This new account explores the most notorious pirates in history and how their rise and fall can be traced back to a single pirate haven, Nassau.

This new account explores the most notorious pirates in history and how their rise and fall can be traced back to a single pirate haven, Nassau. Angus Konstam, one of the world's leading pirate experts, has brought his 30 years of research to create the definitive book on the Golden Age of Piracy. Many of the privateers the British had used to prey on French and Spanish shipping during the War of the Spanish Succession turned to piracy. The pirates took over Nassau on the Bahamian island of New Providence and turned it into their own pirate haven, where shady merchants were happy to buy their plunder. It became the hub of a pirate network that included some of the most notorious pirates in history: Blackbeard, 'Calico Jack' Rackam, Charles Vane and Bartholomew Roberts. The growth of piracy led to a major surge in attacks in the Caribbean and along North America’s Atlantic seaboard. With the fragile maritime economy of the Americas threatened with collapse, major ports were threatened and trade brought to a standstill, the British government finally declared war on the pirates. The Pirate Menace draws on extensive research, as well as a wide range of first-hand accounts, to produce a new history of the heyday of historical piracy.

"Angus Konstam is one of the best out there. He punctures the myth of pirates and discovers a reality that is even more exciting." - Dan Snow

"A brilliant and wide-ranging account of a notorious generation of pirates … a compelling read." - David Cordingly, maritime historian and author of 'Under the Black Flag'

"A masterful account of the rise and fall of pirates of the black flag by a highly regarded expert in the field." - Benerson Little, pirate historian, author of 'The Golden Age of Piracy'

"The fiction of the Golden Age of Piracy is peeled back to find the astonishing truth. Magnificent stuff.’" - Dr Sam Willis, historian and broadcaster