The History of America’s Most Notorious Pirates

Published: Sept. 20, 2018, 3:17 p.m.

Pirates are part of our popular culture: children dress up as pirates for Halloween, and we see movies or visit theme parks based on the Pirates of the Carribbean franchise. It’s all part of our romanticized version of the rackishly handsome, swashbuckling sailor who plies the high seas in search of treasure. The real story of piracy, particularly the pirates who operated off the coast of North America in the 18 th and 19 th centuries, is much more complicated. Eric Jay Dolin takes us on a deep