MadMike

I sincerely doubt it's even worth reading, given the quotations and slant noted in the press. However, this gem is worth noting- "With the world atwitter over the latest pirate invasion, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the question arises - how authentic is the dashing Capt. Jack Sparrow? Says Acosta, "His dress is authentic - except for his eye makeup. That's about it." Yours, Mike Note- the source of the article is UF writer Cathy Keen and Mr. Acosta himself (University of Florida News website).

Plenty of GAOP clothing references in "A General History of the Pyrates", "Captured by Pirates", and Cordingly's book "Under the Black Flag"... Yours, Mike

Merchant captain William Snelgrave was betrayed by several crewmen wishing to enter service into piracy- "Then I asked them the reason why the chest of arms was put out of the place where it usually stood at the steerage..." (Captured by Pirates, Stephens, 141). Yours, Mike

Images of GAOP period items (including coats) are accessable on the V&A Museum website. Yours, Mike

Bartholomew Roberts- "To keep their Piece, Pistols, and Cutlash clean, and fit for Service" Phillips- "That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoak Tobacco in the Hold, without a cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall suffer the same Punishment as in the former Article." "That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit." Most of the first hand stories in "Captured by Pirates" shows pirate crews continually armed (either with sword or pistol, or both). Perhaps this was due to fact that the captors feared a revolt (by captives or pressed men). Haven't seen anything yet referring to an arms chest... John Fillmore wrote about his capture of nine months by pirates under John Phillips in 1724. In short, Fillmore and his crew caught the pirates off guard (some drunk and passed out) and effected an escape after using an axe to dispatch several. Yours, Mike

A series of 20 period plates detailing soldiers in King Louis XIV's army shows sleeves growing larger as one progresses in rank. Although the sleeves are large for enlisted and junior officers, they are exceptionally so for senior officers (as is depicted above). Yours, Mike

Captain William Snelgrave had three secondhand coats that were taken by Cocklyn, La Bouse, and Davis- "The pirate captains having taken their clothes without leave from the quartermaster, it gave great offense to all the crew, who alleged if they suffered such things, the captains would for the future assume a power to take whatever they like for themselves. So upon their returning on board next morning, the coats were taken from them and put into the common chest to be sold at the mast." One of the coats worn by Cocklyn reached to his ankles (according to Snelgrave) due to his height (or lack thereof). The coat was scarlet and embroidered with silver. ("Captured by Pirates" by John Richard Stephens, page 159-60). Yours, Mike

Examination of the high res image on The Costumer's Manifesto page shows them to be slops- Costumes of Holland, Brabant, and the Rhine (high res version) http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/leloirX3.htm Yours, Mike

Greg, If you enlarge the picture you can see pleating along the waist (as you said). One can also see a split down the front showing how wide the individual pant's legs are. Also note the seat of the slops. Don't see any evidence that they are Venetian style or gathered at the knees. Yours, Mike

Was searching Hogarth's images and found some pic's of interest. The first is "Hudibras' First Adventure" dated 1726- http://www.peterwestern.f9.co.uk/hogarth/h...rthgallery.html Notice the fellow with the apron wearing the "Jack Sparrow" style headkerchief (zounds, and I thought that was just a Hollywood invention). Notice the fellow on crutches next to the bear (or is that a buffalo?), the pant's appear to be wide knee breeches- however I've seen other period prints where button knee breeches appeared similar when unbuttoned. The next picture is from "The Costumer's Manifesto" with a series by Bernard Picart, drawn in 1720. It depicts clothing worn along the Rhine. Two sailors ("matelot") are in the series, one wearing Venetian style breeches tied at the knees ("Matelot de Frise"), and the other a Dutch sailor entitled "Matelot de Brabant" wearing the skirt like wide knee breeches aka "slops"- Yours, Mike

Great work! Would it be possible to have a sticky thread on clothing items such as this? Yours, Mike

