Piracy History

Soon after the first maritime trade routes became operational, seafaring bandits appeared to prey upon the cargo, crews, and ships of others. Crimson Waters traces the history of piracy around the globe, stretching back from its roots in 2500 BCE, through the Golden Age of Piracy in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and up to the modern-day pirates who still threaten boats along coastlines and on the open seas.

The war of 1812–1815 was a bloody confrontation that tore through the American frontier, the British colonies of Upper and Lower Canada, and parts of the Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico. The conflict saw British, American, and First Nations forces clash, and in the process, shape the future of North American history. Carl Benn explains what led to America's decision to take up arms against Great Britain and assesses the three terrible years of fighting that followed on land and sea, where battles such as Lake Erie and Lake Champlain launched American naval traditions.

Embarking from England as part of Commodore Anson’s expedition to the Pacific, HMS Wager was wrecked on a desert island to the southward of Chiloe. Following the wreck, the crew suffered dreadful privations from famine and descended into mutinous factionalism, theft, and murder. This account by young midshipman John Byron describes the events of the wreck and mutiny. It also narrates his journey home in company with Captain Cheap and a small group of loyal officers and seamen.

For more than 5,000 years, the seas have challenged, rewarded and punished the brave sailors who set forth to explore it. This history of the seas and sailing tells the remarkable story of those individuals—whether they lived to tell the tale themselves or not. From the early Polynesian seafarers and the first full circumnavigations of the globe, to explorers picking their way through the coral reefs of the West Indies, this audiobook tells the compelling story of life at sea that lies behind man's search for new lands, new trade, conquest and uncharted waters.

The ocean shapes our history. From the birth of humanity, oceans have separated and connected cultures. They have entranced and terrified generations. And they have shaped history in critical ways. Maritime trade. Naval warfare. Ocean exploration. Across the centuries, the ocean became a site for scientific advances and a highway for globalization. The Ocean Blue explores the way seas influence human history, from the ancient world to today.

When Campbell & Clark, Scottish merchants based in India, dispatched an Indian ship hurriedly renamed the Sydney Cove to the colony of NSW in 1797, they were hoping to make their fortune. The ship's 'speculative' cargo included all kinds of products to entice the new colony's inhabitants, including 7,000 gallons of rum intended to be sold to the Rum Corp. But when the ship went down north of Van Diemen's Land, cargo master William Campbell and 16 other crew members decided to walk the 600 miles to Sydney Town to get help and rescue crew and cargo.

In the murky depths of the world's vast oceans lie the forsaken vessels of the damned, their spectral forms haunting the seas with malevolent intent. "Haunted Ships: And Their Malevolent Mysteries" delves deep into the eerie mysteries surrounding these ghostly behemoths, uncovering the chilling secrets that lurk within their decaying hulls.

The 16th and 17th centuries saw the emergence of a new threat to government and organized society. Privateers and pirates raided along the coast of powerful countries and were, at times, at war with England, France, and Spain. They developed their own system of rules, a code of morality, and a very rough form of government. Pirates were eventually able to organize behind a captain who eventually would become like a governor with judicial power over all the pirates and control over settlements taken by the pirates in raids.

After revolutions in America and France, a wave of tumult coursed the globe from 1790 to 1850. It was a moment of unprecedented change and violence especially for indigenous peoples. By 1850 vibrant public debate between colonised communities had exploded in port cities. Yet in the midst of all of this, Britain struck out by sea and established its supremacy over the Indian and Pacific Oceans, overtaking the French and Dutch as well as other rivals.

The Zorg is the most consequential slave ship of the 18th century whose voyage changed the course of history, yet the story remains largely unknown. Drawing on a trove of archival materials, New York Times bestselling author Siddharth Kara uncovers new details of the Zorg's voyage and takes the listener on a gripping journey from the Netherlands to Africa’s Gold Coast where it was captured by a British privateer before loading its human cargo and heading onto Jamaica on its ill-fated journey to fuel the lucrative sugar trade.

