Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents vii
3. Introduction. Meanings and Mass Executions 1
4. 1: Institutions as cultural systems 11
5. 2: The transformations of empire 36
6. 3: Vagueness and violence on the maritime periphery 53
7. 4: The classification of pirates 82
8. 5: Guns, gallows, and interpretive infrastructures 110
9. 6: “Hung up in irons, to be a spectacle, and so a warning to others” 140
10. 7: Ambiguity lost 158
11. Conclusion. Pirates, Adverbs, and Institutions 177
12. Acknowledgments 185
13. Notes 187
14. References 207
15. Index 219