Friday, November 30, 2007

The Sack of Panamá by Peter Earle

This is the story Captain Henry Morgan. Before he was on the rum bottle, he was a pirate, or as they were more politely called, privateer. He and his associates dominated the Caribbean sea during the later half of the 17th century, robbing the Spaniards into a state of fear and poverty. The book culminates with his campaign across the isthmus of Panama which successfully halted the shipment of gold and silver from Peru to Spain. My favorite story, however, was definitely his battle in Maracaibo. He pulled the ol' wooden-planks-painted-like-sailors trick and caught the Spaniards off guard. Classic pirate adventures for sure.

The book reads more like fiction than history, probably because the subject matter is so action packed. Earle is really knowledgeable and a good storyteller to boot. I plan on reading more privateer biographies, but for now haven't come across any more. Suggestions?

5 comments:

Carlton Farmer said...

I really enjoyed Earle's The Pirate Wars.

Carlton Farmer said...

Also there is some pretty good stuff written about the pirate Sam Bellamy.

Brent Waggoner said...

All the books about Young Jack Sparrow are pretty good.

Carlton Farmer said...

And historically accurate.

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