Pirates and Privateers
The History of Maritime Piracy

Cindy Vallar, Editor & Reviewer
P.O. Box 425, Keller, TX  76244-0425

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Pirates & Privateers began in 2000 as a monthly column with an article on Jean Laffite and a list of recommended pirate web sites. Since then, it has grown beyond my wildest dreams, and now includes book reviews and pirate adventures, as well as a newsletter that includes the latest pirate-related news and information. I thank you for your visit and your support.

Within these pages, you'll find articles on all aspects of maritime piracy from ancient times to modern day. Pirate Links is an annotated list of the best web sites that specialize in piracy and life at sea in the Age of Sail. The Bookaneer pages house the reviews on the latest fiction and non-fiction books for children and adults. Other highlights include specialized bibliographies, piratical places to visit, pirate dates in history, piracy quotes, and information about The Rebel and the Spy, my current novel-in-progress that started me on the path of piracy.

If you'd like to be notified when I post a new article, as well as read the latest pirate-related news that doesn't appear within the pages of Pirates and Privateers, subscribe here. If you'd like to read a sample of my newsletter before you subscribe, click here. Subscribers never miss out on the latest happenings at Pirates and Privateers.

As always, if you have a question about pirates, please write and ask. If you'd like me to write about a particular pirate or subject, let me know. One cautionary note to those searching for genealogical information on a pirate. Historical records about pirates rarely contain this data, except in rare instances with well-known pirates. The vast majority of pirates' names are lost. Rather than contacting me to answer these questions, your best bet is to check genealogical records, which I don't have at my disposal.

A special note to teachers and students: Answering questions and locating information is something I love to do. If you need help with a project or report, please contact me. Should you use any of my articles or reviews, please remember to include the proper citation.

Warmest regards and Piratically Yours,

Cindy
aka The Pirate Lady

Special Announcement
Beginning 5 January 2008, Pirates and Privateers
will be published on the 5th of each month,
rather than the 1st of the month.
 

(Site updated 4 May 2008)

Pirate Quote of the Month She was a square-rigged barque with three masts and a shallow draft, a favorite vessel of pirates before the seventeen hundreds. The foresails and topsails were billowing in a nonexistent breeze. She mounted ten guns, five run out on the main deck on both sides. Men with bandannas around their head were standing on the quarterdeck, waving swords. High on her mainmast, a huge black flag with a fiendishly grinning skull dripping blood stood straight out as if the ship was sailing against a headwind…. "Look at the man in the scarlet suit and tell me what you see…." "A man with a feathered hat.... He has a peg leg and a hook on his right hand.” "Don’t forget the eye patch...." "All that’s missing is a parrot on one shoulder.... A bit stereotyped, don’t you think? …captain with his Treasure Island Long John Silver peg leg, Peter Pan hook and Horatio Nelson eye patch. And then there was the flag." -- Clive Cussler, Trojan Odyssey

May Article Pirates and Their Clothes One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, “What did pirates wear?” It seems like a straightforward question, but it’s not. Clothes change as time passes. What’s in fashion one day may be out of fashion the next. The further back in time one looks, the more stringent the rules regarding clothes become. The basic outfit worn by all mariners didn’t change much over the centuries when wooden ships with billowing sails ventured farther and farther from their homelands. Pirate clothes, like the rogues themselves, broke societal boundaries and deviated from the norm.

Upcoming Appearances

	If you would like the Pirate Lady  to speak to your group, please contact me.
	Lakeview Cub Scout Pirate Day Camp Church of the Cross Memorial Baptist Church Grapevine, Texas June 17-19, 2008
	Upcoming Maritime Online Workshop  The Age of Sail: Ships and Trade 1 September - October 2007 Click here to view this and other offerings

For additonal appearances, visit Thistles & Pirates.
 

