Pirate Enlightenment, or the Real Libertalia
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- Author：David Graeber
- ISBN：0374610193
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Summary
The final posthumous work by the coauthor of the major New York Times bestseller The Dawn of Everything。
Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy， symbolizing risk， lawlessness， and radical visions of freedom。 But at the root of this mythology is a rich history of pirate societies--vibrant， imaginative experiments in self-governance and alternative social formations at the edges of European empire。
In graduate school， David Graeber conducted ethnographic field research in Madagascar， producing what would eventually become a doctoral thesis on the island's magic， slavery， and politics。 During this time， he encountered the Zana-Malata， an ethnic group made up of mixed descendants of the many pirates who settled on the island at the beginning of the eighteenth century。 Pirate Enlightenment， or the Real Libertalia， Graeber's final posthumous book， is the outgrowth of this early research， and the culmination of ideas that he explored in his classic， bestselling works Debt and The Dawn of Everything （written with the archeologist David Wengrow）。
Graeber explores how the proto-democratic practices of the Zana-Malata came to shape the Enlightenment project defined for too long as distinctly European。 He illuminates the non-European origins of what we consider to be "Western" thought， and endeavors to recover forgotten forms of social and political order that gesture toward new， hopeful possibilities for the future。
Pirates have long lived in the realm of romance and fantasy， symbolizing risk， lawlessness， and radical visions of freedom。 But at the root of this mythology is a rich history of pirate societies--vibrant， imaginative experiments in self-governance and alternative social formations at the edges of European empire。
In graduate school， David Graeber conducted ethnographic field research in Madagascar， producing what would eventually become a doctoral thesis on the island's magic， slavery， and politics。 During this time， he encountered the Zana-Malata， an ethnic group made up of mixed descendants of the many pirates who settled on the island at the beginning of the eighteenth century。 Pirate Enlightenment， or the Real Libertalia， Graeber's final posthumous book， is the outgrowth of this early research， and the culmination of ideas that he explored in his classic， bestselling works Debt and The Dawn of Everything （written with the archeologist David Wengrow）。
Graeber explores how the proto-democratic practices of the Zana-Malata came to shape the Enlightenment project defined for too long as distinctly European。 He illuminates the non-European origins of what we consider to be "Western" thought， and endeavors to recover forgotten forms of social and political order that gesture toward new， hopeful possibilities for the future。
Reviews
Nathan Shuherk
，
The author called it a long essay and it either should’ve remained as such or used another author（s） to flesh out ideas into something … more。 Left a lot to be desired and really dragged throughout。 Think some will find it interesting， but ultimately， should not be a priority for anyone not a massive Graeber fan
Jax
，
Pirate enlightenment might seem oxymoronic， but in this book Graeber will argue that the pirate settlements in Madagascar were “proto-Enlightenment political experiments。” His argument is based on various propositions。 A few examples include the “self-conscious attempts to reproduce” on land the pirate ship social organization model; the interest in and discussion of pirates in western societies meets the “conversational forms” test; and the notion that the arrival of pirates in Madagascar spark Pirate enlightenment might seem oxymoronic， but in this book Graeber will argue that the pirate settlements in Madagascar were “proto-Enlightenment political experiments。” His argument is based on various propositions。 A few examples include the “self-conscious attempts to reproduce” on land the pirate ship social organization model; the interest in and discussion of pirates in western societies meets the “conversational forms” test; and the notion that the arrival of pirates in Madagascar sparked revolutions。While this book is an interesting and， at times， exciting account of life on Madagascar at that time， I was not convinced by Graeber’s support for proto-Enlightenment political experiments。 The conversational forms and revolution connections seem to be a reach。 As to the egalitarian structure， he cites too many examples that undermined this important feature。 It is on this basis alone that I rate this title。 Otherwise， this is an unusual topic presented with intelligence。 For those who shy at academic titles， don’t be fooled—this book is filled with drama， intrigue， and action。 It’s a compelling read。 。。。more
Pete
，
An interesting history on the history of pirates in Madagascar， largely from the Malagasy point of view。 Really appreciated his deep look at how the Malagasy saw the pirates and not just the usual way of seeing it。 And I liked the theory that the Malagasy， in their forms of kabary， were early enlightenment thinkers。With all those positives， only three stars because I felt it got into the weeds and tedious at times。
