Being
a Pirate
The
Crew of a Pirate Ship
Published
4 April 2005
Pirates
required a ship to practice their trade. While they dispensed
with
many of the traditional seafaring hierarchies, they understood the need
to have some members lead them in battle. They elected
their
officers, and certain pirates had a greater value than others because
of
their skills. Who were the officers aboard a pirate ship and what
were their duties? Whose skills were most prized? What
happened
if pirates disagreed with the captain?
Friends
and Enemies
Published
5 May 2005 and 9 July 2005
Pirates
didn’t live or work in a vacuum. They required others to fence the
stolen
booty or to prey upon. The outrages they committed stirred merchants,
ministers,
and governments to see that justice was done. The pirates also visited
safe havens where women and spirits awaited them. Informants
shared
their knowledge. Governors authorized hunting expeditions. Hunters
tracked
down their quarry. Victims testified at trials. Once caught, most
pirates
met a similar fate -- dancing the hempen jig. Come and meet the friends
and enemies of the pirates.
Making
Your Mark
Published 1 June
2000
Pirates were notorious for
their
lawlessness and brutality. Yet they adhered to the ideals of the
French Revolution-liberty, equality, and brotherhood-a century before
that
country's monarchy fell. Their Articles of Agreement set them
apart
from other naval and governmental institutions of the time because they
incorporated principles of democracy.
Medicine
at Sea
Published 1 August
- 1 October 2007
December 10th…. In the afternoon of this day our chief surgeon
cut off the foot of a negro-boy, which was perished with cold….
December
12th…Yesterday died the negro-boy whose leg was cut off by our surgeon,
as was mentioned the day before. This afternoon also died another
negro,
somewhat bigger than the former, named Chepillo. The boy’s name was
Beafero.
All this evening but small wind.
Basil Ringrose penned these words in his journal in 1680. Mere
notes
in history, his entries provide a glimpse of the tenuous lives pirates
lived. If they survived diseases (the principal cause of death for
many),
they might develop a “bursted belly” (hernia) from lifting and pulling,
or break a finger or arm while loading cargo, or fall from a mast, or
burn
a hand while tarring ropes, or be washed overboard. An additional
danger
for pirates was the chance of being wounded or killed during battle.
This
was why one of the most esteemed members of any crew was the surgeon.
But
his work was rarely easy. This article examines medicine at sea during
the Age of Sail.
A
Most Unwelcome Death
Published 1 June
2001
Hollywood’s depiction of a
castaway
on a deserted island is a far cry from the reality of a pirate
sentenced
by his fellow mates to be marooned. In most cases it was a death
sentence.
Oh
to be a Pirate
Published 1 July
and
1 August 2001
Sand sifting through an
hourglass
symbolizes the swiftness with which time passes. For pirates, it
meant life was fleeting so they played with the same ferocity as they
preyed.
Yet the dangers they faced were not so different from those of others
who
sailed during the Age of Sail. The beauty of the sea belied the
danger
it possessed, for in the blink of an eye a ship became a wreck or a
storm
swept the ablest of seamen from the deck. If by chance they
survived
those perils, they might fall victim to disease. If life at sea was so
dangerous, why did men become pirates? Was it the lure of
treasure
or were there other reasons for making a choice that might lead to
death
by hanging if caught?
Pirate
Conning
Published
17 May 2010 and 4 July 2010
Figuring out how to get from Point A to
Point B
isn’t a major concern for us today. After all, we have road maps,
online maps with
step-by-step instructions, cell phones, and GPS devices for when we’re
lost. We
have it easy compared to navigators of the past. Many didn’t even know
there
was a world beyond the horizon. Intrepid mariners discovered new lands
and
forged new passages, but navigating their vessels to go where they
wished was a
major feat. Various
devices aided in latitudinal calculation, as did estimates regarding
tides,
currents, and ship’s speed and course. The inability to determine
longitude
meant many ships were not where their captains, or navigators, thought
they
were. It was common to miss an island or landfall by going too far or
not far
enough. Such an error could seriously endanger the ship and those on
board.
Pirate
Lingo
Published 1 September 2005
Ten years
ago, John Baur and Mark Summers created a new holiday. It didn’t
amount to much until Dave Barry wrote a column in 2002 that introduced
readers to International Talk Like a Pirate Day! To help pirates
everywhere celebrate this special day, this article explores words
associated
with pirates.
Pirate
Tactics
Published 1 August 2006
Planning,
intelligence, the ability to adapt to any given situation, leadership,
and teamwork are key to the success of any action. If any one of
these is lacking, the action may be jeopardized and the consequences
unpredictable.
Pirates incorporated these elements into each attack or raid they
made.
This article examines the various strategies and tactics they employed
to carry out successful missions.
Pirates
and Their Clothes
Published May-June 2008
One of the most frequently asked questions I hear is, “What did
pirates wear?” It seems like a straightforward question, but it’s not.
