[Review] The Pirate Menace by Angus Konstam

Angus Konstam brought his 30 years of research to create the definitive book on the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of the privateers the British had used to prey on French and Spanish shipping during the War of the Spanish Succession turned to piracy. The pirates took over Nassau on the Bahamian island of New Providence and turned it into their own pirate haven, where shady merchants were happy to buy their plunder. It became the hub of a pirate network that included some of the most notorious pirates in history: Blackbeard, 'Calico Jack' Rackam, Charles Vane and Bartholomew Roberts.

The growth of piracy led to a major surge in attacks in the Caribbean and along North America's Atlantic seaboard. With the fragile maritime economy of the Americas threatened with collapse, major ports were threatened and trade brought to a standstill, the British government finally declared war on the pirates. The Pirate Menace draws on extensive research, as well as a wide range of first-hand accounts, to produce a new history of the heyday of historical piracy.

If you say you don't like pirates, then you are clearly lying to yourself. Everyone loves a pirate - there's something romantic about these rogues, sailing the seas and taking what they want. But what were the pirates from the Golden Age of Piracy really like?

This book is an excellent overview of The Golden Age of Piracy, looking at the most famous of the pirates that sailed the Carribean. From Stede Bonnet to Blackboard it tells the stories of their lives and deeds, as well as the lives of those on the other side of the coin - the individuals like Woodes Rogers who wanted the pirate menace gone. What I found particularly interesting about this book is that the author included the myths that had permeated these people's lives, but makes it very very clear that these are mythological. There are many that have become 'fact' across the years but Konstam looks into these and allows the reader to actually stop and think, "hang on a minute, did that really happen?"

Not only ford Konstam look at the individuals from this era, but the places too. There is a partiuclar focus on Nassau, which because a haven for piracy after Port Royal was hit by a vicious earthquake and taken over by the authorities. The narrative describing these places is incredibly detailed and you can almost imagine yourself walking those streets or watching as plunder is sold to crooked traders.

I adored this book from start to finish. If anyone would like an introduction to the lives and times of some of the most infamous pirates in history, then I highly recommend this.

4/5