Piracy is moving to the forefront of discussions on international security and data traffic. In terms of international law and copyright, the pirate is seen as a precarious figure, 'the enemy of all.' This anthology addresses the economic and legal historical stimuli and places the debate around the figure of the pirate within genre-specific questions by focusing on the narrative and iconographic patterns of pirate literature. How does the pirate, who is regarded in political theory as hostis humani generis, 'enemy of all,' become a friend to many in popular culture? How does the pirate genre emerge, and what are its cycles? The work combines culturally informed close readings of pirate texts with a diachronic examination of the popular pirate genre since the late 17th century, employing methods of close reading and distant reading. Thus, textual connections are also explored.