Pulitzer Prize-finalist Colin Woodard’s The Republic of Pirates is the historical biography of the exploits of infamous Caribbean buccaneers during the Golden Age of Piracy. In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Edward “Blackbeard” Teach, “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, escaped slaves could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.
They cut off trade routes, sacked slave ships, and severed Europe from its New World empires. Much to the chagrin of the European colonial powers, the pirates became heroes in the eyes of the people.
Drawing on extensive research in the archives of Britain and the Americas, 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.
This definitive work of maritime history reveals the real story behind the legends:
• The Golden Age of Piracy: Go beyond the myths to discover the true, 10-year maritime revolt that brought the British Empire to its knees and significantly disrupted transatlantic commerce.
• Legendary Pirate Captains: Follow the dramatic exploits of Blackbeard, Black Sam, and the notorious Vane (known for torturing captured sailors) as they rise from common sailors to feared commanders.
• A Pirate Democracy: Learn about the “Flying Gang” and the crude but distinctive republic they established in the Bahamas, a zone of freedom where leaders were chosen by vote and all men were equal.
• Capt. Woodes Rogers: Find out about the British privateer appointed as the Royal Governor of the Bahamas who ended the reign of the pirates in the Caribbean.
• Based on extensive research into the archives of Britain and the Americas.
Softcover, 400 pages, #1076.
