Douglas R. Burgess, Jr.'s Books

The Politics of Piracy

Crime and Civil Disobedience in Colonial America

By: Douglas R. Burgess, Jr.

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The Politics of Piracy

Crime and Civil Disobedience in Colonial America

By: Douglas R. Burgess, Jr.

The seventeenth-century war on piracy is remembered as a triumph for the English state and her Atlantic colonies. Yet it was piracy and illicit trade that drove a wedge between them, imperiling the American enterprise and bringing the colonies to the verge of rebellion. In The Politics of Piracy, competing criminalities become a lens to examine England's legal relationship with America. In contrast to the rough, unlettered stereotypes associated with them, pirates and illicit traders moved easily in colonial society, attaining respectability and even political office. The goods they provided became a cornerstone of colonial trade, transforming port cities from barren outposts into rich and extravagant capitals. This transformation reached the political sphere as well, as colonial governors furnished local mariners with privateering commissions, presided over prize courts that validated stolen wares, and fiercely defended their prerogatives as vice-admirals. By the end of the century, the social and political structures erected in the colonies to protect illicit trade came to represent a new and potent force: nothing less than an independent American legal system. Tensions between Crown and colonies presage, and may predestine, the ultimate dissolution of their relationship in 1776. Exhaustively researched and rich with anecdotes about the pirates and their pursuers, The Politics of Piracy will be a fascinating read for scholars, enthusiasts, and anyone with an interest in the wild and tumultuous world of the Atlantic buccaneers.

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Page Count

305

Publisher

ForeEdge from University Press of New England

Published Date

ISBN 10

1611686989

ISBN 13

9781611686982

Engines of Empire

Steamships and the Victorian Imagination

By: Douglas R. Burgess Jr.

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Engines of Empire

Steamships and the Victorian Imagination

By: Douglas R. Burgess Jr.

In 1859, the S.S. Great Eastern departed from England on her maiden voyage. She was a remarkable wonder of the nineteenth century: an iron city longer than Trafalgar Square, taller than Big Ben's tower, heavier than Westminster Cathedral. Her paddles were the size of Ferris wheels; her decks could hold four thousand passengers bound for America, or ten thousand troops bound for the Raj. Yet she ended her days as a floating carnival before being unceremoniously dismantled in 1889. Steamships like the Great Eastern occupied a singular place in the Victorian mind. Crossing oceans, ferrying tourists and troops alike, they became emblems of nationalism, modernity, and humankind's triumph over the cruel elements. Throughout the nineteenth century, the spectacle of a ship's launch was one of the most recognizable symbols of British social and technological progress. Yet this celebration of the power of the empire masked overconfidence and an almost religious veneration of technology. Equating steam with civilization had catastrophic consequences for subjugated peoples around the world. Engines of Empire tells the story of the complex relationship between Victorians and their wondrous steamships, following famous travelers like Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, and Jules Verne as well as ordinary spectators, tourists, and imperial administrators as they crossed oceans bound for the colonies. Rich with anecdotes and wry humor, it is a fascinating glimpse into a world where an empire felt powerful and anything seemed possible—if there was an engine behind it.

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Page Count

353

Publisher

Stanford University Press

Published Date

ISBN 10

0804798982

ISBN 13

9780804798983

Seize the Trident

The Race for Superliner Supremacy and how it Altered the Great War

By: Douglas R. Burgess

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Seize the Trident

The Race for Superliner Supremacy and how it Altered the Great War

By: Douglas R. Burgess

The superliners of the Gilded Age so eclipsed their predecessors in size, splendor, and speed that they remain potent symbols of elegance, arrogance, and industrial might nearly a century after the last ones were built. They carried a flood of immigrants to America even as they reflected and magnified the frightening forces that were pushing Europe blindly into World War I. In a crowning irony, Germany's prize liners were used against her to carry American doughboys to the trenches of Europe." "Seize the Trident is a parable of imperial ambitions and ultimate tragedy set against the ostentatious backdrop of the Edwardian age, when dreams had no limits and the only standard of supremacy was excess."--BOOK JACKET.

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Page Count

322

Publisher

McGraw Hill Professional

Published Date

ISBN 10

0071430091

ISBN 13

9780071430098

The Pirates' Pact

The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America

By: Douglas R. Burgess

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The Pirates' Pact

The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America

By: Douglas R. Burgess

The Secret Alliances Between History's Most Notorious Buccaneers and Colonial America Was classical piracy an earlier version of state-sponsored terrorism? Here's the story of how almost every well-known buccaneer of the “Golden Age of Piracy” enjoyed active sponsorship from England's governors in the American colonies- setting a pattern of official disobedience to the Crown that would ultimately contribute to the American push for independence. Relying on rare primary sources discovered in government archives in England, the Carolinas, Rhode Island, Jamaica, and elsewhere, Burgess combines true tales of derring-do with groundbreaking research in this fascinating history.

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Page Count

320

Publisher

McGraw Hill Professional

Published Date

ISBN 10

0071643362

ISBN 13

9780071643368

When Hope and History Rhyme

Natural Law and Human Rights from Ancient Greece to Modern America

By: Douglas Burgess

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When Hope and History Rhyme

Natural Law and Human Rights from Ancient Greece to Modern America

By: Douglas Burgess

An exploration of natural law for an era of deep division: Burgess lays out the long struggle to protect human rights for all citizens. Dr. King's famous words—"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice”—rest on the thinking and policy of philosophers and legislators from ancient Greece to the present day. Douglas R. Burgess Jr.—a broadly published writer and professor of legal history—tells us that important story, from the Greeks to the Middle Ages to the Enlightenment, ending with FDR's "Four Freedoms" and the Nuremberg Trials. With timely reference to recent assaults on human rights, including the 2021 attack on the US Capitol, When Hope and History Rhyme has both historical sweep and contemporary significance.

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