Mission

Birds often get credited for spreading seeds and that seems to be OK. Humans are just another animal, like birds, and are a natural part of the environment, so what difference does who put the first seed there? (I have never understood the snapshot theory of the environment. Like all of life (and history), the environment is operated on by so many factors you couldn't comprehend them all if they were listed for you. Like all of life (and not so much history - well, at least past history) the environment is forever in flux, being impacted and operated upon by millions of theoretical butterflies flapping millions of theoretical wings.)

If you think about it, a tree is only native to one spot - the place where the very first one grew. Every other spot is non-native. (And when the first one grew there, it was an invasive species.)

Wonderful! I may have to write an article about coconuts and bananas. There's so much good stuff out there. Here's a bit from Sir Francis Drake's Famous Voyage Round the World by Francis Pretty. (1580): "Amongst other things we found here a kind of fruit called cocos, which because it is not commonly known with us in England, I thought good to make some description of it. The tree beareth no leaves nor branches, but at the very top the fruit groweth in clusters, hard at the top of the stem of the tree, as big every several fruit as a man's head ; but having taken off the uttermost bark, which you shall find to be very full of strings or sinews, as I may term them, you shall come to a hard shell, which may hold in quantity of liquor a pint commonly, or some a quart, and some less. Within that shell, of the thickness of half-an-inch good, you shall have a kind of hard substance and very white, no less good and sweet than almonds ; within that again, a certain clear liquor, which being drunk, you shall not only find it very delicate and sweet, but most comfortable and cordial." (Pretty, p. 5)

Welcome! I wouldn't go into Twill if I were you unless you want a lot of your beloved ideas on who the pirates were badly sullied. History is rarely as clearly cut as some authors would try to make it. (We were jusssst talking about their involvement in slavery in one of the threads...)

Oh, man... If I didn't love the monkey I have now as an avatar...

From the account of Sir Francis Drake entitled by Walter Bigges' 1583 A Summarie And True Discourse Of Sir Francis Drake's West-Indian Voyage by Walter Bigges: “Somewhat above the Towne [st. Jago] on the North side betweene the two Mountaines, the valley waxeth somewhat larger then ac the Townes end which Valley is wholly converted into Gardens and Orchards well replenished with diverse sorts of Fruites, Herbes and Trees, as Lymons, Oranges, Sugar Canes, Cochars or Cochos-Nuts, Plantens, Potato-roots, Cocombers, small and round Onyons, Garlike, and some other things not now remembred, amongst which Chochos-nuts and Plantens are very pleasant Fruits, the said Cochos having a hard shell and a greene Huske over it, as hath our Walnut but it farre exceedeth in greatnesse, for this Cochos in his greene huske is bigger then any mans two Fists, of the hard shell many drinking Cups are made here in England, and set in Silver as I have often seen. Next within this hard shell is a white rine, resembling in shew very much, even as any thing may doe, to the white of an Egge when it is hardboyled. And within this white of the Nut lyeth a water, which is whitish and very cleere, to the quantity of halfe a pint or there abouts, which water and white rine before spoken of, are both of a very coole fresh taste, and as pleasing as any thing may be. I have heard some hold opinion, that it is very restorative. The Planten groweth in Cods, somewhat like to Beans, but is bigger and longer, and much more thicke together on the stalke, and when it waxeth ripe, the meate which filleth the rine of the Cod becometh yellow, and is exceeding sweet and pleasant.” (Bigges, p. 13)

Especially with guns sticking out of you at every angle like quills upon the fretful porpentine. This is one of Wyeth's, right? He's another one of those artists who helped inspire Hollywood.

Thanks, Daniel. I wonder where the idea that he was a surgeon came from? Apparently his book shows no real interest in surgical matters either.

I think I'm going to walk the line between sea surgery and pirate surgeons in my historical article and leave the vikings out completely. (I want to include Wafer. He's my favorite sea surgeon from the period. If I were one of those people who Quixotically tries to portray an historical character, I would try and portray Wafer. He was a surgeon-writer with a fine sense of humor and a rather open-minded view of the world.)

Wow, look at the people discussing this absurdly picayune topic! Ah, the golden age of pirates forum.

This surgeon's month's article is on the use of leeches during the golden age of piracy. You will find it via this link or by clicking on the picture below. I hope you enjoy reading these most fascinating little bloodletters as much as I did!

See, this where we get into trouble with privateers. That was legal according to the country that sent them, but illegal according to the country they were attacking. It's all relative.

That whole sequence came to me in the middle of the night and I decided to write it down before going back to sleep. In a way, meeting you colored the rest of my reenacting career. I was never really sure I would do more than that one event before then. :)

Is robbery on the coast technically piracy? If you took a train to a town and robbed it, you couldn't call that a train robbery. (Specious, yes, I know. However, piracy is usually recognized as being something that takes place on the water - not from it.) We had this debate on another website, but I don't recall it ever coming to a successful conclusion on this point. I DO recall it sort of depending on what time period's definition you wanted to use. At some point, courts in one country defined piracy as "robbery on the high seas", but someone (probably Foxe) produced some ruling or definition closer to the GAoP that didn't mention the 'high' part.

Did they attack other ships at sea or was the sea just their means of attacking land-based settlements? (My knowledge of vikings is quite limited.)

