-
Empire of Blue Water
- Captain Morgan's Great Pirate Army, the Epic Battle for the Americas, and the Catastrophe That Ended the Outlaws' Bloody Reign
- Narrated by: John H. Mayer
- Length: 6 hrs and 29 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $15.75
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Publisher's summary
He challenged the greatest empire on earth with a ragtag bunch of renegades—and brought it to its knees. Empire of Blue Water is the real story of the pirates of the Caribbean.
Henry Morgan, a twenty-year-old Welshman, crossed the Atlantic in 1655, hell-bent on making his fortune. Over the next three decades, his exploits in the Caribbean in the service of the English became legendary. His daring attacks on the mighty Spanish Empire on land and at sea determined the fates of kings and queens, and his victories helped shape the destiny of the New World.
Morgan gathered disaffected European sailors and soldiers, hard-bitten adventurers, runaway slaves, and vicious cutthroats, and turned them into the most feared army in the Western Hemisphere. Sailing out from the English stronghold of Port Royal, Jamaica, “the wickedest city in the New World,” Morgan and his men terrorized Spanish merchant ships and devastated the cities where great riches in silver, gold, and gems lay waiting. His last raid, a daring assault on the fabled city of Panama, helped break Spain’s hold on the Americas forever.
Awash with bloody battles, political intrigues, natural disaster, and a cast of characters more compelling, bizarre, and memorable than any found in a Hollywood swashbuckler—including the notorious pirate L’Ollonais, the soul-tortured King Philip IV of Spain, and Thomas Modyford, the crafty English governor of Jamaica—Empire of Blue Water brilliantly re-creates the passions and the violence of the age of exploration and empire.
Critic reviews
“A swashbuckling adventure . . . [the] characters leap to life.”—New York Times Book Review
“A ripping yarn, worthy of its gaudy subject.”—Dallas Morning News
“A sparkling and engrossing adventure narrative.”—Boston Phoenix
More from the same
Related to this topic
-
Conquerors
- How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Conquerors tells the almost forgotten story of how Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.
-
-
Beautifully balanced
- By Nigel Roberts on 05-08-16
By: Roger Crowley
-
The Republic of Pirates
- Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Lewis Grenville
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, Blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.
-
-
Audible is better
- By CaptainRavick on 01-19-16
By: Colin Woodard
-
Born to Be Hanged
- The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune
- By: Keith Thomson
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than 300 daring, hardened pirates—a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers—gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become a legend. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era—a story not given its full due until now.
-
-
Fascinating tale of 17th Piracy in the Americas
- By Xmeromotu on 07-11-22
By: Keith Thomson
-
América
- The Epic Story of Spanish North America, 1493-1898
- By: Robert Goodwin
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the conclusion of the American Revolution, half the modern United States was part of the vast Spanish Empire. The year after Columbus' great voyage of discovery, in 1492, he claimed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for Spain. For the next 300 years, thousands of proud Spanish conquistadors and their largely forgotten Mexican allies went in search of glory and riches from Florida to California. Many died; few triumphed. Some were cruel; some were curious; some were kind. Missionaries and priests yearned to harvest Indian souls for God through baptism and Christian teaching.
-
-
A Narration That is Difficult to Follow
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-19
By: Robert Goodwin
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Fascinating book about a little-understood time
- By John M on 02-04-07
-
Empires of the Sea
- The Contest for the Center of the World
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.
-
-
Brilliant detail, exciting story
- By Tad Davis on 08-17-08
By: Roger Crowley
-
Conquerors
- How Portugal Forged the First Global Empire
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Conquerors tells the almost forgotten story of how Portugal's navigators cracked the code of the Atlantic winds, launched the expedition of Vasco da Gama to India, and beat the Spanish to the spice kingdoms of the East - then set about creating the first long-range maritime empire.
-
-
Beautifully balanced
- By Nigel Roberts on 05-08-16
By: Roger Crowley
-
The Republic of Pirates
- Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down
- By: Colin Woodard
- Narrated by: Lewis Grenville
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the early 18th century, the Pirate Republic was home to some of the great pirate captains, including Blackbeard, "Black Sam" Bellamy, and Charles Vane. Along with their fellow pirates - former sailors, indentured servants, and runaway slaves - this "Flying Gang" established a crude but distinctive democracy in the Bahamas, carving out their own zone of freedom in which servants were free, Blacks could be equal citizens, and leaders were chosen or deposed by a vote.
-
-
Audible is better
- By CaptainRavick on 01-19-16
By: Colin Woodard
-
Born to Be Hanged
- The Epic Story of the Gentlemen Pirates Who Raided the South Seas, Rescued a Princess, and Stole a Fortune
- By: Keith Thomson
- Narrated by: Feodor Chin
- Length: 9 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The year is 1680, in the heart of the Golden Age of Piracy, and more than 300 daring, hardened pirates—a potent mix of low-life scallywags and a rare breed of gentlemen buccaneers—gather on a remote Caribbean island. The plan: to wreak havoc on the Pacific coastline, raiding cities, mines, and merchant ships. The booty: the bright gleam of Spanish gold and the chance to become a legend. So begins one of the greatest piratical adventures of the era—a story not given its full due until now.
