Episode 22: How Piracy Actually Worked

Ask most people to describe a pirate and their ship, and they’ll likely conjure up an image of an eye-patch-wearing man commanding a huge ship. An image that, in most cases, could not be farther from the truth.

From the middle of the 17th century onwards, European nations expanded their influence and trade into the Americas and the Indian Ocean. In doing so, they created an environment in which piracy began to flourish.

That period, and the men and women who operated as pirates within it, have captured the imagination of the world ever since. Yet most of the common ideas and images about how piracy worked during that period are based on myth. On this episode, we’re going to look at how some of those myths came about, and also the equally interesting - and far more nuanced - reality hidden behind them.

Guest

Dr Rebecca Simon is a historian of the golden age of piracy. She is the author of The Pirates' Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship. Pirate Queens: The Lives of Anne Bonny & Mary Read. Why We Love Pirates: The Hunt for Captain Kidd and How He Changed Piracy Forever,  She has appeared in documentaries such as Histories Greatest Mysteries and is a lecturer in history at California State University Nortridge.

Cats present

Cecilia

Useful links

Rebecca Simon’s books: https://rebecca-simon.com

A General History of The Pyrates https://archive.org/details/generalhistoryof00defo

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