Empire Of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, The Epic Battle For The Americas, And The Catastrophe That Ended The Outlaws' Bloody Reign (2007)
About book Empire Of Blue Water: Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, The Epic Battle For The Americas, And The Catastrophe That Ended The Outlaws' Bloody Reign (2007)
Pirates (or privateers) always make sensational subjects, so author Stephan Talty didn't need much embellishment to make the tale of Henry Morgan into a fast-paced and thrilling book. I've read a handful of other accounts of Morgan and other privateers and found this one of the most successful renderings. And while Morgan cuts a definite dash, Talty doesn't shy from making it clear that it was ruthlessness as well as leadership skills, strategic thinking, and inventiveness that led to his success. Interestingly, Morgan was best operating on land, not sea, as one might assume. It was his epic land-based raids that assured his fame, not pitched sea battles (though there is one wonderful episode involving the brilliant use of a 'fire ship' that is the exception). What I found especially interesting, however, was the how Spanish inflexibility and bureaucracy in the New World made it (relatively) simple for Morgan to defeat them time and again. Talty's descriptions of the bizarre workings of the Spanish court, the historical background on the shifting alliances among the British, French, Spanish, and Dutch, and the details of Morgan's campaigns were all masterfully done. He gave vivid accounts of both the top and bottom of the social ladder, summoning images that made, for example, death-obsessed Philip IV of Spain spring to life. Talty has a vivid style, too, that made listening to the tale even more enjoyable.I'd be remiss not to mention the reader of this audiobook, John Mayer, who not only has the ideal voice for reading such a swashbuckling tale, but who injected a certain humor and relish into the reading that struck a suitable piratical tone. Mayer's pacing and reading of the text only improved upon it and were always a delight. This reading is an abridged version of the book, I understand, but I can't think that reading the full text would be any improvement -- there are no tell-tale "gaps" that gave away the abridgment.This was the first of what I hope will be many audio CDs downloaded from a website maintained by a state-wide consortium of libraries. It took some "fiddling" to get the files into a format that would play on my iPod, but persistence paid off. It sure beats loading and ripping individual CDs checked out from my local library.
I may be just about the only person in America that has not seen any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, so I didn't have too much of a prior notion of pirates before reading this book, aside from pirate vernacular that we've all grown up on, like "avast, me mateys!" and "argggghhh!" (which, according to this book, are far more Hollywood than true piratical.)I did, however, see this on display at my local library and thought it sounded like a good read (look at that subtitle, though!). I'm a sucker for non-fiction books that prove truth is stranger than fiction, and that are written in such a way as to totally engross the reader (like In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex and Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption, just to name two of my favorites). This one doesn't disappoint in the least. There are a few passages describing some of the battles and the politics behind them that didn't capture me fully, but most of this is definitely a rollicking good read.It's incredible to realize the insane amount of money that Spain was "liberating" from the New World, and how much the pirates and the privateers (who were actually working for either the French or the English against the Spanish) could bring home in a raid. It's also mind-blowing how much these pirates would blow through once they returned to Port Royal. They had absolutely no interest in saving their pennies for a rainy day, and instead showered prostitutes with pieces of eight (each one worth about $50 in today's money, and most men brought home hundreds) or gambled and drank away their share of the booty. Saving their money or buying land meant turning respectable, and as long as there was booty to be gotten, why would they do such a thing?The decline of the Spanish empire, as one founded on religion, and the ascension of the English empire, based on trade, was brought about at least partly by the actions of the pirates in the New World. So in a way, we can thank the pirates for the capitalist world in which we live, if one wants to reduce things down that drastically.If one has any interest at all in pirates and privateers in the late 17th century, this is definitely a must-read. Highly recommended.
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realmente me encanta que haya usado un titulo tan largo como los que se usaban en aquellos tiempos. La reseña advertia que es uno de los tantos libros que salieron para aprovechar el exito de la pelicula "Piratas de Caribe", pero que sin embargo era bueno. Y en efecto tiene buena investigacion, me decidi a leerlo porque algo habia que leer sobre piratas del caribe antes de ir a la boda de Vani y Fede en el crucero. Y en efecto le dio otro angulo a la visita del fuerte en San Juan Puerto Rico. Cosas que me llamaron la atencion: la diferencia entre pivateers y piratas; los contratos que hacian los piratas antes de embarcarse, asignando precio por miembro perdido, tanto dinero por mano derecha, tanto por izuierda, tanto por pierna o por ojo. Pero quiza lo que mas me llamo la atencion es lo triviales que fueron las batallas mas decisivas, un puñado de hombres y una colina, un barco y algunos explosivos. Los piratas son idealizados, pero no es distinto de la mafia rusa o los piratas somalies, saqueadores del esfuerzo ajeno, obstaculo en el progreso y la civilizacion. Que le voy a hacer, cada dia me vuelvo mas moralista y panfletario.
—Alejandro Ramirez
Wow. I feel like I've got to take a week off after reading this one. A lot happens, man. (This is one of those books that proves reality is far more incredible than fiction.)I can say nothing more than that this must be the epitome of pirate literature - it may not be pirate Bible, but it's pirate Shakespeare at the very least. Loved it. Henry Morgan is a colossal figure in history, and this book gives him his due. (I read "Cup of Gold" by John Steinbeck about a thousand years ago - also about Henry Morgan - and loved it at the time, but this book blows that one right out of the water, yes, with a nice broadside.) My thanks to Bettie whose site I found this on.
—Sylvester
This is very engaging history of the The Brethren, Capt. Henry Morgan's real Pirates of the Caribbean. Along with the drama of a fireship ruse and a city-destroying earthquakes, it is interesting the actuality of buccaneer life. Rather than a criminal navy, they were more like a criminal marine corps: ships were a conveyance to get them to coastal settlements and departure points for laying siege, such as the pivotal struggle for Panama City having marched over 50 miles inland. While it is not develed into detail, buccaneer psychology is partly analyzed. Why did they continue after even having money, instead choosing to be profligate and tying themselves to their lives of kidnapping, slaving, ransoming, torture, and theft. It actually appears they were an anarchistic collective of murderous sociopaths.
—Tom Schulte
