Seawolves: Pirates and the Scots - Hardcover

Graham, Eric J.

3.4

10 ratings by Goodreads

9781841583884: Seawolves: Pirates and the Scots

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 184158388X ISBN 13: 9781841583884

Publisher: Birlinn Ltd, 2005

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During this period, many Scots left their hard lives in places like Aberdeen, Stornoway and Orkney in order to find fortune, adventure and fame on the dangerous high seas of more exotic locations like Madagascar, Brazil or the Caribbean. Some, like Captain James Macrae from Ayr, became well-respected pirate hunters, champions of the law upon the ocean, and bravely faced many violent encounters and unsavoury characters. Others, such as John Gow from Orkney, were these unsavoury characters. Their dastardly deeds captured the imagination of the Scottish public and this morbid fascination is reflected in the work of Scottish writers like Daniel Defoe and Robert Louis Stevenson. Robinson Crusoe and Treasure Island, among others, cemented the notoriety of the pirate in the public mind. Graham explores all these elements of Scotland's participation in piracy and provides a fascinating and enlightening account of the lifestyle of those who followed the skull and cross bones, often to their death on the gallows. Gripping and entertaining, The Seawolves shows a different, darker side to the famously enterprising Scot.

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Review:

...presents a gripping insight into many Scots who ventured forth in a trade harsher than fiction but no less colourful. -- Scots Magazine

About the Author:

Eric J. Graham was born in Ayrshire, Scotland and he spent the early part of his youth roaming the coast and climbing sea cliffs. His love of his home and of the sea led him to his choice of studies - Scottish and Maritime History studied at Strathclyde and Exeter Universities respectively, and his thesis provided the core of his book A Maritime History of Scotland (1650-1790). He is widely published in journals and is a regular reviewer for the International Journal of Maritime History Review as well as the Historical Associate for Lloyd's Register of Shipping, an adviser to Historical Scotland on the Edinburgh Castle Vaults Exhibition and a researcher for the Du Bois Institute (Harvard) Slavery Database. He is currently an honorary Post Doctoral Fellow of Edinburgh University.

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