The Pirates Laffite: The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf [Paperback]

At large during the most colorful period in New Orleans' history, from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812, privateers Jean and Pierre Laffite made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf. Pirates to the U.S. Navy officers who chased them, heroes to the private citizens who shopped for contraband at their well-publicized auctions, the brothers became important members of a filibustering syndicate that included lawyers, bankers, merchants, and corrupt U.S. officials. But this allegiance didn't stop the Laffites from becoming paid Spanish spies, disappearing into the fog of history after selling out their own associates.

William C. Davis uncovers the truth about two men who made their names synonymous with piracy and intrigue on the Gulf.

PRAISE FORTHE PIRATES LAFFITE

This massive, tenaciously researched book . . . should prove the last word on Laffite. Or should I say the Laffites? . . . Davis has restored Pierre to his rightful place in the story and gives us a full account of 'les deux freres.' --The Washington Post

Separating folklore from fact, Davis debunks hoary myths . . . For those who want to understand how the Laffites' privateering operations worked, Davis's account is the best yet produced. --TheTimes-Picayune(New Orleans)

O'er the glad waters of the dark blue sea,
Our thoughts as boundless, and our soul's as free
Far as the breeze can bear, the billows foam,
Survey our empire, and behold our home!


Vintage Bordeaux
1770-1803

PERHAPS IT IS FITTING for men whose lives so lent themselves to adventure and melodrama that their name traced its origins to a word meaning something like the song. For centuries men named Lafitte inhabited the fertile reaches between the river Garonne and the Pyrenees Mountains that separated France from Spain. Proximity to the often lawless Pyrenees, and life in the part of France most remoteló,