The new Lecture Series from the National Maritime Museum Cornwall features three leading academics covering the realities behind female pirates, the horrors of the infamous ‘Barbary’ pirates, and the myths and truths behind the pirate image.

Did Pirates Bury Their Treasure?

Thursday 9th November, 7.30pm

Dr Richard Blakemore delves into the popular and enduring stories that surround the history of piracy: pirate codes and buried treasure, talking parrots, and walking planks.

This lecture explores how those stories originated and whether any of these things really happened.

Looking at some of the most famous pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and ‘Black Bart’ Roberts, and paying close attention to surviving historical evidence, the lecture examines how stories about pirates, as much as the actions of pirates themselves, defined ideas about piracy in that period and continue to shape our understanding of piracy in the present day.

Dr Richard Blakemore is Associate Professor in Social and Maritime History at the University of Reading. His research focuses on seafarers during the 17th and 18th centuries, and he has published books and articles on the British civil wars at sea, Atlantic piracy, trade and violence in West Africa, wages and economics in shipping, and maritime law.

Tickets  Book Tickets - Museum

£8 per person, £5 students.

National Maritime Museum Cornwall Members receive a 10% discount on in person tickets. Find out more about Membership.

Tickets Book Tickets - Online

£6 for the live online webinar.