“Frequently described as the greatest early book on piracy” (NMM). First editions of all four parts, including the second volume, published separately the year after the first. This fourth part contains Basil Ringrose’s account of the voyage of Bartholomew Sharp, and the set is seldom found complete.
The barber-surgeon Exquemeling originally wrote in his native Dutch and this work appeared in Amsterdam in 1678. A Spanish doctor, Alonso de Bueno Maison, translated the book into Spanish and published it at Cologne in 1681, and from this Is Steve aware of the Jim McC books? it was anonymously translated into English and published by Crooke in 1684. The following year Crooke issued part four (ie vol 2) and re-issued the first three parts with additions. Part four tells Ringrose’s account of the Sharp expedition; it is illustrated with a splendid map of Latin America, with many cartographic plates within the text.
The publisher, William Crooke, was sued for libel by Sir Henry Morgan, on account of the description of him as a pirate. In the London Gazette, June 8, 1685, the following public apology was issued: “Westminster, June 1. There have been lately Printed and Published two Books, one by Will. Crook, the other by Tho. Malthus, both Intitiled The History of the Bucaniers: both which Books contained many False, Scandalous and Malitious Reflection on the Life and Actions of Sir Henry Morgan, of Jamaica, Kt. The said Sir Henry Morgan hath by Judgment had in the Kingsbaench-Court, recovered against the said Libel 200L. Damages. And on the humble Solicitation and Request of William Crook, hath been pleased to withdraw his Action against the said Crook, and accept of his Submission and Acknowledgement in Print.”
Exquemeling’s portrait of the seventeenth-century Caribbean pirates is of great value due to his intimate first hand observations. Originally sailing to the West Indies as an indentured servant, the young Exquemeling was exposed to great hardships under the governance of the French East India Company. He was sold to the Lieutenant General of Tortuga, who used him cruelly, and sold him again, near death, to a ship’s surgeon. Exquemeling was then offered his freedom at a price, and took up with a band of buccaneers as his means to repay this debt. The inclusion of a pirate’s ship’s articles at the beginning of part three are of great interest - after enduring the injustices of the merchant navy, it would have been quite revolutionary to encounter an alternative maritime society where not only was sizeable insurance paid out against bodily injury, but profits were divided near equally between all members of the crew. In spite of the lawsuit, the level of detail in Exquemeling’s account is such that it is largely accepted that he was a member of Henry Morgan’s crew. The book is based both on his journals, and information about other pirates gathered in the West Indies.
Sabin, 23479; Hill, 578 & 579; Church, 689; cf. NMM 2: 175; ESTC: R21525 & R20999.
