Rate this book

Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War For Freedom And Fortune In The American Revolution (2008)

by Robert H. Patton(Favorite Author)

3.33 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0375422846 (ISBN13: 9780375422843)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Pantheon

review 1: Occasionally fascinating but never worth it. A semi-chronological string of facts that only sometimes have to do with each other and are almost never arranged into any sort of storyline. I was all stoked because the reviews promised 'hornblower but for real'... it reads more like Horatios's backed up and half remembered paperwork. Patton takes great care to write every sentence in the most obfuscating, confusing word order possible while remaining in the realm of technically correct grammar.Overall, not loving it.
review 2: Interesting and thoroughly researched , Patton provides a solid history of continental privateers, and does a good job weaving in related topics like the international intrigue between Britain, the colonies, and the European powers.Patton sh... moreows that those in Congress were usually in favor of the practice of privateering (often supporting it financially while condemning it in speech) and it was their shady activities that helped privateering be so profitable. A side argument is that it was privateering that made it so that a man of simple means, even poor, might become rich, unlike the system in Great Britain where you had to be an aristocrat to become rich. Privateering was usually successful, mainly due to the ineptitude of the British admiralty.Patton also delves into some of the origins of the Revolution as they related to maritime trade. The Massachusetts colonists, for example, were more concerned about money and their own financial interests than any grand, high-minded ideals of liberty, freedom, and independence. The British navigation acts restricted colonial trade and punished smugglers. When the colonists were able to dodge these regulations, they rarely complained about them. But when the British cracked down on smuggling, the colonists immediately invoked “liberty” and “freedom”, ideals that were actually not very common in America at the time. For the colonists, “liberty” meant their own selfish interests. British tariffs and taxes weren’t even that high, but the colonists still made a fuss.Oddly, the last few chapters of the book had little to do with privateering, and feels more like padding put in to add length to the book. Also, not all of the quotes in the book are cited.Also, despite, the interesting subject matter, the narrative is pretty colorless and dry, although well documented. less

Download links for: Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution

Advertising