When one picks up a naval history, one does not expect to be excited by the tale. They should be dry affairs, reflecting their antiquity. After all, 17th century captains of the sea have about as much in common with the current day as a pebble does with the moon and nobody pays that much heed to a pebble. And yet, Mr. Talty surprises and entertains with this riotous chronicle of what reads like a glorious time of chaos in the seas of our fair world.
In contrast to the power it would wield in later centuries, the 1600s were difficult and choppy waters for the British empire. While kings were being beheaded, while republicanism was being trialed, and while parliamentary systems were being empowered, England had to combat the ascendancy of Spain which had recently struck it filthy rich in South America. Unable to compete financially with a Spanish empire rolling in gold and silver, Britain had but one option, to lower its pompous standards and employ sea pirates as legitimate agents of the realm, funding them and contracting them to engage with the Spanish navy. For a powerful Spain not only threatened the security of British colonies, it threatened the safety of the isles themselves. No man was better positioned to take up this British hand of friendship than captain Henry Morgan. Now remembered more for the commercial rum that bears his name than for his own life as a terror of the seas, Morgan was eager to attain legitimacy in the eyes of his homeland. And so he set about outfitting, crewing and sailing a fleet of pirate ships that brought the Spanish Navy to its knees. Captain Morgan and his many victories and defeats are captured vividly by Mr. Talty who does not fail to provide an edifying big-picture backdrop to the career of one of the most successful and enthusiastic of pirate kings.
It seems a universal human truism that the privileged only ever entertain associations with commonfolk when their interests and their positions of power are threatened. Then, the privileged are grateful for every friend they can reliably claim. But when the rightful way of things is restored and the privileged are once again in safe harbor, then they have no time whatsoever for the knaves who helped keep them from ruin. So it went with captain Morgan whose successes only proved his downfall. The larger the threat he was to the Spanish, the more he and his pirates became a point of negotiation between the great powers. And Britain wasn't going to sacrifice an agreement with the Spanish over a bunch of rogues. Mr. Talty does a wonderful job capturing not only the highs and lows of a pirate's life, he nails the hypocrisy of the powerful men who needed them and then threw them away. He leaves us with a dazzling portrait of what must have been an amazing time on the contested Atlantic. (4/5 Stars)
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