William Brand

A very happy birthday! I hope that it's a happy one.

A very happy birthday to a fellow Decemberist.

December 13 - On this day in 1577, after years of financial and political preparations, Drake set sail with his small fleet bound for the Strait of Magellan. With the support of the queen, high officials and investors, he launched the voyage with 160 seaman and a dozen of what they then called “gentlemen adventurers”, in casu “angry, young men”, who also had invested in the enterprise. The fleet consisted of one large ship, the Pelican, later re-named Golden Hind, and four smaller ones.

A very happy, belated birthday!

December 12 - On Friday, December 12,1718 gallows were erected in New Providence of the Bahamas for the hanging of nine pirates, captured by Benjamin Hornigold (the pirate turned pirate hunter). The group of nine pirates included William Cunningham and James Bendall. William Cunningham had served under Teach through 1716 and into 1717 as a gunner aboard the schooner Batchelor’s Adventure. He had refused the royal pardon offered at New Providence in 1717, but had accepted a pardon one year later, in July of 1718. Cunningham returned to piracy with John Augur because "he was asleep when Bunce went on board the Scooner [to which he belonged] at green Key, and that Bunce brought him punch and told him, that he must either join him or be put upon a maroon key, alias a desolate key." James Bendall was also offered a pardon by the English king and indeed "received the benefit of His Majesty’s most gracious pardon...bestowed to deliver from his former unlawful course of life", but could not resist the call of freedom and carried on his piracies around the Bahama’s and Virgin Islands. Bendall was captured at the island of Exuma after having "feloniously" taken three ships: Mary, Batchelor’s Adventure and Lancaster, "their cargoes and tackle; and further that they had marooned James Kerr, merchant, and others on Green Cay." During his trial, Kerr (aka Carr) was recalled to speak for him. Under oath Kerr declared that he "heard the prisoner [bendall] say that he wished he’d begun the life sooner for he thought it a pleasant one, that is the life of a pirate. He also said that he had a strong inclination to have smothered John Gravers Esq his Majesty’s Collector for the Islands as he lay ill and weak in his bed for the prisoner was for a short time a servant of mr. Graves before he shipped himself for the intended voyage and joined the other prisoners in their mutiny and piracy." Woodes Rogers, now governor, captain-general and judge of the local vice-admiralty (having debated the several circumstances of the cases), sat among the authorities awaiting the spectacle. A small crowd, composed of seamen, women and ex-pirates, milled about. A party of 100 soldiers escorted the condemned men to the fatal spot. They were charged with "Mutiny, Felony, Piracy". People say that William Cunningham behaved "very penitent and conscious of his guilt", but that James Bendall was totally unrepentant, behaved in a sullen and moody manner, his last words were that he repeated he had "wish’d he had begun the Life [of a pirate] sooner, for he thought it a pleasant one." They were hanged at ten o’clock in the morning and the execution of these pirates marked the end of New Providence as a pirate stronghold.

December 11 - On this day in 1695, Bellomont, who was now governing New York, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire, asked the "trusty and well beloved Captain Kidd" to attack Thomas Tew, John Ireland, Thomas Wake, William Maze, and all others who associated themselves with pirates, along with any enemy French ships. This request, if turned down, would have been viewed as disloyalty to the crown, the perception of which carried much social stigma, making it difficult for Kidd to have done so. The request preceded the voyage which established Kidd's reputation as a pirate, and marked his image in history and folklore. Also on this day in 1719, the first recorded display of Aurora Borealis in the Colonies.

That's a great article.

