BARBARY PIRATE. The Life and Crimes of John Ward The Most Infamous Privateer of his Time

Author: Bak (Greg)
Year: 2006
Publisher: Sutton
First Edition
Edition Details: 1st edn.
Book Condition: F/F
ISBN: 9780750943505
Price: £7.00
IN STOCK NOW
Hardback. In 1603 John Ward, a sailor in James I's Navy, led a mass desertion, stole a civilian vessel from Portsmouth Harbour, and defected to the Ottoman Empire's outpost at Tunis. From there, his unbridled and brutal piracy saw him become the most infamous and feared privateer of his time, revelling in ill-gotten wealth ashore, and finally - in the ultimate rejection of his native land - embracing Islam. Ward's exploits made him extremely wealthy. He purchased a palatial mansion in Tunis, from which he established a mock court of scruffy renegades, issuing decrees and receiving obeisance like a king. But his success came at a price. In Europe he was infamous. Seen as a Judas bent on undermining all Christendom, he became a prize with a price on his hesd and was pursued by pirate-hunters across the Mediterranean. While to his contemporaries John Ward was the blackest of villains, to later generations his exploits were the stuff of legend, and eventually Ward himself was seen as a hero. The author uncovers the truth and tells the compelling story of a man who rose from nothing to become a brilliant naval commander and a spectacularly successful, if amoral, entrepreneur. Illlus., Notes, Bibliog. and Index. 225pp. 8vo. h/back. F. in f. dw.

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