[Sca-cooks] oh, Elias...

[Jadwiga Zajaczkowa / Jenne Heise]

Found this on Oxbow Books bargains page:

Pirates in the Caribbean: Buccaneers, Privateers & Freebooters 1493-1720
by Cruz Apestegui

Pirates of the Caribbean is a study of pirates in the Americas during 
their heyday. Cruz Apestegui has drawn on a huge number of sources - 
both published and unpublished - to write the definitive narrative 
history of piracy in the Caribbean. The story begins with the arrival of 
the first Spanish settlers in the New World. They found an immense 
amount of wealth there, and the whole purpose of these early settlements 
was to extract this and send it back to Spain in great treasure 
galleons. When Spain found itself at war with France in the 1520s, these 
settlements and galleons became the target for privateers in the service 
of the French king. From these beginnings, the whole edifice of piracy, 
popularised by Hollywood films and the swashbuckling novels of Rafael 
Sabatini, emerged. The wealth of New Spain attracted ship owners who 
tried both legitimate trade and smuggling to turn a profit. European 
wars generated fleets of ships commanded by the same men who replaced 
illegal trade with outright seizure of ships and attacks on Spanish 
ports. Famous names such as Hawkins, Morgan, Drake, and Heyn all built 
their fortunes on these escapades. Piracy remained profitable until 
trade with Spanish colonies was opened after the end of the War of the 
Spanish Succession in 1713. Piracy in the Caribbean was then suppressed, 
and by 1720 had ceased to be anything but a marginal activity by small 
operators. 240p (Conway Maritime/Chartwell 2002)
ISBN 0785815864. Hardback. Publishers price US $55.00, DBBC Price US 
$19.98
-- 
-- Jadwiga Zajaczkowa, Knowledge Pika jenne at fiedlerfamily.net 
"If past history was all there was to the game, the richest people would 
be librarians." -- Warren Buffet, Washington Post, April 17, 1988