I want one too. December 2 - On this day in history, 1547, Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro dies at Castilleja de la Cuesta, Castile. Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century. Cortés was part of the generation of Spanish colonizers that began the first phase of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Born in Medellín, Spain, to a family of lesser nobility, Cortés chose to pursue a livelihood in the New World. He went to Hispaniola and later to Cuba, where he received an encomienda and, for a short time, became alcalde (magistrate) of the second Spanish town founded on the island. In 1519, he was elected captain of the third expedition to the mainland, an expedition which he partly funded. His enmity with the Governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, resulted in the recall of the expedition at the last moment, an order which Cortés ignored. Arriving on the continent, Cortés executed a successful strategy of allying with some indigenous people against others. He also used a native woman, Doña Marina, as an interpreter; she would later bear Cortés a son. When the Governor of Cuba sent emissaries to arrest Cortés, he fought them and won, using the extra troops as reinforcements. Cortés wrote letters directly to the king asking to be acknowledged for his successes instead of punished for mutiny. After he overthrew the Aztec Empire, Cortés was awarded the title of Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca, while the more prestigious title of Viceroy was given to a high-ranking nobleman, Antonio de Mendoza. In 1541 Cortés returned to Spain, where he died peacefully but embittered, six years later. Because of the controversial undertakings of Cortés and the scarcity of reliable sources of information about him, it has become difficult to assert anything definitive about his personality and motivations. Early lionizing of the conquistadors did not encourage deep examination of Cortés. Later reconsideration of the conquistadors' character in the context of modern anti-colonial sentiment also did little to expand understanding of Cortés as an individual. As a result of these historical trends, descriptions of Cortés tend to be simplistic, and either damning or idealizing.

I keep track of only so many specifics.

Thank you, all. I'm trying my best to find historical tidbits pertaining to pirates, the sea and the Age of Exploration by sea, so I haven't found historical trivia for all days yet. This thing will grow year to year.

I'm glad that these are well received. November 28 - On this day in 1520, Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan enters the Pacific Ocean with three ships, becoming the first European explorer to reach the Pacific from the Atlantic. On November 28, 1717 - Captain Benjamin Hornigold captures the slave ship La Concorde de Nantes, which would later become the Queen Anne's Revenge near the island of Martinique. Hornigold turns her over to one of his men —Edward Teach, later known as Blackbeard—and made him her captain.

Fantastic beginning! Having done my share of hologram models, I can appreciate the scale alone.

When the trial for last year's Fort Taylor Pirate Invasion was discussed, I created a list of ships taken by the Mercury during 1717 to be drawn upon at trial. We ended up going another direction, but here is the list. Ships taken as prize by the Mercury during the year 1717: Some members of crew mentioned Spanish Galleon - Centurión Bortolo Abascal, Capitán Philip Lantigua, Maestre Antonio Martinez, Contramestre Gabriel Adame, Dispensero Spanish Galleon - Nuestra Señora del Buen Consejo (Our Lady of Good Counsel) Agustín Martinez, Guardian Alonso Trujillo, Armero Spanish Galleon - Delfín (Dolphin) Giulio Guartem, Capitán Juan Garcia, Piloto Juan Olivares, Dispensero Spanish Argosy - Cuatro Hermanas (Four Sisters) Alonso Cardona, Capitán Rocco Bonito, Maestre Spanish Galleon - Peregrino (Peregrine) Alessandro Gaspar, Capitán Pedro el Cano, Escribano Giraldo Sena, Marienero Blas Valdez, Page Spanish Galleon - Galeon Próspero (Prosperous) Marco do Soto, Capitán Juan Ballesteros, Companero de Pilot Hernán Fuentes, Codestable Luis Vicini, Capellan Hernán Rosario, Marienero Carlos Mejia, Marienero Francisco Brugal, Marienero Benito Hache, Marienero Bernadino Ramos, Marienero English Cutter - Waterhound (captured by the Spanish) Andrés Sosa, Capitán? Harassed by English Warship - Adamant Baltic Ketch - Caledonian (Pirate ship out of the Ismus of Panama) Spanish Galleon - San Pablo Antonio de la Plesa, Capitán Cristóbal Polonia, Soldado Tomé Valdez, Page English Brigantine - Dispatch - Tenth whelp Spanish Galleon - Escoba Liebre (Broom Hare) Captain Juan Grullon Luis Bueno Pedro Salcedo la Tourterelle Spanish Galleon - Bienvenidos (Welcome) Captain Diego Ortiz de la Pena Fortuna (Fortune) - Portuguese Merchant Captain Luca Rivero Pardel Joam Diogo Vicente Paulo Ruy Martim Spanish Galleon - Ninfa (Nymph) Captain Tomás Delgado Rodrigo Barrera Juan Rocha Spanish Galleon - Más al sur (Southernmost) - Spanish merchant, Captain Bartolomé Encarnacion Spanish Galleon - Pez Espada (Swordfish) - Spanish Galleon Captain Truylos Peña Miguel Fuentes