-
-
Fascinating tale of 17th Piracy in the Americas
- By Xmeromotu on 07-11-22
By: Keith Thomson
-
América
- The Epic Story of Spanish North America, 1493-1898
- By: Robert Goodwin
- Narrated by: Thom Rivera
- Length: 20 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
At the conclusion of the American Revolution, half the modern United States was part of the vast Spanish Empire. The year after Columbus' great voyage of discovery, in 1492, he claimed Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands for Spain. For the next 300 years, thousands of proud Spanish conquistadors and their largely forgotten Mexican allies went in search of glory and riches from Florida to California. Many died; few triumphed. Some were cruel; some were curious; some were kind. Missionaries and priests yearned to harvest Indian souls for God through baptism and Christian teaching.
-
-
A Narration That is Difficult to Follow
- By Amazon Customer on 05-24-19
By: Robert Goodwin
-
Mayflower
- A Story of Courage, Community, and War
- By: Nathaniel Philbrick
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 12 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the perilous ocean crossing to the shared bounty of the first Thanksgiving, the Pilgrim settlement of New England has become enshrined as our most sacred national myth. Yet, as best-selling author Nathaniel Philbrick reveals in his spellbinding new book, the true story of the Pilgrims is much more than the well-known tale of piety and sacrifice; it is a 55-year epic that is at once tragic, heroic, exhilarating, and profound.
-
-
Fascinating book about a little-understood time
- By John M on 02-04-07
-
Empires of the Sea
- The Contest for the Center of the World
- By: Roger Crowley
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 11 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Empires of the Sea tells the story of the 50-year world war between Islam and Christianity for the Mediterranean: one of the fiercest and most influential contests in European history. It traces events from the appearance on the world stage of Suleiman the Magnificent through "the years of devastation" when it seemed possible that Islam might master the whole sea, to the final brief flourishing of a united Christendom in 1571.
-
-
Brilliant detail, exciting story
- By Tad Davis on 08-17-08
By: Roger Crowley
-
The Last Voyage of Columbus
- Being the Epic Tale of the Great Captain's Fourth Expedition
- By: Martin Dugard
- Narrated by: Simon Jones
- Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The epic, never-before-told story of Columbus's final, and perhaps greatest, journey to the New World. The final voyage of Christopher Columbus was by far his most dangerous, unexpected, exhilarating, and consequential. It was, as Pulitzer Prize-winner Samuel Eliot Morison put it, "a story of adventure which imagination could hardly invent; a struggle between man and the elements, in which the most splendid manifestations of devotion, loyalty and courage are mingled with the vilest human passions."
-
-
Brilliant!
- By David on 09-11-05
By: Martin Dugard
-
River of Darkness
- Francisco Orellana's Legendary Voyage of Death and Discovery Down the Amazon
- By: Buddy Levy
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1541, the brutal conquistador Gonzalo Pizarro and his well-born lieutenant Francisco Orellana set off from Quito in search of La Canela, South America's rumored Land of Cinnamon, and the fabled El Dorado, "the golden man". Driving an enormous retinue of mercenaries, enslaved natives, horses, hunting dogs, and other animals across the Andes, they watched their proud expedition begin to disintegrate even before they descended into the nightmarish jungle, following the course of a powerful river.
-
-
Amazing!
- By Sammi on 02-17-18
By: Buddy Levy
-
Black Flags, Blue Waters
- The Epic History of America's Most Notorious Pirates
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: Paul Brion
- Length: 10 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set against the backdrop of the Age of Exploration, Black Flags, Blue Waters reveals the dramatic and surprising history of American piracy's "Golden Age" when lawless pirates plied the coastal waters of North America and beyond. Best-selling author Eric Jay Dolin illustrates how American colonists at first supported these outrageous pirates in an early display of solidarity against the Crown, and then violently opposed them. Upending popular misconceptions and cartoonish stereotypes, Dolin provides this wholly original account of these seafaring outlaws.
-
-
Solid read, BUT...
- By K ODell on 07-17-19
By: Eric Jay Dolin
-
The Pirate Coast
- Thomas Jefferson, The First Marines, and the Secret Mission of 1805
- By: Richard Zacks
- Narrated by: Raymond Todd
- Length: 13 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After Tripoli declared war on the United States in 1801, Barbary pirates captured 300 U.S. sailors and marines. President Jefferson sent navy squadrons to the Mediterranean, but he also authorized a secret mission to overthrow the government of Tripoli. He chose an unlikely diplomat, William Eaton, to lead the mission, but before Eaton departed, Jefferson grew wary of the affair and withdrew his support.
