British Pirates and Society, 1680–1730 by Margarette Lincoln

Abstract

Reviewed by: British Pirates and Society, 1680–1730 by Margarette Lincoln Rebecca Lush Lincoln, Margarette, British Pirates and Society, 1680–1730, Farnham, Ashgate, 2014; hardback; pp. 286; 8 colour, 14 b/w illustrations; R.R.P. £70.00; ISBN 9781472429933. In her recent monograph, Margarette Lincoln analyses representations of, and public attitudes towards, pirates in the British Isles in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Using a variety of contemporary sources, including, manuscripts, books, newspapers, and periodicals, Lincoln sheds light on popular ideas about pirates within metropolis and ‘polite society’, the role of piracy in early commerce, and contemporary perceptions of their family lives, and the pirate lifestyle, in general. Lincoln arranges her material to reveal the views of certain social and geographical groups, and is thus able to track social developments and changes in representations of piracy, reasons for piracy, pirate stereotypes, and changes in public attitudes towards pirates. The first chapter focuses on arrests, trials, and executions of pirates that took place in London and includes an interesting discussion of the public broadcasting of pirate trials via newspapers and pamphlets. City authorities took a strong stance against piracy, and Lincoln observes that ‘key locations in the metropolis [such as law courts and executions places] were forceful reminders of the typical trajectory at the end of a pirate career’ (p. 46). The second chapter explores legal matters in more depth with a discussion on the development of specific laws relating to piracy at sea. In the next two chapters, Lincoln shifts focus to the economic and social spheres and evaluates merchant, middle, and upper class representations of pirates. She concludes that the ‘polite society’ of the aristocracy and landed elite were equivocal ‘with regard to individual swashbucklers’ (p. 119), with some individual pirates well received among the higher echelons of society and even able to reach a high social status themselves. Lincoln’s examination of piracy and legitimate commerce in the third chapter exposes the blurred line between illegal and legal trade that accounts for the wide range of popular representations: pirates were portrayed in some texts as loyal and brave men who protected their economic interests against hardship and aggression; in others, they were simply thieves. The most compelling chapter focuses on pirates and family life. Lincoln uses sources such as popular songs, images, and romance literature to unpack the domestic and romantic lives of pirates. In contrast to the stereotypical image of the pirate as a young, single male, Lincoln argues that ‘pirate liaisons were used to explore male and female perspectives on the married state’ and in fact ‘many pirates had quite ordinary domestic ties’ (p. 212). Lincoln makes good use of illustrations throughout the book, including street maps and popular depictions of pirates. Particularly striking is the image that appears in the first chapter of a pirate being prepared for [End Page 227] execution. He is surrounded by a small group of well-dressed gentlemen and in the background a large ship can be seen docked near the execution site. The scene clearly supports Lincoln’s statement regarding the visual way that the ramifications of piracy were made clear within the metropolis. The book concludes with a discussion of the legacy of pirates and how their representations continue to be influential today: according to Lincoln, no other group has been popularised in the media to the same extent. Lincoln has been able to uncover a wide array of representations and the result is a fascinating and thought-provoking book. Rebecca Lush The University of Sydney Copyright © 2016 Rebecca Lush