Angus Konstam

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Angus Konstam (born 2 January 1960) is a Scottish writer of popular history. Born in Aberdeen, Scotland and raised on the Orkney Islands, he has written more than a hundred books on maritime history, naval history, historical atlases, with a special focus on the history of piracy.[1] He is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society, and in 2025 he was inducted into the International Pirate Hall of Fame, in recognition of his historical work on the subject.

Early life

Although born in Aberdeen, Scotland, he was raised in the Orkney Islands.[2][3][4] In 1978, after leaving Kirkwall Grammar School at the age of 18 he left to join the Royal Navy.[2][3] After initial officer training at the Britannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth, and undergoing further naval training at sea, he went on to study history at Aberdeen University.[2][5] During this time he was attached to the Aberdeen University Royal Naval Unit, and its tender, HMS Thornham. After receiving an MA degree, he returned to active service with the Royal Navy, during which time he visited many places that would later be written about in his books, including the Caribbean.[2] He also gained useful knowledge of military service, customs, seamanship and navigation during this time.[2] After leaving the service in 1983 he studied for a master's degree at the University of St Andrews.[2][3][5] During this time he explored the new field of maritime archaeology and wrote his thesis on early naval artillery.[2] Two decades later this formed the basis for Sovereigns of the Sea, his history of Renaissance warships.[2][3]

Career

United Kingdom

He left the navy in 1983, and the following year he began a Master of Letters in Maritime Studies at the University of St Andrews, a course which combined history with maritime archaeology.[2] After completing his master's thesis on Renaissance Naval Artillery, he found a job in 1985 as a supervisor on an excavation in the River Thames near the Tower of London, paid for by the Royal Armouries.[2]

While he was working in the Royal Armouries, the Tower and the Kremlin decided to swap exhibits – a "Treasures of the Tower" being shown in Moscow while "Treasures of the Kremlin" came to London.[2] The curators of both museums were encouraged to exchange information, and to examine each other's collections.[2] This ended up with Konstam studying the 18th-century Russian military.[2] A mutual colleague introduced him to a historian working for Osprey Publishing, who wanted someone to write a book about Peter the Great's Army.[2] The result was two small (15,000-word) books which first appeared in 1993 – the first easily accessible account of the foundation of the Russian army to appear in English.[2][6]

United States

Konstam moved to Key West, Florida in 1995 and became the chief curator of the Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Museum.[1][4] Mel Fisher was a treasure hunter who found the wreck of the Spanish treasure galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha off the Florida Keys.[7] One of Konstam's jobs during this time was to create traveling exhibits which toured the United States.[2] During the research for a pirate exhibition, he became increasingly interested in the subject of 18th-century piracy.[2]

He spent six years in Key West and wrote several more books, there, including The History of Pirates (2002).[3] As he gained more information through his research, he produced Piracy: The Complete History (2008), and then, to reach a wider audience, The World Atlas of Pirates (2009). In 2019 he published The Pirate World, an adaptation of his 2009 work for the same publisher. His The Pirate Menace is his most recent pirate history, concentrating on the activities of the pirates of Nassau during the early 18th century. Konstam also published a biography of the pirate Blackbeard.

Present

In early 2001 he returned to the United Kingdom, and after living in London and then Edinburgh, he returned to Orkney in 2019. He now resides in Herston in South Ronaldsay.[2][8]

Konstam continues to research and write about naval and maritime history. Since 2001 he has written extensively on a number of maritime subjects. He currently has over 120 books in print.[9]

In 2022, Konstam became a fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FrHistS). He served a three-year term as the chair of the Society of Authors in Scotland and has also served on the board of Publishing Scotland, as well as on other heritage-related committees.[1]

He has also been a "talking head" on many cable TV and radio shows, and makes frequent appearances at book festivals and history events.[5][10] In May 2025, Konstam was inducted into the International Pirate Hall of Fame, in recognition of his historical work on the subject. His book The Pirate Menace was cited as a major contribution to pirate history. Konstam's next book though, Lords of the Salt Road, to be published in June 2026, is on a completely different theme - a history of the Norse Earls of Orkney, set in the Viking age.

