Buccaneers of the Caribbean : how piracy forged an empire /Jon Latimer.

The book focuses on what the author calls buccaneers, or private men-of-war, operating in the Caribbean basin on behalf of English, French, and Dutch interests during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. The primary argument made is that these buccaneers were not purely pirates, but that they often operated with the approval (tacit or implied) of their countries of origin, and were instrumental in those countries gaining a foothold in the Caribbean. It begins with the example of the raid by Sir Francis Drake on Santo Domingo, Espanola (Hispaniola) in 1585, with support from Queen Elizabeth I. Amongst the other examples of buccaneers presented are Dutch admiral Piet Heyn, English sailors William Dampier and Sir Henry Morgan, and Frenchman Jean-David Nau, known as L'Ollonais. The book charts the role of the buccaneers in undermining the Spanish Empire in the Americas, through persistent attacks on vessels carrying wealth from the New World. Illustrations include portraits of Piet Heyn, Robert Rich (2nd Earl of Warwick), Vice-Admiral Sir Christopher Myngs, Sir Henry Morgan, Francis L'Ollonais, Henry Bennet (1st Earl of Arlington), George Monck (1st Duke of Albemarle), and William Dampier. Maps also depict the routes taken by Henry Morgan on Panama and Portobelo, as well as the Battles of Portobelo (1668) and Maracaibo (1669).