Pirates! The golden age of piracy, 1680-1730

The course will introduce you to the “golden age” of piracy, that period between 1680 and 1730. We will examine the rise of privateers, legal pirates, and their involvement in the early days of British power in the Caribbean. We will then look at the shifts that removed the space for such legalised piracy and led to the growth of a community of pirates those hostis humani generis (enemies of mankind) who loom so large in the popular memory people such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Black Bart.