A new international maritime order was forged in the early modern age, yet histories of the period have dealt almost exclusively with the Atlantic and Indian oceans. This book brings the Mediterranean and Catholic piracy into the broader context of early modern history, and focuses on commerce and the struggle for power in this volatile age. "The book is a great pleasure to read, both for historians and for a more general audience interested in Mediterranean history and the history of corsairs and pirates, a subject usually related to Caribbean pirates and Barbary corsairs. . . . The book offers rich material for further dialogue."---Maria Christina Chatziioannou, European History Quarterly