs, Chinese and Eastern piracy, and finally modern piracy.

Genres: History, Pirates, Nonfiction

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 2008

About the author

Tim Travers is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Calgary.

Reviews

[Seth Kenlon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Probably one of the best [non-fiction] history books I have yet to read. It is meticulous in its citations, well-organised such that the history is put into context and becomes as gripping a story as any fiction book or movie.

The book covers an incredibly broad range of topics; it's not just about European pirates of the 1600 and 1700s. In this book, you'll find the history of pirates of Madagascar, the Americas, the Orient, and even a bit about land pirates. It doesn't just dictate to you what the history was, either; it speculates and draws conclusions from documented and cited sources. It always admits to what it doesn't know, so you get a very healthy mix of hard facts about pirates and the conclusions that may be drawn from evidence left to us by writers of the time.

Highly recommended.

[Nik · Rating 4 out of 5]

By no means authoritative, but a highly entertaining and very well researched read that looks at piracy contextually and over the course of centuries. My only gripe - its all too brief overview of modern piracy, in stark contrast to the rest of the book which is story-rich and gives a real taste of what life on the high seas must have been back in the time of Blackbeard and Jacques de Sores.