Originally published on November 28, 2018 (Episode 87)
Introduction
Our fascination with pirates runs deep—even if most of what we “know” comes from Hollywood and Halloween costumes. But who were pirates really? And what happened when hundreds of them sought the King’s pardon at Nassau in 1718?
In this episode, Steve Hahn and I explore what piracy looked like in practice: not eye patches and parrots and walking the plank, but what’s necessary when you’re in the business of large-scale theft: networks of fences to get rid of the goods, and the murky line between outlaws and ordinary merchants.
About the Guest
Steve Hahn is Professor of History at St. Olaf College and was when we recorded this at work on a book about the 1718 Nassau pardons. It has subsequently been published as A Pirate’s Life No More: The Pardoned Pirates of the Bahamas (Georgia, 2025).
For Further Investigation
Steven Hahn, A Pirate’s Life No More: The Pardoned Pirates of the Bahamas (Georgia, 2025)
Related Episodes
“Enemies of All”—yet more discussion about the “Golden Age” of piracy
“Stories Told by Trees”—pirates can appear in unexpected places
Other Resources
Richard Blakemore, Enemies of All: The Rise and Fall of the Golden Age of Piracy (Pegasus, 2024)
Richard Blakemore and Elaine Murphy, The British Civil Wars at Sea, 1638-1653 (Boydell and Brewer, 2018)
David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates (Random House, 1995)—the single best book on the entire arc of piratical history, and imaginings about that history
Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates and the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700 - 1750 (Cambridge, 1989); Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age (Beacon, 2005)—pirates as proto-Bolsheviks
Peter T. Leeson, The Invisible Hook: The Hidden Economics of Pirates (Princeton, 2011)—pirates as highly rational market actors
Robert C. Ritchie, Captain Kidd and the War against the Pirates (Harvard, 1989)—a great book
Charles Johnson, General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates—choose the best scholarly edition available! But there isn’t one until Richard Blakemore edits and annotates one
Listen & Discuss
What do our pirate myths reveal about us more than about them?
How did pirates rely on fences and merchants to survive?
If you know someone who has dressed up as a pirate for Halloween, share this episode with them.
