What Have Historians Been Arguing About... piracy and empire in the early modern world

Teaching History feature

By Richard Blakemore, published 25th March 2026

The topic of early modern global piracy has attracted increasing scholarly attention in recent decades, partly due to its own intrinsic interest and, it must be said, its entertainment value. However, historians have also explored its connections with broader themes such as empire and colonisation, social history, global economic networks, law, and literature. The history of piracy is rarely, if ever, just about pirates... 

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