News, Exhibits, & Events

News Book of Pirates by Miller Pope has been released by Winoca Press (978-0-9789736-2-9). This new book mainly focuses on Caribbean pirates during the 17th and 18th centuries, but also includes some later pirates and those of the Barbary States. It also features an adapted version of my Pirate Lingo article. Pirate Exhibits and Events Contraband Days Pirate Festival Through 11 May 2008 Lake Charles, Louisiana Rusty Scupper's Pirate Daze 20 - 22 June 2008 Westport, Washington Privateer Days July 3-6 2008 Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada Pirate Day Festival 19 July 2008 Clay, New York Shipwrecked Pirate Music Festival  23August 2008 Midway Sandbar Amphitheater from 10:00 - 1:30 Columbia, Missouri A Short Life and Merry: Pirates of New England Heritage Museum & Gardens, Sandwich, Massachusetts  Extended through 31 October 2008 Check out Pirate Adventures for pictures and more information. Real Pirates: The Untold Story of the Whydah 31 May - 2 November 2008 Franklin Institute Science Museum Philadelphia, PA Loyal Order of Reenactment Enthusiasts (LORE) 18 - 19 October 2008 Shipwreck! Pirates & Treasure 24 March - 1 September 2008 Detroit Science Center Detroit, Michigan Privateer Day & Pyrate Invasion April 2009 Fells Point in Baltimore, Maryland If you're a fan, please vote for Pirates and Privateers. Thank you!

Visitors' Reviews I really got a kick out of your site, which is head and shoulders above a number of other sites that I visited. -- Edward Chupack, author of Silver I just found your site, really wonderful! Congratulations! -- María Antonia Garcés, Cornell University and author of Cervantes in Algiers Thanks for sharing your hard-earned knowledge and research with the rest of us! -- Maura I know your site well. Keep up the good work. -- Colin Woodard, author of The Republic of Pirates

The Articles

Being a Pirate (or How to be one)
History of Piracy
Modern Piracy
Notorious Pirates (or Who was who)
Piracy Around the World
Pirates and Literature
Privateers
Wooden Sailing Ships

The Links

Activities for Young Pirates
Archaeology
Education
Exotic Ports of Call
History
Modern-day Piracy
Notorious Pirates
Pirate Literature
Piratical Books Online
Ships and Sailing
Treasure Troves
 

The Bookaneer

Latest Reviews
Five-Star Reviews
Books for Young Pirates
Books for Apprenticed Pirates and Young Adults
Fiction Books for Adults
Nonfiction Books for Adults
 

Special Resources

Pirate Adventures
Fun places for pirates in need of rest & relaxation

Barbary Corsairs Resources
Articles, books, and web sites on the Barbary Corsairs

Canadian Piracy Resources
Articles, books, and web sites on piracy and privateering in Canada

Modern Piracy Resources
Articles, books, and web sites on piracy today

Pyrate Surgeons Resources
Articles, books, and web sites on pyrate surgeons and medicine at sea in the Age of Sail

Wooden Sailing Ships
Inside look at a wooden ship

Pirate Limerick Cemetery
Compliments of Catalina the Pirate and Friends

Piratical Dates
Events in history related to pirates and the world in general
(Updated May 2008)

Pirates and Privateers Site Map
 

The majority of the artwork on these pages is copyrighted by the artists.
To obtain permission for their use please go to ClipArt.com.

The backgrounds used on Pirates and Privateers are from WebGround.
 
 

The Rebel and the Spy

The Rebel and the Spy, my current Novel-in-Progress, centers around Jean Laffite and the Battle of New Orleans.  Below are links to places depicted in the novel and a resource list for those seeking information on Jean Laffite, Pirates, Ships in the Age of Sail, the Battle of New Orleans, Andrew Jackson, and many other subjects.

Jean Laffite's Haunts

New Orleans and Piracy Resource List
 

Each month I alert readers to the posting of my latest piracy article and book reviews, new additions made to the site, and interesting tidbits about piracy. If you'd like to receive the Pirates and Privateers monthly newsletter, just complete the form below.

Subscribe to the Pirates and Privateers Newsletter Enter your name and email address: Name: Email: SubscribeUnsubscribe

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 e-mail addresses and forgot to notify me of the change.  Contact me and we'll try to solve 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.

© 2000-2008 Cindy Vallar

 

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