Clothes change as time passes. What’s in fashion one day may be out of
fashion the next. The further back in time one looks, the more
stringent
the rules regarding clothes become. The basic outfit worn by all
mariners
didn’t change much over the centuries when wooden ships with billowing
sails ventured farther and farther from their homelands. Pirate
clothes,
like the rogues themselves, broke societal boundaries and deviated from
the norm.
A Pirates' Arsenal of
Torture
Published
6 November 2010
Nestled
among the books on my library shelves is John Swain’s The
Pleasures of the Torture Chamber. It details a variety of ways
to inflict pain on someone from “miscellaneous merriments of the olden
times”
to pain we inflict upon ourselves. Each of us may have a different
viewpoint of
what constitutes torture and what does not. For example, some former
students
likened my silent detentions to the
most excruciating form of torture they ever endured. Many pirates
experienced
or witnessed various forms of torture at some point in their lives
before going
on the account, and just as law-abiding citizens tortured people, so
did pirates.
Punishing
Their Own and Hunting Prey
Published 1 May 2003
Although often seen as lawless, pirates sailed under agreements
that included methods of punishment should they disregard the oaths
they
signed. They also inflicted various forms of punishment and
torture
on their victims. Some of these accounts appear brutal in the
extreme,
but people of the past lived in a harsh and violent world. Torturing
and
maiming people to extract information was a common practice, perhaps
best
illustrated by the Spanish Inquisition. Men and women who refused to
enter
a plea in English courts found themselves stretched on their backs in
Newgate
Prison’s Press Yard where the jailer placed weights on their chests
until
they acquiesced. If they didn’t, they were crushed to death. (WARNING:
This article contains graphic accounts of violence.)
To
Capture Prey and Plunder It
Published 1 October 2002
Once pirates had a ship, they sailed the High Seas in search of
prey. How did they capture another ship? How did they
defend
themselves? What did they search for once they boarded that ship?
When
is a Pirate not a Pirate?
Published 1 April
2000
How many different synonyms can
you think of for pirate? Buccaneer, corsair, marooner,
swashbuckler.
These are just a few, but do they really mean the same thing as pirate?
Return to Top
History
Ancient
Pirates
Published 20 September 2009
Considered
one of the oldest professions, piracy
began soon after people first used water to carry trade goods from one
place to
another. Historians can’t pinpoint this to a precise period in time,
but the
earliest known records appeared in the fourteenth century BCE. This
article
explores these early pirates in general, then focuses on Ancient Greece
and the
Roman Empire.
Captives
of the Barbary States
Published 1 October 2004
While we abhor slavery, it was a common practice during the Middle
Ages in Byzantium, Middle Eastern lands Crusaders held, Slavic and
Balkan
regions, and along the Mediterranean coasts of France, Italy, and
Spain.
The majority of accounts from former Barbary slaves come from
men.
Only a few are from women, and of those that survive none appear to be
authentic.
Cotton
Mather, Preacher to the Pirates
Published 5 October - 5 November 2008 and 5 January -
5 February 2009
Several years ago, I read Marcus Rediker’s Villains of All
Nations.
Imagine my surprise when I came across the Reverend Cotton Mather’s
name
in the first paragraph. Not once in any history classes did my teachers
mention pirates while speaking about this New England Puritan! What
else
had my instructors omitted about this man, who preached to and about
pirates?
The
Golden Age of Piracy
Published 1 March and 1 April 2003
For forty years from around 1690 until 1730, the most famous
pirates
sailed the High Seas. Writers such as Robert Louis Stevenson and J. M.
Barrie, painters like Howard Pyle, and Hollywood in films like Captain
Blood made these pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy immortal.
They,
themselves, were legends in their own time. While Blackbeard was
perhaps
the most notorious of the pirates of the Golden Age, he wasn’t the only
pirate whose name has survived. Among those recorded in the
annals
of history are women and gentlemen who chose to follow a different
calling
than the one society deemed appropriate.
í
víking – Norse who went plundering and Q & A
Published 1 July
and
1 August 2003
With names like Ivar the
Boneless,
Eric Bloodaxe, and Thorfinn Skullsplitter, the Norse raided far and
wide,
instilling fear in their victims and plundering lands where many
eventually
settled. Who were these pirates and what did it mean to go
í
víking? Why did the litany A furore Normannorum
libera
nos, Domini – From the fury of the Northmen deliver us, O Lord
– sum up the terror their victims felt?
Q&A answers the following
questions: What are the origins of the word "viking?" Why did the Norse
plunder? What did they wear? What weapons did they favor? Are the
written
accounts of their raids accurate? How did they impact history? Did
women
become pirates?
