Pieces of eight: more archaeology of piracy
2017; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 36; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1080/0734578x.2017.1308734
ISSN2168-4723
Autores Tópico(s)Law, logistics, and international trade
ResumoPieces of eight: more archaeology of piracy, edited by Charles R. Ewen and Russell K. Skowronek, Gainesville, University of Florida Press, 2016, xviii, 318 pp., ill., maps, $39.95 (hardcover), ISBN 978-0-8130-6158-0Charles Ewen and Russell Skowronek's newest text, Pieces of Eight, is designed to be a companion to their previous work on the archaeology of piracy, X Marks the Spot (University of Florida Press, 2006). Taking its title from the Spanish silver coins that became pirate treasure, this edited collection continues the valuable methodological and theoretical questions and scientific archaeological investigations that separate fact from fiction in the study of the Golden Age of Piracy. The chapters discuss new discoveries as well as updates on familiar shipwrecks, and generally expand the anthropological discussion of piracy.Skowronek's introductory chapter establishes the overall themes of pirate archaeology. He reflects on the challenges of studying pirates through an archaeological lens, stressing the need for various documentary resources, oral histories, and ethnographic analogies drawn from illicit behaviors in more modern groups, such as the Somali pirates, Sicilian mafia, and Sardinian bandits. Skowronek also reviews the three main types of potential pirate-related archaeological sites - lairs (terrestrial bases, either private locales, or public ports), ships (primarily underwater wrecks), and indications of smuggling or victims of pirate attacks (through potentially either terrestrial or underwater evidence). The chapters in Pieces of Eight generally correspond to these three categories.Only one contribution explored pirate lairs. Connie Kelleher offers riveting detail of historical, cartographic, and a few extant structures that were homes to known pirates along the southwestern coast of Ireland. She also discusses the generally positive influences and economic boons their presence had in the local and regional Munster settlements. Despite the present lack of archaeological evidence, Kelleher's contribution serves as a promising prospectus for future research and investigations.Two of the contributions provide updates on archaeological research of ships previously discussed in X Marks the Spot. Wilde-Ramsing and Carnes-McNaughton revisit the purported wreck of Blackbeard's flagship, Queen Anne's Revenge, the identification of which was in dispute when the previous volume was published. As one of the strongest contributions in this volume, their thorough summary and discussion of the material evidence of French construction techniques and large percentage of recovered French manufactured goods offers the most compelling arguments to date toward the identification of the North Carolina wreck site being Queen Anne's Revenge, which was refitted from the captured French slave ship La Concorde. John De Bry and Marco Roling revisit the tentatively identified wreck of Christopher Condent's Fiery Dragon as well as a large ballast pile potentially related to a contemporary late seventeenth century wreck in the natural harbor of Ilot Madame at Sainte-Marie, northeast of Madagascar. Their material classifications and discussions of the artifacts from each site are excellent, although they admit their limited investigations necessitate future research to more conclusively identify the architecture of the ships.Two contributions focus on new ship investigations. Building on Donny Hamilton's historical overview of Port Royal, Jamaica, in the previous volume, limited investigations were undertaken on the site of Great Ranger, one of Captain Bartholomew Black Bart Robert's large ships that was found in the harbor of the sunken town. While a few artifacts were salvaged, Chad Gulseth concludes that without the 1724 map illustrating its location, there would be no material indication of it being a pirate ship. In another strong contribution to this volume, Frederick Hanselmann and Charles Beeker recount the discovery and investigation of Captain William Kidd's Quedagh Merchant vessel off the coast of Hispaniola. …
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