Piracy

How We Brought the Radical History of Pirates to Life

by David Lester

Visual artist David Lester discusses the creative process of developing a graphic version of the radical history of piracy, a collaboration with historians Marcus Rediker and Paul Buhle. 

Why We Need Pirates

by Paul Buhle, Marcus Rediker and David Lester

Though vilified in popular culture, the history of piracy shows that many crews were egalitarian bands of maritime workers escaping their exploitation at the hands of merchant companies and navies. A new graphic adaptation of a recent history of piracy tells the story. 

The Buccaneers Embody Tampa’s Love of Pirates. Is that a Problem?

by Jamie L.H. Goodall

  "Perhaps time has dulled us to the atrocities committed by these 17th and 18th century outlaws. Or perhaps it’s the fact that if pirates of the Golden Age were bloodthirsty, so too were the nations who opposed them."

Female Pirate Lovers Whose Story was Ignored by Male Historians Immortalized with Statue

A new memorial recognizes the relationship of pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read and secures their place in the history of piracy.

Enemy of All Mankind: A True Story of Piracy, Power, and History's First Global Manhunt (Review)

An attack by the pirate Henry Every on a ship owned by the Grand Mughal of India jeopardized the toehold the British East India Company had gained in India. The British government's response helped launch imperial rule. 

The Pandemic Is Not an Excuse to Exploit Writers

by Douglas Preston

Internet Archive’s “National Emergency Library” is meant to benefit consumers during the coronavirus crisis. Authors everywhere are losing.

In Blackbeard Pirate Ship Case, Supreme Court Scuttles Copyright Claims

Ruling unanimously, the U.S. Supreme Court said that a videographer who spent two decades documenting the salvaging of Blackbeard's ship cannot sue the state of North Carolina in federal court for using his videos without his permission.