Jessi Collier Wakefield
，
I had no idea there was such a large and rich pirate history around Madagascar！Thank you libro。fm for my ALC！
David Wineberg
，
I don’t know which was less likely: a new book by the late， great David Graeber， or a new book on pirates （of all things） by David Graeber。 But there it was and I grabbed it。 As usual， I was not disappointed。 In Pirate Enlightenment， or the Real Libertalia， Graeber uses northeast Madagascar as an example of complex societies being influenced by the egalitarian philosophies of 17th century western pirates。 This is something only a David Graeber could tackle。 Successfully。Pirates were the talk of I don’t know which was less likely: a new book by the late， great David Graeber， or a new book on pirates （of all things） by David Graeber。 But there it was and I grabbed it。 As usual， I was not disappointed。 In Pirate Enlightenment， or the Real Libertalia， Graeber uses northeast Madagascar as an example of complex societies being influenced by the egalitarian philosophies of 17th century western pirates。 This is something only a David Graeber could tackle。 Successfully。Pirates were the talk of the whole world in the late 1600s and early 1700s。 They were written up， romanticized and made into legends。 They stole ships and made them into pirate battleships。 They hid their loot all over the world， because it was very difficult to change it into cash。 But the most important thing， at least for this book， is that they ran egalitarian societies both onboard and onshore when they tried to settle down。 David Graeber spent two years in Madagascar， studying the numerous societies and the island’s history。 This is the story of how they influenced each other。It’s a short book （as Graeber books go）。 It was meant to be an essay in a collection of them， but it was too long。 But also too short for a real book， so it languished until now （though it was published in French four years ago）。 It reveals the intensity Graeber applied to his anthropological side。 He was an anthropology professor at the London School of Economics until his death at the age of 59 three years ago。 And a big egalitarian。Naturally， history books are not very forthcoming for the kind of detail Graeber insisted on。 The most important such book is the biography of a legendary pirate that Graeber challenges from every angle。 The grains of truth in it take considerable thought to distill。 He concludes: “So the first real ethnographic accounts we have of Madagascar are really notes written by a spy in order to allow a con man to better fabricate accounts of his non-existent exploits。” To which I would add: In a nonexistent country called Libertalia。 Good luck drawing conclusions from that。 But Graeber could and did。After some rousing text on pirates settling in Madagascar – as many as several thousand did， he says – the book turns its focus to the natives for most of the rest。 The Malagasy lived in tribes， extended families really。 Every village was independent。 They were forever forming alliances and breaking them， going to war and pledging loyalty to each other。 But they were also quite egalitarian compared to most other societies， then or now。 There were the self-appointed kings， and everyone else。 Some had three levels of the highest ranks， but most were simply a king and his people。 Kings got removed， and intrigue brought new ones to the fore。The pirates had an enduring effect on them。 The natives immediately welcomed them and absorbed them by marriage。 Pirates were valued assets because they came on huge ships from exotic foreign lands， were apparently very rich， somewhat educated， and mostly white – all of which made them stand out。 And they represented international trade， the most valuable trait of all。 Scheming women （women carried out most of the commerce but none of the politics） could and did marry them and made them king。 So pirates settled into villages all over the northeast quarter of the island。 “Each local group came to have their own local class of stranger-princes， or， as I’ve termed them， ‘internal outsider，’ who were foreigners to their Malagasy neighbors， but Malagasy to foreigners。” The book is even more focused， however。 Because just off the east coast of Madagascar is a long slim parallel island called Sainte-Marie， a microcosm of villages， tribes， politics and philosophies。 Pirates hid in the coves and ventured onshore to trade。 Graeber’s story then uses a framework of one man， Ratsimilaho， who became king at a very young age， proving himself not so much a warrior but as an organizer。 He managed to assemble a confederacy called Betsimisaraka that endured for over thirty years。 Thirty years of peace and stability， egalitarianism， and even respect。 Complaints were handled by ad hoc committees。 Punishments were relatively mild and sentences respected throughout the land。 It was the same structure pirates employed on their ships， where captains held their rank by approval of the crew， committees managed all aspects of the voyage， loot was split up fairly， and life was not oppressive。 The exact opposite of the lives they left behind in England or France or Spain。There are lots of rumors but no certainty over Ratsimilaho’s family， how much of a role pirates played， where and how he was educated and what his influences were。 