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The mock king of Madagascar

David Graeber imagines the 17th-century buccaneer establishing an enlightened kingdom in the Indian Ocean where all goods were held in common

11 February 2023

9:00 AM

11 February 2023

9:00 AM

Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia David Graeber

Allen Lane, pp.208, 18.99

On 7 September 1695, the 25-ship Grand Mughal fleet was returning through the Red Sea after its annual pilgrimage to Mecca when it was attacked by five pirate ships.  In the ensuing battle, the pirates’ leader, an Englishman variously known as Henry Avery, Henry Every, the King of Pirates and Long Ben, seized precious jewels and metals worth £600,000 – equivalent to around £97.1

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