The LRB Podcast

Pirates of Madagascar

Mar 28, 2023

34:26

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Episode notes

Introduction

2min

The Role of the Jolly Roger in Pirate Ship Governance

2min

The History of Pirates

4min

The Libertarian and the Pirates

4min

The Origins of Pirate Settlements in Madagascar

2min

The History of Pirate Ships in Madagascar

3min

Rat Simulaho and the Betsimiseraka Confederation

2min

The Myth of Ratzimala

3min

The Betsymi Seraka Confederation

3min

10.

The Dawn of Everything

5min

11.

The Importance of Alternative Ways of Being

4min

Francis Gooding joins Tom to discuss Pirate Enlightenment, David Graeber’s posthumously published study of 17th- and 18th-century piracy. Golden Age pirates maintained surprisingly egalitarian working practices, Graeber argues, and legendary pirate republics may have been run on similar grounds. Tom and Francis talk about Graeber’s Madagascar-centred research, sift through myth and fact, and ask: was piracy a bullshit job?

Find further reading on the episode page: lrb.me/pirateenlightenment

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