Interesting find! Yours, Mike

GoF, Sorry if you have mistaken my comments, your research is impressive. Please check your e-mail at comment@gentlemenoffortune.com, I sent you a copy of the pic several days ago. Yours, Mike

The locks on every Indian gun I've ordered (Dublin Castle Land pattern, doglock blunderbuss, dragoon, doglock musket) have been the best I've ever seen on a replica/reproduction. In this case, it's purely a matter regarding the sutler's integrity. Yours, Mike

In that regard you'll probably want to purchase Kass's pattern(s), the period "patterns" aren't much except for an experienced tailor. GoF has some images on his page- http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/Justaucorps.htm Some more interesting info here- http://www.theweebsite.com/18cgarb/1700.html Yours, Mike

Very good question, Hawkyns! Haven't found anything yet, but will continue looking. Yours, Mike

Personally, I'm rather disappointed in Middlesex after a fiasco with a British Dragoon I recently purchased. The work on the piece was poor; inletting was bad in several places, chips along the woodword where the "ears" of the buttcap come up the stock, brass work incomplete with file marks and no finishing, the trigger plate 1/4" off centerline, poor finish on the stock, etc. After I received the pistol and snapped the lock a few times, it flew into half-cock. I e-mailed Pete Plunket about the discrepancies, and as soon as I wrote I desired to return it, the e-mail's stopped (it's been over a week). Fed up with the BS, I disassembled the lock and filed down the protruding half cock notch to a degree (although not enough to affect safety). I plan on refinishing the pistol in the coming months. In the future my money will be going to Loyalist. Yours, Mike

The only individual I know of on this forum who does "painstaking" research is Foxe (IMHO). There are several other notable exceptions, but I have to point out that items like the slops contracts were published on "The Pirate Brethren" forum months ago by D. Rickman. Let's give credit when it's due. Given the wide variety of resources (Waugh, Maclellan, Web Gallery, internet searches, archaeological specimens, V&A, etc, etc), how is it one reaches the conclusion that slops weren't worn or "in fashion" from 1680 to 1730?!? It only took me a few hours to find a 1720 picture of a Dutch seaman wearing the loose skirt like knee breeches (aka "slops"). Feel free to post the pic on your website GoF, but please give me credit. As for period correct patterns, go to the source- the best is "The Costumer's Manifesto". I used patterns from several specimens in the V&A museum dating from the early 1700's for the basis of my coat. Yours, Mike

For those wishing to "upgrade" the Simplicity pattern to a more histocally accurate coat, please refer to the patterns at The Costumer's Manifesto website- http://www.costumes.org/history/100pages/1...8thpatterns.htm Another option is to purchase patterns from "Reconstructing History". Yours, Mike

Personally, I can't see how one can justify $25 each for these patterns. Yours, Mike

"Pirates were essentially the terrorists of their day. While one can find the good side to just about everything, the reality is that pirates were not the nice 'Captain Jack' style pirates. It was a hard life filled with murder, rape, torture, robbery, and doing just about anything in order to survive (from killing for food to blockading a port for medicine). Glorifying them to this level is bending to Hollywood stereotypes as much as slapping on the eyepatch, strapping on a wooden leg, and saying 'Arrrgh' all the time." Well said, Coastie. Too bad the "historian" Acosta couldn't be bothered to fully read Johnson's "Pyrates" when he was researching his thesis (the pic on the web showed him with a copy in the background). Yours, Mike

