 Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime
Piracy
Cindy Vallar, Editor
& Reviewer
P.O. Box 425,
Keller, TX 76244-0425
 
Welcome aboard Pirates and
Privateers, a site devoted to the history
of maritime piracy, privateering, and the sea
before the Age of Steam.
Within these pages you will find articles
dealing with the history and culture of these
topics from ancient times to modern day. Click
one of the links above or below to explore the
treasures within this website.
Each month, I send out a newsletter
about the latest article and reviews posted
here. I also include information that doesn't
appear at Pirates and Privateers, but is
still of interest to adherents of piracy and
maritime history. By subscribing to the
newsletter, you'll never miss out on the latest
happenings here at Pirates and Privateers.
As
always, if you have a question about pirates,
please write
and ask. If there is a particular pirate
or subject, you'd like me to write about, let
me know.
One cautionary note for those
seeking genealogical information: Historical
records about pirates are rare. Much of what
is known comes from government records,
newspaper accounts, and the few contemporary
accounts written during a particular period.
This information rarely contains details
pertinent to what you need to know to identify
an ancestor. The simple fact is that the vast
majority of pirates' names remain unknown. I cannot answer
genealogical questions. Instead, I recommend
contacting genealogical depositories and
websites, historical societies, and
national archives --
places where the librarians and curators are
better trained to assist in this type of
query.
A special note to teachers
and students: If
you need help with a project or
report, please contact
me. Should you use any of my
articles or reviews, please let me
know and remember to include the
proper citation. The majority of
material contained with this
website is copyrighted.
Happy treasure hunting
this Spring!
Fair winds and following seas,
Cindy
(site last updated 19 March 2026)
Pirate Quotes of the
Month
The threat of being
incarcerated isn’t a significant deterrent
because that, too, becomes a form of exit.
There’s the sense that anything,
especially prison in Europe, would be a
great idea, ‘because then I can get
asylum’.”
~Jatin Dua, a doctoral
candidate, Department of Cultural
Anthropology, Duke University
spent
three months of 2011 traveling in
Somalia, Somaliland, and Puntland
I want to be very clear that we are
resolved to halt the rise of [piracy] in
that region. We have to continue to be
prepared to confront them when they arise.
And we have to ensure that those who
commit acts of piracy are held accountable
for their crimes.
~ Barak Obama, president of
the United States, 2009
 March Article |
 March
Reviews |
Who Will Try
the Case?
Law & Order: Pirate Edition (part 7)
Jurisdiction is defined as “the
power, right, or authority to interpret
and apply the law.” It plays a role in
cases pertaining to piracy because piracy
occurs on the high seas where no one
country can claim ownership. “Jurisdictional
matters sometimes turn out to be
all-important in the final outcome.” (Merriam
Webster Dictionary) They determine
who can and will try a case, and depending
on that outcome, that country’s laws
determine how convicted pirates will be
punished.
|
Nine
Roads to the Battle of New
Orleans
by
Ryan Starrett
History
The
Sentinel
by MaryLu
Tyndall
Historical
Romance
Back
to the New
Adventure
by Val
Hamilton
History
|
|
|
Pirate & Maritime News
|
Events & Activities
|
Some pages remain in the
old style, while others are in the new
style. We apologize for this. After
twenty-four years, there are many
pages to overhaul and this takes time.
We appreciate your understanding and
patience.
|
Setting
Sail
9 March 2026 -
23 January
2027
Rosenberg
Library Museum
Galveston,
Texas
Pirates on the Prairie XIII
21 March 2026
Grand Prairie,
Texas
Pirate Days
16-17 April
2026
Mystic Seaport
Museum
Mystic,
Connecticut
Pirate Fest
25 April 2026
Greenville,
North Carolina
Pirate & Boots Festival
25 April 2026
Houma Downtown
Marina
Houma,
Louisiana
Legacy & Horizons
14
May 2026
Rededication
of Pride
II
Baltimore,
Maryland
Billy Bowlegs Pirate
Festival
14-18 May 2026
Fort Walton Beach, Florida
Sail 250th New York
4 July 2026
New York City, New York
|
The Rebel & the Spy
These
five people played roles in the War of 1812.
James Madison (far left) was president at
the time and, in my current
work-in-progress, he has a special
assignment for Lucas Burnett, one of the
protagonists in the novel. Jean Laffite
(beside Madison) operates a smuggling
operation, based on barrier islands
southwest of New Orleans. One of his
captains, is Dominique You, whose sister
Alexine has been raised in this nefarious
world of smugglers, pirates, privateers, and
cutthroats. Dolley Madison is the country's
presidentress (first lady) and plays a vital
role in preserving some of our national
treasures during the British invasion of
Washington City. General Andrew Jackson
(second from right) has no intention of
allowing the British to gain entry to the
United States through its back door (the
Mississippi). Governor William C. C.
Claiborne (far right) is Lucas's cousin and
a constant thorn in Laffite's side. They
come together within the pages of The
Rebel & the Spy, a historical
novel where it's not always easy to decide
who is the rebel and who is the spy.
The links below are to a gallery of places
depicted in my novel and a resource list for
those seeking information on the people
pictured above, pirates, ships in the age of
sail, the Battle of New Orleans, the
invasion and burning of Washington, the
bombardment of Fort McHenry, and much more.
(Please note that these pages are updated
from time to time, so check back to see
what's been added.) I hope you enjoy.
Pirates & Privateers
Newsletter
Each month I alert
readers to the posting of the
latest piracy article and book
reviews, new additions made to the
website, and interesting maritime
tidbits. If you would like to
receive the monthly Pirates
& Privateers Newsletter,
send
me an e-mail with SUBSCRIBE in
the subject line.
If you're not sure,
here's a sample
newsletter to read. I hope
you enjoy!
Note
to subscribers: If you fail
to receive your newsletter,
it's possible that your
e-mail provider returned it
to me for one of several
reasons: they deem it to be
junk mail; your mailbox is
over quota; access to your
account is denied; or you
changed your e-mail address
and forgot to notify me of
the change. Contact me and
we will try to resolve the
problem.
If your
newsletter bounces two months
in a row and you don't contact
me, I just delete you from the
subscriber list. You're
welcome to resubscribe if that
occurs.
Copyright ©2023 Cindy
Vallar
Click to contact me
Background image compliments
of Anke's Graphics |
.jpg)
