*Examines the lives, legends and legacies of the Caribbean's most famous and successful pirates.
*Explains how the myths and legends of pirates like Blackbeard created the instantly recognizable pirate stereotypes today.
*Includes pictures depicting the pirates and important people, places, and events in their lives.
*Includes contemporary accounts of the pirates written by Captain Charles Johnson.
*Includes Bibliographies
Over the past decade, few movie franchises have been as successful as Pirates of the Caribbean, starring Johnny Depp as the stereotypical pirate Jack Sparrow, a flamboyant, colorful and cunning pirate of questionable morality. The popularity of the movies and the character Jack Sparrow demonstrate how the people who have lived outside the boundaries of normal societies and refused to play by the rules have long fascinated the world. Nowhere is this more evident than the continuing interest in the pirates of centuries past. As the subjects of books, movies, and even theme park rides, people continue to let their imaginations go when it comes to pirates, with buried treasure, parrots, and walking the plank all ingrained in pop culture's perception of them.
While there is no question that the myths and legends surrounding history's most famous pirates are colorful, in some instances their actual lives made for even better stories. Before the Golden Age of Piracy, men like Sir Francis Drake straddled the line between pirate and privateer, and Drake was knighted for fighting the Spanish.
While Captain Morgan's ruthless piracy has actually been overlooked due to his association with the spiced rum company using his name, he was a remarkably successful pirate, and one of history's best documented pirates.
The Golden Age of Piracy generally refers to the era when history's most famous pirates roamed the seas of the West Indies from 1670-1720, and it is no coincidence that the beginning of it was marked by the rise of Henry Every. In his day Every was the "King of Pirates", and in addition to popularizing the famous skull and crossbones logo that would become the most famous pirate flag, Every conducted what is considered the most profitable pirate raid in history, leading to what is considered the first worldwide manhunt in history when the English put a large bounty on his head.
It would be an understatement to say that pop culture's perception of piracy and pirates has been primarily influenced by