What do you think?
Rate this book
Atrocities of the Pirates: A Faithful Narrative of the Unparalleled Suffering of the Author During His Captivity Among the Pirates
Originally published in 1824, this firsthand account describes how, in June 1822, young English seaman Aaron Smith was taken captive by Cuban pirates when his ship was boarded en route from Jamaica to England. A skilled navigator, fluent in Spanish, and regarded as what was then acceptable as a ship’s surgeon, he was an attractive candidate for conscription.
Forced to work as a navigator and participate in pirate boarding parties for ten months, he suffered mightily and witnessed unspeakable acts of murder and torture. He struggled between resisting the orders of the cruel pirate captain and acting against his conscience to preserve his own life from the wrath of the pirates. After failed attempts to get away, he managed to narrowly escape with his life, but was arrested as a pirate upon arrival in Havana. Smith was jailed in Cuba and then sent back to England in chains, where he found himself on trial for his life at the Old Bailey courthouse. The attorney general himself led the prosecution, with the captains of the ships boarded by Smith and the pirates as the principal witnesses.
Forced to work as a navigator and participate in pirate boarding parties for ten months, he suffered mightily and witnessed unspeakable acts of murder and torture. He struggled between resisting the orders of the cruel pirate captain and acting against his conscience to preserve his own life from the wrath of the pirates. After failed attempts to get away, he managed to narrowly escape with his life, but was arrested as a pirate upon arrival in Havana. Smith was jailed in Cuba and then sent back to England in chains, where he found himself on trial for his life at the Old Bailey courthouse. The attorney general himself led the prosecution, with the captains of the ships boarded by Smith and the pirates as the principal witnesses.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1824
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
January 30, 2023
I shall give a full review at a later date.
July 24, 2024
THE ATROCITIES OF THE PIRATES promised to be a gore fest but in that regard it was a let down. That is not to say that it didn't make for some interesting reading. In 1822 Aaron Smith was captured by Cuban pirates. He had been sailing from Jamaica to England when his ship was boarded. The pirates stole the cargo, along with personal effects from the crew and passengers. Aaron was taken when it was determined that he would be of use to the pirates as a navigator, translator, and doctor. Although he seemed to have some knowledge of navigation, his medical training was probably just due from experience at sea. After being forced to help the pirates he eventually escaped, but his ordeal was far from over as the British Admiralty charged him with piracy. The book is his story.
Although the book was originally published in 1824, this copy had an introduction and commentary by Robert Redmond, a former member of Parliament and the great-great-grandson of Aaron Smith. What Robert had to add was interesting from the historical viewpoint.
According to Aaron, when the pirates captured a vessel, they threatened those aboard. However, they treated their prisoners almost as guests, feeding them and then letting them return to their ship to continue their journey. By way of comparison, when one of the pirate crew was accused of a plot to take over the pirate ship his arms and legs were cut off with a dull ax and then he was thrown overboard!
Aaron claimed that the Spanish authorities in Cuba were most corrupt. They seemed to turn a blind eye to what was going on. Captured cargo was repackaged and taken ashore where it ended up being resold in Havana. While he was in a Spanish prison he was visited by a Spanish official who made it clear that he would be released if he simply paid a bribe.
It seems that in those days going on trial for piracy could destroy a man's character, even if the verdict was 'not guilty' was handed down.
When piracy was involved, some crooked captains and ship owners cheated insurance companies to make money.
At one point the pirates got hold of American dollars. They had no use for them so they were trading them for Spanish silver doubloons.
In those days three things promised a swift trip to the gallows: mutiny on the high seas, piracy, and being caught in the slave trade. The first two made sense. The third one didn't, for it seemed to only apply to one transporting slaves to sale. Slavery was not against the law in some places. The Democrats in the US wanted their slaves so their politicians made sure it was legal. Yet at sea the American and British Navies hunted slave ships.
The strange thing about Aaron's original book was there were no chapters, just one long story, but I still enjoyed it.
Although the book was originally published in 1824, this copy had an introduction and commentary by Robert Redmond, a former member of Parliament and the great-great-grandson of Aaron Smith. What Robert had to add was interesting from the historical viewpoint.
According to Aaron, when the pirates captured a vessel, they threatened those aboard. However, they treated their prisoners almost as guests, feeding them and then letting them return to their ship to continue their journey. By way of comparison, when one of the pirate crew was accused of a plot to take over the pirate ship his arms and legs were cut off with a dull ax and then he was thrown overboard!
Aaron claimed that the Spanish authorities in Cuba were most corrupt. They seemed to turn a blind eye to what was going on. Captured cargo was repackaged and taken ashore where it ended up being resold in Havana. While he was in a Spanish prison he was visited by a Spanish official who made it clear that he would be released if he simply paid a bribe.
