The Real History of Pirates cover art

The Real History of Pirates

Preview

£0.00 for first 30 days

Try for £0.00
Thousands of incredible audiobooks and podcasts to take wherever you go.
Immerse yourself in a world of storytelling with the Plus Catalogue - unlimited listening to thousands of select audiobooks, podcasts and Audible Originals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

The Real History of Pirates

By: Professor Manushag N. Powell, The Great Courses
Narrated by: Professor Manushag N. Powell
Try for £0.00

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £25.99

Buy Now for £25.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

There’s an apocryphal story that Alexander the Great once captured a notorious pirate named Diomedes. The great conqueror decided to interview the doomed pirate, asking him what he thought gave him the right to seize the property of other people. The pirate responded by asking the emperor what he thought gave him the right to take property that doesn’t belong to him, including entire countries. The story goes that Alexander thought the pirate very clever, granting him freedom instead of execution.

Other than scale, what is the difference between a pirate and the vast armies of an emperor? Or between a pirate and the great navy of a queen? Were the men who famously traversed the Atlantic actually the heroic explorers we imagined them to be - or were they...pirates? During the early years of what would be known as the Age of Sail, these explorers included Sirs Francis Drake, John Hawkins, and Walter Ralegh.

In The Real History of Pirates, you’ll find yourself looking at world history from a new point of view, realizing that much of what you’ve learned before could - and possibly should - be viewed through a more appropriate post-imperialistic filter. Your course professor, Manushag N. Powell, an award-winning Professor of English at Purdue University, will expose you to new ways of thinking about global interactions from the West Indies to the Red Sea, from the North Atlantic to Indonesia. You’ll learn what causes piracy, why it still flourishes today, why some pirates even had the backing of a well-established government, and why women sometimes wielded the real power behind the scenes in an enterprise conducted almost exclusively by men.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2021 The Great Courses (P)2021 The Teaching Company, LLC
Greece Pirate Ancient Greece
activate_Holiday_promo_in_buybox_DT_T2

Listeners also enjoyed...

England: From the Fall of Rome to the Norman Conquest cover art
War in the Modern World cover art
The Mongol Empire cover art
The Middle Ages Around the World cover art
The Real History of Secret Societies cover art
Norse Mythology cover art
The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World cover art
1066: The Year That Changed Everything cover art
Ancient Civilizations of North America cover art
History's Great Military Blunders and the Lessons They Teach cover art
Understanding the New Testament cover art
The Foundations of Western Civilization cover art
The Science of Energy cover art
The Greek World cover art
Ancient Mesopotamia cover art
The American Civil War cover art

What listeners say about The Real History of Pirates

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    39
  • 4 Stars
    16
  • 3 Stars
    6
  • 2 Stars
    3
  • 1 Stars
    1
Performance
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    37
  • 4 Stars
    13
  • 3 Stars
    5
  • 2 Stars
    1
  • 1 Stars
    2
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    33
  • 4 Stars
    15
  • 3 Stars
    7
  • 2 Stars
    0
  • 1 Stars
    1

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Compelling and educational

Fascinating history, well told by a likeable Professor who makes these notorious figures from the past relatable in a modern context. 10/10.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Well constructed with a dash of humour

the lectures set out a comprehensive theory of piracy while sticking to a timeline as a handrail. Themes like state sponsorship, indigence and economics after war, and local legal deviance come out well. I found much to agree with, and enough new to be interesting.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Entertaining and fascinating

A very enjoyable history of pirates taking in not only the Golden Age but modern times and to social and cultural impact. A great listen, I’ll be seeking out more lectures by her:

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

very enjoyable

lots of interesting snippets, sailing across a broad range of topics.
Covering pirates across the world and across time.
.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

UTTERLY BRILLIANT

extraordinary breadth of research, told with flair by the author, and very nicely read too!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Fun and Interesting.

This was really well delivered, a great mix of interesting stories, global politics and socioeconomics.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars

Not much depth

I gave up halfway. Perhaps it improved but, the history part seemed never to get going; almost every fact seemed to have to be equally balanced by interminable detail on the popular myths that we're supposed to have believed because of exposure to Robert Louis Stevenson or Disney. It felt like a lesson for teenagers- quite young ones, at that- not a university-level lecture as normally delivered by the 'Great Courses' series.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Good General information but irritantantly woke

When I get a university course about pirates, I expect the talking points to be pirates.

Theres is that in this of course however its viewed through a modern day political lens which brings the along the quips and talking points.

Among such there is of course 'manly imperialism', repeating such things as 'slavery was bad' again and again and again. Like such a thing needs repetition.

and my final favorite in the late hours of the course, 'Like a man need a proper reason to hurt a woman'.

Ive enjoyed every great course up until now. Tip to all involved: Keep modern politics whete it belongs.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!