Complete list of works

General

  • The Pirate Menace: Uncovering the Golden Age of Piracy Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • The Convoy: HG-76: Taking the Fight to Hitler's U-Boats Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • 100 Greatest Battles Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • Mutiny on the Spanish Main: HMS Hermione and the Royal Navy's revenge Osprey Publishing 2020 Template:ISBN.
  • Hunt the Bismarck: The pursuit of Germany's most famous battleship Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • The Pirate World Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • Viking Warrior: Operations Manual Haynes Publishing 2018 Template:ISBN.
  • Big Guns: Artillery on the Battlefield Casemate Publishers 2017 Template:ISBN.
  • Jutland 1916: Twelve hours to win the war Aurum Press 2016 Template:ISBN.
  • Pirates: Predators of the Seas Skyhorse Publishing 2016 Template:ISBN, with Roger Kean.
  • Battleship Bismarck, 1936-41:Owner's Workshop Manual Haynes Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Bannockburn: Scotland's greatest battle for Independence Aurum Press 2014 Template:ISBN.
  • Naval Miscellany Osprey Publishing 2010 Template:ISBN.
  • The World Atlas of Pirates The Lyons Press 2010 Template:ISBN.
  • The Battle of North Cape: The death-ride of the Scharnhorst, 1943 Pen & Sword Maritime 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • There Was a Soldier: First-Hand Accounts of the Scottish Soldier from 1707 to the Present Day Hachette Scotland 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • Piracy: The Complete History Osprey Publishing 2008 Template:ISBN.
  • Sovereigns of the Sea: The Quest to Build the Perfect Renaissance Battleship John Wiley & Sons 2008 Template:ISBN.
  • Cities of the Renaissance World Compendium Publishing 2008 Template:ISBN, with Michael Swift.
  • Salerno 1943: The Allied invasion of Italy Pen & Sword Military 2007 Template:ISBN.
  • Blackbeard: America's Most Notorious Pirate John Wiley & Sons 2006 Template:ISBN.
  • Ghost Ships: Tales of Abandoned, Doomed and Haunted Vessels Greenwich Editions 2005 Template:ISBN0.
  • Civil War Ghost Stories Thunder Bay Press 2005 Template:ISBN.
  • PT Boat Squadrons: US Navy Torpedo Boats Ian Allen 2005 (Spearhead Series) Template:ISBN.
  • The Pocket Book of Civil War Battle Sites Chartwell books 2004 Template:ISBN
  • The Pocket Book of Civil War Weapons Chartwell Books 2004 Template:ISBN
  • 7th U-Boat Flotilla: Dönitz's Atlantic Wolves Ian Allen 2003 (Spearhead Series) Template:ISBN, with Jak P. Mallmann Showell.
  • Hunt the Bismarck Naval Institute Press 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • The Civil War: A Visual Encyclopedia PRC Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN (General Editor).
  • Warships: From the Galley to the Present Day PRC Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN, with Leo Marriott and Nick Grant.

Historical Atlas series

  • Historical Atlas of the Renaissance Checkmark Books 2004 Template:ISBN, as Robert Ritchie
  • Historical Atlas of the Napoleonic Era The Lyons Press 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Historical Atlas of Ancient Greece Checkmark Books 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Historical Atlas of the Viking World Thalamus Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Historical Atlas of the Crusades Thalamus Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Historical Atlas of the Celtic World Checkmark Books 2001 Template:ISBN.
  • Historical Atlas of Exploration Checkmark Books 2000 Template:ISBN.
  • Atlas of Medieval Europe Checkmark Books 2000 Template:ISBN.
  • The History of Shipwrecks Lyons Press 1999 Template:ISBN.
  • The History of Pirates Lyons Press 1999 Template:ISBN.

