"Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's 'Golden Age'--spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s--when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond"-- During American piracy's 'Golden Age' spanning the late 1600s through the early 1700s, lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Dolin depicts the star pirates of this period, among them towering Blackbeard, ill-fated Captain Kidd, and sadistic Edward Low, who delighted in torturing his prey. He also details the pirates' enemies, and shows how they eliminated-- almost always violently-- from the American Atlantic. -- adapted from jacket Provided by publisher.

Small beginnings -- Welcomed with open arms -- "Where the money was as plenty as stones and sand" -- Crackdown -- War's reprieve -- Interlude, or a pirate classification -- Treasure and the tempest -- The gentleman pirate and Blackbeard -- Fading away -- Epilogue: "yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!"