Sailing East: West-Indian Pirates in Madagascar

Book excerpt: Five West-Indian pirates attempt to recapture 17th-century pirate glory on the East-Indian isle of Madagascar. Edward England, Edward Congdon, Olivier LeVasseur, and Richard Taylor sail to Madagascar in 1720 and join with Jasper Seager to make havoc against the East-Indian Company. These are the stories of their misadventures and lives. Some lived opulently - some died horrible deaths. They met Dutch, French, Portuguese, Spanish, and the native Betsimisaraka with whom they shared their short lives. They also captured a Portuguese Viceroy, the Fort at Delagoa, East-India Company officials, including an angry Scottish captain, and traded with a Royal Navy Commodore intent upon an illicit trade in gold and jewels!