Pillaging the Empire: Global Piracy on the High Seas, 1500-1750 - Paperback

by Kris E. Lane (Author), Kris Lane (Author), Robert M. Levine (Author)

This second edition of Kris Lane's best-selling Pillaging the Empire retains its concise narrative form, but now includes an updated review of pirate scholarship since the first edition was published in 1998, including a new section on piracy in East and Southeast Asia in the early modern period. Lane's treatment of piracy between 1500 and 1750 remains unique in its broad coverage and inclusion of victims' perspectives. With the inclusion of new material on piracy in East and Southeast Asia, the book is now unique for narrating global piracy.

This engaging story of maritime predation from the age of Columbus to the reign of Charles V of Spain is a fascinating account of the complex phenomenon that was the classic age of piracy. The well-known pirate leaders such as Francis Drake and Henry Morgan are present along with lesser-known figures such as Ann Bonny and Mary Read, two of the few female pirates on record. Pillaging the Empire brushes aside many legends, and pays careful attention to the varied circumstances and still more varied motives that led to the rise of this bloodthirsty pursuit of riches.

Author Biography

Kris Lane holds the France V. Scholes Chair in Colonial Latin American Historyat Tulane University. He is the author of Colour of Paradise: The Emerald in the Age of Gunpowder Empires and Quito 1599: City and Colony in Transition. He is currently writing a book on the colonial history of Potosí, Bolivia.