Sjöröveren

I just picked up a book that's perfect for this subject. The Island at the Center of the World by Russell Shorto. It's all about the largely forgotten Dutch history of New York, when it was New Amsterdam. Sure, everyone knows about Peter Stuyvesant and Peter Minuit, but not much else. I'm not very far into the book yet, but it has already covered quite a bit on topics discussed in this thread. New Amsterdam was known world-wide as a place where everyone was welcome, regardless of race, religion or wealth. Since the United Provinces of the Netherlands were a Republic 150 years before the United States of America were born, folks didn't care much about who you worshipped or how rich you were, just as long as you helped out with the common good. The book jacket promises stuff about Pirates and Prostitutes, so I've got that to look forward to.

I know you can get cats made for the B-D crowd, but anyone know of accurate reproductions of the naval version available? Made with a length of rope, with nine strands of marline, and kept in a baize bag? I would love to have one to hang on the wall of my basement pub. I would also love to have a basement pub, but I'm working on that.

Great program! It pops up on PBS every few years. You should also track down "Longitude" both the book by Dava Sobel, and the movie based in large part on Sobel's book. The book is a terrific read, and the book is a sort of novelized version of the book. Michael Gambon, who plays Prof. Dumbledore in the 2 most recent Harry Potter movies, plays John Harrison. And Jeremy Irons plays a 20th century man who devotes his life to restoring Harrison's instruments for the Royal Naval Observatory in Greenich, England. Lots of stuff available online about John Harrison and Longitude. The National Maritime Museum is a good place to start.

Most of the meat onboard was either dried, pickled or on-the-hoof. So I'm guessing the numbers of carnivorous insects were fairly low compared to the ones feeding on bread, flour and other plant materials. So lots of weevils, not so many flies. Just a guess, though.

Just remembered another common topical antiseptic. "Blue ointment" was basically mercury mixed with lard. Apparently the mecury reacted with the fat to create a deep royal blue color, hence the name. It was a very common treatment, and I've seen it listed often in ship's surgeon's stores. It was applied in a generous layer on flannel, which was then secured over the wound. I'm sure the lard did more good than the mercury, as an effective barrier to air and moisture. We certainly have better treatments now, but it wasn't that long ago that fats were used routinely in home remedies - maybe still are in many places. Whenever I burned myself when I was a kid, my mom put butter or Crisco on it.

Did I mention that I'm home sick today, and so I literally have nothing better to do than sit here and kvetch? So if you've had enough of me, feel free to go get a sandwich or walk around the block or something. But I'm staying here for awhile.

The frontier, in general, was cleaner than the place you came from. Fresh air, clean water all waiting for people to ruin it. Which is what they did rather quickly, especially water. Most people didn't live on the pristine frontier. Most people lived on farms, in small villages or in cities. Even on a farm on the frontier, little regard was paid to the relationship between your water supply and your farmyard. Wells tend to be dug in low areas, closer to the water table. Animals tend to feed on higher ground, where the grass grows better. So after every rain, a lot of that animal waste is going right into your well. However, on long-established farms like in Europe, people didn't just go to the well, draw up the bucket and take a bit drink. Everyone knew well water would kill you, they just didn't know how it killed you. They did know that if you drank beer, cider, wine, whiskey, coffee or tea, you didn't get sick. They didn't know that the alcohol or the boiling was making the water safe, they just knew what worked. In the villages and cities, the population density increased the health risks exponentially. Most people got their water from a common well, which helped spread water-borne diseases like dysentery, typhoid fever and cholera. Most cities used their streams and rivers as both water sources and sewers. Big cities like London, New York and Paris were unimaginably filthy by our standards. Sewage and animal carcasses in the street, garbage tossed out of doors to be eaten by feral pigs and dogs. A putrid hell-hole by any measure. Air pollution didn't become a big problem until mid-19th century. More factories meant more coal-fueled boilers and more black smoke in the air. London had horrible air pollution problems until about 50 years ago when coal buring was banned. So my opinion is, even with all the chemicals in use today, the environment is probably a bit better today than in the past. Maybe a break-even. Entirely different pollutants, but still a world full of danger. If you want to live in a world without pollutants, we all gotta do our bit, city and rural, rich and poor, east or west. If you need ideas, go see "an Inconvenient Truth" stay until the credits are done, and take notes. Lots of good ideas there.

