Review of Black Flags, Blue Waters By Eric Jay Dolin
January 13, 2022
Pirate stories are unique legends because they speak to the desire for adventure and risk that makes us human. The characters in pirate stories often combine grand journeys with crime, mischief, and lust for power. For most of my life I thought of pirate stories as unlikely tales not to be given further investigation. I knew pirates existed, but I didn’t know the extent or reach of their influence. Black Flags, Blue Waters is a fun book to read because it is informational while also sharing stories in a way that maintains the mysticism of piracy.
One of the most surprising aspects of the pirate story I learned was the origin of pirates in North America. While pirates were eventually expelled from the region with violence, pirates were accepted by the people in the area during the infancy of the British colonies. They were able to offer goods at lower prices than those shipped from Europe, and were therefore embraced by the colonists.
It is anecdotes and surprises like these that make Black Flags, Blue Waters such an engaging read. Characters such as Black Bart and Blackbeard are portrayed not merely as bloodthirsty criminals (though they sometimes were) but dynamic people who existed within the ebb and flow of a rapidly changing world. Many of the stories are still shrouded in mystery, however, due to the sparse historical record surrounding piracy. In some sense this makes the story more enjoyable, as filling in the gaps and using one's imagination can be gratifying.
For me, reading Black Flags, Blue Waters was an amusing way to engage with stories I have heard since I was a child. It also dives deeply into a corner of history that is not often discussed. I find that books about niche topics such as these are often the most memorable and noteworthy.