Captain Twill
Academic Fight Circle, Research, Share, Discuss & Debate Maritime History.
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Are you interested in what really happened in the Golden Age of Piracy? Do you want to separate fact from fiction? Excellent! Welcome to Captain Twill! Like the main Forums page says, Captain Twill is for "Academic talk on maritime history, research, & interesting info". Does this mean fun is not allowed? Of course not. It does mean that we discuss things in an often rigorous academic way. Some people come into Captain Twill and get confused or upset at the differences. The tone of the discussions here can be very much different than the rest of the Pub. If you don't know about that, Captain Twill can be an upsetting place. So here's a FAQ to read,…
Last reply by Captain Tightpants, -
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I've been looking into piracy through the ages here in Scandinavia for a while, and thought I would share a bit of what I find while doing so. One of the things I've been up to in the last six months is trying to figure out heads or tails of the archive of privateering in the Swedish National Archives. There are actually several of those, but there is one main archive, but it is not in a very good order. It is mainly sectioned up in years between somewhere around 1600 up until 1825. It takes up 2,5 meters of shelf space and consists of 27 volumes. Only parts of it have archive lists that cover it. To make things worse. Much of the early stuff is in several different …
Last reply by Mary Diamond, -
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- 12 replies
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I know, I know… “There are a lot o’ long words in there, miss. We’re naught but humble Pirates”, so I’ll speak plain…. Prompted in part by the recent and excellent discussion on the prevalence of multiple languages in use amongst Pirates, and in part by some recent projects and discussions that were influenced by other cultures. I wonder how much cross-cultural ‘borrowing’ likely occurred amongst well traveled Pirates. I’m reminded for instance of Bligh’s crew of the Bounty taking up Tahitian customs such as tattoos, it may also be fair to say Dampier ‘brought back’ new customs that remain part of our western culture even today, but to what extent? Do we have examples of …
Last reply by Picaroon Lagoon, -
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Okay maybe not Buccaneers exclusively, but I love alliteration… Anyway, I’ve seen my fair share of discussions pondering the literacy levels of Golden Age Pirates, but I can’t recall much discussion on their ability to speak and/or understand multiple languages. It seems that Pirates, be they Dutch, French, or from any of the English speaking British Isles would be well served, tactically speaking, to at least have a working understanding of the Spanish language. Considering that Spanish currency was the most highly sought commodity, which meant actively targeting Spanish vessels crewed by Spanish speaking seamen, and carrying out a large percentage of their piratical pur…
Last reply by William Brand, -
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Allow me to preface this by stating that I’m not looking to stir the proverbial pot as it were, nor am I wishing to provoke anyone’s ire here. I myself have come across no historical record to support the practice of walking the plank, and in fact most credible sources seem to rather ubiquitously accept it as the product of literary invention rather than a historical practice. Now, I’m well aware that historical programming can be subject to errors and even, at times, grossly inaccurate, but given the ‘matter of fact’ and rather bold proclamation that historical records exist that support the practice among Pirates of making hapless victims walk the plank by the generally…
Last reply by Picaroon Lagoon, -
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An official list of artifacts recovered from the Whydah, book 3, December 1987. Of course, we have a list provided by Barry Clifford in one of his books, but this is interesting nonetheless. I was stationed in the Air Force in New Hampshire and later in upstate NY, don't ever recall hearing about the discovery of the wreck (media being what it was back in the '80's). "Final report of archaeological testing, the whydah shipwreck, site wlf-ha-1, cape cod, Massachusetts, volume 3: artifact inventory." Some dates on Spanish coins- 1/2 real (no other info provided). 2 real, dated 1686. 8 real, Potosi, 1654. 2 escudo, Mexico mint, dated 1688. …
Last reply by Stynky Tudor, -
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- 3 replies
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I saw this come up from a while back and thought I would share.
Last reply by LadyBarbossa, -
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I'm currently the surgeon/one of the founders of the Charleston-based 'Crew of the Charles Revenge.' Just wanted to show off my newish/growing medical impression. Mr Mission's research has been fundamental outside of primary sources of course. I am developing a series of kit-components that broadly fits the range of 1690-1780. I do Rev War surgeon as well, so there is an abundant amount of crossover! I have a couple of different medical chests I use
Last reply by William Brand, -
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"NIDGERIES, (Nigauderie, Niaiseries, F.) Fopperies, Fooleries, Trifles." also "NIDGET, (Nigaude, F.) a Ninny or meer Fool" (Source: Nathan Bailey, Universal etymological English dictionary, 1724, not paginated)
Last reply by Mission, -
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The term 'loblolly boy' refers to a surgeon's assistant, typically in training and therefore unpaid. It used to be used here in the early days quite a bit, probably because it appears in the Hornblower and Jack Aubrey novels. It got me to wondering if it was GAoP appropriate. The term both pre- and post-dates the GAoP. Every etymology source that mentions it on the web agrees that it was first used by the Royal Navy in 1597, but none of them give the source. I am guessing this comes from somewhere in the naval records. However, I failed to find it in any of the period sea-surgeon's, sea-physician's, naval or sailors books that I have, suggesting to me that it was not in c…
Last reply by Mission, -
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When last I looked into it, the origins of the “Moody” red flag was a 1750s French manuscript. But, looking at stuff now, I see earlier dates given. What do we know of the design? -I’d love to get Foxe’s, Little’s, & Konstam’s (if he’s on here) views, as well as any others. Thanks, -Tartan Jack I’ve always found it visually striking.
