Henry Every’s short lived career as a pirate is not only one of the more impressive piratical careers, but takes place at the confluence of several aspects of early globalization which makes his actions a true “butterfly effect” incident, changing the course of history on a global scale. His attack set the richest man on earth, the Mughal Emperor of India, against history’s first multinational corporation, the East India Company, while the fairly new popular press captured the imagination of the masses with embellished and romantic accounts of his exploits. 

 

Johnson’s narrative reads like the adventure that it is. I appreciate that while he does introduce all of the conflicting narratives coming from sources separated by varying degrees, he makes no bones about presenting these characters as exactly what they were, criminals and terrorists. The timeline is fairly tight which allows Johnson to consistently share the details and unique aspects of the time giving the reader a vivid picture of life at the end of the 17th century. I hope to read more of his work in the future.