The work opens with an editorial preface tracing the origins of the project, highlighting how maritime commerce and naval defense in the American colonies have long been overshadowed by land warfare. The collection then delves into the legal and practical distinctions between privateering—authorized state warfare under a letter of marque—and piracy, which constitutes independent robbery on the high seas. Despite clear legal boundaries, the volume demonstrates how easily privateering commissions devolved into piracy when cruises proved unprofitable, creating a complex web of legal, judicial, and economic challenges.
The documents are arranged chronologically and shed light on various episodes, such as the Puritan colony on Providence Island in the Caribbean, where Governor Nathaniel Butler managed early privateering ventures against the Spanish before the island fell. Another significant thread follows the Dutch frigate La Garce and the intricate copartnerships formed in New Netherland for privateering expeditions. The text details the frequent legal wrangling over prizes, prize courts, vice-admiralty jurisdiction, and appeals taken to England, illustrating the widespread participation of individuals across different nationalities and social strata.
A major portion of the volume is dedicated to the notorious adventures of Captain Bartholomew Sharp and his companions in the South Sea, offering a detailed, firsthand perspective on their arduous march across the Isthmus of Panama, the assault on Santa Maria, the capture of Spanish vessels in the Bay of Panama, and their subsequent cruising along the western coast of South America. These firsthand accounts reveal the brutal realities, hardships, navigation challenges, and internal dissensions among the buccaneers as they sought fortune, faced hostile encounters with Spanish forces, and eventually navigated the treacherous passage around Cape Horn.
Interspersed throughout are various other legal proceedings, petitions, and testimonies, including the suspicious seizure of the ship Holy Ghost at Barbados and its subsequent trials in New England, the tangled dispute over the Portuguese letter of marque held by Charles de Bils and assigned to John Douglas, and the suppression of local pirates like those led by Peter Rodriguez and John Rhodes. The volume concludes with records concerning the capture of the Salamander by Brandenburg privateers and trials for piracy in New York and Boston, underscoring the pervasive nature of maritime lawlessness throughout the colonial period.