So much for "scholarly merit"... Did this clown bother to read "Captured by Pirates"? Yours, Mike Study: Pirates pursued democracy, helped American colonies survive Filed under Research, Politics on Wednesday, June 28, 2006. GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Blackbeard and Ben Franklin deserve equal billing for founding democracy in the United States and New World, a new University of Florida study finds. Pirates practiced the same egalitarian principles as the Founding Fathers and displayed pioneering spirit in exploring new territory and meeting the native peoples, said Jason Acosta, who did the research for his thesis in history at the University of Florida. “Hollywood really has given pirates a bum rap with its image of bloodthirsty, one-eyed, peg-legged men who bury treasure and force people to walk the plank,” he said. “We owe them a little more respect.” Acosta, a descendant of a pirate who fought for the United States in the Battle of New Orleans, studied travel narratives, court hearings, sermons delivered at pirate hangings and firsthand accounts of passengers held captive by pirates. Comparing pirate charters with the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, he said he was amazed by the similarities. Like the American revolutionaries, pirates developed three branches of government with checks and balances. The ship captain was elected, just as the U.S. president; the pirate assembly was comparable to Congress; and the quartermaster resembled a judge in settling shipmate disputes and preventing the captain from overstepping his authority, he said. Colonists and pirates also were alike in emphasizing written laws, democratic representation and due process, Acosta said. All crew members were allowed to vote, ship charters had to be signed by every man on board, and anyone who lost an eye or a leg was compensated financially, he said. These ideals grew out of both groups’ frustration at being mistreated by their leaders; the British forced the colonists to quarter troops and pay taxes, and captains on merchant ships beat their shipmen, starved them and paid less than promised, Acosta said. “It’s no wonder that many sailors seized the opportunity to jump ship and search for a better way of life, namely piracy, which offered better food, shorter work shifts and the power of the crew in decision-making,” he said. A golden age of pirating emerged in the 17th and 18th centuries as these Brethren of the Sea sailed the world’s waterways, plundering hundreds of millions of dollars worth of gold, silver and other merchandise, shaping the modern world in the process, Acosta said. Pirates mapped new territory, expanded trade routes, discovered good ports and opened doors with the native peoples, Acosta said. “They really helped European nations explore the Americas before Europeans could afford to explore them on their own,” he said. By selling stolen silks, satins, spices and other merchandise in ports and spending their booty in the colonies, pirates created an economic boom, helping struggling settlements and making Port Royale in Jamaica and Charleston, S.C., huge mercantile centers, Acosta said. “They didn’t bury their treasure, they spent it, helping colonies survive that couldn’t get the money and supplies they needed from Europe,” he said. Without the infusion of money into the New World from piracy, it is possible that Britain and France may not have been able to catch up with Spain, Acosta said. “Had it not been for pirates, Britain might have had trouble holding onto the American colonies,” he said. “Pirates decimated the Spanish so badly that Spain finally had to give up some of its American empire just to get pirating to stop.” Native Americans and black slaves oppressed by the Spanish in the Caribbean gave pirates inside information on where to dock ships and find supplies, Acosta said. Slaves fleeing plantations were welcomed on pirate ships, where they shared an equal voice with white sailors, he said. Acosta said he believes pirates would be given a place in the history books if they had been able to write their stories and leave diaries like the more literate American colonists. A Gainesville middle school teacher, Acosta occasionally brings up pirates in his classroom, where he has a captive audience, thanks to the popularity of the movie “Pirates of the Caribbean,” which has a sequel opening July 7. “I had one group of students in my class who just went around the playground all the time saying, ‘Aaar, we’re the pirates,’” he said. Richard Burg, an Arizona State University professor and expert on pirates, said Acosta is performing a great service by emphasizing pirates’ democratic and egalitarian ways. “The men who sailed under the skull and crossbones were ordinary folk, like America’s revolutionaries, standing firm against oppressive governments and economic systems,” he said. “Mr. Acosta is one of the few scholars who understand this.”