Exactly! How many of you here have butchered a pig? Prepared the body of a family member for burial? Performed a bloodletting on a child, spouse or horse? Assisted in the delivery of a child, or calf/colt, etc.? All of these things were commonplace until 150 years ago or so. Add to that the fact that part of a seaman's job was killing other seamen. So helping the surgeon hold down your messmate while he saws his arm off, while certainly a serious situation, would not have much "gross out factor" aboard a ship. (For the record, OK for the purpose of bragging, I've butchered a pig and assisted in delivering a stillborn calf. Both were really, really gross, but I kept my lunch. I even ate some of the pig. The calf we buried.) Any surgeon, land or sea, would try to have a good supply of leeched whenever he could. Leeches were used most often to draw off "bad blood," i.e. dead and clotting blood beneath the skin. Think of a really bad bruise, the kind that turn all black and then yellow. Leeched sucked that stuff out. Not a great idea in hindsight, since the yellow stuff is hemoglobin, and part of your body's arsenal for repairing tissue damage. But you could see it, it looked bad and leeches got rid of it, so they used leeches. Leeches were also used for bloodletting when the patient is too ill to sit upright. Slow but effective.

I don't mean to single you out, Red Cat Jenny. Far from it. But you were the first to bring up something that's a bit a bone of contention for me. So, really, nothing personal, but... the notion of "herbal" or "natural" medicine is entirely a modern one. These are words we use today to distiguish traditional forms of medicine from today's mainstream medicine. I am not criticizing herbal and natural medicine in the least. They are, in some specific areas, as good or better than much of current pharmaceuticals. But people in the past simply didn't use these terms. All medicine was natural, and the vast majority of pharmaceuticals were herbal (the rest being mineral or animal based). They didn't say "natural medicine" any more than we would say "natural e-mail" today. What other kind is there? Sorry, but I've encountered other reenactors who stress that the medicine they practice (in character) are "all herbal and natural." I am tempted to point out that their ship's ropes, decks and sails all herbal and natural too.

I've heard of urine being used, but don't know much about it. Same with maggots. I know more about the contemporary uses of medicinal maggots than historical. I gotta research those two more....

Stitches were the most common method of closing a wound during GAoP. Cauterization, where the wound is closed via a red-hot instrument or boiling oil, was still in use, but in decline since the 16th Century. Cleanliness aboard a ship ran the gamut from absolute filth to cleaner than the typical 21st Century home. National navies from England, France, the Netherlands and other northern European areas had a general reputation of cleanliness. The British Royal Navy began each day at sea with a thorough swabbing of decks, and did their best to keep the rest of the ship as clean as possible. Russian ships were considered to be the most cruel and vile ships afloat anywhere. Turkish and Moorish/Barbary ships also have a reputation for general filth. I read one account of Turkish sailors using the areas between the guns as both bunks and latrines. (Odd, since Muslims on land were and are called upon to keep clean as a tenet of faith.) Pirates, I would imagine, are at the low end of cleanliness. Sea water, of course, was limitless, but if the ship had been becalmed for more than a day or two, the sea around it quickly became an open sewer. Sometimes boats were lowered so the crew could row the ship into cleaner water. There was no perceived need for sterilization at this time, because there was no knowledge of germs, thus no comprehension that microscopic critters were the cause of disease. Germ theory didn't come until 1867, with Dr. Joseph Lister's first publication on the subject. He was laughed at for a good number of years, until folks like Pasteur and Koch proved his point. It really wasn't until about 1900 that germ theory was pretty much universally accepted in the Western world. But folks did realize that "bad water" or "foul air" made people sick. So they knew that general cleanliness was a good idea. A well-equipped ship's Surgeon during GAoP would have various substances that he knew to aid in the healing process, such as Boric Acid, flowers of Sulphur, even the aforementioned honey. All have natural antibiotic or antiseptic properties. Many other preparations were alcohol based, so it wasn't the root or mineral in the medicine that aided healing, it was the alcohol. Surgeons also would sometimes splash a bit of alcohol over an incision site just before he began to cut. Not because he knew it would kill germs, but because the rapidly evaporating alcohol had a cooling effect on the skin, distracting the patient momentarily from the initial cut. Laudanum and other opiates were in use during GAoP, and would be used if available. Oh, that's enough for this post. Let's see what else has been covered.

This topic (History of Medicine) has been my primary area of interest for about 15 years, though only the last 3 years or so have been focused specifically on medical practice at sea. There's so many postings that I want to put my 2 cents in on, that I'm going to quote each one individually. It's just faster and easier to do it that way.

I love about half of Rogue's Gallery, another quarter or so range from good to indifferent, but there's a handful of songs that I simply can't bear. "Bully in the Alley" is one that just stinks. It sounds like the drunks at the back of the bar that you wish would just shut up. However, some are real gems. Sting's "Blood Red Roses" is simply incredible, which suprised me since I've never been much of a fan of his. The other real standout in my mind is "Grey Funnel Line" by Jolie Holland. Imagine Billie Holliday singing a sea ballad. I'm also quite fond of "Hog Eye Man," "Haul on the Bowline," and "Hangin' Johnny" by Stan Ridgway (Wall of Voodoo). David Thomas, founder of Pere Ubu, does "Drunken Sailor" and "Dan Dan." You either love or hate Pere Ubu; I love them. They are extremely challenging, and their work can sometimes barely be called music. But if you like industrial noise, David Thomas and Pere Ubu have been doing it since the early 70's. I also have to plug Bounding Main. They are very highly recommended! They perform generally in the Chicago/Milwaukee area, and other areas in the Midwest. (How about a Minnesota gig folks?) And Dean Calin was one of the folks behind the Port Washington Pirate Festival this year, along with Bilgemunky, who should be well known to all here. The crew of The Fool's Gold, made up in part by Merrydeath, Lady Barbossa, Capt. Pete Straw, The Iron Hook, Red Bess and Myself (hope I didn't leave someone out!) had a great time last June, and plan to have a better time in 07.

