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Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution
Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution
Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution
Audiobook10 hours

Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution

Written by Robert H. Patton

Narrated by Alan Sklar

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

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About this audiobook

They were legalized pirates empowered by the Continental Congress to raid and plunder, at their own considerable risk, as much enemy trade as they could successfully haul back to America's shores. They played a decisive role in America's struggle for independence and later turned their seafaring talents to the slave trade, revealing the conflict between enterprise and morality central to American history.

In Patriot Pirates, Robert H. Patton, the grandson of the battlefield genius of World War II, writes how privateering engaged all levels of Revolutionary life, from the dockyards to the assembly halls; how it gave rise to wild speculation in purchased shares in privateer ventures, enabling sailors to make more money in a month than they might earn in a year; and how privateering created fortunes that survive to this day.

As one naval historian wrote, "The great battles of the American Revolution were fought on land, but independence was won at sea."

Patton writes how, in addition to its strategic and economic importance, privateering played a large political role in the Revolution. For example, Benjamin Franklin, from his diplomatic post in Paris, secretly encouraged skippers to sell their captured goods in French ports-a calculated effort on Franklin's part to break the neutrality agreements between France and Britain, bring the two countries to blows, and take the pressure off American fighters.

This is a sweeping tale of maritime rebel-entrepreneurs bent on personal profit and national freedom.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 3, 2008
ISBN9781400176601
Patriot Pirates: The Privateer War for Freedom and Fortune in the American Revolution
Author

Robert H. Patton

Robert H. Patton was educated at Brown University and Northwestern University. He is married, a father of four, lives in Connecticut, and is the author of The Pattons: A Personal History of an American Family. This is his second novel.

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Reviews for Patriot Pirates

Rating: 3.5833333708333335 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

24 ratings4 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I have a thing for historical pirate books. This one is my favorite, because it sheds light on the privateers sanctioned by our own nation during the Revolutionary War.

    This book was written by the grandson of 'Old Blood and Guts' (General George S. Patton), which would tend to give one an interest in military history, and thus explains why this work is so well researched. (And the footnotes are well done.)

    I particularly enjoyed how this book exposed a side of our Founding Fathers that one rarely sees: where they stood on the debate regarding whether our country should sanction privateering. It is clear that these gentlemen were quite practical, as they gave the practice the nod (and some even invested in privateering ships).

    Clean prose makes this voyage back in time a fun, accessible read for hobby-historians (like me).
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    OUTSTANDING! My new favorite , it wasn't my first choice and I don't know why ! The history abounds and not without the the reader is this a book not to be put down.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    With only a handful of American Navy warships against the globe-spanning Royal Navy, the real focus on the war at sea was carried out by privately-owned warships, privateers, authorized to attack English ships in exchange for part of what sale of ship and cargo realized. About 1,000 privateers tackled the English fleet with great losses, funneling supplies to the American army and driving up insurance rates. An eye-opening insight into a largely ignored as left of the War for Independence at sea. for this overview, I would like to have seen some more statistics, even with the understanding that firm figures are likely not available.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I really wanted to love this book because the premise was very interesting. There were a few interesting stories woven throughout that captured my whole attention. For instance, I was fascinated by the battle between John Paul Jones and the privateers because sailors were abandoning the navy to join privateers for money. Unfortunately, such stories were scattered willy-nilly in an unorganized narrative. Patton would have benefited from a good editor and an outline. There was a good story there, it just got lost in the shuffle.