Fox

Well, this is the first night I've been home since going out Tuesday to see the Trafalgar re-enactment. I think the real reason for holding the T200 re-enactment in June was that the International Festival of the Sea was taking place in June to take advantage of better weather (Portsmouth in October is NOT a place to hold a major event), so the tall ships were here anyway. Fantastic sight it was, and the atmosphere was electric. You'll be pleased to know that there was no mention of that "red and blue teams" nonsense on the night that I heard. Since Wednesday I've been at the International Festival of the Sea: The better half and I on the Quarter-deck of Victory How's that for a place to go boating? Hard at work supplying the fleet I've not got the words for this...

Also, if you're trying to be historically accurate guitars would be fine. They didn't have their modern design and tuning but they have existed in various forms since the 16th century. Also, older guitars tended to be smaller than modern guitars so space is less of an issue. Nobody has yet mentioned the various droned instruments which were incredibly popular for centuries. Bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies, symphonies etc were widely used from medieval times until well into the 19th century. I can't imagine that hurdy-gurdies would cope well with the moisture at sea but bagpipes would be fine if looked after. Other smaller instruments have been mentioned like whistles and flutes, but what about Jew Harps? They were also widely used for centuries, wouldn't affected at all by the wet and could fit into a sailor's pocket.

In most of the raids on European countires by Barbary pirates slaves were the principal commodity sought. The Iceland raid was led by Murat Reis a couple of years before the Baltimore raid and netted 400 Icelandic slaves. In the 1640s an English mission to Sallee to buy back English slaves paid an average price of £38 per slave (at that price Reis would have made £15,200 from the Iceland raid and £9,766 from the Baltimore raid). However, women were much more expensive to redeem, some costing many hundreds, some over £1,000, and one cost £1,392. If the women of Iceland were particularly beautiful (and fair) it would definitely be worth Reis's while to go there if he could make £1,000 (nearly 6 years wages for an English naval captain of a first rate!) from each woman.

It was all thanks to north European privateers displaced by the peace with Spain in the early 17th century. Men like Murat Reis, John Ward, Simon Danseker, William Bishop and co. went to the Barbary coast and took the tricks of Atlantic ship-building with them.

OFF TOPIC RESPONSE! Yeah, it is RAF, they wore blue and khaki uniforms depending on circumstances and personal preference. Dress uniform was always blue but "HD overalls" (what the army called "battledress") could be in either blue or in army khaki. When modified with items of civilian wear (like poloneck jumpers - very popular amongst pilots) the RAF looked scruffy as hell. I have been considering setting up a re-enactment unit of "Popski's Private Army" - like the LRDG but they operated mostly in Italy.

Good God Rummy! Do you have to have a license for those things?

John, I love Mrs Blackjohn's outfit, looks superb! Between the gun, the boots and the look in her eyes I don't think I'd mess about either! It shames me to say that the current "Mrs" Foxe isn't in my picture... Anyway, if we're going out of period I've always rather liked this one

You can never have too many girls! That's me with just a few of me adoring wenches and erm... an adoring fella... Jesus, I was knackered!

"Command of the Ocean" is an absolute must have for anyone interested in maritime history of that period. If we're honest it's very difficult to look at any aspect of maritime history of the late 17th -19th century without having to take into acocunt (to a greater or lesser extent) the activities of the Royal Navy, and "Command of the Ocean" is probably the best one volume history of the RN from 1649-1815 available. Also of interest is the first volume in Rodger's series: "Safeguard of the Seas: A Naval history of Britain, 660-1649". Rodger is one of the most reliable and readable historians of today. When I bought "Command of the Ocean" I read it from start to finish (583 pages of text followed by 63 pages of appendices and a 24 page glossary) in about 10 days. I found it a real struggle to put down and get on with work...

George Silver's Paradoxes of Defence is available online. I love Silver, he told us 400 years ago that the Italians made rubbish soldiers.

