 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.
Fair winds and
following seas,
Cindy
(site last updated 22 June 2026)
Pirate Quote of the
Month
To pardon a pirate may be
injurious to mankind; but how much greater
is the crime of opening a port, in which
all pirates shall be safe! The contraband
trader is not more worthy of protections;
if . . . he trades by force, he is a
pirate; if he trades secretly, he is only
a thief. Those who honestly refuse his
traffick, he hates as obstructors of his
profit; and those, with whom he deals, he
cheats, because he knows that they dare
not complain.
~ Dr. Samuel Johnson, 1771
in Thoughts on the Late Transactions
Respecting Falkland's Islands
 June Article |
 June
Reviews |
Servant,
Sailor, Soldier, Trooper, Taverner,
Pirate
Mary Read (part 1)
A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside
an enigma.
On the surface these
words are interchangeable, yet there
are subtle differences. According to
the Merriam-Webster Dictionary,
a riddle involves contradiction. A
mystery suggests we can’t fully
understand it. An enigma refers to
behavior that isn’t easily explained.
When Winston Churchill spoke these
words to his radio audience in 1939,
he referred to what the Soviet Union
did at the beginning of World War II.
The phrase
equally applies to one of the most
famous female pirates of the
eighteenth century. We can surmise her
intent and behavior, but without
definitive facts and direct reasons,
we will never know for certain.
|
Libertad
by
Cassandra James
Fantasy
Clay
and the Sublime
Porte
by Philip
K. Allan
Nautical
Fiction
Blackbeard's
Lost Head
by Barrett
Schmanska
Mystery
|
|
|
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.
Pirate Fare on the
High Seas
Julia Lauzon, a
feature writer for The
Takeout.com, interviewed
Benerson Little, William C. Davis,
and myself to find out nine foods
that pirates ate or drank during
the golden age. How many items can
you name?
|
Setting
Sail
9 March 2026 -
23 January
2027
Rosenberg
Library Museum
Galveston,
Texas
The Navy and Painters Exhibit
13 May - 2
August 2026
Musée National
de la Marine
Paris, France
Windjammer Days
21 June - 27 June 2026
Boothbay Harbor, Maine
Privateer Days
26-28 June 2026
Nova Scotia, Canada
Pirates Landing
27 June 2026
Seattle, Washington
Sail 250th New York
4 July 2026
New York City, New York
4th of July
Maritime Museum of San Diego
4 July 2026
San Diego, California
Boarded!
New Pirate Adventure
11 July 2026
8 August 2026
10 October 2026
28 November 2026
26 December 2026
Maritime Museum of San
Diego
San Diego, California
Smith Mountain Lake Pirate
Days
17-19 July 2026
Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia
Bald Head Island Pirate
Invasion
31 July - 2 August 2026
Bald Head Island, North Carolina
Ontario Pirate Festival
1-3 August 2026
Marden Park, Guelph, Canada
Pirates & Wenches Weekend
7-9 August 2026
Rock Hall, Maryland
Bisbee Pirate Weekend
7-9 August 2026
Bisbee, Arizona
Grain D'Pirate
7-9 August 2026
Binic-Etables-sur-Mer, France
|
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
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reasons: they deem it to be
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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 |
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