Great Pirate Stories

By French, Joseph Lewis

Book Id: WPLBN0002954686
Format Type:
File Size: 252.97 MB
Reproduction Date: 2009

Title:	Great Pirate Stories
Author:	French, Joseph Lewis
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	History
Collections:	Audio Books Collection, Great Pirate Stories
Historic Publication Date:	1922
Publisher:	LibriVox Audio Books


Citation APA MLA Chicago Lewis French, B. J. (1922). Great Pirate Stories. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.us/

Description
Piracy embodies the romance of the sea at its highest expression. It is a sad but inevitable commentary on our civilization, that, so far as the sea is concerned, it has developed from its infancy down to a century or so ago, under one phase or another of piracy. If men were savages on land they were doubly so at sea, and all the years of maritime adventure--years that added to the map of the world till there was little left to discover--could not wholly eradicate the piratical germ. It went out gradually with the settlement and ordering of the far-flung British colonies. Great Britain, foremost of sea powers, must be credited with doing more both directly and indirectly for the abolition of crime and disorder on the high seas than any other force. But the conquest was not complete till the advent of steam which chased the sea-rover into the farthest corners of his domain. It is said that he survives even today in certain spots in the Chinese waters,--but he is certainly an innocuous relic. A pirate of any sort would be as great a curiosity today if he could be caught and exhibited as a fabulous monster. (Summary from text)

Summary
Electronic recorded live performance of a reading

Excerpt
History