Last reply by LootBox, -
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While I won’t go into details of the watch system, as it has been covered in other threads (click the tags above to see the related threads), I thought our assembled might find this app useful. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/five-bells/id1579094984 When installed, the app helpfully chimes out watch hours - a great way to understand and reinforce how the bells were struck, and when. For those interested in the dog watch option, you may click the Royal Navy setting. For those individuals who are time challenged (such as myself), the bells are an excellent audible reminder to keep me on track. Enjoy!
Last reply by Mary Diamond, -
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The printers for Quest for Blackbeard are offering a 25% discount on print versions till Christmas plus whatever the revolving weekly discounts are, as listed on their home page http://www.lulu.com/home. Quest is available also in ebook/Kindle format and is the most updated version. Go to http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/bcbrooks to order. This is quite a savings! Author site: http://baylusbrooks.com #blackbeard #pirates #history #maritime
Last reply by Baylus_Brooks, -
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Hi in creating a early 18th Century Hard Fantasy world set during the Golden Age of Piracy that's 1720 to 1730 timeframe a Human only world, so I need info on 18th Century Navies, Unforms which Sea going powers started using them? Flint Gunlocks on Cannons when did the Nations started using them? Ship Pilot Wheel's when did each Sea going Nation generally started to use them?, LW
Last reply by Brit.Privateer, -
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Farewell Twill. We will miss the Pub.
Last reply by Jib, -
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Hi quickly I need books and sources on 17th Century Buccaneers before this Pub is gone forever, LW
Last reply by lwhitehead, -
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Salted Horse is that Salt Cured Meat Beef or Pork or Fish, LW
Last reply by Cascabel, -
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Hi folks I need to find some hard info on 17th Century Articles of War for the world's Navies?, LW
Last reply by lwhitehead, -
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Hi I need help Sea Myths and Heaven and Hell, Death and Life. Davy Jones and Fiddler's Green, Now the problem with Davy Jones if I use him for my Death then I might get sued by Disney but they got there version mixed up with the Flying Dutchman LW
Last reply by lwhitehead, -
The Way Ahead
by Fox- 14 replies
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As we count down to the last days of Captain Twill thoughts turn to the future of historical pirate discussion. Facebook is not such a good medium as Twill has been over the years, but it's unlikely to go away any time soon, so may I extend an invitation to any denizens of Twill who are not already members to join the Authentic Pirate Living History group on Facebook.
Last reply by Mary Diamond, -
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- 575 views
Hi folks is it my thoughts that one of the most famous books on Pirates reads like it written by Investigative Hack or a Crime Hack, I mean it's read like it was written by a Reporter. LW
Last reply by Mission, -
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Hello All, A brief random question or two.... 1700-1730.... I do not know if any exist or if any search has been done , but Persian and Indian documents from that era in relation to events on the ocean, would there be any and if so , where would the likeliest places be if stored in an archive somewhere or even in private domain? This stems from thinking about Taylor and England being off the coast of India , and Kendal loitering around the Red sea , surely it must have been noted by these local nations? Or how is it Taylor and England can cruise right down the coast of India without harm , touching in to see the friendly Dutch , while the Indian fel…
Last reply by sea haugh, -
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As usual, I need some brainstorming with you, seasoned pyrates, so please help. A pirate ship - and most of them weren't too big - wants to attack what they think to be two (also small) merchant ships travelling together. But most likely they can't fight two ships at once, so they need to separate them and attack one. Any ideas how to separate them? (The strategy isn't necessary to actually work - just to sound logically to the pirate crew when hearing it). Because they are going to lose anyway...
Last reply by Elena, -
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Hello, again! Having been researching my A-level coursework, I noticed that many historians encourage the romanticisation of piracy and show them as being liberal, egalitarian types. However, I know this mustn't be the case for every pirate. I have been trying to find a historian who believes that pirates were bloodthirsty criminals but I have fallen short in my endeavours, and this is where I ask for your assistance. I need to find an article or book written by a historian who does not believe in the liberal nature of pirates. Thank you!
Last reply by Swashbuckler 1700, -
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Hi folks I need to know how the Pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy are shown, are they historical or just too Holywood, take Assassin Creed Black Flag are the Pirates too Holywood or Historical, LW
Last reply by Fox,
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