Pirates! Merchant seamen! The Royal Navy! And also commodities trading, a lot of commodities trading. This book was another read for my Atlantic World seminar. What better way to talk about the Atlantic than by discussing the men who made the transnational exchanges possible? Admittedly, this book has a Eurocentric orientation, but the English/European perspective is an important one to consider, even if it is not the only one.
The chapters on maritime culture are particularly fascinating; if you are interested in what seamen did and how they viewed themselves, then this book will give you a good (scholarly) understanding. If you are looking for swashbuckling adventure, read
Captain Blood instead. Also, go to the Pirate Museum in Key West, FL.
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