Pirates
Transcript of Pirates
PIRATES
The Jolly Roger Flies!
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Pirates are evil thieves, murderers, liars, kidnappers, rapists, terrorists, and torture experts.
There is no such thing as a “good pirate.”
Please remember…
What do you know about pirates?
• Did pirates have parrots? –Sure. Monkeys were popular, too!
• Did pirates have peg legs & hooks?–Yes, many lost limbs, but few had hooks.
• Did pirates “grapple” & swing from boat to boat? –Not really, usually ships would
launch the long boats. But it happened.–They usually didn’t swing from
boat to boat; it doesn’t work.–They didn’t slide down sails w/
knives.
• Did pirate ships get close together and fire cannons from just feet away? It’s in all the cool pirate movies?–Maybe once, but that would be a really dumb maneuver.
• Did pirates make people walk the plank?–No, there’s only one recorded
instance of this, & historians are skeptical about it.
• A pirate’s favorite sword:–Cutlass: short but practical
(keeps out of ropes)–Daggers were handy,
broadswords popular–Rapiers: good for duels–Boarding axes & pikes too!
• Did they shoot silverware out cannons?–Silverware, probably not. Nails, chains, other bits of shrapnel sure.
*Did they use a lot of guns?–Yes, but guns were very unreliable. They became wet easily & wouldn’t work. Most pirates
carried several pistols.
It’s all about the booty…
Practical and common plunder:
• Food and water supplies• Cloth for sails and
markets• Spare parts and pieces
for the ship (masts, ropes, lumber, etc.)
• Slaves (to be sold or used)
The treasure:• Reales or Pesos:– Silver Spanish
coins– “eight reales”
coin became known as “pieces of eight”
• Escudos:– Gold Spanish
coins– The “eight
escudo” coin became known as “doubloon”
• Ingot:– Gold or silver
cast into a bar
Types of Pirates:Pirate or Privateer?
Privateer: Has a legal commission from a govt
to attack & seize cargo from enemy vessels or villages
Pirate: Illegal criminals who attacked and plundered any vessel or costal village
Buccaneer: – Boucaner: French
term for process of curing strips of meat over a barbeque
– Buccaneers were thugs, outlaws, and hunters of wild oxen and pig on Hispaniola
– Eventually left island after food shortages and being pushed out by authorities: took to the seas
– Term for pirates in Caribbean region
Corsair:– Pirates in the
Mediterranean and European areas
The pirate’s life for me!• Treasure! Gold! Jewels! A quick way to
make it to the good life of wine, food, & luxury. It’s all about the booty!
• Easy way to get money to spend in the brothels & taverns
• Some forced into it after pirate attacks—carpenters, surgeons
• No jobs for sailors during times of peace • Drinking led them to it!
– John Archer, before his hanging in 1724, admitted that “strong drink had hardened him into committing crimes that were more bitter than death to him”
– William White, before his execution on the same day, said that “drunkenness had been his ruin, and he had been drunk when he was enticed aboard a pirate ship”
Pirate Flags• Black = Quarter given (We’ll be
“gentle”)• Red = No quarter given (We’ll kill
and possibly torture everyone on board)
Typical skull & cross bones flown by Edward England
Arm & sword flown by Edmund Cook, Thomas Tew, Christopher Moody
Henry Avrey’s flags
More Pirate Flags
One of Christopher Moody’s flags
Edward Low’s Flag
More Pirate Flags
Calico Jack’s flag
Notice the resemblance between this flag and the flag from Pirates of the
Caribbean
Blackbeard’s flag:
Devil skeleton toasting
while stabbing a
heart
More Pirate Flags The Jolly Roger:
•Jolie Rouge: Red or bloody flag
•Ali Raja: Tamil pirate captain
•“Old Roger”: the devil
Two of Bartholomew Robert’s flags
The two skulls represent two
Caribbean island that fought against Roberts
Pirates were democratic:• They elected captains!• They could rescind their choice!• Crew determined the course of action:– Fight, retreat, go to Madagascar, go to
New England• The captain made sure the ship went smoothly: courses, battle positions, strategy, argument disputes, money, etc.
Articles and Contracts“No prey, no pay!”