But by the age of twenty， he was king and consolidating a whole confederacy。 And unfortunately， his plans to pass it all on to his children failed totally。 A worthwhile story in itself。Malagasy wars were fought over trade， or broken promises。 Graeber says “While most of the strategy of the war concentrated on maintaining or disrupting supply lines—making it， effectively， continuous with trade—actual combat was classically heroic， full of individual exploits， duels， exchanges of personal challenges and insults， much as one would expect to find in a Homeric， Icelandic， or Maori epic。” Battles would stop while the warriors witnessed an epic match between the greatest from each side。 Oaths were made to the effect that once this war is over I will swear loyalty to you， or after this is over our peoples will unite。 It was the stuff of myths。 Eventually， the pirates simply disappeared， having been absorbed by their new families。 Madagascar is no longer a paradise of equality。 It has been in a killer drought for years， and the only real equality is that most suffer the same way in a still largely agrarian society where cattle are the most valuable possession， and the most expensive to maintain。As usual with David Graeber， the research is phenomenal。 The details are impressive。 The analysis is sterling。 He manages to gain perspective on a complex island nation that does not have a written history， but innumerable tiny villages and outposts， each representing independent peoples。 That they actually appreciated mixed marriages and valued the children produced by them， that they controlled the pirates and drove them off if they abused their privilege， and had heroic cultures based on word of honor - is all very utopian。 If anything， this book proves it can be done， even with pirates。David Wineberg（Pirate Enlightenment， David Graeber， January 2023）If you liked this review， I invite you to read more in my book The Straight Dope。 It’s an essay collection based on my first thousand reviews and what I learned。 Right now it’s FREE for Prime members， otherwise — cheap！ Reputed to be fascinating and a superfast read。 And you already know it is well-written。 https://www。amazon。com/Straight-Dope-。。。 。。。more
Emile
，
Hello all，A final David Graeber book， what a shame rest in peace。 Thank you for everything。 Quick summary: If you’ve read everything else by Graeber， by all means， go ahead。 If you haven’t， I strongly recommend starting elsewhere as this work does not have the characteristic academic rigour and clear structure （and life-changing potential） that I believe Graeber’s other work has。 It does have his narrative flair however！ An enjoyable read nonetheless。 Longer review: I was not being _that_ dramat Hello all，A final David Graeber book， what a shame rest in peace。 Thank you for everything。 Quick summary: If you’ve read everything else by Graeber， by all means， go ahead。 If you haven’t， I strongly recommend starting elsewhere as this work does not have the characteristic academic rigour and clear structure （and life-changing potential） that I believe Graeber’s other work has。 It does have his narrative flair however！ An enjoyable read nonetheless。 Longer review: I was not being _that_ dramatic， I can really say Graeber’s changed my life and I was recommended him by someone whose life was also changed by him。 His book Debt is essential reading， and if you cannot make it through for whatever reasons， he did a wonderful podcast on BBC radio 4 called ‘promises， promises’。 Dawn of everything and debt will be tomes that hopefully change the way society sees itself。 An Anarchist anthropology is a great shorter book to start with。 I do not recommend starting with this book because it feels unfinished or， Graeber at his most experimental。 This book starts off with the admission that the historical sources for this book are incredibly weak and so we essentially embark on a fictive rendering of what might have happened that is coordinated by Graeber’s politics。 Not only that， it does not feel as strongly argued as Graeber usually does and without the academic rigour （since the sources are not present） this leaves Graeber at his most vulnerable and， I believe， a potential for a wilful misrepresentation or misunderstanding of this truly brilliant scholar and activist。 I highly recommend starting with his essay ‘there never was a west’， the podcast or， the anarchist anthropology。 I say all this because I have the privilege of being one of the first reviewers and so I hope I can contribute a little to having this author heard in the best of light！This is one of Graeber’s shorter books and even though I read the French translation I can say that his usual tone was still there， always introducing you to forgotten （or dismissed， or even obstructed） peoples， histories and phenomena。 He is a true master in this and in this way this book does not disappoint。 However， I do get the sense that this book was either unfinished or potentially a book that was always not going to be as good as his others。 It does feel like we go on one of his usual interesting tangents with an alternative reading or interpretation except this time， that is the whole structure of the book。 Normally it is core history where some important/left out bits are reintroduced for a novel interpretation。 