Piracy in World History ed. by Stefan Eklöf Amirell, Bruce Buchan, and Hans Hägerdal (review)

Abstract

Conventionally, piracy has been defined as seafarers operating outside the laws of any sovereign power, referred to in Europe since the Early Modern period as “hostes humani generis,” or “enemies of all mankind.” Most histories of piracy take this as their starting point, incorrectly regarding piracy as a European concept that was applied to foreign mariners in the context of colonialism. This edited volume on piracy questions that assumption with twelve original essays that cover case studies of maritime violence and encounters in Europe, the Philippines, Indonesia, India, the Ottoman Empire, China, and Vietnam between 1500 and 1900. In their introduction, the editors write that their aim is to write a global history that “[unsettles] the conventional oppositions between piracy and sovereignty” (p. 11). To do this, the authors represented in the bookmove beyond the bounds of western historiographies, legal systems, and linguistics to explore how piratical activity was categorized, understood, exploited, and resisted all over the world. The collection explores the myriad meanings of the word “pirate” and other colloquial terms that refer to maritime violence, as well as the encounters between these different concepts and understandings in colonial contexts. Covering the globe and engaging in 400 years of history is a big promise, but the collection