Piracy in the Early Modern Era

Selected by CHOICE Magazine as an Outstanding Academic Title for 2020*  

* "Defining piracy in the early modern period is frustrating; investigating the lives of early modern pirates is even more maddening. Their humble and diverse social origins, itinerant existences, and illicit activities conspire to obscure them, and what contemporaries thought about them, from our present view. This impressive collection helps shed light on these shadowy historical figures. As piracy was a contested crime in the early modern period, editors Lane (Tulane Univ.) and Bialuschewski (Trent Univ., Canada) note that to “get closer to the truth about piracy, one must examine as many sources as possible” (p. xv). Accordingly, they have scoured the globe for primary sources and truly provide a kaleidoscopic perspective on early modern piracy. In addition to a general introduction, chronology, select bibliography, and glossary, there are eight sections of documents, each concerned with a different period or place in the history of early modern piracy. Most appreciated are the heretofore unknown or untranslated non-English archival sources; their deft juxtaposition with previously published commentaries offers “rare insight into the actions” of early modern pirates (p. xxvii). This is, in sum, an exceptional resource for investigating early modern piracy. Highly recommended."
     —M. Reardon, West Texas A&M University, in Choice

"This volume represents a sea change in educational resources for the history of piracy. In a single, readable, and affordable volume, Lane and Bialuschewski present a wonderfully diverse body of primary texts on sea raiders. Drawn from a variety of sources, including the authors’ own archival research and translations, these carefully curated texts cover over two hundred years (1548–1726) of global, early-modern piracy. Lane and Bialuschewski provide glosses of each document and a succinct introduction to the historical context of the period and avoid the romanticized and Anglo-centric depictions of maritime predation that often plague work on the topic."
     —Jesse Cromwell, The University of Mississippi

"A really exciting volume. The wide range of archival material collected here from around the world will allow readers to explore the early modern world, and real-life experience of piracy, first hand. But the book also serves as an effective introduction to such broader topics as working with, and learning from, sources; how researchers use archives; how historians can make dramatically different arguments about the same document; and how historians construct a narrative based on available evidence."
     —Mark G. Hanna, University of California, San Diego

"An important addition to the literature on piracy. The wide-ranging selection of documents makes it possible to compare and contrast piracy across the globe, and over time. Readers will gain a real sense of the scope of early modern sea raiders from these sources (several of which are translated into English for the first time here) and surely enjoy a few good yarns. The ancillary materials (short introductions to the documents, reading questions, chronology, maps, images, and glossary) will also facilitate classroom use of this anthology."
     —Sean T. Perrone, Saint Anselm College

"[A] tremendous boon. Piracy in the Early Modern Era provides a much needed authoritative selection of texts, thematically and chronologically divided into eight well-chosen sections that effectively showcase the material’s interest, as well as its global range and significance.
    "The editors . . . have framed the anthology with a 'general introduction' that provides an authoritative overview of the history of piracy and ways of approaching it, from ancient to modern, as well as the debates about terminology and meaning concerning the terms corsair, pirate, privateer and buccaneer.
    "Taken together, the judicious selection of primary materials and informative contextual and ancillary resources in Piracy in the Early Modern Era makes it an excellent addition to the current literature available on piracy. In particular, the anthology's modest price in paperback means that it will be an attractive teaching tool for use on undergraduate and taught postgraduate courses on piracy, on colonial, imperial, and global history, as well as early modern studies more broadly. What is particularly stimulating about Lane's and Bialuschewski's anthology is its technique of placing together different perspectives of events, enabling students and new historical researchers to learn how to use and weigh evidence from sources.
    "This valuable book has much to recommend it as, with its succinct introductions and broad-ranging and varied global sources, it challenges the dominance of English early modern maritime history, allowing readers to understand piracy in global contexts."
     —Claire Jowitt, University of East Anglia, in The Mariner’s Mirror: The International Quarterly Journal of The Society for Nautical Research

"Piracy in the Early Modern Era provides its reader with far more than its titular anthology of sources. Indeed, it constitutes a near-perfect teaching volume, one that would feel equally at home in a large undergraduate lecture or a small graduate seminar. (I know of no other book that shares its versatility.) Its length–69 pages–deceives. Its offerings provide myriad tools for the student and scholar alike: maps, a glossary that includes a guide to place names, illustrations, a generous bibliography, and discussion questions following each section. These resources supplement the book’s main contents, forty-eight separate documents (including excerpts) that help elucidate the early modern crime of piracy for the reader. The documents, arranged according to both period and geographic location, span genres such as autobiography, legal treatise, and chronicle: it is evident that the editors sought breadth rather than depth. While Lane and Bialuschewski admit their European (and corresponding colonial) focus and add, “In lieu of major archival discoveries, a truly global history of piracy remains difficult to construct”, it should be noted that they provide as holistic a collection as possible."
     —Hayley Cotter, University of Massachusetts Amherst, in American and English Studies

"[A] much-needed resource on an understudied topic. This alone makes it an important addition to material available for use in the classroom. . . . The volume encourages readers to engage with particular historical approaches. These include the analysis of bias and perspective, the extrapolation of subaltern detail from hegemonic material, grappling with nuance, and understanding the complexity of historical categories. Ultimately, Lane and Bialuschewski's efforts will generate more interest in an already fascinating topic."
>     —Cacey Farnsworth, Brigham Young University, in Sixteenth Century Journal

About the authors:

Kris Lane is F.V. Scholes Professor of History at Tulane University.

Arne Bialuschewski teaches at Trent University.