Aye... November 27th - On this day in history the 'Great Storm of 1703' began to subside, but not before exacting a heavy toll. Winstanley's tower (known as the first Eddystone Lighthouse) was almost completed erased from existence. Winstanley himself was on the lighthouse, completing additions to the structure. No trace was found of him, or of the other five men in the lighthouse. In the English Channel, fierce winds and high seas had swamped some vessels outright and drove others onto the Goodwin Sands, an extensive sand bank situated along the southeast coast of England and the traditional anchorage for ships waiting either for passage up the Thames estuary to London or for favorable winds to take them out into the Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. The Royal Navy was badly affected, losing thirteen ships, including the entire Channel Squadron, and upwards of fifteen hundred seamen drowned. - The third rate Restoration was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands; of the ship's company of 387 not one was saved. - The third rate Northumberland was lost on the Goodwin Sands; all 220 men, including 24 marines were killed. - The third rate (battleship) Stirling Castle was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands. Seventy men, including four marine officers, were saved, but 206 men were drowned. - The fourth rate Mary was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands. The captain and the purser were ashore, but Rear Admiral Beaumont and 268 other men were drowned. Only one man, whose name was Thomas Atkins, was saved. His escape was very remarkable - having first seen the rear admiral get onto a piece of her quarter-deck when the ship was breaking up, and then get washed off again, Atkins was tossed by a wave into the Stirling Castle, which sank soon after. From the Stirling Castle he was swept into a boat by a wave, and was rescued. - The fifth rate Mortar-bomb was wrecked on the Goodwin Sands and her entire company of 65 were lost. - The sixth rate advice boat Eagle was lost on the coast of Sussex, but her ship's company of 45 were all saved. - The third rate Resolution was lost at Pevensey on the coast of Sussex; all her ship's company of 221 were saved. - The fifth rate Litchfield Prize was wrecked on the coast of Sussex; all 108 on board were saved. - The fourth rate Newcastle was lost at Spithead. The carpenter and 39 men were saved, and the other 193 were drowned. - The fifth rate fire-ship Vesuvius was lost at Spithead; all 48 of her ship's company were saved. - The fourth rate Reserve was lost by foundering off Yarmouth. The captain, the surgeon, the clerk, and 44 men were saved; the other 175 members of the crew were drowned. - The second rate Vanguard was sunk in Chatham harbour. She was not manned and had no armament fitted; the following year she was raised for rebuilding. - The fourth rate York was lost at Harwich; all but four of her men were saved. Lamb (1991) claimed 10,000 seamen were lost in one night, a far higher figure, about 1/3 of all the seamen in the British Navy. HMS Shrewsbury narrowly escaped a similar fate. Over 40 merchant ships were lost. The Great Storm also coincided with the increase in English journalism, and was the first weather event to be a news story on a national scale. Special issue broadsheets were produced detailing damage to property and stories of people who had been killed. Daniel Defoe produced his full-length book, The Storm, published in July 1704, in response to the calamity, calling it "the tempest that destroyed woods and forests all over England." He wrote: "No pen could describe it, nor tongue express it, nor thought conceive it unless by one in the extremity of it." Coastal towns such as Portsmouth "looked as if the enemy had sackt them and were most miserably torn to pieces." Winds of up to 80mph destroyed more than 400 windmills. Defoe reported in some the sails turned so fast that the friction caused the wooden wheels to overheat and catch fire.

Dependable deniability.

Lies, infamy and infamous lies.