The
Jolly Roger and No Quarter Given
Published 1 May
2001
When asked about the flag most
commonly associated with pirates, most people will describe a white
skull
and crossbones on a black field. The Jolly Roger wasn't the only flag
pirates
used, but the sight of it made seamen tremble. The most feared of the
pirate
flags, though, was the red flag, the jolie rouge, for it meant death to
all.
Medieval Pirates
Published 6 January 2010
In
CE 829 a Frankish monk named Ansgar set sail for Sweden, where he
wished to
introduce the Swedes to Christianity. His was a dangerous journey, in
part
because pirates attacked the vessel on which he sailed. After boarding
the
boat, they seized his precious books and religious artifacts before
forcing
Ansgar and his companions to abandon the vessel. This incident was but
a single
example of many such attacks that plagued medieval times.
Pirate
Treasure
Published 1 March
2007
On my office wall hangs a Florida Treasure Map. It marks the
locations
of where pirates buried their plundered booty. For example, Sir Henry
Morgan
and Blackbeard secreted some near Boca Raton. Calico Jack Rackham
deposited
in excess of $3,000,000 on Ten Thousand Islands, while Black Caesar
favored
Sanibel Island to hide fourteen tons of silver. Gasparilla cached his
gold,
valued at more than $2,000,000, on Gasparilla Island, and his ship, the
Florida Blanca, sank in the Boca Grande Pass around 1821 with plunder
worth
$9,000,000. Pirates prized gold and silver, yet few pirates garnered
such
treasure. What did they get after seizing their prey? What happened to
that treasure? Which pirates succeeded in capturing plunder beyond
their
wildest dreams?
Punishing
the Pirates
Published 1 June 2003
Pirates didn't fear death. Rather they expected it. Many died from
disease or in battle, while others faced an executioner. A gruesome
death
(dancing the hempen jig) awaited condemned pirates. They often joked
about
hanging, but only until they stood on the gallows.
Tracing the Golden
Age of Piracy by Guest Columnist Casey Sheehan
Published 5 October 2010
The early 18th
century saw an upsurge in piracy. Casey provides an overview of this
period and
an introduction to some of the more famous pirates of the Golden Age.
Women
and the Jolly Roger
Published 1 March
- 1 April 2004
David
Cordingly,
author of Women Sailors and Sailors’ Women wrote, “We will
never
know how many women went to sea as men because the only cases we have
any
evidence of are those in which the woman’s sex was revealed and
publicized
in some way, or those cases where a woman left the sea and had her
story
published…. What is striking about the genuine cases of female
sailors
is how they were able to fool the men on board for weeks, months, and
in
some cases, several years.” This article examines how female sailors
who
went on the account may have carried off their disguises and explores
the
lives of four lesser-known women pirates.
Return to Top
Modern
Piracy
Modern
Piracy: 2005 Update
Published
1February
- 1 June 2006
In 2000
I investigated the problem of modern maritime piracy. Resources
on
the topic were scarce, but no longer. In the intervening years,
people
have become more interested in piracy and governments have initiated
programs
in an effort to combat it. One reason for the renewed effort to
stamp
out this age-old crime stems from the possibility that terrorists might
form an alliance with pirates to carry out their agendas.
Piracy
versus Terrorism
Published 1 July
2006
While
pirates
often terrorize their victims, both now and in the past, is a pirate
the
same as a terrorist?
Piracy
of Yore vs. Piracy Today
Published 1 August
2000
Pirates today are far from
being
the romantic images portrayed by Hollywood. In this five-part
series
I'll examine modern piracy in more detail: pirate hot spots, their
methods,
what constitutes piracy, what's being done to combat piracy, the
economic
effects of piracy, and anti-piracy techniques.
Piracy
and the Law: Modern Piracy - Part 2
Published 1
September
2000
During the Golden Age of
Piracy,
piracy attracted some because of promised riches with little fear of
prosecution.
The likelihood of being brought to justice is the same if not greater
today.
Why? The legal definition of what makes a crime an act of piracy
and the perpetrator of said crime a pirate.
The
Cost of Piracy: Modern Piracy - Part 3
Published 1
October
2000
A pirate’s main objective is
to acquire money. To that end he chooses a target that will
provide
him the greatest success with the least danger to himself. He may
find it lucrative, but what do those losses mean to commerce and the
world?
Profile
of a Pirate – Modern Piracy, Part 4
Published 1
November
2000
Modern pirates ply their
“trade”
for the same reasons their predecessors did. Although their
hunting
grounds may differ, some regions are more geographically and
politically
suited to favor the pirates. Depending on where they hunt,
pirates
favor different means to acquire their plunder. Take a closer
look
at the pirates of today.
Combating
Piracy – Modern Piracy, Part 5
Published 1
December
2000
Anti-piracy training offers
seamen
a way to detect and deter pirate attacks. While such tactics have
proven successful, history shows that piracy will continue to escalate
unless law enforcement authorities strike back at the pirates’ weakest
point—the land.
