Fictional texts about piracy in the Caribbean are a relatively new phenomenon, being introduced in 18th century novel and becoming even more popular in 19th century romanticism. But they were not the first long narrative texts on piracy nor were pirate narrations from the 16th and 17th century always read in a purely factual and historiographic way. They are hybrid in many respects which is why some of them exert great fascination, even if their hybridity is also the consequence of specific (geo)political influences. I will talk about two texts from the late 17th century that are striking examples of Early modern pirate narration and already quite close to the budding genre of the (pirate) novel. But considering the quantity of transareal or even transcontinental elements they contain, they can’t be seen as mere parts of a national literature. This I why I would like to discuss them as a part of a ‘world literature’ avant la lettre, reflecting on space and spatial relations in a world that doesn’t know the concept of the nation yet.
Gesine Brede (CMB / Frankfurt a. M.)