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"With surprising tales of vicious mutineers, imperial riches, and high-seas intrigue, Black Flags, Blue Waters vividly reanimates the 'Golden Age' of piracy in the Americas. Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's 'Golden Age'--spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s--when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Through engrossing episodes of roguish glamour and extreme brutality, Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them towering Blackbeard, ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. Also brilliantly detailed are the pirates' manifold enemies, including colonial governor John Winthrop, evangelist Cotton Mather, and young Benjamin Franklin. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of the seafaring outlaws whose raids reflect the precarious nature of American colonial life"--… (more)
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Dolin really delivers here. Black Flags, Blue Waters fills in some of the gaps that other pirate histories leave behind. I appreciated that this one stuck to the American colonies, rather than focusing solely on Jamaica and Madagascar. People tend to forget that the pirates may have raided int he Caribbean but they unloaded in Boston, New York City, Philadelphia and Charleston. But Dolin doesn't overpower the reader with every little prize taken or world politics either. He effectively proves that pirates had a direct effect on the economy, the local government and inter-colonial relationships. The colonies were as active in the Golden Age of Piracy as any island in the Caribbean.