Regarding the loose, skirt like slops seen being worn on GoF's page here- http://www.gentlemenoffortune.com/basic_kit.htm The answer is "yes", they were most certainly worn during the "Golden Age of Piracy". Please reference B. Picart's 1720 picture "Matelot de Brabant". Yours, Mike

Hitman, Reference above posts- "According to Russel Bouchard in "The Fusil de Tulle in New France", the regiment in Canada was supplied with flintlock fusils in 1660. The matchlock "mousquet" which would remain in service until at least the early 1700's among some militia. An early contract dated 7 Nov 1696 gives the spec's for a boucanier musket with a barrel 4'4" long, caliber 18 balls to the pound, with round faced locks. Apparently it wasn't until 1712 when the boucanier muskets were cut back to four feet and to take a socket bayonet. Loyalist offers an early fusil, dated to the early 1690's which would be great for a pirate portrayal. Unfortunately, Loyalist stated in an e-mail that they have no plans yet to introduce a buccaneer musket. The Rifle Shoppe offers parts for a fusil boucanier. Also, the New England Club Butt musket nears a striking resemblance to the fusil boucanier. Yours, Mike" by blittle- "I ran across this post by accident, and thought the following might be useful to those interested in the fusil boucanier, AKA buccaneer gun: The "buccaneer gun," called a "fusil boucanier" by the French at the time, existed from at least the mid-17th century, and quite possibly earlier, until the late 18th century, its heydey being the latter half of the 17th century through the first half of the 18th. Its origin is unconfirmed, although it may be Dutch. The gun was a long barreled, club-butted, heavy caliber flintlock hunting arm. Fusils are flintlocks, not matchlocks, and the French flintlock was a true flintlock, not a doglock, although there are buccaneer guns with doglocks still extent--the variety of barrel, lock, and furniture of buccaneer guns was apparently quite broad. ("Mousquet" in French of the period referred to a matchlock, "fusil" to a flintlock.) The version described by Exquemelin and referring to the 1660s to 1670s, and by Labat, referring to late 17th and early 18th centuries, had a barrel of four and a half feet (converted to French pouces, roughly 57 inches or so, although there were buccaneer guns with barrels longer and shorter than this), and a caliber of 16 balls to the pound. French calibers of the period are not equivalent to English calibers. To allow for windage, a French caliber of 16 balls to the pound ranges from a bore diameter of .732 inches (caliber) to .777 inches, due to the wide manufacturing tolerances of the time. The ball itself averaged .68 inches. French buccaneer guns ranged from 21 to 12 balls per pound, and perhaps even a bit larger and smaller. In the late 17th century, buccaneer guns manufactured for the French Navy were standardized at 18 balls to the pound (.689 to .732 inches). Unfortunately, although the buccaneer gun was manufactured in large numbers, it was a weapon put to much hard use, and few remain today. As to the matchlock versus flintlock discussion, primary sources, as well as secondary sources written by experts in early firearms, agree that the flintlock was the preferred arm for warfare at sea and in the New World from the mid-17th century onward, and was quite common. This does not mean that sea rovers of the period never used matchlocks, but after circa 1650 the flintlock was the principal long arm in use among sea rovers, Native Americans, and colonists engaged in warfare in a woodland environment. Hunters always preferred the flintlock, and were some of its earliest users. Any period reference to a "buccaneer gun" is to the 17th century translation of "fusil boucanier"--a flint arm. The Rifle Shoppe carries parts cast from an original 18th century fusil boucanier, as well as other furniture and locks suitable to buccaneer guns. The best (and most accessible) photos and illustrations are in Bouchard's Fusil de Tulle, Gilkerson's Boarder's Away!, and Hamilton's Colonial Frontier Guns. Hamilton also discusses French calibers of the period in detail. Hope this helps. Benerson Little (The Sea Rover's Practice)"

From the British House of Commons, 27 January 1699- "In the 40s. [shillings] allowed in the Proportion of 40s. for Beer, there is included the Cask, and Iron Hoops &c. , Accounting the Cask of 22s. per Tun, which now cost much more, there is to be deducted for 22,647 tuns 2 Hogsheads, being the Overplus of Cash besides what allleged to be bought at 10s. per tun" The House of Commons Journals give quite extensive details about the provisioning of the Royal Navy, and the use of iron hooped casks (in this example, hogsheads). From the Journal for 10 October 1689, includes the following for victually "their Majesties Navy"- Cask Staves Iron Hoops Wood Hoops Yours, Mike