sirhenrymorgan

That's fine for a good player who knows what a D sounds like as opposed to a slightly sharp D or flat D. You still have to have a good ear to play an instrument without modern frets. This is particularly true if you're attempting any chording where the finger placement is essential to a resonant, harmonic sound. Put two people who don't have "perfect pitch" together with this and you twice as much crap. Any competent musician on a stringed instrument knows this and I don't want to lead amateurs astray, particularly since I'll be in ear shot of the attempted music. -- Sir Henry

I think I'm going to freakin' hurl! -- Sir Henry

As one who has played banjo for some 20 years now, unless you already know how to play a fretted banjo, a fretless gourd banjo is not the place to start learning. There is no way to know where a cord or a note begins or ends on a fretless so you may end up sounding like crap. -- Sir Henry

The far better question is how would you speak as a sailor from the country your character comes from. There is no single pirate way to talk. For instance, I would speak with a heavy Welsh accent and interject Welsh words into English as Sir Henry. I would speak from a higher station than an average sea rat. And I would hardly be running around saying Argh. Finally, I would be using the words of the period I represent, not those of a later era. In other words, my understanding of geography in 1680 is drastically different than what people in 1720 understood. Even a simple act as counting would be different, since in maritime navigation books of the period authors referred to the zero as cypher. -- Sir Henry

A halved cannon ball connected by a chain was often known as a two headed angel as well. -- Sir Henry

By the way... if anyone wants the definitive book on Port Royal, this is the one: http://www.amazon.com/Port-Royal-Jamaica-M...2524077&sr=8-46 It used to be only available in Jamaica. It covers every aspect of life there, from the land ownership, fortifications and merchants to the topography, geography and population. It's very complete and detailed and extends beyond the earthquake to include the naval period there as well. -- Henry

I find the fictional Roderick quite distracting. Morgan's exploits are quite enough on their own without getting into the mindset of an average soldier under his command. I find it difficult to shift gears constantly. -- Henry

My favorites would be: Harry Morgan's Way - Dudley Pope The Great Buccaneer - Philip Lindsay and Sir Henry Morgan, Pirate and Pioneer - Rosita Forbes Steinbeck's Cup of Gold is also a good one... although its ending is a little strange. But hey, it's fictional. I also like this period much better. The mask of piracy under the king's flag was an interesting tim indeed and much of what is thought to be GAoP is actually from this earlier time (articles, shares, bucket boots, etc.) -- Sir Henry

By far the best of all the Morgan books is Sack of Panama: Sir Henry Morgan's Adventures on the Spanish Main by Peter Earle. He goes to the original documents in England and Spain and compares what has been said with what actually happened. Plus, he's about the only one who has taken what Esquemmeling has said and broken it into fact (a little) and fiction (a lot). A really well researched book. Most of the others use the previous accounts as their basis of research so inaccuracies are simply repeated, including the famed one of Morgan using monks and nuns as human shields, which was not the case... not even in the Spanish accounts of the battle. -- Sir Henry

It's a little of both. It's filled with some of the usual misinformation, particularly when he rolls buccaneer life in with pirate life as if it were the same thing. There are a lot of better books on Morgan out there. I can supply a list. I do, however, have to say I enjoyed the forward. That was us down there - the pirate crewe he mentions... -- Sir Henry

The turtle crawls are on the west side of the spit. They were the storage area for turtles that were sold at the meat market next to it. The turtles were usually shipped in from the Caymans. Next to the turtle crawls were lobster pens. Slaves would wade in and harvest the ones a customer wanted for dinner that night. Remnants of the pens still exist under the water there today. The church was on High Street. It was one of many. Port Royal was one of the most religiously liberal cities on the earth at the time. There was even a synagogue there at the time. Other streets would be Lime, which intersected Queen near Fort James, Cannon Street, Thames, which was long the docks... I know most of the others but my books are packed for shipping to my new Pyrate HQ tomorrow. -- Sir Henry

There were many, many taverns in Port Royal. Some estimates were that there were as many as one tavern for every 30 people in town. Pre earthquake, there were 5 to 6000 in town. GAoP probably about half that since so much of the land sank. It's safe to say that being a tavern owner was very lucrative there. One of the most famous was the Catt & Fiddle that was next to the King's Warehouse on Thame St. It was there for many years until the earthquake in 1692. When excavated, divers found hundreds of clay pipes, many onion bottles and a large amount of cookware. -- Hope this helps. Sir Henry

Just a note - there would never be fog in Port Royal or anywhere near it. You would have to be up in the Blue Mountains to experience fog. It's just too damned hot there for that kind of weather. :) Outside of a hurricane or very heavy squall, you can always see very clearly out into the sea from any point on the beach there. -- Sir Henry

