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PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Pirates in Petticoats

The earliest recorded account of a female pirate was that of a French beauty, Jeanne Belleville, whose husband Lord Clisson was beheaded in 1303. She swore revenge and accompanied by her two ferocious sons became the scourge of the French coast.
Anne Bonny was born to an Irish lawyer and one of his servant girls. She grew up amongst sailors and married John Bonny, running off to manage a tavern where she met 'Calico Jack' and began a life of piracy.

Anne Bonny sailed with her lover, the flamboyant 'Calico Jack' Rackham. Her pirate companion Mary
pirates in pettycoats

Read assumed the appearance of a man to enlist on a war ship from which she later deserted, before enrolling on the vessel that was captured by 'Calico Jack' and Anne Bonny.
Anne detected that Mary was a female despite wearing men's clothing and being an adept sword fighter. They became firm friends causing the Captain to become jealous thereby forcing Anne to expose the truth in order to save them both.
Eventually they were all captured and put on trial in Spanish Town, Jamaica. The women pleaded pregnancy but were sentenced to death; Mary Read died in childbirth in prison.
Anne Bonny's father paid bribes for the return of his daughter and she disappeared from public life after leaving a chilling reminder for her former lover 'Calico Jack'.
'If you had chosen to stand and fight like a man, you wouldn't have to be hanged like a dog'.

For a bit more on pirates in Tobago, see Amazing Tobago Souvenir Map - Avl. from PennySavers Liquor Dept. & Gift Shops Island wide


PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Life as a Pirate - Rules to Live by (or die for)……….

It is believed that pirate ships were generally run along democratic lines especially when important decisions were to be made. This majority rule policy deterred mutiny, but when at battle or on the rampage, the Captain held absolute power and to disobey his commands was to invite retribution.

Rule 1 - Everyone must obey the commands of the Captain.
Rule 2 - Everyone shall have a share of any treasure, but for every piece of gold a member of the crew is given, the Captain shall be given one and a half.
Rule 3 - If anyone steals of gambles they will be marooned with only a bottle of water and a pistol.
Rule 4 - Anyone who encourages a new pirate to join the crew without everyone else's agreement will suffer what ever punishment the Captain and crew think fit.
Rule 5 - Anyone striking another crew member shall receive 30 lashes with the whip.
Rule 6 - Anyone that raises their weapon when not in battle or leaves a lighted candle unguarded shall receive same punishment as in Rule 5.
Rule 7 - Anyone losing a finger or toe in a battle shall be given 400 pieces of eight, and if they lose an arm or a leg, shall have 800 pieces.

Visit Pirates' Bay at Charlotteville where pirates had a thriving encampment.


PIRATES IN THE CARIBBEAN

Blackbeard Loses his Head

At 2 metres, Blackbeard was an intimidating
figure. He stuck smoking firesticks into his huge
beard, an act designed to strike fear and terror
into the hearts of his crews and foes alike.

New Providence, later known as Nassau in the
Bahamas, was reportedly the most popular
hide- out for pirates of all nationalities. The
Caribbean was the new economic growth area
as sugar became king.

In the Grenadines 1717, at the height of his
powers controlling 400 men and 4 ships, he
captured the Concorde a 20 gun French ship.
He renamed her Queen Anne's Revenge and
added another 20 guns to her fire-power. He
overruns a British ship, sets the crew adrift and
refuses to accept the 'pardon or death to all
pirates' offered by King George. Instead he sailed to South Carolina where he blockaded the Charleston Harbour. The Governor of Virginia hired Robert Maynard an ex-Royal Navy mercenary to bring an end to his reign of terror promising him part of Blackbeard's treasure providing him with 2 sloops and well-armed troops.

Blackbeard and his men swarmed over Maynard's vessels only to find that the soldiers were hidden below decks. Maynard shot him point blank and he was struck with a cutlass by a soldier. Maynard cut off his head and took it back to collect his reward. News of his death spread to Nassau where Anne Bonny publicly resolved to take his place as the most ruthless pirate in the Caribbean.

Yo-ho-ho & a Bottle of Rum

Sir Francis Drake & Sir Henry Morgan began their illustrious careers as licensed pirates i.e. privateers engaged by the Royal Navy and paid from the proceeds of the spoils taken from ships they had pirated. They were so successful in their endeavours that they were eventually knighted and held in such high esteem that Morgan became Governor of Jamaica and Drake went on to defeat the Spanish Armada, thus ensuring themselves honoured places in the history books of the British Empire.

"Black Bart" Roberts, though far more successful and feared as your typical, merciless pirate, wasn't so lucky at the end of his reign of terror on the high seas. He had amassed a total of 400 pirated vessels including that of the Governor of Martinique, whom he promptly hanged from his ship's own main mast for having the cheek to pursue him.

The Royal Navy caught up with Black Bart off the coast of West Africa, where, the day before, he'd robbed the Neptune, a rum carrying ship. Naturally, all his fellow pirates were hopelessly drunk and unable to put up any resistance. In the immortal words of Anne Bonney, that dreaded female of the pirate species - "If you'd chosen to fight and die like a man; you wouldn't have to hang like a dog".

For a bit more on pirates in Tobago, see Amazing Tobago Souvenir Map - Avl. from PennySavers Liquor Dept. & Gift Shops Island wide.

pirates in the caribbean part 1

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