---
product_id: 219461
title: "The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down"
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# The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down

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The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down [Woodard, Colin] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down

Review: The Golden Age of Piracy: crime and adventure in its context - The Golden Age of Piracy, roughly a 30 year period at the beginning of the 18th century, has taken on such a romantic notion in the modern mind, that when you actually discover the true events of the period, that the true story becomes much larger than the caricature that has been painted by Disney or other children's' stories. What Woodard, a native Maine journalist, attempts to do in this book is explain who the pirates actually were, what their motivation was, and why their heyday ended so rapidly. What makes this book so readable, is that not only does Woodard recount the hazards of early 18th century sailing so well, but he places it in its economic, social and political context. What made the pirates of the age so different from previous pirates, for piracy has been around as long as men have taken to the sea, was that these pirates were considered outlaws by every nation, and quite a large percentage of the few thousand who made up the Golden Age, were political dissenters, and hopeful insurgents against the new House of Hanover of Britain, and supporters of the deposed House of Stuart. Woodard inserts several things into his narrative that make this book worthwhile. His description of the extremely harsh social and economic conditions that sailors of the day had to serve under goes a long way to describe why a sailor with an otherwise spotless record would choose to leave legitimate merchant or military service for the high risk life of a Caribbean pirate. The author also makes the at time arcane world of 18th century sailing understandable and real. The reader, by the end of the book, should know the difference and significance between sloops, various rates of line ships, and frigates for example. The book focuses on the personalities of the era especially well. The rise pirate "republic" of the failed British colony of the Bahamas is shown to be personality driven by pirates like Vane and Hornigold. The public persona of Blackbeard, as well as the bumbling of Stede Bonnet illustrates how pirates used or misused their personal gifts to advance their high risk/ high reward profession. Put into context, the reader, besides learning about a fascination time period that was as exciting and really as short lived as the outlaw period of the American west or the gangster rule of Chicago, can see how a pattern of the rule of law and social convention breaks down in all sorts of time periods and circumstances. The British government solution, led by the Bahamian Governor, Woodes Rogers, was to aggressively assert authority over the center of the insurgence and then to alternate between warnings of mercy and systematic hunting of the lawbreakers by getting them to use their natural suspicion to turn on each other. This is a fascinating book for the general reader. There are sufficient maps of the 18th century Caribbean and the North American coast, and the writing not only puts the events into context, but tells the story well, by describing the motivations and personalities of the Golden Age of Piracy so that they make sense within their time period.
Review: A Great Slice of History - The Republic of Pirates is something of an unlikely book for me to read. Yet, because it was suggested by no less than Al Mohler as one of his recommended summer reads, I decided to add it to my list of titles to read. The book is "the true and surprising story of the Caribbean pirates and the man who brought them down." It looks at the history of Caribbean piracy, focusing primarily on its heyday which lasted for only about a decade in the early part of the eighteenth century. During this time many of the most successful pirate captains joined forces, bringing trade and commerce in that portion of the New World to nearly a complete halt. Piracy cut trade routes, took over thousands of ships, and stole their precious cargoes. Captains and crew become wealthy, stealing from the rich to make themselves even more rich. The book looks at such well-known and infamous villains as Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet and Anne Bonny (though she appears only very briefly). It looks also at Woodes Rogers, the unlikely privateer who eventually restored order and destroyed piracy. Not surprisingly, the pirates of history bear only a vague resemblance to the pirates of fiction and film. Though some regarded themselves as nautical Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to help the poor, most were purely villainous, seeking only to better themselves as they stole, raped and pillaged their way through the Caribbean. In the end, most pirates received their due for their violent lifestyle. The Golden Age of piracy did not last long, but it has left with it innumerable legends and villainous heroes who seem never to fade. The Republic of Pirates tells their true story and tells it well. Dr. Mohler was right. This is a good choice for a summer reading list. It may not offer much of practical or eternal value, but it is a good, fun read. And there's nothing wrong with that.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #21,204 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #7 in Maritime History & Piracy (Books) #11 in Crime & Criminal Biographies #13 in Naval Military History |
| Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (3,103) |
| Dimensions  | 5.31 x 0.69 x 8 inches |
| Edition  | Reprint |
| ISBN-10  | 015603462X |
| ISBN-13  | 978-0156034623 |
| Item Weight  | 12.8 ounces |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 400 pages |
| Publication date  | June 30, 2008 |
| Publisher  | Mariner Books |