Thanks John! It was taken a few years back when we were filming a "Secret History" documentary. I seem to recall I was being the Earl of Essex. Believe it or not, the beard is a stick-on - the make up girl did the most fantastic colour match with my real moustache and I got to look down her top the whole time she was bending over doing it... Dammit, Ive probably just destroyed the mystique...

Hmm, can't decide which so I'm gonna copy John and post a few That's me in the grey singlet, second from the right. Leading a Council of War in the great cabin of the Golden Hinde As an Elizabethan captain - full size of me avatar picture The lieutenant and the Admiral's daughter promenading. I'm the one on the right

You're right Badger Back in 97 I was in Holland celebrating the Peace of Ryswick. The captain of the Dutch Olympic fencing team came along and was naturally interested in our swords and sword play, so we let him have a go (well, you would wouldn't you?!). We royally whooped his ass simply by taking a step to the side and hitting in the arm or back - he just couldn't cope with the concept of his opponent not being directly in front of him.

I've spent plenty of time in the water in either linen or cotton petticoat breeches, or narrower lightweight canvas slops, and I've not noticed any of those getting particularly heavier. Obviously they do absorb water, but they're no worse to swim in than, say, a t-shirt. For the benefit of us non-colonials, what are wrap-pants? About to take the last step off the plank in cotton petticoat breeches

Yar, I have the notion that they're set in the late 18thC, I've got a feeling that the final book is set in 180-something. Well, we got a dozen 1790s seamen...

Yeah, but as I understand it they haven't made us of that for a while, perhaps a hostile takeover might be in order...

Let me know when you organise a Dr Syn weekend at Dymchurch, I can supply the revenue men

I was going to wait until after the International Festival of the Sea to start posting photographs, but I'm just too excited... My father as Captain Sir Sidney Smith And me as Lieutenant Hanchett I'm sure I'll have a million and one more photos after IFOS.

I've certainly heard stories about Grace O'Malley being associated with Barbary pirates - I wouldn't like to comment on the historical accuracy of those stories though. By the early 17th century there was nothing odd about Barbary pirates attacking the British Isles. It is estimated that between 1616 and 1642 approximately 350-400 English ships were taken by the corsairs and about 6,500-7,000 prisoners were taken as slaves. Barbary pirates also raided as far afield as Iceland. Even as late as 1816, when Sir Edward Pellew battered Algiers into submission and ended the Barbary slave trade there were 1,642 European slaves in that city alone. One thing that I didn't notice mentioned on the pages about the Baltimore raid was that the leader of the Algerian pirates was actualy a Dutch renegade, the notorious Murat Reis.

Takes a lot for me to lose my sense of humour - death followed by cremation I think will do it.

For the benefit of you Colonials who may not have come across a "rotten borough" before (apologies if you have) allow me to explain: A rotten borough was one in which there lived only a small number of voters, most or all of whom might be controlled by one person, effectively meaning that that one person could elect whoever he pleased as a Member of Parliament. Notable examples included Sarum, which had only 5 voters, and Lambeth where everyone eligable to vote worked for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Rotten boroughs were abolished in the 19thC Parliamentary reforms. Out of interest, who was the Englishman you couldn't think of John?

I can't speak for US re-enactros, but swords made for the UK re-enactment market are generally blunt unless you specify you want a sharp blade. Perhaps more importantly the points are rounded - if you slash someone that's bad, if you stab someone that's fatal. I own 18 (I think) swords at the moment and I have owned a couple of dozen others in the past. IMHO the finest re-enactment swords in the world, without any question whatsoever, are made by Armour Class. They're based in Scotland and their backlog is not inconsiderable (there's a reason for that) but they're well worth the postage and the wait.

I'm relying on you to drive the getaway rickshaw Cire...

I'm in Portsmouth, born and bred here though I did spend 10 nomadic years before returning. What sort of Admirals' hats?

Well, Bourne describes the use of a "sea-ring", I wonder if that's a dictaion error and he really meant "C-ring"... In which case it's very similar to a mariner's astrolabe, so similar in fact that they might even be described as the same. .