In 1719, Captain George Shelvocke, a poverty-stricken ex-naval officer, appealed for help to an old shipmate, Edward Hughes, who was then part of a consortium f

In the late seventeenth century, Spain dominated the Caribbean and Central and South America, establishing colonies, mining gold and silver, and gathering riche

The story of hugely ambitious and risky long-distance private voyages, only one of which brought huge returns for investors. The three great privateering expedi