This book provides a world-wide history of piracy from ancient times to the present day. Most histories of piracy start with piracy in the Caribbean in the 1500's and move on to the 'golden age' of piracy from the 1660s to the 1720s, with chapters on the Barbary corsairs, Chinese piracy and a brief look at modern piracy. These areas cannot be overlooked, but "Pirates: A History" is a comprehensive history of piracy, starting with piracy in the ancient and classical periods, and then shifting to piracy in the Middle Ages and the Mediterranean, before treating the more traditional areas of the Caribbean, the 'golden age' of piracy in the west, the Barbary corsairs, Chinese and Eastern piracy, and finally, modern piracy.