Manushag N. Powell

What created the conditions under which piracy flourished in previous centuries and still exists today? Explore the complex relationships between piracy and land-based merchants, governments, and imperialism. Learn how imperial politics in conjunction with globalized pressures on local markets provide fertile ground for piracy.

While it took talent, toughness, and significant knowledge to be a successful mariner in the Age of Sail, pirate crews tended to be even more skilled than those of other ships. Although life at sea might have seemed harsh and dangerous to the masses, discover the many reasons pirates viewed ship life differently. Were they attracted to more than just the potential for freedom and profit?

Modern Western culture largely depicts pirates as romantic, freedom-loving antiheroes. But is that a harmless fantasy? Examine why scholars insist that the way we talk about piracy affects our world today. As we begin to examine the aftereffects of colonialism, can we afford to ignore the very real impacts of pirates on merchants, coastal dwellers, and Black and Indigenous peoples?

Even our modern-day image of pirates has been greatly shaped by 19th-century literature and theatre, which managed to rehabilitate the image of pirates from criminals into sentimental heroes. Consider your own concept of pirates as you explore their portrayal in works by Lord Byron, Walter Scott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and more.

The privateers of the northern African coast, called corsairs, were commissioned by their governments to make war primarily against non-Muslims and did not consider themselves to be pirates--although the English certainly thought of them that way. Learn why the English eventually found it easier to negotiate with the Barbary powers than to fight the corsairs at sea.

While the British judicial system that oversaw pirate trials during the age of Atlantic piracy was highly codified, it certainly wouldn't be considered fair or just by today's standards. But even modern judicial systems find it extremely difficult to successfully prosecute piracy, as you'll learn from the Maersk Alabama pirate trial of 2013.

Although the literature includes many tales of female pirates, the truth is there were only a handful of women pirates compared to the many thousands of men. When women were on board, they were more likely to be passengers, prisoners, or laborers. You'll explore the exceptions to this rule as you learn about the famous Caribbean pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

While it might come as a bit of a surprise, pirates apparently loved their music. In fact, some pirates kept musicians as prisoners just so they could hear them play. Consider the many benefits music brought to the pirate ships, the musical entertainment produced by pirates, as well as the ballads and melodramas created by others about the pirates' lives.

The privateers and pirates at the time of England's Queen Elizabeth I--known in Spain as "The Pirate Queen"--thrived because they could fairly easily find merchants with whom to trade and politicians to protect them. Discover the individual histories of the most famous, ambitious, and wealthiest of the Sea Dogs--John Hawkins, Sir Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Ralegh.

Although almost all pirate captains and admirals were men, there were a few female authority figures in the world of piracy--most notably Queen Elizabeth I of England. Dig into the backstories of other "pirate queens" including Ingela Gathenhielm; Grace O'Malley; Sayyida al-Hurra; and Cheng I Sao, who commanded tens of thousands of pirates in her fleet of 400 ships.