Often Graeber is writing book-length extensions of his essay ‘there never was a West’ in an effort to essentially， I’ve been convinced by Graeber， decolonise the ‘enlightenment’。 For example， in the Dawn of Everything to show that major influence from outside of ‘the West’ informed our views about democracy， freedom， equality etc （and that they were almost always present in all societies to some extent）， in particular Native Americans influence on views effecting Europe after the time of contact。 This is roughly sketched at the beginning of the book and Graeber admits that of course the enlightenment values have been used to do horrible things by horrible people， but that does not taint some of those ideas and more importantly some of those values， with proper democracy， can and have been integrated into societies throughout history and throughout the world - they are not a European invention but a human potential。 In this book it feels like we are living a little bit in a fantasy world which I think makes Davids reputation vulnerable。 I don’t think this should be a book that his method or academic rigour is judged by and it should be more interpreted as fictive interpretation。 And David accepts that， many times early on in the books he says things like “there is no definite way to write about this period” or ‘often there is only one account of a pirate to go by， and where there are two， they often contradict each other’。 So， in sum， we are left with a very loose jumping off point where David takes us on a sprawling narrative co-ordinated by his views and， since he is somewhat of a radical in these difficult and conservative times， it is easy to dismiss the arguments in this book。 Especially since there is little evidence and a lot of theory and fiction。 The narrative follows the legacy of pirates and the role they played in our collective imagination。 We have been fascinated by them but what we are often short of realising is that they were some of the people that potentially directly influenced enlightenment ideals about democracy。 It’s an emphasis on potentially for me and I am not entirely swayed by David’s interpretation here。 Pirates who settled on land were some of the first to try and start a democracy which included the radical other in the form of local Malagasy’s。 Though some pirates did pillage and murder， some sporadically settled down and started working with Malagasy to form societies which were egalitarian and democratic and those tendencies are still with those people on the North East coast of Madagascar today。 David is an expert on Madagascar， I guess， since having lived there and learnt the language whilst writing， I believe， his doctoral thesis。 I have known that for a long time and always thought David was an expert until I read this book。 I have to say this book shows how complex Malagasy society is， how unique it is but also how I think the material does not yield to the conclusions Graeber makes。 Please check out Graeber’s other books or read Kevin’s reviews for a good introduction！ Hello all，A final David Graeber book， what a shame rest in peace。 Thank you for everything。 Quick summary: If you’ve read everything else by Graeber， by all means， go ahead。 If you haven’t， I strongly recommend starting elsewhere as this work does not have the characteristic academic rigour and clear structure （and life-changing potential） that I believe Graeber’s other work has。 It does have his narrative flair however！ An enjoyable read nonetheless。 。。。more
André
，
Sadly for the last time， David Graeber delved into his vast knowledge to make us all question ours。 Pirate Enlightenment is， as the author explains， a long essay turned into a short sized （for contemporary standards and especially if you have just read The Dawn of Everything） book。 Graeber entices the reader into paying attention with the title， proceeds to explain a part of mid 1000s history of Madagascar， only to then show us how much we don't know about the origins of some of the so called "e Sadly for the last time， David Graeber delved into his vast knowledge to make us all question ours。 Pirate Enlightenment is， as the author explains， a long essay turned into a short sized （for contemporary standards and especially if you have just read The Dawn of Everything） book。 Graeber entices the reader into paying attention with the title， proceeds to explain a part of mid 1000s history of Madagascar， only to then show us how much we don't know about the origins of some of the so called "enlightenment" ideas and politics。If you liked questioning common perspectives of humanity's past in The Dawn of Everything， this one is a must read。 If you never read anything by Graeber and are no history or anthropology buff， this won't be the easiest start， but it is certainly a valuable read。I thank Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC。 。。。more
James B
，
Thanks to Netgalley and FSG for the ebook。 You know you’re in good hands when the author tells you in the introduction that people hate long essays， so he turned this into a short book， which everyone loves。 And this is a very interesting posthumous short book about pirates。 Going through the scant and contradictory known material written during the brief time of the pirates， the author knocks down the tall tales， but still tells a fascinating story。
