Pirate Utopias

Why it’s on the list: Wilson on the corsair republics of Salé and the European sailors who defected to them — stateless port societies treated as deliberate experiments rather than as crime.

Where I saw it: In the reply thread to @typesfast’s question, “What’s the best history book you’ve read?” (June 5, 2025) — a crowd-sourced list Kyle recovered by hand and saved to his Apple Note “Books To Read”; the full set of replies lives on What’s the best history book… (tweet). It was listed there as “Pirate Utopias by Peter Lamborn Wilson”.

Connections

• Institutions — What a corsair republic was, structurally.
• Governance — The book’s real interest: self-organising port societies.
• What’s the best history book… (tweet) — the thread this recommendation came from.