The Pirates of the New England Coast 1630-1730 (Dover Maritime)

In spite of the title, "The Pirates of the New England Coast, 1630-1730", this book is not restricted to pirate activities in that region, though it is restricted to pirates who at some point did appear on the New England Coast. To that extent, and my main interest in this particular book, was the extensive coverage of the depredations and heinous crimes of Ned Low, one of the nastiest pieces of piratical work operating in the era. In fact, about 40% of the book is devoted to Low and his evil associates. Sam Bellamy, alas, one of the most successful gets but a single chapter; since this is an older book, the reader receives no intelligence of the later finding on Cape Cod of his ship nor the treasure which was recovered from it.This volume should rank as one of the "classics" of pirate literature, though also one of the newer ones, appearing first in 1923. No bibliography of sources is provided, but much of the material in it was extracted from mainly 18th Century pamphlets and other publications, the covers of which are sprinkled as illustrations throughout. There are also footnoted references citing contemporary newspaper stories describing pirate activities, testimonies of victims, reports on trials, and (often mass) executions. Unfortunately, one source often dipped into is the 1724 book by Captain Charles Johnson which is of some questionable reliability; this is especially the case with his "Vol. 2" of 1728, which is encrusted with fantasy, such as the fancy speech given by Bellamy. This leads to a highly inaccurate history of the man who was without question New England's greatest pirate (one of the the greatest of all time in fact), Thomas Tew of Newport, R.I. -- do not believe the nonsense printed in this volume about Tew and his involvement with a utopian pirate colony, it was mainly based on that of Capt. Johnson (who, in reality, was either Daniel Defoe or Nathaniel Mist). I had hoped for a good biography of Tew, not this; it would appear that not much is really known about him.There are two sections in this work which need mentioning that are of questionable truth, but which have historic value. One is the account of Philip Ashton, first published in Boston, 1725, who was kidnapped by Ned Low, held prisoner on his ship, then escaped to an uninhabited island, and finally returned home almost 3 years later. The tale as it told does have a ring of truth about it, and it would appear his existence is documented in contemporary sources. Not so the case with a similar account of a prisoner of Low, Captain George Roberts (that which is published herein is an extract of very much longer book which first appeared in 1726). The Roberts' account would appear in part to be a crib of the Ashton account, reads like an over-wordy novel, and paints Low as a somewhat nicer fellow than any other account of him, including Ashton, would lead one to believe. Further, the actual existence of George Roberts has been questioned; some believe this was, again, a creation of Daniel Defoe.So, there is much to question in this book, which does not distract from the fact that it is still one of the classic books on pirates and may still be read for enjoyment. At only about 100 years old, it is somewhat easier for the modern reader than Capt. Johnson's 300 year old "General History". Like many other books on this subject, it is a mixture of fact and fiction, though the authors, G.F. Dow and J.H. Edmonds, did appear to try to present an accurate history. The problem is most of the original sources, being from the early 18th Century, are themselves questionable at best, and many were published as lurid stories to sell books, sensationalized newspaper stories, or pamphlets written foremost to sell, but also with often religious or moral messages as their secondary goal. Probably the most accurate material is that within court records, but that consisted mainly of "not guilty" pleas with officialdom trying to sort out the real pirates from "forced men" or those being held prisoner. History is messy; pirate (and other criminal) history especially so.

I live in New England just a few miles from the coast and only blocks from a river where Captain Kidd is said to have buried treasure (too bad he didn't say where), so reading about pirates has been a hobby since I was a kid. This book is a great account of the pirates of the New England coast, so it's perfectly aimed at me. The writings a tad stodgy at times but it's not a difficult or boring read by any means. In fact, every time I pick it up to read a few pages, I end up reading several times that. You will learn a great deal about the history of pirates, of New England and of sea commerce and there's lots and lots of adventure along the way.I think any New Englander will get a great kick of of this book and I have to say, for the price I paid used, it was a great find (and even new these Dover books are quite a bargain--and the quality of the printing is just fine). I'm not sure kids or teens would get much out of it, but anyone that's of a certain age will just love it. Great, fun read.

I have read a pile of books on Pirates and found this one to be a real gem. It is limited in its scope, but more than makes up for that by its extremely detailed documentation of the hypocrisy and corruption that made piracy in this area and time a profitable enterprise. This book has much fascinating detail from actual court records. The Appendix even includes the actual text of Captain Ploughman’s Privateering Commission issued by Joseph Dudley governor of Massachusetts Colony on 17 July of 1703.I am very pleased to see that Dover reprinted this rare book.

Great book and valuable addition to my collection. Excellent content with tons of footnotes and references. Also includes a thorough index and illustration guide. Perfect book for lovers of pirate history.

Nice

An absolutely intriguing book.

"The Pirates of the New England Coast" constitutes a very well researched and serious source on Piracy for the period 1630-1730. I highly recomend this book, which is well written, entertaining and accurate. The main character is Boston-born Edward Low, the most notorious of all New Englanders who became pirates. Five chapters are dedicated to him, and one to Captain Lowther, his closest partner in plundering. Three chapters are interesting accounts written by seamen who were captured and remained on board Low's ship for weeks. These narrations are among the most valuable sources dealing with life on board a pirate ship. The exploits of other less known pirates such as Harris, Spriggs, Phillips and Fly,(who were all sailing under Low for some time before seeking their own fortunes independently), are also well detailed and researched, based on first hand documents, including: state papers, judicial documents on the pirate trials, and gazettes dating from the Colonial Period.

Most of this book's information is simply a re-hash of previous works, particularly Johnson/Defoe's "A General History of Pirates". This work purports to cover the major pirates of the New England coast, yet almost entirely overlooks Edward Teach (Blackbeard), who spent quite a bit of his time off North Carolina - although the book shows Teach on its cover. The first-hand accounts reprinted in this book are extremely enjoyable, yet I must wonder why such informative accounts have not been included in any other major works on piracy. This leaves me wondering about the authenticity of these accounts. Three times in this work, the flag of Ned Low (and numerous of his shipmates, who set off on their own piratical journeys) is described in detail and each time it is the ensign of Edward Teach that is described, rather than Low, while brief mention of Teach leaves his flag conspicuously undescribed.While the first-hand accounts are enjoyable to read, I would not recommend this book to serious piratical enthusiasts. Try "A General History of Pirates" instead; you'll read much more reliable accounts of many of the same pirates.

much of the info comes from documents and records (including trials and executions records) by governors and other authorities along the New England coasts

Das Buch erschien erstmals 1923 (Salem, Massachusetts) - aber für alle, die sich mit Piratengeschichte seriös befassen, ist diese Neuauflage eine Bereicherung! Die Darstellung berüchtigter Bukaniere und Piraten des 17./18. Jh. wird durch reichhaltige Quellenangaben und Zitate aus Primärquellen, die man in den meisten Publikationen über Piraten leider vermisst, ergänzt. Es befasst sich speziell mit den Piraten, die an den amerikanischen Küsten aktiv waren. Außerdem sind weitere einzigartige zeitgenössische Textzeugnisse mit aufgenommen: So z. B. das Protokoll eines Prozesses gegen Piraten; der packende Tatsachenbericht eines von Piratenkapitän Edward Low gefangenen Kapitäns oder die Erlebnisse eines ebenfalls von Edward Low zwangsrekrutierten Seemannes. All diese Quellen ermöglichen ein weitaus reichhaltigeres Bild der Piraten, als es herkömmliche Bücher bieten.Die Publikation bildet eine unerläßliche Grundlage für alle, die über Piraten forschen. Viele zeitgenössiche Abbildungen und Portträts.