Florida Pirates

Book excerpt: The coast of southwest Florida, with its shallow waters, inlets, and mangrove islands provides the setting and backdrop for a variety of pirates, privateers, and independents. The history of this region and Florida as a whole is influenced largely by the illegal activities of piracy. Piracy has a long and rich tradition in this area dating from before the formation of America through the infamous prohibition era. Educators, authors, and pirate enthusiasts James and Sarah Kaserman recount the stories, legends and myths that surround piracy in Florida. Telling the tales of Anne Bonny, Calico Jack Rackham, Civil War smugglers and prohibition rum runners, the authors provide a compelling narrative of the historically dangerous waters around Southwest Florida and beyond.