-
-
Excellent Account
- By John on 07-11-05
By: Richard Zacks
-
Jefferson's War
- America's First War on Terror, 1801-1805
- By: Joseph Wheelan
- Narrated by: Patrick Cullen
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Two centuries ago, without congressional or public debate, a president who is thought of today as peaceable, Thomas Jefferson, launched America's first war on foreign soil, a war against terror. The enemy was Muslim; the war was waged unconventionally, with commandos, native troops, and encrypted intelligence, and launched from foreign bases.
-
-
A Great Read
- By Donald on 06-19-05
By: Joseph Wheelan
-
Thomas Jefferson and the Tripoli Pirates
- The Forgotten War That Changed American History
- By: Brian Kilmeade, Don Yaeger
- Narrated by: Brian Kilmeade
- Length: 4 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Thomas Jefferson became president in 1801, America faced a crisis. The new nation was deeply in debt and needed its economy to grow quickly, but its merchant ships were under attack. Pirates from North Africa's Barbary coast routinely captured American sailors and held them as slaves, demanding ransom and tribute payments far beyond what the new country could afford.
-
-
Interesting history - terrible narrator
- By CJF on 12-08-15
By: Brian Kilmeade, and others
-
Over the Edge of the World
- Magellan's Terrifying Circumnavigation of the Globe
- By: Laurence Bergreen
- Narrated by: Laurence Bergreen
- Length: 6 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In 1519 Magellan and his fleet of five ships set sail from Seville, Spain, to discover a water route to the fabled Spice Islands in Indonesia, where the most sought-after commodities (cloves, pepper, and nutmeg) flourished. Three years later, a handful of survivors returned with an abundance of spices from their intended destination, but with just one ship carrying 18 emaciated men. During their remarkable voyage around the world the crew endured starvation, disease, mutiny, and torture. Many men died, including Magellan, who was violently killed in a fierce battle.
-
-
The Reading IS an Issue
- By mcbeene on 12-26-05
-
Patriotic Fire
- Andrew Jackson and Jean Laffite at the Battle of New Orleans
- By: Winston Groom
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This audio program has all the ingredients of a high-flying adventure story. Unbeknownst to the combatants, the War of 1812 has ended. But Andrew Jackson, a brave, charismatic American general, sick with dysentery and commanding a beleaguered garrison, leads a desperate struggle to hold on to New Orleans and to thwart the army that defeated Napoleon.
-
-
A Great Book About A Fascinating Battle
- By David I. Williams on 05-12-13
By: Winston Groom
-
Columbus
- The Four Voyages
- By: Laurence Bergreen
- Narrated by: Tim Jerome
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
From the author of the Magellan biography, Over the Edge of the World, a mesmerizing new account of the great explorer. Christopher Columbus's 1492 voyage across the Atlantic Ocean in search of a trading route to China, and his unexpected landfall in the Americas, is a watershed event in world history.
-
-
Very Petty and frankly flat out dishonest
- By Jm on 02-16-21
-
The Pirate Hunter
- By: Richard Zacks
- Narrated by: Michael Prichard
- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Captain Kidd has gone down in history as America's most ruthless buccaneer. However, Captain William Kidd was no career cut-throat; he was a tough, successful New York sea captain who was hired to chase pirates. Across the oceans of the world, the pirate hunter, Kidd, pursued the pirate, Culliford. One man would hang in the harbor; the other would walk away with the treasure. The Pirate Hunter is both a masterpiece of historical detective work and a page-turner.
-
-
Aaaargh Matey, Listen to this tale!
- By Karen on 04-20-04
By: Richard Zacks
-
Rebels at Sea
- Privateering in the American Revolution
- By: Eric Jay Dolin
- Narrated by: Eric Jason Martin
- Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The heroic story of the founding of the US Navy during the Revolution has been told many times, yet largely missing from maritime histories of America's first war is the ragtag fleet of private vessels that truly revealed the new nation's character. In Rebels at Sea, Eric Jay Dolin corrects that significant omission, and contends that privateers, as they were called, were in fact critical to the American victory. Privateers were privately owned vessels that were granted permission by the new government to seize British merchantmen and men of war.
-
-
If you can get over the narrator...
- By Toby Everett on 09-20-22
By: Eric Jay Dolin
-
War on the Run: The Epic Story of Robert Rogers and the Conquest of America's First Frontier
- By: John F. Ross
- Narrated by: Jonathan Yen
- Length: 21 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Often hailed as the godfather of today's elite special forces, Robert Rogers trained and led an unorthodox unit of green provincials, raw woodsmen, farmers, and Indian scouts on "impossible" missions in colonial America that are still the stuff of soldiers' legend. The child of marginalized Scots-Irish immigrants, Rogers learned to survive in New England's dark and deadly forests, grasping, as did few others, that a new world required new forms of warfare. John F. Ross not only re-creates Rogers's life and his spectacular battles with breathtaking immediacy and meticulous accuracy...
-
-
WOW!!!
- By Olaf the Black on 11-23-18
By: John F. Ross