Aims of the course
- To introduce the key personalities and events of the golden age of piracy.
- To introduce you to the social and cultural history of piracy in the English-speaking world of the late 17th and early 18th centuries.
- To encourage you to think critically and creatively about piracy and its place in history.
Target audience
This course is open to adult learners with an interest in the field. No previous knowledge or study is required.
Course content overview
This course will introduce you to the 'Golden Age' of piracy, that period between 1680 and 1730. We will examine the rise of privateers, legal pirates, and their involvement in the early days of British power in the Caribbean. We will then look at the shifts that removed the space for such legalised piracy and led to the growth of a community of pirates, those hostis humani generis (enemies of mankind) who loom so large in the popular memory, people such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Black Bart.
Teaching week 1 - 18th Century Seamen
This week will look at the social and cultural outlines of the sailor's world. Identifying some of the push and pull factors that drove individuals to sea during the 18th century, how were they identified, and the women, wives and others who inhabited the docks.
Learning objectives:
- An understanding of the motivations behind the choice to head to sea.
- An understanding of the lives of sailors in the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries.
- An awareness of the women who supported sailors.
Teaching week 2 - From Private to Pirate
The late 1600s was a period of slippage and uncertainty when discussing pirates. The rise of the privateer and the use of willing participants in seaborne attacks and defence muddy the waters of who was a pirate and who was not. We will focus on the exploits of Henry Morgan and William Kidd, amongst others.
Learning objectives:
- An understanding of the difference between Privateers and Pirates.
- An understanding of the role of privateers in the development of empire.
- An awareness of the colonial conflicts of the Caribbean basin.
Teaching week 3 - The rise of hostis humani generis
Honest trade, the war of Spanish succession and the shift to full-time piracy. The changing political and economic structure removes the flexibility that privateering offered, and we see the rise of many of the most well-known pirates of the era, such as Blackbeard.
Learning objectives:
- An understanding of the changing position of non-official seaborne raiders.
- Understand why people turned to full-fledged acts of piracy in the early 18th century.
- An awareness of the people and myths involved in golden age piracy.
Teaching week 4 - Evil men and community
This unit will continue our look at well known pirates of the early 18th century, touching on Black Bart, among others, the community that pirates built and the many interactions and connections that existed in this world of illegality.
Learning objectives:
- To gain a knowledge of the violence and horrors of piracy.
- To look at the many lines of linkage that helped form a pirate community.
- To gain knowledge of the most successful pirate of the era, Black Bart Roberts.
Teaching week 5 - Pirates and popular culture: books and films
In this final unit, we will turn our attention away from historical pirates to their portrayal in fiction. We will examine the book that created many of our mental images of pirates, Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, through to the Muppets version of Treasure Island, with many stops in between.
Schedule (this course is completed entirely online)
Orientation Week: 10-16 July 2023
Teaching Weeks: 17 July-20 August 2023
Feedback Week: 21-27 August 2023
Each week of an online course is roughly equivalent to 2-3 hours of classroom time. On top of this, participants should expect to spend roughly 2-3 hours reading material, etc., although this will vary from person to person.
While they have a specific start and end date and will follow a weekly schedule (for example, week 1 will cover topic A, week 2 will cover topic B), our tutor-led online courses are designed to be flexible and as such would normally not require participants to be online for a specific day of the week or time of the day (although some tutors may try to schedule times where participants can be online together for web seminars, which will be recorded so that those who are unable to be online at certain times are able to access material).
Virtual Learning Environment
Unless otherwise stated, all course material will be posted on the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) so that they can be accessed at any time throughout the duration of the course and interaction with your tutor and fellow participants will take place through a variety of different ways which will allow for both synchronous and asynchronous learning (discussion boards etc).
Certificate of participation
A Certificate of Participation will be awarded to participants who contribute constructively to weekly discussions and exercises/assignments for the duration of the course.