Review of Ed T. Fox,, ed. Pirates in Their Own Words: Eye-Witness Accounts of the “Golden Age” of Piracy, 1690-1728. Fox Historical, 2014. lulu/shop/et-fox/pirates-in-their-own-words/hardcover/product-21700684.html lulu/shop/et-fox/pirates-in-their-own-words/paperback/product-21707029.html lulu/shop/et-fox/pirates-in-their-own-words/ebook/product-21708777.html In the world of transcribed published primary sources for pirate history in the 1690s-1720s, the selection is limited. But Dr. Fox’s new collection of 76 primary source documents of varying length (from short letters and testimonies to trial transcripts) is a refreshing new edition to the study of pirate history. Before this work, the most recent large collection of Golden Age of Piracy-specific documents came in the form of Joel Baer’s 4-Volume work. Baer’s work, while remarkable, mostly concentrated on large works and trials. His selection was also of the more well-known primary sources for pirate history (in particular, the trials). One other concerning issue is the availability – the set is rarely seen outside of a selection of libraries reference sections. On the other hand, Fox’s work is comprised of numerically more works, a mix of documents in terms of notoriety in pirate history, and more wide availability since Fox’s work is the first of these pirate document collections to be available through digital download. The selection of sources presented in this collection cover the entire width of the Golden Age of Piracy of 1690 to 1728, and only that era. The other collections often branched out to cover piracy before and after this period. The collection also tries it’s best to bring the voice of the pirates themselves forward, which explains the title of this work, “Pirates in their Own Words.” But, as the introductions written by Dr. Fox at the beginning of each document explains, sifting through the bias of period documents is much easier said than done. But many of the documents are also from witnesses of piracy and/or victims of piracy. The selection of the documents brings about many intriguing pieces of information and insights into the lives and actions of pirates. Some of the documents, I’ve personally heard about, but never seen before. This includes letters from a wife and another from a widow of pirates in Madagascar in the 1690s. Overall, this collection has a strong representation of pirates serving in the 1690s, likely a byproduct of Dr. Fox’s work on pirate Henry Every’s history (that eventually produced the book, King of the Pirates). Another work that attracted my attention was a thorough description of a battle with a pirate – since battle accounts with pirates are relatively rare (since many encounters with pirates resulted with the civilian target surrendering instead of fighting). Finally, it was with great joy to see that the work of Jacob du Bucquoy is being translated after all these years (the non-English works about piracy from the era often goes neglected in studies of piracy). For those that study pirate history, especially those looking to approach it from an academic level, it is essential to look at the original documents (and not just Charles Johnson’s General History of Pyracy). With collections of transcribed documents only coming to light on rare occasions, not to mention be available to a more general audience, Pirates in their Own Words is a priceless publication to possess, and who better to bring such sources to us than an academic historian of piracy whose work is helping bring new light to pirate history.
Posted on: Fri, 18 Jul 2014 21:33:32 +0000
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