The Pirate Queen: Queen Elizabeth I, Her Pirate Adventurers, and the Dawn of Empire | 
 enlarge | Author: Susan Ronald
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Rating:  11 reviews
Sales Rank: 577101
Format: Illustrated
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.4
ISBN: 0060820675
Dewey Decimal Number: 941
EAN: 9780060820671
ASIN: 0060820675
Publication Date: June 24, 2008
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Product Description
Extravagant, whimsical, and hot-tempered, Elizabeth was the epitome of power, both feared and admired by her enemies. Dubbed the "pirate queen" by the Vatican and Spain's Philip II, she employed a network of daring merchants, brazen adventurers, astronomer philosophers, and her stalwart Privy Council to anchor her throne—and in doing so, planted the seedlings of an empire that would ultimately cover two-fifths of the world. In The Pirate Queen, historian Susan Ronald offers a fresh look at Elizabeth I, relying on a wealth of historical sources and thousands of the queen's personal letters to tell the thrilling story of a visionary monarch and the swashbuckling mariners who terrorized the seas to amass great wealth for themselves and the Crown.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 6 more reviews...
 The Beginnings Of Organized Seapower And Beyond October 20, 2008
While England was late in forming a modern nation-state, it was quick to harness the political and technical possibilities of the emerging mercantile economic system. This book describes that transition, forced on it by the vastly more powerful forces commanded by Phillip II. Both England and Spain were strapped to pay for the development and maintenance of a large scale confrontation that would, in time, span the world. England, an island nation, knew that the instruments of power were her `wooden walls', a concept that escaped the continental European powers, particularly Spain's king and bureaucracy. England solved this problem by astute management of incentives that were designed to quickly build and assemble a sea force, whose focus were blatant piracy of Spain's essentially exposed riches from the New World. These sea-thieves developed and exploited new technology that changed the dynamics of political force among nations, and while they could not be considered entrepreneurs, they became the vanguard for social and political changes that, in time, allowed England to become the industrial workshop of the world. This excellent and very readable book's 43 chapters are organized into four parts, with an informative epilog, a glossary, and extensive suggested reading section where a reader may want to get more details and depth.
 Too Many Lists Make for a Listless Read March 13, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The essence of any writing goes back to the basics: who, what, where, when, and why. Ronald does well on all but the most important: how. There is a "story" in "history." George Santayana said: "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." It is the story of how something was done--or not--that can give us the perspective to make different choices when faced with similar challenges.
By cleaving to the academic viewpoint of chronicling all the who, what, and when, we are presented with everything we need to regurgitate on an exam to prove that we studied, but Ronald hasn't made us wiser. Every time the story is about to pick up, Ronald halts it abruptly with an inventory of booty, or a list of persons involved with a given enterprise. This book is like driving with one foot firmly pressed on the accelerator pedal while the other foot just as firmly presses the brakes.
The book ends, appropriately for the author, with John Dee's list of 13 criteria for creating the "Petty Navy Royal" and a list of "typical treasure" carried by the flota back to Spain. Ronald undoubtedly knows the subject matter.
Historians such as Joseph Ellis and David McCullough have raised the bar by bringing history to life. By being part of the experience, we learn much more both about history and ourselves. In this way, studying history makes us better people. It was McCullough who said: "No harm's done to history by making it something someone would want to read." Wanting to read history is the first step in the journey; a lesson Ronald should take note of.
 Solid, well focused book on E1's naval operations January 23, 2008
I agree with one of the other reviewers that the writing style is kind of amateurish and that the writer frequently re-crosses the same ground. However, I liked how the author followed Elizabeth's difficult and dangerous task of navigating her weak nation through treacherous times with the help of her pirates. I found her habit of constantly translating the value of everything into modern day values (dollars and pounds sterling)irritating. Also think that readers looking for alot on sea battles or naval nuances will be disappointed. Not a bad book but not a great one either.
Brings it All Together January 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I don't know all the literature on this era, but I expect that Ronald's achievement is not in unearthing new information, but in putting it all together. The general works on Elizabeth and this period present pirates and piracy in piecemeal fashion and Elizabeth's benefits as serendipitous. This book shows that piracy was wed into her foreign policy as much or more than her marriage possibilities, which garner considerably more attention in books for the general reader and in film.
The author brings together the internal and external politics of England, the economy, the religious issues, the excitement of discovery, the role of court favorites, and shows piracy as a thread running through it all. The book has provoked my thinking and given me a whole new yard stick by which to measure this period. While Spain is plundering the new world for gold and Africa for slaves, England is plundering Spain and finding benefit in the slave trade. This explains why English colonists were late (compared to Spain) in arriving in their "demarkated" hemisphere.
It is for the editing and not that writing that I give this book 4 stars and not 5. The frequency of ambiguous phrases and incomplete concepts hinders a smooth read. These are not things a writer, who knows her material inside and out, can easily spot.
For instance, p. 289, allusion is made to the storm raging and "driving the Francis, the Sea Dragon, the White Lion and the Talbot out to sea" meaning Drake could only offer the Roanoke colonists the Bark Bonner. 4 boats seems like a staggering loss, but there is no explanation or follow up. On p. 312, when Drake captures Don Pedro who will not submit to ransom, the author quotes from sailor's testimony from a law suit over Drake's estate 20 years hence. While this suit is beyond the scope of this book, the attribution of the quote, without explanation, suggests that there might be a reason to think a ransom was paid.
The story is compelling, and if you don't get too hung up on the detail (loose ends like those above occur every 20 pages or so), you will enjoy this rendering of the Elizabethan world. It gave me a whole new perspective from which to view all else about this period.
Not bad. December 18, 2007
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Definitely not as dry as straight history textbooks or as fanciful as the title might make you think, it takes fact and presents it in an interesting way.
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