HIST233 - Piracy and the Law in the Atlantic World, 1560-1850

From Jack Sparrow to Captain Morgan, pirates are a celebrated part of American popular culture. But, before Hollywood romanticized peg legs, eye patches, and rum, early modern mariners lived short and often brutal lives struggling against the changing crosswinds of prevailing European power structures. Despite popular conceptions of pirates, defining who constituted a pirate and what acts could be considered piratical was complicated and shifted over time. This course uses piracy as a lens onto the construction of power, the law, and the early modern state from 1450 through 1800. We will explore the concept of piracy as both a complex social function and as a political statement among Europeans, Africans, and Native Americans. Our readings will address topics such as the creation of legal and illegal maritime activity, piracy and the development of international law, the challenges posed by piracy to gender norms, the use of race as a method of inclusion and exclusion among pirate crews, and how public memory of piracy shapes current debates about global economics.