Picaroon Lagoon

I know, I know… “There are a lot o’ long words in there, miss. We’re naught but humble Pirates”, so I’ll speak plain…. Prompted in part by the recent and excellent discussion on the prevalence of multiple languages in use amongst Pirates, and in part by some recent projects and discussions that were influenced by other cultures. I wonder how much cross-cultural ‘borrowing’ likely occurred amongst well traveled Pirates. I’m reminded for instance of Bligh’s crew of the Bounty taking up Tahitian customs such as tattoos, it may also be fair to say Dampier ‘brought back’ new customs that remain part of our western culture even today, but to what extent? Do we have examples of Pirates adopting ‘primitive’ technologies (the way Columbus’ adopted the use of hammocks for his return voyage)? I won’t go on ad nauseam, but I welcome any discussion, as I think this may prove an interesting topic much like our previous discourse on linguistic variations.

Welcome aboard mate! “Part of the crew; part of the ship”

I was just this week wondering about my own ancestry and what sorts of scallawags I may be kin to. This is something I need to look into. Thank you for sharing your own findings. Quite interesting indeed!

In my very best Captain Barbossa voice: “AGREED”

Indeed! There be a whole new generation waiting to discover what will be for many of them, ‘new’ adventures!

July 9th marks the 20 year anniversary of the theatrical release of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and the subsequent launch of the film franchise! While it’s rapidly approaching, I’m still trying to plan something to celebrate the occasion. Are others planning anything? If so, what? Please share any plans, thoughts, and/or ideas you might be having; or feel free to discuss your memories of seeing the film for the first night, what influence and/or impact the film (or franchise) has had on you (good or bad), etc. While the 9th is a Sunday and a work night for most of us, I’ll likely be kind to me neighbors and not do anything too extravagant, but as it stands I’m thinking of hosting a ‘Movie Night’ screening of The Black Pearl for a small group of friends and family which will likely include a rum tasting. I welcome any other thoughts or ideas from me brethren here though! Thanks in advance for any ideas (or discussion)!

This is amazing stuff! I really appreciate the efforts you’ve gone to in answering my inquiries. This fits, as Elizabeth’s reign ended with her death in 1603 (any Stynky Tudor could tell you that 😂🤣)

Thank you for sharing your experiences here. It was quite fortuitous that you caught it when you did, lest it might have been far more catastrophic. My own experiments with this have been moved to the proverbial ‘back burner’ (pun perhaps partially on purpose), due to other projects taking precedence and/or longer than expected, etc. Please do keep us informed as to how the silicone method works, and thanks again for the feedback on your own experiences.

This is awesome! Thank you for taking the time and sharing this information! So, in your opinion, do you think it is safe to assume that pirate crews would have valued and therefore sought to take on interpreters in much the same way they might seek out those skilled in other trades? I seem to recall reading that while captured ships men were often allowed to go free, certain skilled tradesmen (such as doctors) were more often press ganged into joining the crew as they were deemed too valuable to simply let go. Do you think it plausible that, at least in certain instances, interpreters might have been similarly valued? And if so… this brings to mind a further point of inquiry (though it strays a bit from the topic at hand and perhaps warrants it’s own thread, but for sake of conversational continuity, I will ask it here)… Obviously, a persons learned abilities (such as speaking multiple languages, or even medical training) cannot be surmised purely by visual inspection; therefore do we know to what extent pirates might have questioned (interrogated?) captured ships crews to determine the individual value of particular seamen? And furthermore along the same tangential lines of inquiry, do we, for that matter, have any idea about the process of interviewing possible recruits when assembling a pirate crew, or given the Pirate’s forward thinking attitudes towards equality, could anyone just sign on? (Sort of, ‘No Experience Necessary; Will Train’)

I’m not a video game player, I could just never get into it, but I do appreciate the art form, the graphics, the lore, etc. So while I won’t likely be taking up gaming with the launch of this new game, I have to admit that I have been loving this song! Guilty pleasure? Perhaps. But I love that it is something new, yet something familiar. A nod to many past influences that is still original enough to be refreshing and damn if it isn’t a catchy tune!

The English language still had not been fully codified at this point which could account for a good deal of this. Thank you for your thorough reply! Lots of great information and things to consider!

