Practices and Narratives of Early Modern Piracy: Connecting the Seas, 1550–1800 (1) (Maritime Humanities, 1400-1800)

By: Susanne Gruss and Marcus Hartner

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Synopsis: Rather than looking at different manifestations of early modern piracy as geographically and temporally isolated cultural phenomena, Practices and Narratives of Early Modern Piracy: Connecting the Seas (1550–1800) pursues a comprehensive approach to this field of study. This volume investigates the spatial, temporal, and economic connections between pirates and other seafarers who navigated the North Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic, and the Indian Oceans in the early modern period, and the cultural products they inspired. With a specific focus on historical practices and cultural narratives it addresses issues such as the appearance of pirates and piratical protagonists in diverse geographical locations, changing negotiations of pirate identity, the fluid boundary between illegal piracy and state-sanctioned privateering, and the (trans)national economic entanglements of different forms of maritime predation. By bringing together the discussion of literary, cultural, and historical aspects of piracy and seafaring, the volume explores the cultural as well as the ideological impact and function of the pirate figure in early modern historiography, literature, and popular culture.