The Besieged Maracaibo Lagoon: The Scourge of Caribbean Pirates (1614–1678)

The Besieged Maracaibo Lagoon: The Scourge of Caribbean Pirates (1614–1678) is a thoroughly documented historical chronicle that explores the impact of piracy and privateering on the region of Lake Maracaibo during the seventeenth century. Authored by Dr. Jorge Fymark Vidovic López, this book reconstructs the major corsair incursions that devastated Maracaibo and its surroundings, including the infamous raids led by L’Olonnais, Henry Morgan, and Michel de Grammont.

Organized into two main parts, the work first analyzes the geopolitical context of the Caribbean in the 1600s, where imperial rivalries turned the region into a theater of irregular warfare. It then focuses on the specific cycle of pirate attacks that took place between 1614 and 1678, detailing the strategic, economic, and symbolic consequences of each assault.

Blending archival sources, cartography, and historiographic analysis, the book offers not just a recounting of violence and resistance, but a reflection on how local communities adapted, resisted, and preserved their memory in the face of systemic abandonment by the colonial powers. Published under the auspices of the Clío Editions Foundation and the Office of the Chronicler of Maracaibo, this volume stands as a crucial contribution to the historical reconstruction of Venezuela’s colonial past and the legacy of piracy in the Caribbean basin.

Dr. Jorge Fyrmark Vidovic López
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8148-4403

Director
https://www.edicionesclio.com