Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates [Paperback]

David Cordingly (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 20, 1996

For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier. 16 pp. of photos. Maps.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Though literature, films, and folklore have romanticized pirates as gallant seaman who hunted for treasure in exotic locales, David Cordingly, a former curator at the National Maritime Museum in England, reveals the facts behind the legends of such outlaws as Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Calico Jack. Even stories about buried treasure are fictitious, he says, yet still the myth remains. Though pirate captains were often sadistic villains and crews endured barbarous tortures, were constantly threatened with the possibility of death by hanging, drowning in a storm, or surviving a shipwreck on a hostile coast, pirates are still idealized. Cordingly examines why the myth of the romance of piratehood endures and why so few lived out their days in luxury on the riches they had plundered.

From Publishers Weekly

Widespread piracy began in the Western world in 1650 and ended abruptly around 1725. Cordingly, formerly on the staff of the National Maritime Museum in England, describes who became pirates (mainly volunteers who joined up when their ships were captured); what they wore (scarves or handkerchiefs around their head, just like in the movies); and how they were armed (literally, to the teeth). Pirates, says the author, were "attracted by the lure of plunder and the desire for an easy life." They were not the clean-cut heroes of the Errol Flynn films either, but cutthroat murderers. Some of the famous pirates are portrayed: Sir Francis Drake made his name by plundering silver on the Spanish Main; Sir Harry Morgan is famous for his ransom of Portobello to the President of Panama for 250,000 pesos; and Captain Kidd remains mysterious because of his buried gold and silver on Gardiners Island, near New York City. Fictitious pirates are also surveyed, such as Long John Silver and Captain Hook, and the allure they still have over us is explored. Even if you don't know a corsair (a Mediterranean-based pirate) from a buccaneer (a Caribbean pirate), this book will delight and inform. Photos not seen by PW. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 296 pages
• Publisher: Random House; 1 edition (August 20, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0679425608
• ISBN-13: 978-0679425601
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 6.8 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (123 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,292,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

66 of 70 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Footprints of a Wooden Leg., October 3, 2004

By 

Maximiliano F Yofre "Maxi" (Buenos Aires, Argentina) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

"Under the Black Flag" is a real pirate's treasure. For all those who want to know what was "real" and what "romance", here's your book.

Mr. Cordingly has performed a deep research on the subject and presents it in a very readable and interesting form. He has taken diaries, contemporary newspaper articles, personal letters and memoirs as a solid backdrop.
His study is centered mainly in the Caribbean theater, the East coast of North America and the Indian Ocean. He also gives glimpses of the Chinese pirates leaded by Ms. Cheng.
Every main issue is described: weaponry, tactics, vessels, flags, everyday life, treasures, pets and battles.
In its pages you'll find the life and deeds of famous characters as Henry Morgan, "Blackbeard", Captain Kidd, L'Ollonais, Calico Jack and many others not so well known.
A whole chapter is dedicated to women pirates including the adventures and misadventures of Mary Read and Anne Bonny.
Finally "romance" is addressed taking into account mainly movies on the subject.

As a bonus the book includes six maps of the different scenarios of pirate's campaigns; a glossary of sea terms; an extensive bibliography and several appendixes on relevant matters.

So brace yourselves and come aboard!

Reviewed by Max Yofre.

56 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pillage and Plunder, September 14, 2002

By 

David Stapleton (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

Probably one of the best overall books on the subject of piracy, myth and reality, that I have read. Cordingly covers the history, the movies, the books, the truths and the untruths. He covers the pirate havens, common practices, origins, the big names and little names. Not just a dry narrative, but a fun read.

If you were to buy one book on the topic of piracy, this should be it (Angus Konstam's History of Pirates would be next in line). It is a must for any budding pirate historian. P-)

41 of 42 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The most accurate and best researched book on pirates, January 9, 2000

By 

Sebastián Ignacio Donoso B. - See all my reviews

This review is from: Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Harvest Book) (Paperback)

David Cordingly's "Under the Black Flag, The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates" constitutes the best researhed book on pirate history I have ever read. The information provided about the lives of this notorious anti-heroes, the reality of the life among them and the world of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is amazingly accurate, and backed up with an extensive bibliography and footnotes. For those interested in pirate history throughout the ages, and specially the Golden Age of Piracy, this book constitutes a fundamental tool for understanding the pirate reality. When uncovering how the real people like Edward Teach and Calico Jack were, this book has no equal. Cordingly separates the myths from the real individuals behind them, proving that the reality is much more interesting than the romance, when uncovered. At the same time, the author discusses how the myths surrounding Blackbeard, the Women Pirates or Kidd's treasure, were formed and have survived through the years, becoming important elements of popular culture. Cordingly establishes why in our hearts, pirates were not sadistic villans, but rather "...romantic outlaws living far from civilization on some distant sunny shore," something most of us would dream to be.