In February 1828, a century after the so-called end of Atlantic piracy, pirate Benito de Soto and his crew on the Defensor de Pedro launched a brutal assault against a British vessel called the Morning Star. The pirates attacked the ship as it traveled to London carrying such valuable cargo as ebony and coffee. Ferrying more than commercial goods on this transoceanic voyage, the ship held more than fifty crew members and passengers, including women and children. In Atlantic Piracy in the Early Nineteenth Century: The Shocking Story of the Pirates and the Survivors of the Morning Star, historian Sarah Craze uses the pirate attack on the Morning Star as a lens through which to examine a broader view of Atlantic piracy. She pushes the period of Atlantic piracy beyond the eighteenth century. Craze holds a PhD in history from the University of Melbourne, where she focused on the history of the Somali piracy epidemic (2008–2012). In her previous work, she has also explored historical connections to piracy in the Caribbean and the East Indies in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The breadth of her knowledge provides Craze with a unique perspective, allowing her to challenge traditional era designations.
In Atlantic Piracy in the Early Nineteenth Century, Craze makes a compelling argument that piracy did not suddenly disappear in the 1720s. Rather, the tables had merely turned. During the golden age of piracy (1650s–1730s), as they vied for power in the Atlantic, the English, French, and Dutch mercilessly disrupted the Spanish kingdom's trade between its mineral-rich South American colonies and Spain. But between aiding the Americans in their war against the British toward the end of the eighteenth century and fighting the Peninsular War of the early nineteenth century, Spain found itself politically, economically, and militarily weakened. Pirates emerged from insurgent independence movements, disaffected Spanish mariners, and anyone who wanted to exploit the decline of the Spanish Crown's authority.
Craze organizes the book into eight chapters, which are generally arranged thematically, with the attack on the Morning Star as the common thread. In the first chapter, Craze gives a historiographical overview of Atlantic piracy. She examines the extent of media coverage, reliability of contemporary chronicles, influence on popular culture, and early twentieth-century history publications. In chapter 2, she covers the evolution of sailing technology into the early eighteenth century. Craze then uses eyewitness accounts to reconstruct the events of the Morning Star pirate attack. In the third chapter, Craze uses the experience of the women on board the Morning Star to help illustrate a broader problem for women at sea in the nineteenth century. Craze supplies ample evidence that acts of sexual violence perpetrated against women at sea were often downplayed or outright ignored. Craze argues that the British government's omission of women from the public narratives of the Morning Star attack not only undermines the horror of their experience but also suppresses any recognition of the women's heroic actions during the assault. In chapter 4, Craze constructs narratives about other pirates who operated in the early nineteenth century to support her main argument. Pirates like Pepe el Mallorquin and Diablocito launched their attacks from locations like Cuba and Puerto Rico, forcing the United States to establish its own pirate suppression efforts. The fifth chapter provides the background of the ship Defensor de Pedro before pirates commandeered it. Craze also traces what the pirates on board did after their attack on the Morning Star, which leads into her coverage, in chapter 6, of how pirates like Benito de Soto cashed in their loot. In chapter 7, Craze explores the world of pirate trials by telling the story of the capture, trials, and executions of the pirates of the Defensor de Pedro. Craze concludes her narrative in chapter 8 with an overview of pirates who continued to ravage the seas after Benito de Soto's death.
Although there are certainly gaps in the narrative and some speculation on Craze's part, this is to be expected given the problem of available documentary evidence. Craze notes, for example, that a fire in Boston in 1872 destroyed most US maritime and shipping records. Additionally, she argues that British record-keeping efforts became comprehensive only in the 1850s. Despite this lack of records, Craze has crafted a rich and fascinating narrative that can be enjoyed by both scholars and history enthusiasts alike. Her work is based on extensive and impressive original research. Not only has Craze used the pirate assault on the Morning Star to give insight into early nineteenth-century commerce raiding, but she has also placed the incident into the broader context of nineteenth-century shipping. One issue, however, is that in several chapters Craze relies on lengthy extracts from those sources to do the heavy lifting of narration and analysis. Overall, Craze has made a major contribution to understanding of Atlantic piracy after the end of the golden age. Anyone with an interest in piracy, the history of commercial shipping, or maritime history will find Craze's book both enjoyable and informative.
