Terror of the Spanish Main: Sir Henry Morgan and His Buccaneers [Hardcover]

Albert Marrin (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 1999 | Age Level: 11 and up

Henry Morgan, who was born in Wales in 1635 and died in Port Royal, Jamaica, in 1688, was an unusual sort of leader. Inspiring the respect and admiration of his fellows, he led them to undertake daring raids on Spain's possessions in the New World; yet he commanded neither an army nor a navy. Nor was he a political ruler, although his exploits affected the power politics of Europe and earned him a knighthood. In plain language, Henry Morgan was a leader of thieves, a prince among a group of outcasts, desperadoes, and failed gentlemen known as buccaneers. Though movies and novels have romanticized them, the buccaneers were in fact a ruthless group who got their way by brutal means. Their motives were pure self-interest, yet they operated with the permission of certain European nations in order to break the Spanish monopoly in the West Indies. Vividly outlining the political and economic circumstances that allowed the buccaneers to flourish, and freshly evoking both life at sea and life in the colonies in the seventeenth century, Albert Marrin shows how Henry Morgan was a particular response to forces that are still with us. War, poverty, greed, bigotry, and oppression play themselves out, albeit differently, in our lives today. Albert Marrin is the chairman of the history department at Yeshiva University, and he has written many award-winning nonfiction books for young adults, including Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War (Dutton).

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

While debunking romantic myths and misconceptions, Marrin (Commander in Chief: Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War) ably proves fact stranger than fiction in his portrait of the legendary buccaneer Sir Henry Morgan (1635-1688). Supported by meticulous research, Marrin paints buccaneers as outcasts and thieves with little to lose who brutally and violently plundered Spanish ships and colonies in the 17th century. Henry Morgan, the son of a "middling" Welsh farmer, sought adventure at sea and became the leader of these bandits; he was knighted by King Charles II of England for thwarting Spain's interests in the New World. Marrin details the economic and political factors that contributed to the rise of the buccaneers as well as the social climate, including religious beliefs, standards of cleanliness, threat of vermin and violent forms of torture. With candor, Marrin explains what's missing from historical accounts as well as his own conclusions when faced with such gaps. For example, speculating on Morgan's passage to America, he writes, "Through their writings [other 17th-century sailors who made the journey], and with a little imagination, we can join them on a 'typical' Atlantic crossing." A thorough "Notes" section references his abundant sources. Although Marrin's often gory account is not for the weak of stomach, most readers will find this gripping and complex historical drama impossible to put down. Ages 11-up.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6 Up-Fascinating in its details and extremely readable, this book is hard to put down. In telling Morgan's story, Marrin reaches far beyond the buccaneer's exciting exploits, spinning a rip-roaring yarn of life in the age of exploration, beginning with Columbus's return from the New World and ending with the Jamaican earthquake of 1692 that unearthed Morgan's coffin, sending it out to sea. The writing is lively and the colorful primary-source quotations are almost pungent with the spice of the tropical-island air. The book is most interesting when the author steps aside momentarily to let the memoir of some forgotten sailor speak for itself on the subject of discipline, personal hygiene, or the danger of fires at sea. Through this accumulation of telling details (life in an English village; life aboard a ship; the clothing, weapons, and social manners of the world of the 1600s), Marrin has constructed an extremely compelling narrative and created a useful resource on life during this period. Engaging black-and-white etchings and line drawings give not only a picture of the historical figures and events (buccaneers plundering Panama, pirates boarding a vessel, the beheading of King Charles), but also offer a taste of the 17th-century imagination (a sea-monster attacking a ship). Each illustration is accompanied by a helpful caption. For the period, the people, and the way they lived, this is an essential volume.
Herman Sutter, Saint Pius X High School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 11 and up
  
• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1st edition (February 1, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525459421
• ISBN-13: 978-0525459422
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #525,398 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Albert Marrin is an award winning author of over 40 books for young adults and young readers and four books of scholarship. These writings were motivated by the fact that as a teacher, first in a junior high school in New York City for nine years and then as professor of history and chairman of the history department at Yeshiva University until he retired to become a full time writer, his paramount interest has always been to make history come alive and accessible for young people.

