scientific book about piracy ?

Tom_Restorer said:
This is great!

I thank you guys so much!!

@TRG: I try to get this books!
@Rüdiger: Saw this many times on Ebay but thought it is just an other common "Pirate book". Will buy it immediatly!
@MPH200: EXACTLY what I am looking for! Original sources of this time were I can check some thinks (May include descriptions of real pirate flags) Thank you all!!
Click to expand...


Tom there are quite a few illustrations of Pirate Flags & descriptions in this book.
 

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MPH200 said:
Tom there are quite a few illustrations of Pirate Flags & descriptions in this book.
Click to expand...

I can imagine but I am looking for descriptions of "new" ones. I found in archive papers a few wich can be reconstructed by the description.
 

Best Pirate & Buccaneer Books

The cornerstone book on pirates is The General History of the Pyrates by Capt. Charles Johnson (1724). Who was “Capt. Charles Johnson?” Probably Daniel Defoe, although that has yet to be proven. There are endless editions, versions, copies, pirated editions, etc. of this basic work. I recommend the scholarly edition published in trade paperback by Dover (originally in hardcover, edited by Prof. Manuel - that’s rather pricy today).

The cornerstone book on the buccaneers (and there is an important difference between the pirates of the Caribbean and the Brethren of the Coast) is The Buccaneers of America by Alexander-Olivier Exquemelin (1678). The author sailed with Sir Henry Morgan, and this is the only first-hand account written by a buccaneer. Again, there are a vast number of translations and versions. It was first written in Dutch, then translated in Spanish and greatly changed in the process, and then translated again into English. The modern Alex Brown translation directly from the original into English is the only reliable version. Again, Dover has done a great service by making it readily available in paperback. Penguin published it first, and there is a hardcover Folio Society edition.

I am very partial to The Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730, by G.F. Dow and J.H. Edmonds (1923). This book covers a great many Caribbean corsairs, despite the title. Also recommended is The History of Piracy by Philip Goose (1930) - Robert Louis Stevenson was his babysitter! Piracy in the West Indies and its Suppression, Francis B.C. Bradlee (1923) covers the pirates in the early 19[SUP]th[/SUP] century – well after “The Golden Age.”

Dig for Pirate Treasure, Robert I. Nesmith (1958) remains a classic – not only for pirate treasure, but many buried and sunken treasures, as well.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

Here is an essay of sorts about the history of treasure-hunting the Jean Lafitte Treasure(s). Quite well-written from a historian/sociologist's perspective, with citations and sources, and discusses a connection between the birth of modern treasure hunting in the USA and Lafitte treasure myths. Admittedly, it's not very encouraging to modern day treasure hunters looking (for buried treasure) but worth the read as ome of the books recommended by other members appear in the citations.

https://journals.tdl.org/laffitesc/index.php/laffitesc/article/download/253/236

I found it via Google search results while reading about Jean Lafitte (his name seems connected to quite a few treasure legends) and got a sense of deja vú upon reading - it may have also been printed in an issue of Skeptic or Sceptical Enquirer.
 

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Thank you for that link! That is a very interesting article! [Mr. Vogel makes one mistake - The General History of the Pyrates.was written by "Capt. Charles Johnson" - not "Thomas."]

If you are interested in the brothers Laffite, I highly recommend The Pirates Laffite; The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf, by William C. Davis (2006).

Most of the literature about Jean and Pierre Laffite is wildly inaccurate. It can be entertaining — J. Frank Dobie’s Coronado’s Children (1931) is certainly worth reading. It just won’t help you find any treasure.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

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Mine ;-) But in French Naufrages de légende - COUV.jpg
 

For a scholarly and historical look at one "pirate":

The Pirate Hunter, by Richard Zacks.

He researches the facts and perhaps truth of Captain William Kidd.
 

Empire of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign

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It's specific to Morgan, but is factual. It also examines the political context that they operated in, and enabled them.
 

Without question, this is the best look you'll ever get about the lives of the Buccaneers and Pirates during the Golden age. The Buccaneers of America by Alexander-Olivier Exquemelin (1678). Sadly, I loaned it to whomever I can't remember and I guess whomever forgot who they borrowed it from...
 

Dover has a very affordable trade paperback reprint. I recommended they publish the Alex Brown translation because it is straight from the original Dutch. Many English editions are translated from the Spanish edition which was also something of a rewrite (the Spanish characters became heroes and the English figures poltroons). Ms. Brown prepared her translation for Penguin, and there is a hardcover Folio Society edition if you don't want the paperback.

When this book was first published in English, Sir Harry Morgan sued the two London publishers for defamation. The book called him a pirate! They both lost. One paid Sir Harry and one went out of business.

It is the only book written by a buccaneer, and it is absolutely essential.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

Free - but this is the English translation of the Spanish translation from the original Dutch. It's an interesting book - but it's not the original.

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

Fair enough. I can't read Dutch, so this will have to do. There are other versions on that same site for those interested.
 

I don't read Dutch either. Why read a poor English translation when there is a very good one available?

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

Sorry, Old Bookaroo. It was just a reference to a free site for books online. This may help those who are on a limited budget. Otherwise, I recommend they take you up on finding the version you mentioned.

Best,
Darren
 

There's nothing wrong with free books on-line (as long as they are out of copyright, of course - and these certainly are). I know it sounds old school, but there's always inter-library loan. And the price is right for those, as well. I like the on-line books for research because of the search feature many of them have. Handy!

Many of the editions of Buccaneers of America have a great deal of added material - the journal of Basil Ringrose is a common "extra."

Good luck to all,

The Old Bookaroo
 

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