Ratings5
Average rating3.6
This book gives a thrilling account of a virtually unexplored chapter in the golden age of piracy. Here is the true story of the men who built the Republic of Pirates -- and the man who brought it down. In the early eighteenth century, a number of the great pirate captains joined forces, including Blackbeard, Black Sam Bellamy, and Charles Vane. This infamous "Flying Gang" was more than simply a band of thieves. Many of its members were sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves who turned to piracy as a revolt against the conditions they suffered on ships and plantations. Together they established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, blacks could be equal citizens, and leaers were chosen or deposed by a vote. - Jacket.
Reviews with the most likes.
A page turner, which is a bit of a feat for a history book, even if it is about pirates. The beginning of the book with the overview of the life of a sailor is one of the more fascinating parts, but the lives of the pirates is the meat of this work. Following, more or less, three of the more important figures of the era and the man who ended up taking them down the book never really has a dull moment.
Highly recommended.