Winner of the 2008 National Endowment for Humanities Medal for his work, which was presented at the White House, was given "for opening young minds to the glorious pageant of history. His books have made the lessons of the past come alive with rich detail and energy for a new generation."

Dr. Marrin's numerous other awards include the Washington Post Childrens'Book Guild Lifetime Achievement Award, the James Madison Award for Lifetime Achievement, several Horn Book awards by the Boston Globe, consistently appearing on the best book of the year lists of the American Library Association, frequent recognition by Book Lists, and the Western Heritage Award for best juvenile nonfiction book presented at the National Cowboy Hall of Fame among others.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fascinating, educating, and highly readable, December 26, 2001

By 

Philip Hamilton (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Terror of the Spanish Main: Sir Henry Morgan and His Buccaneers (Hardcover)

I had heard of Henry Morgan and the buccaneers, but did not know much about them before I read this book. "Terror of the Spanish Main" presents a wealth of information in an entertaining and understanding way. Some of the parts that I found most interesting include the following:

1. What was London really like in the 17th century? (Marrin pulls no punches in describing the sights and odors that more sterile histories omit.
2. The democratic way in which the buccaneers and pirates organized their expeditions. The pirates were a "floating democracy."
3. The horrific tortures...described vividly in the book...that were "acceptable" more than 300 years ago.
4. How Morgan's life ended.

Numerous illustrations accompany the well-documented text. The book far exceeded my expectations, and I will read other books by this author.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great Pirate book, but not really a book about Henry Morgan, August 30, 2000

By 

Everett H. Black IV - See all my reviews

This review is from: Terror of the Spanish Main: Sir Henry Morgan and His Buccaneers (Hardcover)

This book was easy to read and packed with information. If you have an interest in pirates, this book will give you a fantastic overview.

If you are looking for specific, down-and-dirty details about Henry Morgan, however, this book might not be your best pick.

In essence, the author does an admirable job of showing what life, and especially life as a pirate, would have been like during the 1600s. In addition, there are detailed notes and a wonderful section of additional sources at the end of the book.

If you already have a good basic understanding of pirate life and want to know everything about Henry Morgan, however, consider yourself forewarned: I kept waiting for the specifics about Henry Morgan to show up. When they finally did begin to show up half-way through the book I found them to be of the "We don't really know for sure but this is a good guess of what he might have experienced" variety.

To be fair, for such a prominent historical figure, Morgan left few records, especially of his early years. I did find the information about his Uncles new, interesting and thought-provoking but felt the title suggested a more thorough treatment of the man himself.

Change the title and it would be a GREAT pirate book or pack it with EVERY detail you can find about Morgan and this would be the perfect pirate book. However, with Morgan figuring so prominently in the title I was a little disappointed to find the book contained so little new information about him.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Really Very Good, November 27, 2008

By 

Michael E. Fitzgerald (Kingwood, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Terror of the Spanish Main: Sir Henry Morgan and His Buccaneers (Hardcover)

I am glad I didn't realize this was written for ages 6 and up or I would have passed it by. This book is really quite awesome.

I have always gotten the feeling from reading about early America that a) piracy was condoned, and b) as a condoned enterprise, it had to be a major growth industry, a major economic driver for early colonial America. But I never felt I knew enough about piracy as a business or an early profession to come to any rational conclusions.

If you have felt the same as I have, then Mr. Merrin has done everyone 6 and up a wonderful service. Here, at last, is a remarkably well written primer on piracy covering where it started as a formal business in the New World, how and why it evolved, who was involved, where the markets were for its goods and services and, most importantly, why it was so successful. Freshly evoking both life at sea and life in the colonies in the 17th century, the author shoes how piracy was a response to the forces of its time: War, unemployment, racism, poverty and oppression.

Not bad for the 6 and up audience!