Richard Sander's history of Bartholomew Roberts, aka John Roberts, aka “Black Bart," gets off to a bit of a slow start before taking off, in much the same way as Roberts' own career.
Unlike Blackbeard, whose likeness and story is plastered over much of the Caribbean, and Captain Morgan, who warranted his own run, I didn't actually know anything about Roberts before I read this book. Pirate tales being a bit removed from my usual reading, I can't even say how I came across it. I started it much, much earlier this summer, and abandoned it for a time, feeling a bit bogged down by the details of Robert's upbringing and time as a mate on a slaver. Picking it back up on a recent flight, I discovered I'd quit at the wrong time - within a few pages, Roberts was a full-fledged pirate captain, and his story became much more interesting.
What Sanders does especially well is to tell the story of pirates - how they came into existence, their codes and rules, the necessities of punch (sugar ships were especially vulnerable to pirates, sugar being one of the key ingredients in the pirates' favorite drink), and how they operated as, essentially, a society unto themselves. In this way, Roberts is an actor in a much larger story, and one that is far more interesting than any single pirate's biography. Sanders also provides insight into the relations between the British, French, Spanish, and Portuguese empires, as well as the early operation of the slave trade, particularly the deplorable conditions on the ships - for crew, as well as slaves. His conclusion: it's no wonder so many sailors deserted the slavers for the life of a pirate.
Yo, ho, ho, and a bottle of rum.
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