Well, I've slept on it (overslept actually -- I was supposed to go in and work overtime today, but screw that!) and my feelings are still the same as last night. I had the same sort of feeling as when you are opening a present, especially if you have a good idea what's in the box. Before you open it, you have a very good idea that you'll like it. But there's so many pieces! You'll have to make some sense of all this! The movie seemed to come at me so fast, I didn't have time process it all. That's probably more due to my level of alertness (my normal bedtime is about 9:30) than the movie. I guess I'll just have to see it again and again and again. I wonder if I'll be able to drag Red Bess along? One thing I particularly liked was the double entendre of the title: Dead Man's Chest. I'm sure everyone was just assuming that the chest in question was a treasure chest. But it's also Davy Jones' actual chest and the hole therein. (I wonder how that will translate into other languages? Hey Charity - what's it called in Dutch?) I don't have a guess as to who broke his heart, but I have a feeling that clockwork music box has something to do with it.

I must apologize for not following the story more closely. I see that medical attention is needed, with me nowhere to be found. I have fallen so far behind in the thread that it will now take me several hours to catch up -- hours which are in short supply. So feel free to work around me. Make stuff up, kill me off, whatever keeps the flow going. -Dr. Jonas P. Stenbom

Greetings to ye Master Stenbom. My name is Andrew March of the Archangel..I've come on behalf of me captain. His head still be plaguin him, sometin fierce. He tried drinkin it off last night, but most likely has only made things worse upon his self. Would ye be kind enough to give me something to tide him over until the service at the church concludes? My compliments to your Captain and Good day to you, Mr March. I have prepared a nostrum for your ailing Captain; which he should take one half wineglass full at eight bells of each watch. I also suggest balls of wax or tow, placed in the ears, which gives temporary yet blessed relief from delirium tintinabulus; viz, the horrors of Church Bells on Sunday morning, after a Saturday evening spent in one's cups.

an advertisement in the latest Port Royal newspaper: Mr. Jonas P. Stenbom, Chirugien; lately in service to His Swedish Majesty's Royal Navy, wishes it to be known that he is available for physical consultations, treatments, and general chirugerie. The Largest Pharmacopiae in Port Royal are maintained by Mr. Stenbom. Member of the Royal Society, Stockholm. Student at the Finest Medical Instutites of Europe -- Leiden -- Palermo -- Edinburgh -- L'Hôpital de Paris. Treatment of Maladies of the Seaman are his Particular area of Study. Discretion is Assured! All interested persons may apply at His Rooms located above the Goat and Compasses, in High Street.

Click on the small white square in the lower left of your browser window. A frame will open, giving among several option, the ability to download the thread as a word document.

OK, Peaches, ye are pushin our buttons, so now I must demand that you bring a camera to the office and take a picture of the Windy II from your window. As this will give you even more reason to gloat, I don't suppose you'll have a problem with the assignment. I will act in kind by posting a photo of the ass-end of a dumpster that I could see, if my workspace had a window, which is doesn't!

Exactly how many pieces of flair are we required to wear on our uniforms?

Sorry, folks. I am canceling. Har! har! har! It's all MINE!

If you will be in Port Washington next weekend, I'll bring one that I have to sell. I'll be with the Fool's Gold crew.

I am an inveterate musical instrument dabbler. I own lots of stuff: a few guitars, a banjo, a half dozen penny whistles and fifes, a very broken gaelic harp and my pride and joy, a nyckelharpa. That's a Swedish keyed fiddle. 16 strings, 12 of them sympathetic strings like a sitar; one bass drone string and only 3 strings that are actually bowed. And instead of pressing directly on the strings like a violin, you press buttons, something like an accordion. It all adds up to very big, very cool sound. Now, if I would only practice more. Our youngest son is in 4th grade, and is learning to play the bass fiddle. It's too big to fit on the bus, so he gets dropped off and picked on orchestra days. This may have been his plan all along.

Photogrammetry technician, which means I make topographical maps using aerial photography. I don't get to go up in the planes, but this gets pretty close sometimes. Unfortunately, most of the stuff I map are very boring, like highways, ditches and parking lots. But the scenery is always changing!

My prayers are with you and yours, Jack.