Return to Top
Notorious
Pirates
Alfhild
– Princess and Viking
Published 1 November 2007
Whether you call her Alfhild, Alvid, Alwida, Altilda, or Alwilda,
this pirate princess first appears in historical annals in the twelfth
century. She may or may not have actually lived, and little is known of
her actual exploits, but she is one of the earliest female pirates on
record.
The
Barbary Corsairs
Published 1 July-August 2004
Elements
of awe and fear surround the Barbary corsairs, but prior to the
sixteenth
century, Christians didn’t refer to them as such. They were Moors
or Saracens. “Barbary” derives from an Italian word, first used
around
1500, for North Africa. While some Italians thought these Saracen
corsairs were barbarians, the people and their culture were anything
but
barbarian. After 1581, the Barbary States of Morocco, Algiers,
Tunis,
and Tripoli vied for supremacy over each other. A national policy
evolved where piracy provided the beys, deys, pashas, and emperors with
income. To safeguard their Mediterranean trade, European nations
paid each Barbary State to cease attacking their ships and to ransom
enslaved
countrymen. When a new country, the United States of America,
encountered
this national policy, they chose a new way to deal with the terrorizing
of trade. After all, Americans had not vanquished one tyrant to
endure
another.
Benjamin
Hornigold: The Pirates' Pirate
Published 5 March and 5 April 2010
Like many pirates of yore, little is known
about
Benjamin Hornigold’s early life and even his death leaves questions.
But during
six short years, he left an indelible mark on history and piracy in the
Caribbean. The
depredations to merchant shipping in the Caribbean during the Golden
Age of Piracy eventually led the British Crown to issue a royal pardon
to pirates willing to come back into the fold. With the arrival of a
new governor at New Providence, Hornigold forsook his criminal path and
became a pirate hunter.
Black
Pirates
Published 1 January 2007
The greatest number of pirates preyed the seas from 1716 to 1726.
Historical documents recorded the ages of 169 of those pirates. They
were
as young as fourteen and as old as fifty, but the average age was
twenty-seven.
Half the pirates had ties to the British Isles, while a quarter came
from
colonies in the West Indies and North America. Men who went on the
account
also came from Holland, France, Portugal, Denmark, Belgium, and Sweden.
According to Marcus Rediker in Villains of the Sea, these pirates
belonged
to a group that comprised 6.9 percent of the sea rovers whose origins
were
recorded. Another group of men also entered into this number, but they
tended to receive only cursory mention in history books. These were the
black pirates.
A
Buccaneer More Interested in Nature than Gold
Published 1 November 2004-March 2005
Explorer.
Naturalist. Hydrographer. Author. Mariner.
Buccaneer.
Although mere labels, these words describe a man who sought his fortune
through adventure, influenced men whose fame remains well known today,
and died in relative obscurity. His contemporaries included
Robert
Boyle, Daniel Defoe, Edmond Halley, Isaac Newton, Samuel Pepys,
Alexander
Pope, Jonathan Swift, and Christopher Wren, but few know about the many
significant contributions this man made to science, seamanship,
language,
and literature. His name? William Dampier.
The
Buccaneers
Published 1 November 2002
The original buccaneers were hunters who lived on Hispaniola in
the Caribbean. Driven from the island, they turned to
piracy
and formed a brotherhood that went in search of Spanish prey. At first
they attacked small ships, but eventually they preyed on larger prizes.
Escaped convicts, outlaws, and slaves joined their ranks. These
Brethren
of the Coast obeyed no laws but their own, and their leaders maintained
discipline through brutal acts of violence.
Captain
William Kidd
Published 1 December 2005-1 January 2006
Most biographers list William Kidd's birth as 1645, but he may
have
been born as late as 1654. He grew up either in Greenock or Dundee,
Scotland,
the son of a minister or a sea captain. Historical documents, written
in
his hand and that of others, record his life since 1689 until his death
in 1701, but his early years, and the question of whether there remains
any treasure to uncover, continue to be mysteries.
Cheng
I Sao ("wife of Cheng I")
Published 1 May
2000
At the height of her power,
Cheng
I Sao commanded a pirate fleet that surpassed the navies of many
countries.
In addition to more than 200 oceangoing junks armed with 20-30 cannon
and
manned by up to 400 pirates each, she controlled 600-800 coastal
vessels
(12-25 cannon, 200 men) and dozens of river junks (20-30 men).
She
set up a network of spies who watched the harbors and reported
potential
targets.
Famous
Barbary Corsairs
Published 1
September
2004
“The
Dutch
flags disappeared and the masts and poop were simultaneously shaded by
flags of taffeta of all colors, enriched and embroidered with stars,
crescents,
suns, crossed swords and other devices.”
Pirates
and Privateers
