A review by rainpunk
The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down by Colin Woodard
3.0
Informative and engaging. Although it can be hard to remember the specifics of the many named pirates the book covers, I'm certainly coming away from this with a broader, more nuanced understanding of the golden age of piracy as a whole.
I always knew there was a distinction between privateers and true pirates, but I never before realized that many sailors were both, depending on whether it was during the War of Spanish Succession or after that war concluded, leaving previous privateers without a job. Neither did I know that the Jacobite movement was tied into a lot of piratical motivations. Even further still, I didn't know that piracy was often viewed favorably by the public at the time, as a robin hood-esque "sticking it to the man" so to speak. In short, I didn't realize at all that there was politics to piracy, and this book explained that in all of its nuance.
I always knew there was a distinction between privateers and true pirates, but I never before realized that many sailors were both, depending on whether it was during the War of Spanish Succession or after that war concluded, leaving previous privateers without a job. Neither did I know that the Jacobite movement was tied into a lot of piratical motivations. Even further still, I didn't know that piracy was often viewed favorably by the public at the time, as a robin hood-esque "sticking it to the man" so to speak. In short, I didn't realize at all that there was politics to piracy, and this book explained that in all of its nuance.