The Atlantic Piracy Database is an ongoing project that seeks to collect, compile and collate documented pirate attacks, surrenders and sightings throughout the early modern Atlantic between 1660 and 1760. Although we have some sense of the scale, geographic distribution and intensity of piracy in the Atlantic region over time, the Atlantic Piracy Database seeks to create a more comprehensive record and quantitative analysis. Although still under construction, the project currently contains over eight hundred distinct incidents mostly drawn from an intensive analysis of the contents of British and colonial newspapers during the period. Additional content from archival and other sources is being added to enrich and expand the overarching portrait of piracy in the early modern Atlantic world. Ideally, the project will mature into a powerful research resource and the foundations of public history projects via GIS mapping and other interactive digital tools.
James S. Rankine, Andrew Mellon Fellow (2017-2019)