November 26th - On this day in history, the Southern part of England was hit by one of the most sever natural disasters of all time. Called 'The Great Storm of 1703', observers at the time recorded barometric readings as low as 973 millibars (measured by William Derham in south Essex), but it has been suggested that the storm may have deepened to 950 millibars over the Midlands. In London, approximately 2,000 massive chimney stacks were blown down. The lead roofing was blown off Westminster Abbey and Queen Anne had to shelter in a cellar at St. James's Palace to avoid collapsing chimneys and part of the roof. On the Thames, around 700 ships were heaped together in the Pool of London, the section downstream from London Bridge. HMS Vanguard was wrecked at Chatham. Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's HMS Association was blown from Harwich to Gothenburg in Sweden before way could be made back to England. Pinnacles were blown from the top of King’s College Chapel, in Cambridge. There was extensive and prolonged flooding in the West Country, particularly around Bristol. Hundreds of people drowned in flooding on the Somerset Levels, along with thousands of sheep and cattle, and one ship was found 15 miles inland. At Wells, Bishop Richard Kidder was killed when two chimneystacks in the palace fell on the bishop and his wife, asleep in bed. This same storm blew in part of the great west window in Wells Cathedral. Major damage occurred to the south-west tower of Llandaff Cathedral at Cardiff. At sea, many ships (many returning from helping the King of Spain fight the French in the War of the Spanish Succession) were wrecked, including on the Goodwin Sands, HMS Stirling Castle, HMS Northumberland, HMS Mary, and HMS Restoration, with about 1,500 seamen killed particularly on the Goodwins. Between 8,000 and 15,000 lives were lost overall. A ship torn from its moorings in the Helford River in Cornwall was blown for 200 miles before grounding eight hours later on the Isle of Wight. The number of oak trees lost in the New Forest alone was 4,000. The storm of 1703 caught a convoy of 130 merchant ships and their Man of War escorts, the "Dolphin", the "Cumberland", the "Coventry", the "Looe", the "Hastings" and the "Hector" sheltering at Milford Haven. By 3pm the next afternoon losses included 30 vessels.

Great shots, Peglegstrick!

November 25th - November 25, 1500 - Governor De Bobadilla of Santo Domingo captures Columbus.

November 24th - November 24, 1642 - Abel Janzoon Tasman discovers Van Diemen's Land (Tasmania) November 24, 1718 - Captain Brand, unaware of Edward Teach's death, sends two canoes down Pamlico River to Ocracoke Inlet, to see if Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach and his men could be seen. They returned two days later and reported on what had already transpired with the death of Teach.

November 22nd - On this day in history in 1684, French Buccaneer, Raveneau de Lussan, joins other buccaneers under Laurens de Graaf, sailing from Petit-Goâve to try the sweet trade. Also on this day in 1718, Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach is killed at Ocracoke, a Province of Carolina, having been shot no fewer than five times and cut about twenty.

NOVEMBER 21, 1724 On this day in 1724, the pirate ship 'Revenge' attacked the British ship 'Sarah'. Most of the crew was set adrift, though some deemed useful were given the option of joining John Gow's crew. Over the next few months, John Gow attacked several other ships. Also on this day in 1996, Intersal Inc., a private research firm, discovered the wreck believed to be the 'Queen Anne’s Revenge'. It was located by Intersal's director of operations, Mike Daniel, who used historical research provided by Intersal's president, Phil Masters and archaeologist David Moore. The vessel is in the Atlantic Ocean in shallow water offshore from Fort Macon State Park (34°41′44″N 76°41′20″W), Atlantic BEach, North Carolina. Several of the cannons and more than 16,000 artifacts have been recovered.

When Stynky placed the Pub in my hands, he had but one strong request. He asked me to consolidate the Pub in the interest of streamlining the forums. I have begun that task by consolidating some of the subforums on 'Topics Overboard!'. The 'Airship Pyrates' subforum has been absorbed into Pyrate Pop' with the new heading "Movies, Plays, Novels, Comics, Games, Pop Culture and all things Steampunk!" 'Pyrates Out on the Water' has been absorbed by 'Ports O'Call' with the new heading "Share your love of travel by SCUBA, paddle, sail or power on rivers, ponds, lakes, and oceans to all your favorite ports o'call". The rest will remain the same for now, since a section for everything not Pyrate related like 'Beyond Pyracy' is still necessary, and because it has plenty of traffic, and 'Below Deck' is the only place specifically designated for 'adult content', despite the fact that it has only one active thread in two years. The 'Topics Overbaord!' section will now have these four subsections. Pyrate Pop Real Travel Adventures & Ports O'Call Beyond Pyracy Below Deck -William

I'm printing and binding some period facsimiles for the auction.

Aye. Done.