The Pirate Menace explores the rise and fall of notorious pirates, tracing their origins to Nassau, Bahamas, and their impact on the maritime economy of the Americas. It features 30 years of research by Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading pirate experts.

Format: Hardback
Length: 384 pages
Publication date: 09 May 2024
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC

The Rise and Fall of the Notorious Pirates of Nassau

This new account explores the most notorious pirates in history and how their rise and fall can be traced back to a single pirate haven, Nassau. Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading pirate experts, has 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

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.

Weight: 620g
Dimension: 242 x 162 x 35 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781472857736