Osprey Publishing titles

  • Second Sirte 1942: The Desperate Battle to Relieve Malta (Campaign title 417) Osprey Publishing 2025 ISBN 9781472867223
  • Super-Battleships of World War I: the lost battleships of the Washington Treaty (New Vanguard title 338) Osprey Publishing 2025 Template:ISBN
  • Convoy PQ-17 1942: Disaster in the Arctic (Campaign title 414) Osprey Publishing 2025 Template:ISBN
  • Royal Navy Grand Fleet 1914-18: Britain's Last Supreme Naval Fleet (Fleet title 10) Osprey Publishing 2025 Template:ISBN
  • Borneo 1945: The Last Major Campaign in the South-West Pacific (Campaign title 406) Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • Sumatra 1944-45: The British Pacific Fleet's oil campaign in the Dutch East Indies (Air Campaign title 49) Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • British Lend-Lease Warships 1940-45: the Royal Navy's American-built destroyers and frigates [New Vanguard title 330) Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • Warships in the War of the Pacific 1879-83: South America's ironclad naval campaign [New Vanguard title 328] Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • Royal Navy Home Fleet 1939-41: The last line of defence at Scapa Flow [Fleet title 5] Osprey Publishing 2024 Template:ISBN
  • Cape Matapan 1941: Cunningham's Mediterranean Triumph [Campaign title 397] Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • Operation Pedestal 1942: The Battle for Malta's Lifeline [Campaign title 394] Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • German High Seas Fleet 1914-18: The Kaiser's challenge to the Royal Navy [Fleet title 2] Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • British Frigates and Escort Destroyers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 319] Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • British Aircraft Carriers 1945-2010 [New Vanguard Title 317] Osprey Publishing 2023 Template:ISBN
  • Naval Battle of Crete 1941: The Royal Navy at Breaking Point [Campaign title 388] Template:ISBN
  • British/Commonwealth Cruiser vs Italian Cruiser 1940-43 [Duel title 123] Osprey Publishing 2022 Template:ISBN
  • Barents Sea 1942: The Battle for Russia's Arctic Lifeline [Campaign title 376] Osprey Publishing 2022 Template:ISBN
  • Warships in the Baltic Campaigns 1918-20 [New Vanguard title 305] Osprey Publishing 2022 Template:ISBN
  • British Gunboats of Victoria's Empire [New Vanguard title 304] Osprey Publishing 2022 Template:ISBN
  • Warships in the Spanish Civil War [New Vanguard title 300] Osprey Publishing 2021 Template:ISBN.
  • Big Guns in the Atlantic: Germany's battleships and cruisers raid the convoys, 1939-41 [Raid title 55] Osprey Publishing 2021 Template:ISBN.
  • Sinking Force Z 1941: The day the Imperial Japanese Navy killed the battleship [Air Campaign title 20] Osprey Publishing 2021 Template:ISBN.
  • North Cape 1943: The Sinking of the Scharnhorst [Campaign title 356] Osprey Publishing 2020 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleship v German Battleship 1941-43 [Duel title 107] Osprey Publishing 2020 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleships 1890-1905 [New Vanguard title 290] Osprey Publishing 2020 Template:ISBN.
  • American Privateers of the Revolutionary War [New Vanguard title 279] Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • British Escort Carriers, 1941-45 [New Vanguard title 274] Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • Tirpitz in Norway: X-craft midget submarines raid the fjords, Operation Source 1943 [Raid title 51] Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • European Ironclads 1860-75 [New Vanguard title 269] Osprey Publishing 2019 Template:ISBN.
  • British Ironclads 1860-75 [New Vanguard title 262] Osprey Publishing 2018 Template:ISBN.
  • Sink the Tirpitz, 1942-44 [Air Campaign title 7] Osprey Publishing 2018 Template:ISBN.
  • British Destroyers 1939-45 (2): Wartime-built classes [New Vanguard title 253] Osprey Publishing 2017 Template:ISBN.
  • British Destroyers 1939-45 (1): Pre-war classes [New Vanguard title 246] Osprey Publishing, 2017 Template:ISBN.
  • River Plate 1939:The Sinking of the Graf Spee [Campaign title 171] Osprey Publishing 2016 Template:ISBN.
  • British Commando 1940-45 [Warrior title 181] Osprey Publishing 2016 Template:ISBN.
  • The Barbary Pirates 15th-17th Centuries [Elite title 213] Osprey Publishing 2016 Template:ISBN.
  • Nile River Gunboats 1882-1918 [New Vanguard title 239] Osprey Publishing 2016 Template:ISBN.
  • U-47 in Scapa Flow: The Sinking of the Royal Oak, 1939 [Raid title 33] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Taranto 1940: The Fleet Air Arm's precursor to Pearl Harbor [Campaign title 288] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Commonwealth Cruisers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 226] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Byzantine warship vs Arab warship, 7th - 11th centuries [Duel title 64] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Gunboats of World War 1 [New Vanguard title 221] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • Salerno 1943: The Allies invade southern Italy [Campaign title 257] Osprey Publishing 2015 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleships 1914-18 (2): The Super-Dreadnoughts [New Vanguard title 204] Osprey Publishing 2013 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleships, 1914-18 (1): The Early Dreadnoughts [New Vanguard title 200] Osprey Publishing 2013 Template:ISBN.
  • Blackbeard's Last Fight: Pirate Hunting in North Carolina 1718 [Raid title 37] Osprey Publishing 2013 Template:ISBN.
  • British Light Cruisers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 194] Osprey Publishing 2012 Template:ISBN.
