'Ground-breaking' - David Gibbins author of A History of the World in Twelve Shipwrecks
'Lively and fascinating' - N. A. M. Rodger, author of The Price of Victory

A sweeping history of piracy through the ages, drawn from previously unseen records held at the National Archives.

From the corsairs of medieval Africa to the interloping merchants of early New York, the marauders of southern China to the pirate safe havens of Ireland, the history of piracy is a global story of power, opportunity and conquest. But this is as much a story of empires as it is outlaws. As kingdoms competed for control of the seas, pirates too entered into the fray. In periods of war, expansion and upheaval, buccaneers and Admirals, freebooters and merchant sailors, privateers and esteemed navy Captains were thrown together, either to form shaky alliances or become mortal enemies.

Rife with double-crossing, corruption, violence and opportunism, this world of seaborne conflict and cooperation was as quick to shift as the tide, and the line between legitimate capture and pirate plunder was often blurred. Famous names like Francis Drake, Grainne O'Malley and Blackbeard have made it into the history books, but they are just part of the story. In Chasing the Horizon, historian Oliver Finnegan shows that piracy was part of a global way of life, and played a crucial role in shaping empires the world over.

Meticulously researched and vividly told, this comprehensive history weaves together tales of adventure, glory, avarice and survival, and offers a revealing portrait of pirates and the times which shaped them.