Pirates signed articles: contracts that determine duration& compensation:
•Carpenter or shipwright: salary of 100-150 pieces of 8
•Surgeon: salary of 200-250 pieces of 8
•Captain: 5-6 shares plus a salary
•Master’s mate: 2 shares
•Crew: 1 share
•Any boys: ½ share
Honest about making sure everyone had
their “fair share”—those who lied or
concealed: turned out of the company!
Compensation for Injuries:
• Loss of starboard side arm: 600 pieces of eight• Loss of portside arm: 500 pieces of eight• Loss of starboard leg: 500 pieces of eight• Loss of port leg: 400 pieces of eight• Loss of an eye or finger: 100 pieces of eight
Buried Treasure & X-Marks the Spot!
*Pirates rarely ever buried their treasure.
• Most squandered their shares with drink & prostitutes.
• Some hoarded their shares to live the good life, but… most wasted it & had to ship out again!
There are three recorded examples of buried treasure:
• Captain Kidd• Captain
Stratton• Sir Francis Drake
The pirates who liked to dig…
• Captain Stratton wasn’t a pirate: – a crooked captain
who made furtive and underhanded deals with pirates
– He was captured for his deceptions
• Sir Francis Drake wasn’t a pirate: – A privateer who had
permission to plunder Spanish towns and ships.
– Returned from a profitable attack on a mule train at Nombre de Dios
– Drake found his ship sailed away after being attacked
– He buried the treasure, went for the ship, and unburied it that afternoon.
A few other big scores*
• “Black Sam” Bellamy– Close to $400
million retrieved (modern value) from the wrecked Whydah
• Blackbeard– Capture more than
20 ships in pirate career
– After his fall, £2,500 total, including the sale of his sloop, collected
*Figures from Cordingly
Artist conception of “Black Sam” Bellam
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EDWARD TEACH or Blackbeard
• Born in Bristol, England
• Started sailing career as a merchant sailor & privateer
• Active during 1713-1718
• Based in the Bahamas & Carolina coast
EDWARD TEACH• Fearsome pirate
who had an intimidating physical presence.– Black beard
with braids– Placed lit fuses
in his beard– “looked like
the devil”• Armed to the
teeth • Sling of 6 guns• Sword• Knives
Blackbeard!
AKA:
---Edward Teach---Edward Thatch---
---Edward Drummond---Edward Tach---
---Edward Tash---
EDWARD TEACH• Converted slave ship Concordia
into the Queen’s Anne Revenge• Had a crew of 300 men between 3
ships• Blockaded Charlestown harbor in
order to get supplies for his men • Killed in battle off of Carolina coast by Captain Maynard
• Isles of Shoals off the NH coast:–A great place fortrade–Honeymooned with Martha (one of 14 wives) on Smuttynose Island–He left her there to guard a treasure–She died of illness, but many say
his treasure is still there, as is the ghost of Martha who wails, “You will come back!”
Blackbeard’s Final Battle…
• British Navy sent Robert Maynard after him
• “Damnation seize my soul if I give you quarter or take any from you.”
• Maynard’s men board and attack Blackbeard
Blackbeard’s Final Battle…• Blackbeard : either shot by Maynard
or decapitated by a Scotsman under Maynard
• Maynard tied Blackbeard’s head to his Bowsprit & sailed home
• Blackbeard’s body: 20 serious cuts & 5 shot• Legend: Blackbeard’s headless body swam around the boat several times after it was dumped overboard
Women pirates• Anne Bonny:
–Left her husband for pirate John Rackham (“Calico Jack”)–Had a child with him
• Mary Read:– Raised as a boy, fought in land armies & on ships– Joined with Anne & Calico Jack after her ship was captured
THE LADIES
• Both sailed fought dressed as men
• William was captured, the rest of the crew wanted to surrender, but Anne & Mary urged them to fight
• Both found guilty of piracy–Both escaped hanging because
of pregnancy–Mary Read died of fever in
prison–Anne Bonny’s & her child’s fate
are unknown
A few other lady pirates:
• Grace O’Malley 1500ad– Cut her hair short
for sailing– After her
husband died, “Granuaille” took control of her family’s fleet
– “Grany Imallye” eventually arrested
– Befriended Queen Elizabeth I who let her go
• Ms Ching (Early 1800’s)– Perhaps the most
successful pirate ever!
– Nearly 1,000 ships in her fleet!
