swearing among pirates alike

[Swashbuckler 1700]

Source: Pirates and Buccaneers of the Atlantic Coast by Edward Rowe Snow

here some nice stuff

Governor Benjamin Fletcher of New York wrote about Thomas Tew who was asking for privateering commission in 1694:

“I wished in my mind to make him a sober man, and in particular to cure him of a vile habit of swearing”

William Atkinson, was detained by mutinous William Fly (or Fry) in 1726 , because of his superior navigational skills. Here is Fly’s message to the forced pilot

“Look ye, Captain Atkinson, it not that we care for your company, God damn ye, God damn my soul, if you don’t act like an honest man, god damn ye, and offer to play any rogue’s tricks, by God damn ye, and God sink me, but I will blow your brains out; God damn me if I don’t. Now Captain Atkinson, you may pilot us wrong, which god damn ye, would be a rascally trick, by God, because you would betray men who trust in you; but, by the eternal Jesus you shan't live to us hang’d…. If you will be a villain and betray your trust, may God strike me dead, and may I drink a bowl of brimstone and fire with the devil, if i don’t send you head-long to hell, God dam me…”

The "blowing the brains" out was apparently a rather common threat

From Johnson's book (how I love these digital collection http://digital.lib.ecu.edu/17001)

" IT was proved against this Prisoner, by Captain Trahern and George Fenn, that he was one of those Voluntiers who was at the Attack and Robbery of the Company's Ship, called the King Solomon: That he bully'd well among them who dar'd not make any Reply, but was very easy with his Friends, who knew him; for Moody, on this Occasion, took a large Glass from him, and threatned to blow his Brains out, (a favourite Phrase with these Pyrates) if he muttered at it"

[Swashbuckler 1700]

I have, I think, posted this before but not here so:

from The four years voyages of capt. George Roberts. 1726 Robert wrote how pirates "greeted" him

"He [pirate Russel] immediately call'd me, saying "You dog! You son of a b***! You speckled-shirt dog"

Edited June 10, 2013 by Swashbuckler 1700

[Swashbuckler 1700]

In his book "The Pirate Hunter: The True Story of Captain Kidd" Richard Zacks said about cursing

"Pirates cursed a lot and often wore wild outrageous clothes. On shore, for instance, in Boston, in 1691, shoemaker William Smith, was overheard saying to his wife, "God damn you!, the Devil rot you!, and "Pox take you". For this, he was sentenced to two hours in the stocks. When William Snelgrave was captured by pirates off the coast of Africa, he was astounded by the "execrable oaths and blasphemies [which] shocked me to such a degree that in Hell itself I thought there could not be worse." One pirate captain in his cups, vowed: "If we swing our grappling hooks onto the clouds and attack Heaven itself, I'd aim my first shot at God.""

The author also wrote

"A member of Bartholomew Roberts crew was being led to the gallows in Cape Coast Castle off West Africa. David "Lord" Symson recognized a woman's face in the crowd, one Elizabeth Trengrove, a passenger on a ship they had captured. "I have lain with that bitch three times," bragged the unrepentent pirate, "and now she has come to see me hanged."

But who was the captain who said "If we swing our grappling hooks onto the clouds and attack Heaven itself, I'd aim my first shot at God."? The author does not say

[RoyalJames]

But who was the captain who said "If we swing our grappling hooks onto the clouds and attack Heaven itself, I'd aim my first shot at God."? The author does not say

I don’t recall that from Snelgrave, is that from the second edition perhaps?

But, it is almost identical to what Bucquoy later heard Taylor say. From the German edition: “Könnte man Gott im Himmel bestürmen, ich täte den ersten Schuss auf ihn“ which I believe would translate to “If you could attack God in Heaven, I would take the first shot at him“