Pirates, Privateers, Raiders

Stories about pirates, fearless and ruthless sea marauders, are enveloped in an aura of romance. A huge number of books have been written about their adventures, and at the word "pirate", each of us can easily recall a couple of... characters from movies. However, long before the first pirate appeared in literature and certainly on cinema screens, real sea bandits bravely sailed the vast expanses of seas and oceans.
Edward Teach, known as Blackbeard, Francis Drake, and Henry Morgan, the fearsome grin of the "Jolly Roger" and boarding battles, treasure maps, and treasure hunting on distant shores...
 
What we know about the real life of pirates is presented in fascinating stories by historian Igor Vsevolodovich Mojeiko, known to all of us by the pseudonym Kir Bulichev.