MarkG

I use a commercial canvas tarp and choose high ground. The only time I ever had a real problem was at Hampton Blackbeard Festival in 2009 when there was no high ground. The last time I needed a tarp I got it from here. Mark

That's a big reason that a lot of nautical gear was brass. It doesn't corrode like iron does. So, even it cost more, it was more economical in the long run. Still, there is a difference between shiny brass an brass with a bit of oxidation. Anything more than that looks neglected to me. Mark

So seeking freedom from oppression is a modern Hollywood notion, or just pirates seeking freedom from oppression? I am saying that I think it is more Hollywood than factual. Sure, some pirates may have done this, but I think it mostly grew out of the whole romantic "young lad takes to the sea to escape his family/homeland/whatever and finds the Navy or merchant service oppressive so he goes pirate" thing. Then he goes all Errol Flynn and fights for the maiden, against oppressive masters or whatever. I'm sure that happened, but probably more as an exception than a rule. My take on it is that the navy released a lot of men from service, the economy turned a bit south and the merchant trade slacked off and you had a bunch of people ill-suited for other jobs who went into piracy. Add slack enforcement of the piracy laws and "legitimate" privateering as an example in certain places and you have rampant piracy during the GAoP. I am admittedly shooting from the hip here a bit because I have read some of this stuff, but not drawn it all together into a logical framework. Foxe could probably give at a better historic spin than I am because I haven't stopped to look at all the dates of events to see how they mesh. Or I might just be all wrong. When it comes down to it, the motivation to turn criminal is probably unique to each individual - although psychologically, many people basically do what their peers are doing. Thus my theory about the navy/economic/rigid job environment explanations. Taking it a bit earlier, the Spanish got tired of foreign hunters roaming around the interior of the Spanish Main, killing wild cattle. They drove them away, depriving them of their livelihood and giving them a reason to hate Spain. Since all of these guys were excellent shots, what better way to make a living than to start preying on the Spanish shipping (along with anyone else who crossed their bow)? Mark

Money was certainly a motivation. Estates were seized. Being a witchfinder could be lucrative. In Salem, the community had had a disagreement about housing and pay for the new minister. The girls making the accusations were all from one faction. None of the accused were from their faction and many were from the other side. Mark

Nobody under English law was hanged for being a witch - even at Salem. Do you mean they technically weren't under English law? Because I'm pretty sure the folks at Salem were killed for witchcraft, except for Giles Corey. For those who never heard of him, Cory was accused of witchcraft and refused to enter a plea. If he plead guilty his land would have been seized. If he plead innocent and was found guilty (the most likely result) then his land would also be seized. In an effort to force him to enter a plea, a board was put across his chest and weighed down with rocks. In order to keep his family from being dispossessed he kept demanding more weight until he was crushed to death. It took him two full days to die. Mark

Nobody under English law was hanged for being a witch - even at Salem. On the subject of religion it is perhaps noteworthy that the articles of John Taylor's crew specifically forbade the discussion of religion. Lots of people were hung for witchcraft in England. In Salem, 29 people were convicted of witchcraft and 19 hung for it. You are probably thinking of witch burning. English law was unique in the way it handled witchcraft. In most of Europe, a conviction of witchcraft carried an automatic conviction of heresy and heretics were burned. English law did not consider witchcraft as heresy so no burnings - only hanging for the worst offenses and other punishments for lesser counts of witchcraft. In Scotland witches were burned but they were usually strangled first. Mark

Droid still works. Mark

Here's another link for smugglers. http://www.smuggling.co.uk/gazetteer_se_14.html Hastings has a large complex of caves that were used by smugglers. Later the caves became a tourist attraction. They were also used as a bomb shelter during WWII. The caves are open to the public with an emphasis on late-18th century smugglers. Their web site is fun. http://www.smugglersadventure.co.uk/smugglers/smugglers.shtml Mark

I posted from a Droid last week. Mark

The event was a huge success. It was the ship's biggest weekend for the year (with the Spring pirate event coming in second). Interaction between the pirates and visitors was very good. The battles were a lot of fun. And we had an all-time number of Floridians (3). Thanks everyone. I posted several pictures of the Mercury flag on the Santa Maria. Mark

On the fourth of July eighteen hundred and six We set sail from the sweet cove of Cork We were sailing away with a cargo of bricks For the grand city hall in New York 'Twas a wonderful craft, she was rigged fore-and-aft And oh, how the wild winds drove her. She'd got several blasts, she'd twenty-seven masts And we called her the Irish Rover. We had one million bales of the best Sligo rags We had two million barrels of stones We had three million sides of old blind horses hides, We had four million barrels of bones. We had five million hogs, we had six million dogs, Seven million barrels of porter. We had eight million bails of old nanny goats' tails, In the hold of the Irish Rover. I couldn't resist. Calico Jack Rackham mainly pirated fishing ships, at least in 1720. He is remembered more for his flag, his wardrobe and his crew than his successes. This is probably more typical plunder than galleons full of gold. Mark

There is an OSU football game at noon. This can cause backups for people coming in on 315 from the north. Stay in the left lane and you should be fine.

Reminder - a few rules on the Santa Maria: Absolutely no smoking on the ship. Wooden ships catch fire really easily and are impossible to put out. No drinking in the park. It is a violation of the state's open beverage law and you can be arrested. If you want to smoke and drink at the same time then stay on the gangplank (seriously). For those who have not seen it, it is a really substantial gang plank. We would like everyone to sign a waiver but everyone who wants to climb has to sign a waiver. This includes the rope ladder during the battle. Waivers are good for the year so anyone who signed a waiver in May is still covered. No live steel during the battle. With people coming over the railing it would be too easy for someone to trip and get hurt. We will have some soft weapons available. I know pirates don't like rules so think of this as the ship's articles. Mark

The newest on the WTC ship - they found the coin from the base of the mast. http://news.discovery.com/archaeology/wtc-ship-gives-up-lucky-coin.html#mkcpgn=rssnws1 They should be announcing the type of wood, the age, and other details soon. Mark

Good question. I have boats to crew. I'd hate to have to send out a press gang. Mark

For those airship pirates in the mid-west, a different con is being held in Madison, WI in November. It even has an airship theme. http://www.teslacon.com/ All I know about it is what is in the web site but it looks like fun. Mark

Deadliest Warrior tried one of these. The stones that form the edge came loose after the first cut. Also, this worked best against unarmored warriors. Against a helmet and back and breast you are just carrying a club. Mark

Period lamp oil would probably have been something organic like olive oil. It would probably work. Whale oil probably would not work. It doesn't burn well. You can tell original whale oil lamps because the had two wicks in order to increase the brightness. Mark

Something I should warn you about. I've played both the rebec and the wipplestix (a good substitute for a dance master's fiddle) in public. No one listens to you playing. They want to ask about the instrument. Sometimes historic accuracy can be distracting. A violin will be less distracting than a rebec even if it is less accurate. Mark