William Brand

That is amazing work. A very nice kit.

May 6 - Cook first sighted Australia on this day in 1770.

I love my map case.

Crew are more important than kit, but it's pretty cool kit.

May 3 - Peter Harris (the elder) died on this day in 1680. He was a British buccaneer, one of the captains (along with Bartholomew Sharp and Edmund Cook) in the Pacific Adventure, a privateering expedition headed by Richard Sawkins and John Coxon. After plundering the mining town of Santa Maria (east of Panama City) on April 25, 1680, the buccaneers set fire to the town and using canoes rowed downstream to the Pacific. On May 3, the "expedition" reached the port at Perico island off the coast of Panama City, finding there a Spanish fighting force of several barques and other ships. Although eventually victorious, the buccaneers lost twenty men, among them Captain Harris. Another Buccaneer called Peter Harris, apparently a nephew of the one mentioned above, was active in the same area during 1684–1685.

I've bought hemp all over, including Hemp Traders, Turkey Foot and some craft stores. A lot of the ropes need splicing and you get varying softness from one to another, but they get more pliable over time either way, whereas manila just tends to become more brittle. http://www.turkeyfootllc.com/Hemproducts.html

All of the handmade hammocks that I've seen are fantastic. It's a great addition to kit of any kind. Honestly, even if you never slept in it, it's a great show piece and perfect for keeping extra blankets and sundries off of the ground. Not that I'm suggesting one go to all of the trouble and not sleep in it, but they just look that good.

One thing that must be added to any well prepared, period encampment is HEMP. Manila rope is fine in a pinch, as is cotton canvas for tents, but you can't beat hemp. First, the hemp rope is softer and stronger and it doesn't tear up your hands. You can get pretty small cordage and still have a really strong line with hemp. I've raised a tent for a three day event using basic crafting size line, thought a good quarter inch cord or bigger is better. I've slowly replaced almost all of the manila in my camp and it simply looks so much better and weathers well. With the proper care, you can also wash hemp line easier than most rope. It also has a very distinct, old world look and feel to it. Less of the 'I just picked this up at Home Depot' look.

May 2 - On this day in 1670, King Charles II of England grants a permanent charter to the Hudson's Bay Company, made up of the group of French explorers who opened the lucrative North American fur trade to London merchants. The charter conferred on them not only a trading monopoly but also effective control over the vast region surrounding North America's Hudson Bay. Although contested by other English traders and the French in the region, the Hudson's Bay Company was highly successful in exploiting what would become eastern Canada. During the 18th century, the company gained an advantage over the French in the area but was also strongly criticized in Britain for its repeated failures to find a northwest passage out of Hudson Bay. After France's loss of Canada at the end of the French and Indian Wars, new competition developed with the establishment of the North West Company by Montreal merchants and Scottish traders. As both companies attempted to dominate fur potentials in central and western Canada, violence sometimes erupted, and in 1821 the two companies were amalgamated under the name of the Hudson's Bay Company. The united company ruled a vast territory extending from the Atlantic to the Pacific, and under the governorship of Sir George Simpson from 1821 to 1856, reached the peak of its fortunes. After Canada was granted dominion status in 1867, the company lost its monopoly on the fur trade, but it had diversified its business ventures and remained Canada's largest corporation through the 1920s. Also on this day in 1724, the Post-Boy newspaper suggests that George Lowthers did not die in 1723. The newspaper, the only known original still in existence, is owned by Eric Bjotvedt and reports: "The last Letters from S. Christopher bring Advice, that on the 20th of February, the Eagle Sloop, h ted out from that Island, had brought in thither the Pyrate Sloop she had taken from Lowther, with twenty of the Men that were on board, (Lowther himself and many of the Crew having made their Escape) and it was believed that twelve or thirteen of them would be convicted of Pyracy, and that the others would be clear’d, as being forced into the said Pyrates Service.

April 29 - Ingela Olofsdotter Gathenhielm née Hammar, was a Swedish privateer in service of King Charles XII of Sweden during the Great Northern War. He died on this day in 1729.

Welcome back into the fold, Captain Stifler. You won't be the last pirate to come and go from these parts or to leave the hobby and return again. It's good to have you back. You should bring the new crew down to the Keys for the Fort Taylor event in December. We'd love the added company.

April 27 - On this day in 1702, Jean Bart, French Privateer, died of pleurisy and is buried in the Eglise Saint-Eloi in Dunkirk.

April 25 - On this day in 1680, buccaneers under Harris, Sharp and Cook plundered the mining town of Santa Maria (east of Panama City) and set fire to the town. Then using canoes they rowed downstream to the Pacific. Also on this day in 1719, Daniel Defoe first published Robinson Crusoe. This first edition credited the work's fictional protagonist Robinson Crusoe as its author, leading many readers to believe he was a real person and the book a travelogue of true incidents. It was published under the considerably longer original title The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character (whose birth name is Robinson Kreutznaer)—a castaway who spends years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and mutineers before being rescued.

Happy birthday!

April 24 - Bernard Desjean, Baron de Pointis, was a French admiral and privateer. He was born in Brittany. He took part in naval operations in the 1680s under Duquesne, like the bombardment of Algiers and the punitive action against Genoa. In the 1690s he fought under Tourville among others in the Battle of Beachy Head (1690). In 1693, he became chef d'escadre. In 1697, he undertook his greatest expedition: the Raid on Cartagena. This raid was so successful that it made him immensely rich and very appreciated by King Louis XIV. In 1702, after the death of Jean Bart, he was appointed head of the Dunkirkers, but he was soon replaced by Marc-Antoine de Saint-Pol Hécourt for lack of initiative. In 1705, he tried to attack Gibraltar by sea during the Twelfth Siege of Gibraltar, but was defeated by John Leake in the Battle of Cabrita Point. After this battle Pointis retired from active service. He published Relation de l'expédition de Carthègene faite par les François en 1697. He died in Paris on this day in 1707.