## Images

![The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/311JTJe+JyL.jpg)
![The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down - Image 2](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/41EAWj86UwL.jpg)
![The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down - Image 3](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51LzjuDF2gL.jpg)
![The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down - Image 4](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51csKvULn0L.jpg)
![The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down - Image 5](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71CgLcQJIXL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ The Golden Age of Piracy: crime and adventure in its context
*by J***G on August 14, 2008*

The Golden Age of Piracy, roughly a 30 year period at the beginning of the 18th century, has taken on such a romantic notion in the modern mind, that when you actually discover the true events of the period, that the true story becomes much larger than the caricature that has been painted by Disney or other children's' stories. What Woodard, a native Maine journalist, attempts to do in this book is explain who the pirates actually were, what their motivation was, and why their heyday ended so rapidly. What makes this book so readable, is that not only does Woodard recount the hazards of early 18th century sailing so well, but he places it in its economic, social and political context. What made the pirates of the age so different from previous pirates, for piracy has been around as long as men have taken to the sea, was that these pirates were considered outlaws by every nation, and quite a large percentage of the few thousand who made up the Golden Age, were political dissenters, and hopeful insurgents against the new House of Hanover of Britain, and supporters of the deposed House of Stuart. Woodard inserts several things into his narrative that make this book worthwhile. His description of the extremely harsh social and economic conditions that sailors of the day had to serve under goes a long way to describe why a sailor with an otherwise spotless record would choose to leave legitimate merchant or military service for the high risk life of a Caribbean pirate. The author also makes the at time arcane world of 18th century sailing understandable and real. The reader, by the end of the book, should know the difference and significance between sloops, various rates of line ships, and frigates for example. The book focuses on the personalities of the era especially well. The rise pirate "republic" of the failed British colony of the Bahamas is shown to be personality driven by pirates like Vane and Hornigold. The public persona of Blackbeard, as well as the bumbling of Stede Bonnet illustrates how pirates used or misused their personal gifts to advance their high risk/ high reward profession. Put into context, the reader, besides learning about a fascination time period that was as exciting and really as short lived as the outlaw period of the American west or the gangster rule of Chicago, can see how a pattern of the rule of law and social convention breaks down in all sorts of time periods and circumstances. The British government solution, led by the Bahamian Governor, Woodes Rogers, was to aggressively assert authority over the center of the insurgence and then to alternate between warnings of mercy and systematic hunting of the lawbreakers by getting them to use their natural suspicion to turn on each other. This is a fascinating book for the general reader. There are sufficient maps of the 18th century Caribbean and the North American coast, and the writing not only puts the events into context, but tells the story well, by describing the motivations and personalities of the Golden Age of Piracy so that they make sense within their time period.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ A Great Slice of History
*by T***S on August 14, 2007*

The Republic of Pirates is something of an unlikely book for me to read. Yet, because it was suggested by no less than Al Mohler as one of his recommended summer reads, I decided to add it to my list of titles to read. The book is "the true and surprising story of the Caribbean pirates and the man who brought them down." It looks at the history of Caribbean piracy, focusing primarily on its heyday which lasted for only about a decade in the early part of the eighteenth century. During this time many of the most successful pirate captains joined forces, bringing trade and commerce in that portion of the New World to nearly a complete halt. Piracy cut trade routes, took over thousands of ships, and stole their precious cargoes. Captains and crew become wealthy, stealing from the rich to make themselves even more rich. The book looks at such well-known and infamous villains as Blackbeard, Stede Bonnet and Anne Bonny (though she appears only very briefly). It looks also at Woodes Rogers, the unlikely privateer who eventually restored order and destroyed piracy. Not surprisingly, the pirates of history bear only a vague resemblance to the pirates of fiction and film. Though some regarded themselves as nautical Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to help the poor, most were purely villainous, seeking only to better themselves as they stole, raped and pillaged their way through the Caribbean. In the end, most pirates received their due for their violent lifestyle. The Golden Age of piracy did not last long, but it has left with it innumerable legends and villainous heroes who seem never to fade. The Republic of Pirates tells their true story and tells it well. Dr. Mohler was right. This is a good choice for a summer reading list. It may not offer much of practical or eternal value, but it is a good, fun read. And there's nothing wrong with that.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Just like the Pirates of the Carribean Ride at Disneyland - great visuals
*by R***L on July 15, 2025*

I can feel the boredom - What an accumulation of first and secondhand information - outstanding - unparalleled - it can be overwhelming in detail - and you're going to love it - I appreciate the most how he brought the main pirates of that era to life - Those boys had it going for a decade or so - ultimately, they just wanted to have fun at the merchants' expense - great book that adds to the history of the early 1700's -

## Frequently Bought Together

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*Last updated: 2026-02-21*