Rum, sodomy, and the lash
Subtitle: piracy, sexuality, and masculine identity
By: Hans Turley.
Publisher: New York University Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 199
Subjects: Pirates -- History; Pirates -- Sexual behavior; Pirates in literature; Homosexuality in literature
Other titles: Rum, sodomy & the lash
Description: How did the pirate - a real threat to mercantilism and trade in early-modern Britain - become the hypermasculine antihero familiar to us through a variety of pop culture outlets? How did the pirate's world, marked as it was by sexual and economic transgression, come to capture our collective imagination?

In Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash, Hans Turley delves deep into the archives to examine the homoerotic and other culturally transgressive aspects of the pirate's world and our prurient fascination with it. Turley fastens his eye on historical documents, trial records, and the confessions of pirates, as well as literary works such as Robinson Crusoe, to track the birth and development of the pirate image and to show its implications for changing notions of self, masculinity, and sexuality in the modern era.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 179-193) and index.