WikiProject Piracy is dedicated to improving and maintaining articles about
Pirates and
Piracy here on Wikipedia. We aim to improve the quality and general coverage of waterborne piracy articles, develop guidelines and recommendations to support a comprehensive coverage of the topic, and serve as a central location for discussion of issues related to piracy and pirate pages.
This WikiProject was
originally proposed by
MadMax in March 2006 and merged with a project begun by
Piratedan (as requested by
Awiseman) in May 2007. The present-day project supports multiple
highly popular pages alongside a small but treasured collection of Featured and Good articles.
The current scope of WikiProject Piracy is anything relating to piracy at sea or on major waterways.
Categorization
Piracy related topics can be placed in a range of categories, ranging from specific (individual privateers, buccaneers, corsairs, etc.), to broad (regions and historical periods). The subjects include, but are not limited to:
Inevitably there will be some overlap between piracy and
privateering. We fully expect to cover many privateers in our articles. However, for a given privateer to be included in the project, he should have been at risk for execution or other punishment as a pirate if captured, whether because his targets' government did not recognize his
letter of marque, or because he exceeded his commission and crossed the line into piracy.
Thus, for example,
Henry Morgan and his crew would be within our purview, because their attack on
Panama was not authorized by Morgan's letter of marque. The project probably also covers
John Paul Jones, because Britain did not recognize the Continental Congress's right to grant letters of marque, and thus Jones would likely have faced trial and execution as a pirate had the British caught him. On the other hand, any
Saint-Malo or
Dunkirk corsair whose sole claim to fame is legally plundering Britain’s commerce during the Wars of the
Grand Alliance or
Spanish Succession would not be considered a pirate here, because Britain did not treat such privateers as pirates.
Botting, Douglas. The Pirates (The Seafarers; v.1). Alexandria, Virginia: Time-Life Books, 1978.
ISBN0-8094-2652-8.
Burnett, John (2002). Dangerous Waters: Modern Piracy and Terror on the High Seas.
ISBN0525946799
Butler, Lindley S. Pirates, Privateers, and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast, Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 2000.
ISBN0807825530
Cawthorne, Nigel (2004). History of Pirates: Blood and Thunder on the High Seas.
ISBN0785818561
Cordingly, David (1997). Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. Harvest Books.
ISBN081297722X
Earle, Peter (2003). The Pirate Wars. Methuen.
ISBN041375880X
Ellms, Charles. The Pirates [Originally published as "The Pirates' Own Book"]. New York: Grammercy Books, 1996.
ISBN0-517-18251-3.
Exquemelin, Alexander O. The Buccaneers of America. Anapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press, 1993.
ISBN1-55750-077-0. (available in many translations and editions, full text online
here.)
Jameson, J. Franklin (1923). Privateering and Piracy in the Colonial Period: Illustrative Documents. MacMillan.
OCLC2778131
Johnson, Captain Charles. A General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pirates. New York: The Lyons Press, 1998.
ISBN1-55821-766-5.
Lane, Kris E (1998). Pillaging the Empire: Piracy in the Americas 1500-1750. M.E. Sharpe.
ISBN0765602563
Langewiesche, William (2004). The Outlaw Sea: A World of Freedom, Chaos, and Crime. North Point Press.
ISBN0965429512
Little, Benerson (2005). The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques, 1630-1730. Potomac Books.
ISBN1574889109
Rediker, Marcus (1987). Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchant Seamen, Pirates and the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700-1750. Cambridge University Press.
ISBN0521303427
Rediker, Marcus (2004). Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age. Beacon Press.
ISBN0807050245
Ritchie, Robert (1986). Captain Kidd and the War Against the Pirates. Harvard University Press.
ISBN0674095014
Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates! An A-Z Encyclopedia. New York: Da Capo Press, 1995.
ISBN0-306-80722-X.
Rogozinski, Jan. Pirates!: Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend. New York: Da Capo Press, 1996.
ISBN0-306-80722-X
The Tryals of Major Stede Bonnet, and Other Pirates. London, Printed for Benj. Cowse at the Rose and Crown in St Paul's Church-Yard, 1719.
OCLC85801912
Turley, Hans (1999). Rum, Sodomy, and the Lash: Piracy, Sexuality, and Masculine Identity. New York University Press.
ISBN081478223X