Shrouded by myth and hidden by Hollywood, the real pirates of the Caribbean come to life in this collection of essays edited by David Head. Twelve scholars of piracy show why pirates thrived in the New World seas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century empires, how pirates operated their plundering ventures, how governments battled piracy, and when and why piracy declined. The essays presented take the study of piracy, which can easily lapse into rousing, romanticized stories, to new heights of rigor and insight. The Golden Age of Piracy also delves into the enduring status of pirates as pop culture icons. Audiences have devoured stories about cutthroats such as Blackbeard and Henry Morgan from the time that pirates sailed the sea. By looking at the ideas of gender and sexuality surrounding pirate stories, the fad for hunting pirate treasure, and the construction of pirate myths, the book's contributors tell a new story about the dangerous men, and a few dangerous women, who terrorized the high seas.

In 1859, the S.S. Great Eastern departed from England on her maiden voyage. She was a remarkable wonder of the nineteenth century: an iron city longer than Trafalgar Square, taller than Big Ben's tower, heavier than Westminster Cathedral. Her paddles were the size of Ferris wheels; her decks could hold four thousand passengers bound for America, or ten thousand troops bound for the Raj. Yet she ended her days as a floating carnival before being unceremoniously dismantled in 1889. Steamships like the Great Eastern occupied a singular place in the Victorian mind. Crossing oceans, ferrying tourists and troops alike, they became emblems of nationalism, modernity, and humankind's triumph over the cruel elements. Throughout the nineteenth century, the spectacle of a ship's launch was one of the most recognizable symbols of British social and technological progress. Yet this celebration of the power of the empire masked overconfidence and an almost religious veneration of technology. Equating steam with civilization had catastrophic consequences for subjugated peoples around the world. Engines of Empire tells the story of the complex relationship between Victorians and their wondrous steamships, following famous travelers like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne as well as ordinary spectators, tourists, and imperial administrators as they crossed oceans bound for the colonies. Rich with anecdotes and wry humor, it is a fascinating glimpse into a world where an empire felt powerful and anything seemed possible-if there was an engine behind it.

Shrouded by myth and hidden by Hollywood, the real pirates of the Caribbean come to life in this collection of essays edited by David Head. Twelve scholars of piracy show why pirates thrived in the New World seas of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century empires, how pirates operated their plundering ventures, how governments battled piracy, and when and why piracy declined. The essays presented take the study of piracy, which can easily lapse into rousing, romanticized stories, to new heights of rigor and insight. The Golden Age of Piracy also delves into the enduring status of pirates as pop culture icons. Audiences have devoured stories about cutthroats such as Blackbeard and Henry Morgan from the time that pirates sailed the sea. By looking at the ideas of gender and sexuality surrounding pirate stories, the fad for hunting pirate treasure, and the construction of pirate myths, the book's contributors tell a new story about the dangerous men, and a few dangerous women, who terrorized the high seas.

In a lively narrative that includes fascinating historical research as well up-to-date information on the current effort to combat piracy, this lucidly presented book provides a coherent, practical blueprint for tackling, and perhaps resolving, the international menace of both piracy and terrorism. Attacks on cargo ships along the Somali coast by maritime thieves have recast the image of piracy for the twenty-first century. Gone is the faded sepia image of Captain Kidd and buried treasure. In its place are gangs of seaborne brigands with rocket launchers, who bear a striking resemblance in appearance and actions to terrorists. This compelling study shows that the case for linking piracy and terrorism goes much deeper than shared imagery. In fact, from a legal standpoint piracy may offer civilized society the key to fighting international terrorism. Drawing both from historical examples and the present-day situation in the Gulf of Aden, the author proves that piracy and terrorism are the same crime. If the international community took the logical step of defining terrorists as pirates, these thugs would no longer find a safe harbor and they could be captured wherever they are found under the customary law of universal jurisdiction. Moreover, the current maze of legal restrictions that hampers the prosecution of both pirates and terrorists would be eliminated. Examining measures taken by states over one hundred years ago to stamp out piracy, the author constructs a model law for terrorism based on piracy. He then suggests how such a law for terrorism might transform the hunt for al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations. It would provide both a precedent and a legal framework for future trials and would facilitate the capture of suspected terrorists around the world.