– Harsh & cruel: stiff punishments, no mercy to victims
– China forced to hire ships from Europe to help stop her
– Secured a treaty: pirates walk away with plunder but turn in boats and weapons
– More than 17,000 pirates in her force
Pirate Movies
The Black Pirate, 1926Captain Blood, 1935Fire over England, 1937The Sea Hawk, 1940The Black Swan, 1942Captain Kidd, 1945Treasure Island, 1950Captain Horatio Hornblower, 1951The Last of the Buccaneers, 1951 The Crimson Pirate, 1952Blackbeard the Pirate, 1952
Errol Flynn as Captain
Blood
Against All Flags, 1952Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd, 1952Morgan the Pirate, 1961Pirates of Tortuga, 1961The King’s Pirate, 1967Swashbuckler, 1976Nate and Hayes, 1983The Princess Bride, 1987 Magic Island, 1995
Cutthroat Island, 1995Muppet Treasure Island, 1996Pirates of the Caribbean, 2003and thar be even more!
Pirates of the
Caribbean:
Dead Man’s Chest
Bartholomew Roberts
• aka “Black Bart” Roberts
• Active from 1719-1722• English• Began sailing career as
sailor on a slave ship• Main ship was the Royal
Fortune
Bartholomew Roberts
• Based off of the West Coast of Africa– Known for capturing
goods headed for Africa
– Captured slave ships and freed them
• Known for looking like a “gentlemen pirate”– Very well dressed etc…
Bartholomew RobertsAccomplishments
Captured over 470 vesselsHe and his crew created
articles which governed the ship
The most successful pirate of his age (1700’s)
Killed in sea battle off of West African Coast
Last notable pirate of the Golden Age
The one who inspired stories of buried treasure…
Captain William Kidd:• Not a pirate, at least he would
say he wasn’t!• Became a privateer– Wealthy businessmen
and politicians paid for the outfitting of 34 gun Adventure Galley
– Even King William III got in on the deal
– Had permission to attack French pirate ships
– Kidd decided to sail to the Red Sea & the Indian Ocean
• Set sail in 1696 in Adventure Galley
• Captain Kidd ended up with a quickly-gathered crew of misfits and ex-pirates
• Expedition suffered nearly two years of bad weather, sickness, and a lack of prizes (plunder)
Captain Kidd…Jan. 30, 1698: Quedah
Merchant.--Kidd flew a French flag:
Quedah Merchant responded similarly, flying a French flag as well, despite belonging to Armenians.
--Kidd had permission to attack French vessels.
--Kidd’s ruse allowed him to attack on a technicality: --The captain was British --The boat belonged to a high Indian official
--Kidd also attacked Sedgwick of the East India Trading Co.
• Kidd eventually dumped the rotting, damaged Adventure Galley and took the Quedah Merchant, renamed Adventure Prize
• Kidd had a few more adventures and associated with other pirates
• Kidd found out that England was unhappy with him and sent ships to arrest him
• Kidd sold Adventure Prize and goods, bought a sloop, sailed home to wife and kids in NY
• Back in NY, Kidd dispersed funds to wife and friends
• A few witnesses saw some heavily-laden long boats launch from his sloop and land on Gardiners Island.
• Kidd arrested and sent to England, received no help from backers of his expedition
• Spent several year in solitary confinement on ships and in Newgate prison
• Charged with:– Piracy: he illegally attacked
and plundered 5 ships – Walloping William Moore in
the head with a bucket and killing him (Cordingly 183)
• Kidd had 2 weeks to prepare his defense– Asked for papers, but the
license to attack French vessels was missing
Captain Kidd…
• Found guilty on all charges– “My lord, it is a very hard
sentence. For my part, I am the innocentest person of them all, only I have been sworn against by perjured persons” (Cordingly 189).
– Hanged at Execution Block in London, then his corpse was hung in chains at Tilbury Point on the Thames
• Kidd’s treasure amounted to nearly £400,000 but only £40,000 were found
Captain Kidd…
Pirate families
• Most pirates didn’t have families
• Henry Avery had a wife and two kids
• William Kidd had a wife and two “Kidds”
• Blackbeard had 14 wives—maybe.
• Most pirates didn’t have time or were more interested in “other” women
Considered bad luck to have women on board.
There were anywhere from 30-200 male pirates on a ship (depending on size).
“Only the devil and I know the whereabouts of my
treasure, and the one of us who lives the longest shall
take it all.” ARRGH!
• http://www.history.com/videos/life-aboard-a-pirate-ship#life-aboard-a-pirate-ship