Untamed Waters: The Golden Age of Piracy is a captivating and thoroughly researched exploration of history's most notorious era, delving into the thrilling world of pirates and their daring exploits on the high seas. From the sun-kissed shores of the Caribbean to the treacherous waters of the Indian Ocean, this book unravels the motivations behind piracy and its impact on global trade and politics. With meticulous citations, it serves as both an engaging listen for history enthusiasts and a valuable academic resource.

Jacques Cartier prépare minutieusement son premier voyage. Comme il est soutenu par le roi de France, il parvient à lever son équipage. Le 20 avril 1534, il assiste à la messe et au sortir de l’église, toute la ville l’accompagne sur les quais. La foule en liesse veut assister au départ de ce grand personnage auquel rien ne résiste. Il appareille avec deux navires ornés du drapeau fleurdelisé, symbole de la royauté. C’est le départ pour la grande aventure. En moins de trois semaines d’une traversée assez tranquille, Jacques Cartier passe au large de Terre-Neuve.

Berättelser om sagoskeppet Titanic slutar aldrig att fascinera. Titanic är en av de främsta mytiska berättelserna i modern tid och har kommit att bli en av västerlandets starkaste symboler, för såväl triumf och kärlek som för tragedi och sorg. Claes-Göran Wetterholm, en av världens främsta experter inom ämnet, berättar i denna bok om människorna som var ombord på fartyget eller som på andra sätt hade med händelsen att göra. Det är ett intimt porträtt av riktiga människor och deras livsöden.

In its two centuries of existence, America has seen more than its fair share of momentous events. Through it all, the American Navy has not only been a witness but an active and key participant to the creation and progress of the country. It has grown and strengthened its capabilities - from having zero ships and zero expertise to becoming one of the largest fleets in the world.

For the first time, Shipwrecked and Rescued tells the near-tragic story of lost and desperate shipmates floundering for two days in the deep snow and near-zero temperatures. Jorgensen's detailed research and collection of 100 rare historical photos chronicles what happened, introduces the key players, and finally reveals the fate of those collectors' prizes in the century since.

For decades, Clive Cussler's real-life NUMA®, the National Underwater and Marine Agency, has scoured rivers and seas in search of lost ships of historic significance. His teams have been inundated by tidal waves and beset by obstacles - both human and natural - but the results, and the stories behind them, have been dramatic. Here Cussler and colleague Craig Dirgo provide an extraordinary narrative of their true seagoing - and land - adventures.

In 1906, Britain's grip on the world was unassailable. Its navy ruled the seas, and its trade empire spanned the globe. But in the small port town of Tuticorin, a lawyer named V.O. Chidambaram Pillai—known to the world as VOC—had a revolutionary idea that would challenge the might of the empire itself. VOC's plan was audacious: to launch the Swadeshi Steam Navigation Company, a venture that would compete head-on with the British India Steam Navigation Company, the shipping giant that controlled the region.

They were out of their depth, out of breath and out of time. It was 1973. Two men were trapped in a crippled submarine 1,700 feet below sea. They only had enough air to survive for two days. On the ocean’s surface there was a hastily assembled flotilla of rescue ships from both sides of the Atlantic. The world held its breath to await word of a rescue. In a routine dive to fix the telecommunication cable that snakes along the Atlantic sea bed, their mission had gone badly wrong.

A cento anni di distanza dalla fatale collisione, Massimo Polidoro ricostruisce la vicenda del Titanic in un racconto corale che intreccia le storie di ufficiali e passeggeri, naufraghi e soccorritori, scienziati e avventurieri. Attraverso gli occhi dei protagonisti assisteremo all'intero svolgimento di una storia intramontabile. Saremo accolti a bordo. Visiteremo la nave e i suoi meravigliosi saloni. Incontreremo i personaggi più interessanti. Vivremo le emozioni della traversata.

It was a frigid night in February 2013 when the five young fishermen vanished. The crew of the Miss Ally - a 12-metre Cape Islander from Woods Harbour, Nova Scotia - was fishing for halibut far off the Nova Scotia coast when their boat’s spotlight malfunctioned. A vicious winter storm was approaching from her south, and all other boats at the fishing grounds were steaming for shore. Unable to locate his longlining gear, the Miss Ally’s young captain decided to stay an extra day to retrieve the gear and, hopefully, a big catch.