Were Vikings considered pirates? They would seem to be...

The other thing it shows is that the balance of evidence weighs quite heavily against their bothering to save for the future. However, to say that none saved would be as big a folly as to say that all did. History - messy - particularly on the granular level - you know the drill.

It's a topic, I'm a reader and collector of info and I like sharing. You may not want to read it, but others might. (Heck, I might want to use it in the future. When writing a surgery article, I sometimes come back here and see what I've written so I can use my own info!)

Well there are palms that are not coconut palms. And there are many different varieties of coconut palms. Although you should be cautious when reading terms in period manuscripts. Their terminology is spotty to say the least. Unless I can recognize what an author is talking about from his description, I just accept that it's some type of what he's describing and don't read much more into it than that. Being no expert in horticulture, I just accept that he is talking about some form of coconut. (If the editor is really good, they'll often tell you what the modern terminology is for the thing an author is talking about.)

Does anyone have any information on him outside of what can be found on wikisource? Various scurrilous pirate websites who do not bother to list their sources list him as a surgeon, but I can't seem to find any proof of this. Nor can I find where he said much about that topic, even in his book.

Belly-timber! “[Roberts] They seiz'd in this River a Sloop, and by her gained Intelligence, that a Brigantine had also sailed in Company with her, from Rhode-Island, laden with Provisions for the Coast. A Welcome Cargo! They growing short in the Sea Store, and as Sancho says, No Adventures to he made without Belly-Timber.” (Johnson, 3rd, p. 223)

And here are some more pirates frittering away money... “[bartholomew Roberts] Elated with this Booty, they had nothing now to think of but some safe Retreat, where they might give themselves up to all the Pleasures that Luxury and Wantonness could bestow, and for the present pitch'd upon a Place called the Devil’s Island, in the River of Surinam on the Coast of Catana, where they arrived, and found the civilest Reception imaginable, not only from the Governor and Factory, but their Wives, who exchanged Wares and drove a considerable Trade with them.” (Johnson, 3rd, p. 223)

And we even have an account of the beloved Co-co nut from the General History: “[Davis] The Palm-Trees are numerous on the Shores of Africa, and may be reckoned the first of their natural Curiosities, in that they afford them Meat, Drink and Cloathing; they grow very straight to 40 and 50 Foot high, and at the top (only) have 3 or 4 Circles of Branches, that spread and make a capacious Umbrella. The Trunk is very rough with Knobs, either Excrescencies, or the Healings of those Branches that were lopped off to forward the Growth of the Tree, and make it answer better in its Fruit. The Branches are strongly tied together with a Cortex, which may be unravelled to a considerable Length and Breadth; the inward Lamella of this Cortex, I know are wove like a Cloath at Benin and afterwards died and worn: Under the Branches, and close to the Body of the Tree, hang the Nuts, thirty Bunches perhaps on a Tree, and each of thirty Pound Weight, with prickly Films from between them, not unresembling __ Hedge-Hogs, of these Nuts comes a liquid and pleasant scented Oyl, used as Food and sauce all over the Coast, but chiefly in the Wind-ward Parts of Africa, where they stamp, boil and skim it oft in great Quantities, underneath, where the Branches fasten, they tap for Wine, called Cockra, in this Manner; the Negroes who are mostly limber active Fellows, encompass themselves and the Trees with a Hoop of strong With, and run up with a great deal of Agility, at the Bottom of a Branch of Nuts, he males an Excavation of an Inch and a half over, and tying fast his Calabash, leaves it to destil, which it does to two or three Quarts in a Night's Time, when done he plugs it up, and chooses another, for if suffered to run too much, or in the Day Time, the Sap is unwarily exhausted, and the Tree spoiled. The Liquor thus drawn, is of a wheyish Colour, intoxicating and sours in 24 Hours, but when new drawn, is pleasantest to thirst and hunger both. It is from these Wines they draw their Arack in India. On the very Top of the Palm, grows a Cabbage, called so, I believe, from some resemblance its Taft is thought to have with ours, and is used like it, the Covering has a Down that makes the best of Tinder, and the Weavings of other Parts are drawn out into strong Threads. Coco-Nut-Trees are branch’d like, but not so tall as, Palm Trees, the Nut like them, growing under the Branches, and close to the Trunk; the milky Liquor they contain, (to half a Pint or more,) is often drank to quench Thirst, but surfeiting, and this may be observed in their Way of Nourishment, that when the Quantity of Milk is large, the Shell and Meat are very thin, and harden and thicken in Proportion, as that loses.” (Johnson, 3rd, p. 198)

Actually, I'd say we should stick with the Golden Age of Piracy moniker, even though it violates my recognition of the fact that history is quite messy when you really look into it. You have to balance technical correctness and alienating the public by yanking away their cherished perceptions. A lot of the public understand the concept of the Golden Age of Piracy and tearing it down will only create cognitive dissonance. It's better to educate people gradually like we do around here. The problem with cognitive dissonance is that it causes a lot of people to just give up on understanding something. Some people will rationalize, others will research to get to the bottom of the conflicting ideas, but those who aren't interested in investing the time just leave. Bad for our sport, you see.

Happy Birthday! (Were your ears burning? I was just talking about you and Momma in the latest Surgeon's Journal.)