Pirates of the Americas after the Golden Age

The Golden Age of Piracy may have ended, but the struggle for control of the American seas was far from over. Pirates of the Americas After the Golden Age explores the violent and uncertain maritime world that followed the death of Bartholomew Roberts, when smugglers, privateers, Spanish guarda costas, revolutionaries, and coastal raiders continued to challenge imperial authority.

From the hidden waterways of Barataria and the remarkable career of Jean Lafitte to the Battle of New Orleans, piracy around Cuba, and the United States campaign to secure the Caribbean, this book reveals how war, slavery, commerce, and revolution blurred the boundary between patriot and pirate. It is a compelling account of piracy's final transformation—and the forces that ultimately brought traditional Atlantic piracy to an end.