Towards a political ecology of piracy in the Age of Sail

Abstract

ABSTRACT Although historians and archaeologists have been quick to point out the political and economic conditions that tend to foment sea piracy, less attention has been given to the ecology of ‘blue crimes’. This article offers an empirical synthesis of recent archaeological work on piratical sites from the Age of Sail (ca. 1570–1860) while drawing parallels to both ancient Mediterranean and contemporary sea piracy in order to highlight some common patterns and explore the broader potential of a political ecology framing. I argue that sea piracy is in part an effect of ecological conditions and in turn produces its own political and ecological effects. I also consider Graeber and Wengrow’s transhistorical argument about the ‘ecology of freedom’ as it applies to sea piracy.