The Last Bookaneer: A Novel by Matthew Pearl
A bookaneer is a literary pirate. They are "pirates" of the "copyright sense". The book adopts a "story within a story" framework to have some bookshop people learn about the last bookaneer. The focus is on Robert Louis Stevenson and his great work. Others are working to make sure they are able to capture the work. It is a novel approach to a book. However, I found the framing story more engaging than the main bookaneer story.
Henry Every was a British pirate who inadvertently helped the British empire come to be. Enemy of all Mankind attempts to document his life and history and the unsuccessful worldwide manhunt for him. The actual facts are rather sparse (and wound up with a lot of fiction.) The book at times seems to try to spin elaborate detail over minute facts. However, it does provide an interesting narrative of the pirate.Every may have been an accidental pirate. He, along with others, were enlisted to sail on a ship that was just not going anywhere. They had had enough of that, and decided to mutiny and claim the ship for themselves. They were kind enough to let those that wanted to leave and return back to land.
The voyage set out to various pirates dens, such as Madagascar. They later ended up near the red sea and then started to prey on Indian ships returning from the haj to Mecca. His ship teamed with a few others and got some nice spoils from a ship. The pirates democratically divided it up, with everyone receiving their share (with the Captain receiving two.) This single victory would give pirates the equivalent of a decades' wages. However, they still wanted more.
They attacked an Indian ruler's ship. The pirates were at severe size disadvantage, however, they were extremely lucky. One of the cannons exploded on the big ship, killing many (and eliminating firepower.) Then the pirate ship hit a direct hit on one if the first shots. The leadership of the Indian ship freaked out, later arming some of the harem on board. This did not go well. The pirates ended up with great loot. There were also varying stories of what happened to the women. By some accounts, they were brutally raped, while by others they were taken as wives. The former is the most supported by facts.
In response to the attacks, the Indian leadership imprisoned the English India company officers. Since the pirates were English, they figured the India company must be also. In order to save face, the British led a global manhunt for the pirates. They also struck a deal where the British will provide protection for the Indians. This would help lead to British domination in India.
The manhunt did not succeed in finding Every. The pirates had a head start and had left the region. Many of the crew decided to leave, going abroad in places like Reunion, the Bahamas or North America. A few managed to sneak back to England. One pirate was caught with some of his plunder sewn into his jacket. A few pirates were tried for their crimes against the Indian ship. This was seen as a "show trial" to demonstrate how tough on pirates the British were. However, it backfired, with the jury finding the pirates not guilty. However, rather than set them free, they were later tried for the mutiny on the British ship. For this they were sentenced to hang. Seems like xenophobia was still strong in the day.
Every was never found. There were various rumors as to his whereabouts and future life. To the common man, he was often admired as a Robin Hood figure. To the elites, he was still a public enemy.
The original pirates of the Caribbean were the early new world democratic revolutionaries. They threw off the chains of repression and gave each man an equal say and his destiny. They achieved this destiny primarily by looting and plundering, but hey, you have to start somewhere, right?