April 23 - Since I don't have anything piratey for today, we'll mention Shakespeare. William Shakespeare's birthday is not know, but it was customary to baptize a person 3 days after they were born. Shakespeare was baptized on the 26th of April in 1564, so his birthday is commonly celebrated on the 23rd. Also on this day in 1616, Shakespeare died.

April 22 - On this day in 1718, Rogers departed the Thames with his expedition of seven ships, 100 soldiers, 130 colonists, and supplies ranging from food for the expedition members and ships' crews to religious pamphlets to give to the pirates, whom Rogers believed would respond to spiritual teachings, to take up his appointment as "Captain General and Governor in Chief". The expedition was accompanied by three Royal Navy vessels. Also on this day in 1782, Anne Bonny died at the respectable age of 80 in South Carolina.

There is a growing number of pirates in all parts of Texas in recent years. I think you'll find excellent company here and in your neck of the woods. Welcome aboard!

I was gone, so I'll have to catch a repeat of it. I'm hoping for a good show. AMC has made several that I really enjoy.

April 6 - The first European to reach the cape was the Portuguese explorer Bartolomeu Dias in 1488, who named it the “Cape of Storms” (Cabo das Tormentas). It was later renamed by John II of Portugal as “Cape of Good Hope” (Cabo da Boa Esperança) because of the great optimism engendered by the opening of a sea route to India and the East. The land around the cape was home to the Khoikhoi people when the Dutch first settled there in 1652. The Khoikhoi had arrived in these parts about fifteen hundred years before. They were called Hottentots by the Dutch, a term that has now come to be regarded as pejorative. Dutch colonial administrator Jan van Riebeeck established a resupply camp for the Dutch East India Company some 50 km north of the cape in Table Bay on April 6, 1652 and this eventually developed into Cape Town. Supplies of fresh food were vital on the long journey around Africa and Cape Town became known as “The Tavern of the Seas”. Also on this day in 1688, Raveneau de Lussan and his followers arrive at Santo Domingo aboard an English lugger.

"The Holy Ground" is descended from "Sweet lovely Nancy" that can be traced back to at least 1680. Citation needed.

"Cheerily Man" or "Nancy Dawson" - Johnson's Caledonian country dances, with a through bass for ye harpsichord, 1750, 3rd. edition. First verse: Of all the girls in our town, The red, the black, the fair, the brown, That dance and prance it up and down, There's none like Nancy Dawson. etc.

Maid of Amsterdam - This is the long version which was first noted in 'Rape of Lucrece' by Robert Heywood in 1608. Citation needed. As it was pointed out in later posts, there is no obvious evidence that the songs of maids in the play have any connection to this version. Any assistance would be appreciated. In Amsterdam there lived a maid Mark you well what I say! In Amsterdam there lives a maid, And this fair maid my trust betrayed. Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. Her eyes are like two stars so bright Mark you well what I say Her eyes are like two stars so bright, Her face is fair, her step is light. Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. I asked this fair maid to take a walk, Mark well what I do say I asked this maid out for a walk That we might have some private talk. Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. Then I took this fair maid's lily white hand, Mark well what I do say I took this fair maid's lily white hand In mine as we walked along the strand. Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. Then I put my arm around her waist Mark well what I do say! For I put my arm around her waist And from her lips snatched a kiss in haste! Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. Then a great big Dutchman rammed my bow Mark well what I do say For a great big Dutchman rammed my bow, And said, "Young man, dis bin mein vrow!" Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. Then take warning boys, from me, Mark well what I do say! So take a warning, boys, from me, With other men's wives don't make too free. Chorus I'll go no more a rovin, with you fair maid. A roving, A roving, since roving's been my ru-i-in, I'll go no more a roving, with you fair maid. For if you do you will surely rue Mark well what I do say! For if you do you will surely rue Your act, and find my words come true. ==Sea shanty== In Amsterdam there dwells a maid, Mark well what I do say; In Amsterdam there dwells a maid, And she is mistress of her trade. I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid, CHORUS: A-roving, a-roving, Since roving's been my ru-I-n, I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid! I took the maiden for a walk And sweet and loving was her talk. I put my arm around her waist, Says she, "Young man, you're in some haste." I took that girl upon my knee, Says she, "Young man, you're rather free." I put my hand upon her thigh Sez she, "Young man you're rather high!" She swore that she'd be true to me, But spent my money both fast and free. In three weeks' time I was badly bent Then off to sea I sadly went.

Not a cheap book, but it is cited as a good one. http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0913372706/thecontemplsfolk

The Jolly Sailor - A Collection of the Most Celebrated Songs In Four Volumes, Vol. 4, 1732

 Haul, haul away, haul away, Let your anchors be weighing, 
Haul, haul away, and be steering. Ere the wind shall be veering;
 Time and tide will admit no delaying. Abroad with your flags, your streamers display, While the full swelling sea shall befriend ye:
 Not a storm by the sea, nor a rock by the way, Not a storm nor a rock mail offend ye,
 Whilst we fathom and sound.
 Let our glass then go round, Let us drink, let us revel and roar;
 Whilst the coast is in view,
 Our mirth shall renew, 
And give the boon lads their kind welcome ashore.