It seems that in those days going on trial for piracy could destroy a man's character, even if the verdict was 'not guilty' was handed down.
When piracy was involved, some crooked captains and ship owners cheated insurance companies to make money.
At one point the pirates got hold of American dollars. They had no use for them so they were trading them for Spanish silver doubloons.
In those days three things promised a swift trip to the gallows: mutiny on the high seas, piracy, and being caught in the slave trade. The first two made sense. The third one didn't, for it seemed to only apply to one transporting slaves to sale. Slavery was not against the law in some places. The Democrats in the US wanted their slaves so their politicians made sure it was legal. Yet at sea the American and British Navies hunted slave ships.
The strange thing about Aaron's original book was there were no chapters, just one long story, but I still enjoyed it.
March 26, 2016
Not brilliant prose but a really interesting tale of true adventure. The author recounts his being a young seaman and his abduction by Cuban pirates. A jack of all trades, the evil pirate captain conscripts him to duty, mostly as a quasi-surgeon for the ship. Smith ultimately escapes and is tried for piracy himself. The story is, in a sense, his defense. I tended to buy the account of the unreliable narrator, but one must take it with a grain of salt given he was saving his own bacon with the account. The appeal of the story for me is that of many sea stories, understanding the oh so different way of life for early 19th century sailors and the Atrocities story is a unique view of the brutal life of pirates with all the romance stripped away (no parrots or buried treasure in this book).
August 23, 2012
An excellent piece of historical writing
Piracy, but with all the fiction and Disney drained out of it. Highly recommended, and brilliantly read in the Librivox edition.
Piracy, but with all the fiction and Disney drained out of it. Highly recommended, and brilliantly read in the Librivox edition.
January 31, 2019
youtube
December 30, 2023
Aaron Smith was a hapless seaman captured by a Spanish pirate and forced to serve aboard the pirate’s ship, in just about every job that was needed. “We need these wounds stitched up. You’re an American; of course you can do it.” “You’re an American; chart our course. Steer us wrong, and you’re dead.” Every instruction towards the young sailor was given with frequent reminders of what would happen to him – in gory detail- if he did not comply, and often he was assaulted to the point he wished he could die. After a failed escape attempt, he finally was able to affect his freedom, but instead of actually gaining freedom, he had to prove his innocence in the Cuban court, for the pirates he had escaped from set off to make him the pirate and them his victims, in the eyes of the law.
It was an interesting narrative. Not overly embellished or dramatic. A couple of times, the details of how the pirates’ victims were maltreated could have been less descriptive, but on the whole, I rather wish he had told more of his story.
It was an interesting narrative. Not overly embellished or dramatic. A couple of times, the details of how the pirates’ victims were maltreated could have been less descriptive, but on the whole, I rather wish he had told more of his story.
July 17, 2018
A fascinating account
I love stories of the sea, even involving pirates. There's something romantic about them. I have to remind myself what kind of people they were - brutal thieves and killers. Their atrocities were no less than those shocking deeds of ISIS terrorists, Barbary or Somali marauders.
The author was not one of them, but shanghaied and made to serve his captors. His account was an apology - i.e. a defense - of his association with them. I was struck by his well-developed use of the English language. His mastery was far greater than the typical, present-day university graduate, and certainly more genteel.
I recommend this book for summer vacation reading at the seashore. Recline in your chaise, look out to see, and imagine corsair sails on the horizon.
I love stories of the sea, even involving pirates. There's something romantic about them. I have to remind myself what kind of people they were - brutal thieves and killers. Their atrocities were no less than those shocking deeds of ISIS terrorists, Barbary or Somali marauders.
The author was not one of them, but shanghaied and made to serve his captors. His account was an apology - i.e. a defense - of his association with them. I was struck by his well-developed use of the English language. His mastery was far greater than the typical, present-day university graduate, and certainly more genteel.
I recommend this book for summer vacation reading at the seashore. Recline in your chaise, look out to see, and imagine corsair sails on the horizon.
July 2, 2022
The book was less informative than what I had expected. There were incidents of atrocities, but I found the brutality to be less horrifying than the greed of the people in power and in the islands and the testimony of those not observant enough to see the plight that Aaron Smith was in.
The book was interesting, but not very compelling and although Smith's endurance of being set on fire was cruel and awful and the Captain of the Pirates was paranoid and kind of insane, the book was mostly sitting around and loading and unloading cargo and selling and giving it away to the magistrates and priests on the island.