Hallie
，
After finishing this， I feel even more keenly that the world has lost an important voice with David Graeber's passing。 His way of seeing the world， and humanity's history and potential is one in a million。 The fact that this was essentially a novella in terms of length somewhat left me unsatisfied because I could have continued reading Graeber's fascinating analysis with respect to the pirate settlements on the coast of Madagascar。 Who isn't a fan of pirates？ But this essay peels back the swashb After finishing this， I feel even more keenly that the world has lost an important voice with David Graeber's passing。 His way of seeing the world， and humanity's history and potential is one in a million。 The fact that this was essentially a novella in terms of length somewhat left me unsatisfied because I could have continued reading Graeber's fascinating analysis with respect to the pirate settlements on the coast of Madagascar。 Who isn't a fan of pirates？ But this essay peels back the swashbuckling narrative to examine how the native Madagascar people and the pirate settlers interacted， exchanged ideas， and organized themselves politically。 The Madagascar "kings" may not have been kings at all， and word of the social experimentation taking place in Madagascar trickled back to Europe as some of the Enlightenment writers were putting pen to paper。 This was an interesting read， but for me， it may have been too short。 Graeber self-admittedly only scratches the surface here， and he has left the door open for scholars to follow。Netgalley provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Tommaso
，
Concordo con altre recensioni。 Mi aspettavo un altra cosa， un racconto più sulla vita dei pirati。 In realtà è un saggio di antropologia su un epoca storica e degli eventi molti specifici （i pirati che si insediano nel Madagscar e la creazione di una società che darà vita al mito di Libertaria）。 A tratti risulta noioso， ripetitivo， ma del resto non è un romanzo。 Mi ha fatto però scoprire un lato dei pirati che non sapevo e approfondirò con certezza， ovvero il ruolo che hanno avuto come primi veri Concordo con altre recensioni。 Mi aspettavo un altra cosa， un racconto più sulla vita dei pirati。 In realtà è un saggio di antropologia su un epoca storica e degli eventi molti specifici （i pirati che si insediano nel Madagscar e la creazione di una società che darà vita al mito di Libertaria）。 A tratti risulta noioso， ripetitivo， ma del resto non è un romanzo。 Mi ha fatto però scoprire un lato dei pirati che non sapevo e approfondirò con certezza， ovvero il ruolo che hanno avuto come primi veri ribelli della società。 。。。more
Jungle Julia
，
Mi aspettavo tutt'altro， quindi non posso che dare un giudizio parziale。 Il testo è scorrevole e niente affatto "accademico"， ciò nonostante credevo sarebbe stato più una sorta di descrizione della società egalitaria pirata del XVIII secolo， magari con abbondanti rimandi e confronti alla società contemporanea。 Invece， si tratta piuttosto di un vero e proprio testo etnoantropologico sulla società del Madagascar che， in sincretismo con i pirati che la bazzicavano， ha portato alla nascita del mito Mi aspettavo tutt'altro， quindi non posso che dare un giudizio parziale。 Il testo è scorrevole e niente affatto "accademico"， ciò nonostante credevo sarebbe stato più una sorta di descrizione della società egalitaria pirata del XVIII secolo， magari con abbondanti rimandi e confronti alla società contemporanea。 Invece， si tratta piuttosto di un vero e proprio testo etnoantropologico sulla società del Madagascar che， in sincretismo con i pirati che la bazzicavano， ha portato alla nascita del mito di Libertalia。 Fossi stata più addetta ai lavori， l'avrei senz'altro apprezzato di più。 。。。more
Read me two times
，
Ho iniziato questo libro con una certa idea su come fosse scritto e ho dovuto cambiarla in corso di lettura。 Nella parte centrale， l'ho trovato poco incisivo e poco preciso。 Spreca pagine e pagine a dirmi sempre la stessa cosa e quello che deve dirmi， ossia cos'è Libertalia e come funzionava， devo capirlo da sola tra le righe del discorso。 Mi è piaciuto leggere nel dettaglio la vita e le singole battaglie dei pirati， ma se invece di nominarmi 30000 volte Ratsimilaho in un racconto discoeso， me l Ho iniziato questo libro con una certa idea su come fosse scritto e ho dovuto cambiarla in corso di lettura。 Nella parte centrale， l'ho trovato poco incisivo e poco preciso。 Spreca pagine e pagine a dirmi sempre la stessa cosa e quello che deve dirmi， ossia cos'è Libertalia e come funzionava， devo capirlo da sola tra le righe del discorso。 Mi è piaciuto leggere nel dettaglio la vita e le singole battaglie dei pirati， ma se invece di nominarmi 30000 volte Ratsimilaho in un racconto discoeso， me lo nominavi 20 in una narrazione fluida， forse poi restava lo spazio per puntualizzare la filosofia pirata。 Manca il sunto e il punto del discorso， che poi è il titolo del libro。 Posso arrivarci da sola， ma perché non me l'ha detto lui？La conclusione invece è la cosa più bella， oltre alla prefazione e al primo capitolo。 Avrei dato 5 stelle se non fosse stato così approssimativo， ma ne do comunque 3 perché mi ha fatto venir voglia di approfondire il discorso e andare in Madagascar！ ^*^ 。。。more
Yoann Negre
，