The Pirates' Pact: The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America
Most of us have heard the stories connected with the "Golden Age of Piracy," 1660–1725. Be they fictional or factual, the exploits of such famous buccaneers as Henry Morgan, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard), and William Kidd as well as less-well-known figures such as King Baldridge, Thomas Tew, and Henry Every have permeated literature and history around the world. Burgess (Seize the Trident) recounts the stories of the political and business figures who supported these pirates and their voyages of plunder and murder, describing how the colonial governors in North America and the West Indies engaged in pirate brokering, selling privateering commissions that legitimized the armed seizure of treasure-laden ships as far away as the Red Sea. This was effectively state-sponsored piracy, and everyone profited from it—everyone except the English Crown, that is. An engaging story wonderfully told with solid research. Highly recommended.—David Lee Poremba, Keiser Univ., Orlando, FLCopyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.