On a side note, I am concerned that Skyhorse Publishing put a copyright date on a book that was supposedly published in the 1800s. It is public domain as far as I can tell.
The book was interesting, but not very compelling and although Smith's endurance of being set on fire was cruel and awful and the Captain of the Pirates was paranoid and kind of insane, the book was mostly sitting around and loading and unloading cargo and selling and giving it away to the magistrates and priests on the island.
On a side note, I am concerned that Skyhorse Publishing put a copyright date on a book that was supposedly published in the 1800s. It is public domain as far as I can tell.
December 7, 2020
This true account of a man kidnapped by Cuban pirates reads kind of like an 1820's version of Captain Phillips. Being a brutal, unromantic portrayal of the barbarism inflicted on the innocent by these renegades, you will not find any loveable Captain Jack Sparrow types here.
April 10, 2021
An interesting "yarn" indeed. . . . Yarn: a long or rambling story, especially one that is implausible. What's the most implausible aspect? Religious differences are never mentioned.
July 18, 2026
A remarkable look into life onboard a pirate vessel. Also puts to rest the "pirate talk" that infects so much Pirate media.
December 19, 2019
A skilled seaman recounts his enslavement by pirate crew in Cuba. Told dryly, with horrific violence being talked about non-nonchalantly, especially the sociopathic pirate captain. While the cruelty of the pirates is on full display, Smith is able to expertly portray the blurry lines between criminality and legal. Some of his sharpest barbs are for bribe-soliciting judges, insurance fraudsters, and cruel wardens- men supposedly on the right side of the law. He also commends the small samples of humanity lent him by certain pirates, making sure to show some of the nuances within the robber-gang, and their own notions of justice.
A cloud of suspicion seems to hang over the narrative. Smith was subsequently put on trial for the chores he did for the pirates. Even though acquitted, doubts remained about how much of his activity was voluntary vs. forced; both notions sound plausible. Through the entire narrative Smith comes across as a paragon of virtue- standing up to injustices and displaying pure motives at every turn. But Smith plainly has an agenda to clear his name.
A cloud of suspicion seems to hang over the narrative. Smith was subsequently put on trial for the chores he did for the pirates. Even though acquitted, doubts remained about how much of his activity was voluntary vs. forced; both notions sound plausible. Through the entire narrative Smith comes across as a paragon of virtue- standing up to injustices and displaying pure motives at every turn. But Smith plainly has an agenda to clear his name.
September 4, 2012
This is a ripping yarn describing the author's adventures after being captured by pirates. In fact, it's such a riveting tale that one begins to suspect that mayhaps there could be more fiction than fact in here. It was written after the author returned to civilized society and had been in heated defense of accusations that he was a pirate himself. According to this memoir, Smith was a helpless captive forced to assist the pirates. He seems to learn a variety of languages and skills with ease and has numerous adventures with the pirates without succumbing to their evils, but he also conveniently has no witnesses whatsoever to any of this. True or not, it is indeed an exciting and enjoyable tale.
August 13, 2019
Quite a fascinating book written by a hapless young guy named Aaron Smith in 1824. It was written as a testimonial in order to recuse himself of charges of piracy. For that reason the writing can be a bit dry, but at times that adds to the impact of the subject as he describes brutal and terrible things in his straightforward way. By today’s standards these pirates are on the level of psychopathic serial killers, torturing people for amusement and killing people indiscriminately. I had never read about pirates outside of a fictional setting but the reality of their brutality was a bit shocking to me, as it’s clearly beyond what any storyteller would feel compelled to portray, especially to the full extent of this testimony.
December 18, 2014
The writing style reminded me of Daniel Defoe - which I have a difficulty with in general. The story itself was interesting but quite dry, and without the suspence of modern writing. It is the apparent account of an Aaron Smith, englishman, who gets kidnapped by pirates on his way home from Jamaica to England. It is quite gruesome, and it is difficult for me to tell whether the events described might actually be true, or fiction.
No doubt, pirates were somewhat terrorists of their day - but the way its told puts it all in a light that is very "matter of fact" and sometimes one gets the feeling that all the mindless killing after any minor offence is exaggerated.
No doubt, pirates were somewhat terrorists of their day - but the way its told puts it all in a light that is very "matter of fact" and sometimes one gets the feeling that all the mindless killing after any minor offence is exaggerated.
February 21, 2016
Boring ! What should have been an accurate tell-all is instead a long-winded, hyped-up diatribe. Total number of atrocities: one, if you can call it that. Plus, there's no way of telling if Smith's tale is a lie since he constantly brags and congratulates himself throughout the story. There's even a convenient romance that pops up and disappears into nothing. A complete let-down.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews