Question from a pyrate new to PiP

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

I am new to the PiP festivities, and historically guided role playing in general. What do participants do while they are at PiP? Do some role play for the public and one another, or teach folks about who they are (character) and about the timeframe they represent? Just curious about what sorts of things a person can participate in down there.

Also, I've skimmed over many a thread here (and PiP site) and will dive in for more detail as time permits, but in terms of role play who is taking on what? I understand the groupings that are listed on the "Who is going" thread, but am interested in the details.

I'm working on obtaining additional implements to assist me as a spice trader and merchant, taking over my father's work to keep the family income going (he mysteriously dissappeared on a routine voyage). I'm doing my best to stick within the time period for my role.

[hurricane]

In short, all of the above in your first paragraph. For example, I believe Mission will be doing a presentation on surgery for the period. Over in Port Royal we do a sugar pressing demo. Most people walk around during the day. Some interact and educate the public. Others choose to be atmosphere and visit with each other. All is fine and adds to the overall show. There are several group activities, namely the attack on the fort and repelling of the pirates.

There are real merchants there along with those in the trade who choose to educate rather than sell. And there are some merchants who do both, selling period gear and goods and doing a fare part of educating shoppers on their use and appropriateness.

I'm sure others have additional input, but all are welcome and we aren't to the point yet where we can all play hard and fast in roles.

Last year I did two days as Sir Henry Morgan and then cracked under the pressure of having to be a fop, so I went full Hurricane the next day. This year I plan to be the owner of the Catt & Fiddle as well as a daft drunk in the tavern so I can brawl. Some will call that typecasting... :)

-- Hurricane

[Capt. Sterling]

Well put Hurricane. Aye everyone is at different levels so all depends on yer past experience and honestly, where you feel comfortable jumping in... everyone from "eye candy" to living historians are welcome... most feel comfortable as reenactors... educating the public by "reenacting" a skill or event from the time frame, instead of staying in a persona either the entire time or when the public is about like the LHs do....

[William Brand]

You specifically mentioned wanting to play a spice merchant. Playing this part would allow you several options.

1 - You could be a "fixed merchant" with a permanent shop and re-enact within the fort itself alongside vendors from Port Royal and elsewhere.

2 - You could play a merchant from the ambiguous, imagined location we often refer to as "the town" which is an imagined place that is associated with the fort. There are many re-enactors who refer to themselves as "townspeople", though we don't have a full town per se.

3 - You could also play a merchant traveling in the company of the Mercury pirates (as you are listed in the Roll Call), looking to sell your goods abroad at the fort or the "town".

The advantage you have of living in Florida proper gives you an opportunity to create a significant number of extra props. You could collect spice boxes or casks labeled with appropriate trade spices of the day. You might also want to look into trade documents and certificates of sale to carry with you as part of your kit. You might carry scales and instruments for weighing and measuring goods. You could also have an assortment of spices memorized and information of them from the period to explain to others.

Spice was controlled politically and religiously for many centuries, so there's a lot of great history on the subject.

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

Thank you so much for your insight into this event.

If time and research pays off, I would be comfortable as a traveling merchant and reenactor of sorts (door # 3, I'd gather). I've collected an assortment of modern spices and period-esque style glass bottles in which to hold them in so far (for comparison), and hope to gather more for my kit to ensure I can accurately show folks (visitors and participants) how this was done during the period.

I've come across readings on the Internet so far relating to the spice trade, and plan on libraries and various site buys (Amazon, Ebay) for additional resources. Indeed William, this topic has a great wealth of history behind it. And that's what drew me to it.

[Misson]

May I suggest books on the East India Company? I have only recently been looking for books on surgeons on merchant ships (who were the most likely to be captured by pyrates - as opposed to naval surgeons who were probably the least likely). There are scads of books on the East India Company many of which you might find useful. I might also suggest making use of your local public library. I have found several books - some almost a hundred years old - which retail on Amazon for literally hundreds of dollars a piece - that are just gathering dust in libraries within my local branch's network. It takes a week or so to get them, but so far it has been well worth the wait. (I also suggest taking notes - you retain more and you'll have a splendid primer for your character when PiP arrives. )

[Littleneckhalfshell]

For Merchants, this resource might be helpful, unfortunatly it is an unpublished manuscript, it is however on file at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica. (if someone gets down there, maybe they could make a copy for the pub?) Anyway, it is a Doctoral Thesis by William A Claypole, titled "The Merchants of Port Royal 1655 to 1700" It is said to be a valuable historical interpretation of the community of Port Royal at the end of the 17th Century.

[hurricane]

There are other works that cover the same ground. The best is Pawson and Bruisseret's "Port Royal, Jamaica." It's very complete, right down to who owned what when there. The 1952 "Historic Port Royal "is a good overview. Most of this is a little early for GAoP. After the earthquake, Port Royal was never the same. It's safe to say that any book that covers merchants and shops in London would be accurate for Jamaica as well into the early 1700s.

If you want a good tome on the Sunken City, I'd recommend either of Bob Marx's books. He'll be over at the house to speak to our crewe in April -- I'll ask him for other definitive reference works that we may be able to get our hands on.

We will be traveling down Port Royal way in late July and I'll check for Claypole's work when I'm down there. There may be a copy in the town library.

By the way, if you want to see a cool fly through of Port Royal (pre-earthquake) check this out.

http://www.ats.ucla.edu/videos/portroyal_ref.mov

It's a .mov file so you may need the right player - I know QuickTime will open it. The music is really hokey but the fly through is pretty spot on.

-- Hurricane

[William Brand]

See, Captain Eisley, ask and ye shall receive buckets and buckets of suggestions until you become as fanatical as the rest of us.

(insert evil laugh here)

[Capt. Sterling]

Just think... another Mission...

[hurricane]

Here's another life sucker for you all!

It's the Dictionary of Trade Goods - 1550 - 1820.

http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=739

4,000 entries about trade and retail things in every day life.

An entry for the ladies about us:

Shift

An article of APPAREL; a body garment of LINEN, COTTON or the like and in early use applied indifferently to men's and women's underclothing but subsequently to a woman only. During the seventeenth century it began to replace the earlier name of SMOCK, apparently because it was seen as a more 'delicate' expression. In the nineteenth the garment was again renamed from the same motive, as a 'chemise'.

One retailer had 'A p'cell of shift Buttons' [inventories (1690)]. The term does not appear in the OED online, but presumable a shift button was similar to a SHIRT BUTTON, and was designed to fasten a shift at the neck.

Instructions on how to cut out a shift economically using only 2 ELL of HOLLAND instead of the usual 2 Ell ¼ were given in an anonymous pamphlet dated 1695 and entitled the 'Way to save Wealth' [Anon (1695)]. It is noticeable that SCISSORS were needed very little in this operation.

OED online earliest date of use: 1598

Found described as FINE, FLAXEN, GIRL, OLD, READY MADE Found describing BUTTON Found made of CALICO, HOLLAND, TEAR OF HEMP, WOOL

Found in units of DOZEN

Sources: Acts, Diaries, Inventories (mid-period), Inventories (late), Newspapers, Tradecards.

References: Anon (1695).

-- Hurricane

[Misson]

Since she is traveling, I am guessing that she would be a spice trader, more than a merchant. Merchants stayed at home, arranged shipments hither and thither if they thought it would be possible and so forth. Now why would she be going to the Caribbean? I have a a few thoughts from my limited store of knowledge on the topic...

When merchant ships traveled, there was a person on board who represented the company and who performed all trade negotiation. I came across the title for this person in one of the books I've read and now I can't remember it and don't have the book. (It was a curious title, which is why I vaguely recall it. For some reason I keep thinking of the term "supercarrier" but that's not it. I'm pretty sure I came across the term in the interesting book Seawolves: Pirates & the Scots by Eric J. Graham.) Anyhow, this person would negotiate the trade of British goods for the spices and whatnot. They would often do some trading on the side for themselves as well.

My understanding, however, is that trade for spices would not normally be done in the Caribbean, it would be in India and the East. The goods would then be brought back to Europe where they would fetch the highest price. Some of them would surely have been shipped from Europe to the Caribbean outposts - which is why some pirates preyed on merchant ships coming from the mother country. Rayner Thrower says that it sort of worked like this - the merchants would send supplies from Britain to the West Indies, the pirates would intercept them and then sell them at exorbitant rates to the W.I. settlers. While this probably happened, it doesn't make intuitive sense to me as a rule - only as one possible scenario. If every or even the majority of ships were captured by pirates on their way to the West Indies, why would European merchants keep sending ships there? So I am inclined to look a bit askance at Thrower's sweeping generalization, but still bring the idea to you as a possible background thought.

And that's pretty much all I got.

[Littleneckhalfshell]

""When merchant ships traveled, there was a person on board who represented the company and who performed all trade negotiation. I came across the title for this person in one of the books I've read and now I can't remember it and don't have the book. (It was a curious title, which is why I vaguely recall it. For some reason I keep thinking of the term "supercarrier" but that's not it.""

Could 'supercargo' be the term ye be searching for?

"Supercargo

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Supercargo is a term in maritime law (adapted from the Spanish sobrecargo, one over or in charge of a cargo) that refers to a person employed on board a vessel by the owner of cargo carried on the ship. The duties of a supercargo include managing the cargo owner's trade, selling the merchandise at the ports to which the vessel is sailing, and buying and receiving goods to be carried on the return voyage.

He or she has control of the cargo unless limited by his contract or other agreement. Because a supercargo sails from port to port with the vessel to which he is attached, he differs from a factor, who has a fixed place of residence at a port or other trading place."

[Misson]

Could 'supercargo' be the term ye be searching for?

That's the one! For some reason it surprised me that they would have called someone the "super" anything in the 17th or 18th century. I don't know why.

[michaelsbagley]

Could 'supercargo' be the term ye be searching for?

That's the one! For some reason it surprised me that they would have called someone the "super" anything in the 17th or 18th century. I don't know why.

It's all those late 20th cenutry comic books we all read as kids that make it hard for us to believe that anything mundane was ever called a "super" something in history...

Picturing a cargo with a red cape flying next to the galleon...

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

See, Captain Eisley, ask and ye shall receive buckets and buckets of suggestions until you become as fanatical as the rest of us.

(insert evil laugh here)

Indeed, this is an abundance of information. I'm glad that all of you could clarify what I could do in order to further my research.

Mission notes - May I suggest books on the East India Company?

The EIC (various Internet sites) is what I originally found to be best source for recounts of merchant and spice trading so far, though I will search far and wide for whatever I can find.

[Misson]

If you come across anything on merchant surgeons of the period or before (other than John Woodall, about whom I have plenty of material), let me know...I don't have much and my searches have not been entirely satisfactory.

[Cpt Sophia M Eisley]

Will do. I have several libraries around town I can check out, along with their database files via Internet.