  • British Heavy Cruisers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 190] Osprey Publishing 2012 Template:ISBN.
  • The Great Expedition: Sir Francis Drake on the Spanish Main 1585-86 [Raid title 11] Osprey Publishing 2011 'Template:ISBN.
  • Warships of the Anglo-Dutch Wars [New Vanguard title 183] Osprey Publishing 2011 Template:ISBN.
  • Nelson [Command title 14] Osprey Publishing 2011 Template:ISBN.
  • The Bismarck 1941: Hunting Germany's greatest battleship [Campaign title 232] Osprey Publishing 2011 Template:ISBN.
  • Yangtze River Gunboats 1900-49 45 [New Vanguard title 181] Osprey Publishing 2011 Template:ISBN.
  • Pirate: The Golden Age [Warrior title 158] Osprey Publishing 2011 with Dave Rickman Template:ISBN.
  • British Aircraft Carriers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 168] Osprey Publishing 2010 Template:ISBN.
  • Strongholds of the Picts: The Forts of Dark Age Scotland [Fortress title 85] Osprey Publishing 2010 Template:ISBN.
  • Marlborough [Command title 10] Osprey Publishing 2010 Template:ISBN.
  • British Motor Gunboat 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 166] Osprey Publishing 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • Scapa Flow: The defences of Britain's great fleet anchorage, 1914-45 [Fortress title 85] Osprey Publishing 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleships 1939-45 (2): Nelson and King George V Classes [New Vanguard title 160] Osprey Publishing 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battleships 1939-45 (1): Queen Elizabeth and Royal Sovereign Classes [New Vanguard title 154] Osprey Publishing 2009 Template:ISBN.
  • British Forts in the Age of Arthur [Fortress title 80] Osprey Publishing 2008 Template:ISBN.
  • Tudor Warships (2): Elizabeth I's Navy [New Vanguard title 149] Osprey Publishing 2008 Template:ISBN.
  • Tudor Warships (1): Henry VIII's Navy [New Vanguard title 142] Osprey Publishing 2008 Template:ISBN.
  • The Forts of Celtic Britain [Fortress title 50] Osprey Publishing 2006 Template:ISBN.
  • Confederate Submarines and Torpedo Vessels 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 103] Osprey Publishing 2004 Template:ISBN.
  • Spanish Galleon 1530-1690 [New Vanguard title 94] Osprey Publishing 2004 Template:ISBN.
  • Seven Days Battles 1862: Lee's Defense of Richmond [Campaign title 133] Osprey Publishing 2004 Template:ISBN.
  • Confederate Blockade Runner 1861-65 45 [New Vanguard title 90] Osprey Publishing 2004 Template:ISBN.
  • British Battlecruisers 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 88] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • British Motor Torpedo Boat 1939-45 [New Vanguard title 74] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Fair Oaks 1862: McClellan's Peninsula Campaign [Campaign title 124] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • The Pirate Ship 1660-1730 [New Vanguard title 70] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Lepanto 1571: The greatest naval battle of the Renaissance [Campaign title 114] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Confederate Raider 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 64] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • American Civil War Fortifications (1): Coastal brick and stone forts [Fortress title 14] Osprey Publishing 2003 Template:ISBN.
  • Renaissance War Galley 1470-1590 [New Vanguard title 62] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Union River Ironclad 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 56] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Mississippi River Gunboat 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 49] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Guilford Courthouse 1781: Lord Cornwallis's ruinous victory [Campaign title 109] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Union Monitor 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 45] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • Hampton Roads 1862: First clash of the Ironclads [Campaign title 103] Osprey Publishing 2002 Template:ISBN.
  • British Napoleonic Ship-of-the-Line [New Vanguard title 42] Osprey Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN.
  • Privateers and Pirates 1730-1830 [Elite title 74] Osprey Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN.
  • Confederate Ironclad 1861-65 [New Vanguard title 41] Osprey Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN.
  • The Armada Campaign 1588: The Great Enterprise against England [Campaign title 86] Osprey Publishing 2001 Template:ISBN.
  • Elizabethan Sea Dogs, 1560-1605 [Elite title 70] Osprey Publishing 2000 Template:ISBN.
  • Buccaneers 1620-1700 [Elite title 69] Osprey Publishing 2000 Template:ISBN.
  • San Juan Hill 1898: America's emergence as a world power [Campaign title 57] Osprey Publishing 1998 Template:ISBN.
  • Pirates 1660-1730 [Elite title 67] Osprey Publishing 1998 Template:ISBN.
  • Russian Army of the Seven Years War (2) [Men-at-Arms title 298] Osprey Publishing 1996 Template:ISBN.
  • Russian Army of the Seven Years War (1) [Men-at-Arms title 297] Osprey Publishing 1996 Template:ISBN.
  • Pavia 1525: The climax of the Italian Wars [Campaign title 44] Osprey Publishing 1996 Template:ISBN.
  • Poltava 1709: Russia Comes of Age [Campaign title 34] Osprey Publishing 1994 Template:ISBN.
  • Peter the Great's Army (2): Cavalry [Men-at-Arms title 264] Osprey Publishing 1993 Template:ISBN.
  • Peter the Great's Army (1): Infantry [Men-at-Arms title 260] Osprey Publishing 1993 Template:ISBN.

References

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External links

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