Okay maybe not Buccaneers exclusively, but I love alliteration… Anyway, I’ve seen my fair share of discussions pondering the literacy levels of Golden Age Pirates, but I can’t recall much discussion on their ability to speak and/or understand multiple languages. It seems that Pirates, be they Dutch, French, or from any of the English speaking British Isles would be well served, tactically speaking, to at least have a working understanding of the Spanish language. Considering that Spanish currency was the most highly sought commodity, which meant actively targeting Spanish vessels crewed by Spanish speaking seamen, and carrying out a large percentage of their piratical pursuits in an area commonly called the SPANISH Main….. well, you get the point. I wonder, being fairly new here still, if anyone might recall if this has been discussed here in the pub forums before and/or if anyone is aware of any academic investigations (books, blogs, articles, dissertations, etc.) into this topic?

Allow me to preface this by stating that I’m not looking to stir the proverbial pot as it were, nor am I wishing to provoke anyone’s ire here. I myself have come across no historical record to support the practice of walking the plank, and in fact most credible sources seem to rather ubiquitously accept it as the product of literary invention rather than a historical practice. Now, I’m well aware that historical programming can be subject to errors and even, at times, grossly inaccurate, but given the ‘matter of fact’ and rather bold proclamation that historical records exist that support the practice among Pirates of making hapless victims walk the plank by the generally respected National Geographic Society (or at least an affiliate thereof) leads me to ask the greater community here if anyone is aware of any such records as Nat Geo so boldly claims? Does anyone know what records they might be speaking of; or do we simply have a rogue narrator going off script and somehow making it through the final editing process by an overzealous editorial department looking to promote sensationalism over academic integrity? What say ye brethren? I am basing this inquiry on the statements of the narrator in the following video between the approximate time stamps of 4:36 through 4:55

Welcome!

“I’m in the market as it were” for a printable template from which I can build historical facsimile/replica of a quadrant. Specific year(s) not important (as long as it falls within the GAOP). I would be interested in both a maritime navigations quadrant and/or a artillerist’s quadrant. My own online searches have not been entirely fruitful. So I implore ye my brethren, does anyone know of any sites/links with high res scans and/or images that might serve as a template from which to reproduce a quadrant? Or does anyone have any scans, images, PDFs or other materials they might be willing to share?

Sergio Calderón who portrayed Captain Eduardo Villanueva, Pirate Lord of the Adriatic Sea and one of the Nine Pirate Lords of the Brethren Court in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, has sadly passed away. He was 77 years of age.

Absolutely! As an aside, I just happened across this video which, although less historical, might be a viable option for (or at least of interest to) others here.

You should see some of the rum cocktails I consume! 😂🤣 But seriously, I appreciate the concern and the warning. I have actually witnessed discarded rags soaked in boiled linseed spontaneously combust; so I might want to forgo the aforementioned rum drinks before taking on this project, in other words, I will use due care and caution. Thank you again for keeping a weather eye out for my best interests.

I plan on experimenting with this method over the summer.

That looks great mate! And the process seems so simple and straightforward! Thank you for sharing!

From Rome to Ragnarok, he’s been a Viking, a Pirate, a Musketeer, and much, much more! But he will perhaps be best remembered by most of us here for his portrayal of Blackbeard on Black Sails. Requiescat in Pace to Ray Stevenson who left this world too early on Sunday at only 58 years of age. Cause of death has not yet been released.

Thank you to all who’ve replied; I hope the responses keep coming! Being new here I figured I’d ‘test the waters’ as it were, cast a net and go trolling to see who might be in my general area. As it happens, I’ve already discovered that I’m within about two hours from Commodore Swab! He has graciously reached out and we’ve been in communication. I look forward to meeting many other like minded Pirates far and wide, but in particular I’m eager to find others who are near enough for the occasional raid, pillage, plunder and otherwise pilfering our weasely black guts out.

And If’n he be playin’ a one on one game, ye each be havin’ a cup fer dice and a cup fer grog!

I get the irony of saying ‘the weekend is fast approaching’ what with it being Monday and all, but…. The weekend IS fast approaching, and with this rapidly approaching weekend being ‘Pirate Plunder’ (the Pirate themed weekend at the Tennessee Renaissance Festival) I wonder if any of this august company plans to be in attendance?