O Reino Perdido dos Piratas

The scope of this documentary are roughly two years during the year 1716 - 1718 and then mainly about the pirates that sailed from Nassau. It has a total of 6 episodes of 40 minutes, so I thought that it would had enough time to really flesh out the period. But the way this documentary has been structured means that something has to repeated no less than four times. First - it is told by the narrator, then it is acted out by the actors, then a historian has to comment on it and the next episode is has to be repeated in case you have forgotten. So this documentary is pressed for time. It will mention the war of succession, but will not explain it, it will tell you nothing of the technology, ships, warfare, politics or religion of the time period. It focusses so much on Great Britain that it seems like there are barely any other nations involved. So what you are left with are summaries of acts of famous English pirates. It is competently acted and the special effects have been done well. But as a source of information it feels lacking and shallow.

I enjoyed the show. I also like history and this documentary is a mix between drama and historical events. I think it's nicely filmed and acted.

My only complaint is that it's not historical correct. There are too much assumptions and 'artistical freedom' rather than facts. I don't say they're lying but it's halve the truth and you can get the wrong ideas about history. I also have my doubts about the 'Experts' who sound very dramatic and not neutral in my opinion.

I know some things are controversial these days but facts are facts and we all want to like pirates but it doesn't do right to history.

Edit: after watching more episodes its getting worse. Not only assumptions but also just wrong.

The list will be too long to write all the things wrong so I won't.

Pirates sailed mostly in small boats and some captured bigger ships. Most had a dozen cannons and 75 man. They needed fast ships not warships. You think they would attack British, Dutch or Spanish Navy with Galleons or Frigates with 80-100 cannons. And you also think they freed slaves. No, they sold them.

Probably 10% facts and 90% drama.

I don't understand why anybody is comparing this to a fictional show like Black Sails. The narration just contributes to the show as a historical story versus a non fiction story. Whether the whole story is completely accurate or not, it tells the story of how the pirates of the Caribbean legends were born. Besides the obvious gaps in great graphics that are available nowadays, I thought it was really really good

I find the study of piracy to be fascinating. I've read several books, seen plenty of documentaries, and I'm a big fan of the Pirate History Podcast (which I highly recommend). So I was eager to see "The Lost Pirate Kingdom." I just finished it and have to give it a six out of ten.

I give the show high marks for special effects (though they are clearly special effects, but the costs associated with finding, manning, and sailing enough replica vessels would be astronomical), most of the reenactment scenes, and for the overall narrative presented here.

Now, if you are unfamiliar with the explosion of piracy following the War of Spanish Succession, or the pirate haven in Nassau, then this is going to be really fascinating for you. If you know all about that, then there's nothing really new here ... and that's fine. There's only so much information on this subject that is available.

What I didn't like were the following things:

*Too much repetition. This was true both in reusing the dramatized pieces and for the conveying of information. The narrator would say something happened, there'd be a dramatized scene showing it happen, and then a couple of historians would tell you how it happened. This all could have been handled better, but the greatest fault here is that with so much repetition it left too little time, which brings me too....

*Almost no focus on tactics, on vessels, on the geopolitical situation (or at least very little on this one in particular.

*The pacing. I already touched on the way they repeat themselves numerous times, but this really comes home in the final episode. After Blackbeard is killed, the show pretty much wraps up with a montage of "and here's what happened to Anne Bonny ... here's what happened to Charles Vane." The ending felt very rushed. And I, for the life of me can't understand why they didn't make this an 8-episode show. There is plenty of material, plenty of other pirates they could have followed, more details in the life, etc.

*Too much speculation and assumption passed off as fact. For instance, there's no evidence Anne Bonny ever held a knife to Woodes Rogers throat or that Charles Vane gave an inspiring speech moments before his execution. I realize this is a docu-drama, but I prefer more docu and less drama in my history. Speaking of which....

*The history here is hit and miss.

1. Woodes Rogers is a villain? I realize critical theorists are at work here, but come on. Woodes Rogers' life is quite impressive and he shouldn't be vilified. This series portrays him as some rigid puritan trying to ruin the pirates' good time. The historical record is quite different. Rogers established order on New Providence and was quite generous towards the pirates--he had to have been, otherwise he would have been a failure.

2. Again, critical theory at work, but the pirates were not some social justice warriors out to change society. Yeah, they would free slaves ... sometimes, when it suited their purpose. But they were also just as likely to sell those slaves they acquired wherever they could. Yes, there were black pirates ... but then again, there were black freemen in all parts of the British Empire.

3. This series tries to make it seem like the British only started to care about the pirates once a couple of slave ships were captured. No, the situation was much more complex than that. And here is why they should have devoted a little more time to the history ... because the War of Spanish Succession was a devastating conflict that left all of Europe bankrupt. The British, however, were able to pay off their debts due to their global economic empire. It was the disruption of this network--not to the slave trade, but to raw materials headed for European markets--that affected this. While slavery was indeed a key part of the colonial economy, it wasn't as robust as this show makes it out to be. For instance, there were more Europeans enslaved by the Ottomans, and Barbary states than there were Africans enslaved in the Americas. And at least two-thirds of all African slaves went to South America (Spanish and Portuguese colonies), not British colonies. I say all this because the show tries to minimalize a rather complex issue.

4. While they do address Blackbeard's syphilis, they completely forgot to mention that he blockaded Charleston, SC for several days until his demands were met. Pirates of this age seldom had the power to do such a thing. Only the privateers and buccaneers of the earlier eras had ever done something like this (or worse, sack the city).

Anyway, I could go on, but you get the idea.

Long story short -- this is on Netflix, so if you have Netflix and like this topic, give it a watch.

I'm a sucker for anything Pirate related. When I first saw Netflix was working on a Pirate show my head went straight to Black Sails and instantly was excited. Later I learned this was going to be a docu-series so I was slightly disappointed but it was still about Pirates so I was in!

The show has its flaws, there is a lot of repetition but highlights some important events 1716-1718 of piracy and in general is an enjoyable watch.