- Hardcover: 182 pages
- Publisher: The Lyons Press; illustrated edition edition (Nov 1999)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1558219714
- ISBN-13: 978-1558219717
- Product Dimensions: 24.1 x 15.5 x 1.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 2,974,231 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Synopsis
Originally published in 1824, this firsthand account describes how Smith, a young English seaman, was captured by Cuban pirates, pressed into service as the pirates' navigator, and after escaping with the help of a young Cuban woman prosecuted for piracy by the British attorney general. Great-great-grandson Robert Redmond adds an introduction, a fi
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3 reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful
The most famous account of a captive aboard the pirates.
26 July 2001
Format:Hardcover
The life of the young English sailor Aaron Smith changed dramatically during a Summer night in the Caribbean, while he was sailing back to England to see his familiy and girlfriend. It was the seventh day of July 1822, when Smith's ship, the Zephyr, was captured by brutish Cuban pirates off the Cuban Coast. After being boarded and sacked, both the ship and its crew were released, but the unfortunate Smith was obliged to remain in the pirate schooner for the next ten months. Unfortunately for him, his knowledge and skill as a pilot were much appreciated by the pirate chief, and he had no option but to obey, if he pretended to survive. "The Atrocities of the Pirates" is the true account of the terrifying ten months that Aaron Smith remained on board the pirate ship. Smith's story constitutes a fascinating adventure, where courage and bravery appear as the main qualities that kept this young man from perishing in the hands of brutish and unscrupulous criminals. Smith describes in detail his tremendous experience and shares his fear and anguish with the reader, for he shows that any moment during his captivity could have been the last. He always kept his dreams alive, and the sole idea of returning to his girlfriend gave him the strength to survive. He wrote the account in 1824 to clean his name, for as soon as he escaped from the pirates in Havana, he was taken prisioner to England and faced a trial on the accusation of piracy. He narrowly escaped an infamous death by hanging but, anyway, his reputation was never quite clean after the trial, so he decided to share his story in order to defend his honor. Moreover, in 1829, when he thought that his sufferings were over, he was tried again accused of piracy for having been on board the pirate while a Dutch ship was taken. More than one century and a half later, Robert Redmond, his great great grandson offers in this edition an interesting introduction based on careful research, the whole account written by Aaron Smith, plus his subsecuent fate: how he won the trial and escaped death by hanging, his marriage, and the end of the infamous pirate schooner where he was kept in captivity. This interesting book must be read by any person interested in pirate history. It is the most authentic, detailed and vivid account of a pirate captive that has survived the perils of time.
9 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Questionable???
10 Aug 2003
Format:Hardcover
This book was published by the great great great grandson of the author, Aaron Smith. In 1822 A. Smith was captured by a crew of Spanish pirates in the Caribbean Sea. The pirates designated him their navigator and surgeon, and he sailed with them for a number of months before being captured by an English warship and taken to London. Smith then was tried at the Old Bailey Court and wrote this book in 1824. I read the book and highlighted details I found intriguing. But throughout the book I wondered if Smith didn't exaggerate the pirates' abuse and torture in order to save his own hide. (If he was the pirates' navigator and surgeon, why in Heaven's name would they torture him?) I think the book is a farfetched fantasy on the part of Aaron Smith. And I wonder if he ever even went to sea. His great great great grandson does not explain where he got the original manuscript and whether he had it authenticated by scientists to see if it was written in 1824. And he does not mention going to the Old Bailey and looking up the court records. I wonder if this book is a hoax! I suggest that instead readers read THE BONDWOMAN'S NARRATIVE by Hannah Crafts, an autobiographical novel about a slave woman. The editor, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., has 75 pages about the scientists he contacted and the tests they ran to authenticate his manuscript. My suggestion to readers is to look for bibliographies, indices, appendices, photos, etc. then judge for yourself whether the facts within a book are factual or fantasy. Some modern novelists write fiction then in the back of the book explain the truth that the fiction is based on. A good example of that type of book is A Diary of a Slave Girl, Ruby Jo. The storyline combines slaves with pirates, and the author explains much of the history at that time with text and photos.
4 of 5 people found the following review helpful
a gratifying read
8 Sep 2001
Format:Hardcover
There is much to be said for this account of Aaron Smith's harrowing experience among pirates who terrorized the seas during the early nineteenth century. Captured and forced to work as their navigator, Aaron walks the reader through his daily activities and the many thoughts and feelings that he experienced during his ordeal. His observations, internal and external, are keen. His descriptions seem winningly quaint, the way only true historical writing can. He also provokes the willing reader to examine a very uncomfortable and 'timeless' truth: if a captive does not placate his criminal tormentors, he will be killed; if he placates them too much, he may be identified with them and tried as an accomplice when rescued (apprehended?) Mr Smith takes us to scary places in both his world and ours.
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