Customer Reviews

Pirate Utopias

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Those familiar with this author know his areas of interest and what to expect from him in general, but in this case the particular subject matter imposes some additional constraints. Those who have done any reading on pirates in general know that it's very difficult to find a book that's actually interesting that doesn't wander too far off into wild speculation (or downright fiction). Pirates of any kind were not, for the most part, prolific writers; there are few first-hand accounts of their lives to draw from. In this book Wilson counts on his reader to be understanding of the difficulties he faces in trying to put together the story of the Corsairs and Renegadoes, and for the most part his effort is interesting enough to make you forget its shortcomings.

Wilson's account centers on the corsair republic of Sale, which presents a particular challenge in that there is less documentary evidence for him to work with than the better-known corsair enclaves in Algiers. Nonetheless he leans heavily on the sources he does have, and I thought I was in for a rough read when, about halfway through the book, he included a chapter that was essentially page after page of quoted material, with only a sentence or two of his own writing to break it up.

This does not last for too long, however, as the later portions of the book get more speculative and interesting. The author's usual areas of interest are all in play: Islamic mysticism, egalitarian/anarchist ideals, a sprinkling of vice and pederasty, etc. Some of his speculations are particularly dubious, as when he concludes that the Renegadoes were cannabis users based primarily on a single hand-drawn sketch of three men laughing, but for the most part Wilson is good about not attempting to pass these things off as historic fact. It is just that his primary interest is in the way things *could* have been, and admittedly this is far more interesting than the little we know about how it actually was.

It may not be a great book, but all in all Wilson knows his audience well, and if you came here looking for this book (as opposed to a casual browser), you will probably not be disappointed.

Since Milton published his (dubious) speculation that Barbary corsairs carried off a million Westerners to slavery in North African, numerous websites have popped up citing his view as if it were historical truth. The historical record supports up to fifty thousand captives in Barbary, which is far shy of the sensationalistic claims that a modern public--wanting to think that Islam has always had it in for them--is willing to believe. War hawks frequently trot out the Tripolitan Wars as an example of how the United States today ought to treat Muslim opponents today. (Bomb them.) A book like Pirate Utopias, in which Wilson studies a Barbary community with a genuine interest in its people and no political burdens, is a much needed breath of fresh air.

Wilson examines the Sallee Republic, an independent pirate public, or more correctly as he points out three pirate republics, as the three factions were autonomous and even waged war on one another, in order to understand who these people were, what motivated them, and why so many Europeans were willing to turn renegade and join them. The Muslim motivation -- retaliation against European, especially Spanish raids and marauding, religious zeal, and a lust for profit, are actually well documented and understood, although generally ignored by most readers and writers. Wilson covers that, but where he performs a real service is in examining the renegades. By an understanding of the opportunities and freedoms in the Sallee Republic and the oppressions and poverty in Europe, he makes a compelling case why a rational Westerner might choose to throw in his lot with the rovers.

Wilson engages in a fair amount of speculation which he properly identifies as such, but some of his conclusions are not persuasive. If they had been accompanied by more contextual research they could have been more compelling. For example, his conclusion that cannabis was used by the corsairs rests on rather weak evidence drawn from local sources. While the emphasis on local sources is commendable and essential, in this case he fails to locate the cannabis question in the larger Muslim world. Portions of the Islamic world did indeed some to accept cannabis use on the grounds that it was not forbidden by the Qu'ran. It can be reasonably supposed that corsairs--who did not take kindly to outside authorities telling them what to do--may well have accepted cannabis use as one of the pleasures to which they were entitled. As Wilson illustrates, a portion of the corsairs spent their winters partying in the cabarets of the city. On the other hand, as Wilson also points out, those rovers from the old city of Salé were conservative and pious, and although he does not go into their lives in detail, we can assume that they probably disapproved of the rowdy past times of some of the other rovers.

This points out once again the need for contextual studies and materials to provide a greater understanding of just how the various factions of Sallee rovers and their renegade compatriots lived, which would in turn provide a deeper understanding of the complex processes and different communities and personalities involved in the corsair republic(s). Pirate Utopias is an interesting book that opens up a subject worthy of much greater research, and it can only be hoped that either the author of some other person will take up where he left off.

All in all, Pirate Utopias is a very readable and interesting book, one that points out important issues and distinctions, and which raises questions worthy of further exploration. A small book, it is readily digestible to even individuals new to the realm of pirate studies and enjoyable for the casual reader who would like to know more about a colorful piece of history. I wish I had been able to lay my hands on this book several years ago.

~M. Kei, author of The Sallee Rovers (Pirates of the Narrow Seas, Book 1) (fiction)

For anyone who likes history, pirates, religions, anarchy... in fact, nevermind, for absolutely anyone. this book is simply fascinating, you wouldn't want to put it down. it paints such an amazing image of a time and place that i would do anything to go live there and now one of my goals is to visit the city of Sale in Morocco and walk in the lands were such amazing characters once lived...

unforgettable!

I like Pirate movies, hey almost everyone does...

But now I want a "Sally Rover" movie (Arab Piracy) both as a historical tribute and a spit in the eye to established authority and especially "American Imperialism NeoCONartist / NeoCOLONIALism". It'd be awesome to make, an assault on the senses. Pirates with turbans, corrupt European officials set against each other like bugs in a jar, white as well as black slavery, an Islamic city of both vice and virtue, saints and scoundrels together.

Kind of a past history, a "Wild West" time for Burroughs's "Interzone". Have belly dancers in hashish dens/coffeehouses. Massage parlors that hint at real naughty stuff. Have a Sufi saint do miracles, but also be a friend perhaps to the pirates. Plenty of philosophy, from Sufi wisdom to proto anarchist thought.