From School Library Journal
Most of us have heard the stories connected with the "Golden Age of Piracy," 1660–1725. Be they fictional or factual, the exploits of such famous buccaneers as Henry Morgan, Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard), and William Kidd as well as less-well-known figures such as King Baldridge, Thomas Tew, and Henry Every have permeated literature and history around the world. Burgess (_Seize the Trident_) recounts the stories of the political and business figures who supported these pirates and their voyages of plunder and murder, describing how the colonial governors in North America and the West Indies engaged in pirate brokering, selling privateering commissions that legitimized the armed seizure of treasure-laden ships as far away as the Red Sea. This was effectively state-sponsored piracy, and everyone profited from it—everyone except the English Crown, that is. An engaging story wonderfully told with solid research. Highly recommended.—David Lee Poremba, Keiser Univ., Orlando, FL
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Product Description
The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America
Was classical piracy an earlier version of state-sponsored terrorism?
Here's the story of how almost every well-known buccaneer of the “Golden Age of Piracy” enjoyed active sponsorship from England's governors in the American colonies- setting a pattern of official disobedience to the Crown that would ultimately contribute to the American push for independence. Relying on rare primary sources discovered in government archives in England, the Carolinas, Rhode Island, Jamaica, and elsewhere, Burgess combines true tales of derring-do with groundbreaking research in this fascinating history.