Jean and Pierre Laffite's lives were intertwined with the most colorful period in New Orleans' history, the era from just after the Louisiana Purchase through the War of 1812. Labeled as corsairs and buccaneers for methods that bordered on piracy, the brothers ran a privateering cooperative that provided contraband goods to a hungry market and made life hell for Spanish merchants on the Gulf. Later they became important members of a syndicate in New Orleans that included lawyers, bankers, merchants, and corrupt U.S. officials. But this allegiance didn't stop them from becoming paid Spanish spies, handing over information about the syndicate's plans and selling out their own associates. In 1820 the Laffites disappeared into the fog of history from which they had emerged, but not before becoming folk heroes in French Louisiana and making their names synonymous with piracy and intrigue on the Gulf. -Dust jacket.

Maps on lining papers.

Vintage Bordeaux, 1770-1803 -- New men in a new world, 1803-1806 -- Brothers united, 1806-1809 -- Brothers in business, 1809-1811 -- Dawn of the Corsairs, 1810-1811 -- Origins of the Laffite Fleet, 1811-1813 -- Lords of Barataria, 1813-1814 -- The rise of the Filibusters, 1814 -- Patriots for a price, 1814 -- The end of Barataria, 1814 -- The fight for New Orleans, 1814-1815 -- Spies for Spain, 1815-1816 -- A career of betrayals, 1815-1816 -- Distant horizons, 1816 -- The birth of Galveston, 1816-1817 -- A season of treachery, 1817 -- Deadly friends, 1817-1818 -- Winds of change, 1818 -- The dying dream, 1819 -- Farewell to Galveston, 1820 -- The last voyage, 1820-1823 -- The legend of the Laffites.