My time in Port Royal had been disrupted with word from the plantation from my dear wife Mary Elizabeth that there were matters of urgency to tend to there. I left immediately by horseback, foregoing the rough carriage ride which would have slowed my progress immensely. The trip to Llanrumney was not an easy one. The mountainous terrain that led there was passable only by a patchwork of dirt paths. To call it a road would be folly. Once past the gates of Port Royal, anything resembling a road quickly disappeared as one road down the Palisadoes and onto the mainland. Two days were to pass before reaching Llanrumney. I was just in time. The matters of the plantation were of little matter as I could see from the vantage point that a storm was rapidly approaching the island. A sea of grey and black hovered near the horizon and drew closer every day. I had seen such clouds before - the forebearer of a tempest that would no doubt reach the island soon. I sent instructions to my manager to prepare the plantation for a heavy blow and then renewed by acquaintance with my wife. I couldn't help but wonder what would transpire in my absence from town, knowing that the low lay of the land there could have some dire consequences for my many friends and associates there. -- Sir Henry

Port Royal, Jamaica between 1660 and 1730 was not the backdrop for a Harlequin Romance novel. It was a modern day (back then) Sodom and Gomorrah, "the wickedest city on earth." "The early 1670's began a twenty-year boom where Port Royal became a large and busy port rivaling even Boston- a city of over 7000 practically overrun by buccaneers who were as despised for the drunkenness and prostitution as they were loved for their loot." The Pirate's Realm "By the 1660s, the city had gained a reputation as the Sodom of the New World where most residents were pirates, cutthroats, or prostitutes. When Charles Leslie wrote his history of Jamaica, he included a description of the pirates of Port Royal: Wine and women drained their wealth to such a degree that… some of them became reduced to beggary. They have been known to spend 2 or 3,000 pieces of eight in one night; and one gave a strumpet 500 to see her naked. They used to buy a pipe of wine, place it in the street, and oblige everyone that passed to drink." Wikipedia If we are to be as truly accurate as possible, then we must paint the picture as it truly was. Welcome t' th' Caribbean luv. While much of this is true, Port Royal wasn't that much different from any other town of the period. The resident's lives were much the same as their counterparts in England. There was high fashion, society and normal married couples in PR at the time. In fact, nearly 1/3 of the city was children... so I would certainly think there was a lot of romance. In the 1673 census, for example, there were 529 women, 714 men and 426 children. By 1692 (the year of the great earthquakes), the population was estimated to be 1600 men, 1400 women and 1000 children. The number of black and Indian slaves was approximately 414 men and 431 women. Of course, the buccaneers and seamen swayed the numbers some, depending upon which ship was in port. But even in 1688 only 100 ships made port, and most of these were small ships of local ownership. Only 72 of the 207 ships that made port in the years 1670, 1675, 1679 and 1680 (where the records survive) were from outside the Caribbean. Sir Henry Morgan himself was married to Mary Elizabeth for 25 years. She stayed on their plantation while he dabbled in life in Port Royal. But they were deeply in love until his death, even though he obviously strayed many times during his life. She simply understood his indiscretions and never discussed them. For the most part, the merchants there were just ordinary folk, who were accustomed to ship's arriving with seamen aboard with money to spend on drink, women and goods. And they happily accommodated their disruptions. I can't discourse on Port Royal in GAoP as it was a shadow of its former self, both in population and acreage. But I do think you would certainly find romance there (re: 1000 children) during the time. Further, I wouldn't quote wikipedia too liberally as one entry states that Mary Elizabeth was his German wife. She was, in fact, the daughter of Henry's uncle, Harry, who was lieutenant governor under Modyford until his untimely death during Jamaica's assault on the Dutch island of St. Eustatius. -- Sir Henry Source: Port Royal Jamaica, Michael Pawson & David Buissert University of West Indies Press, 2nd Edition

Sorry I have been so remiss and have been holding the troops back from a rousing adventure. But it looks like a tempest has caused you to set sail. Good show! As far as land battles, they only happened outside of Port Royal. Port Royal itself was never attacked, due in large part to the 142 cannon on the spit. -- Sir Henry

What is the circulation? And by that I mean actual subscribers and not the gross run... -- Sir Henry

I would suppose (and I'm not a forensics expert) that there would be marks on the rib bones from an incision in that area. It's not like they had rib crackers back then. But that is an interesting question. Perhaps he was one of the meals in a past life. -- Sir Henry

Ah, Spanairds! I like mine medium rare with a glass of Chianti. -- Sir Henry

Greetings all! I am well... thanks for asking. Just been busy with that pesky real life that draws me away from the port I love so much. I miss you all and hope to return soon. I believe we have a voyage to go on so we can move this adventure out on the high seas for a bit. -- Sir Henry

I'm so sorry that your views are so finite and not open to other's opinions or resources. I hardly have the time to pour through 30+ books on Morgan as well as the various theses and other pieces I have to quote a small piece I recall from somewhere. It's not really in my interests to waste time so when there are so many other things to do in life and so little to do it. Perhaps this is why so many here have a distaste for some of the historians here. They just can't pull their head out of one idea to look at anything else. They just quote the little they know over and over and over again. Pity, really. I acquiesce to your version of history, oh might Mister Know it All. You obviously have a doctorate in the subject and I am just a lowly student of the man without all the myth. My most humble apologies. -- Sir M.

Is this the only book you have on Morgan's exploits? This tale is apocryphal at best. Most of the manuscripts I have on Morgan don't support this. The people of Panama had weeks to move the treasure out of the town and to ship it out aboard the vessels in port. Morgan's own probate and inventories don't exactly support an extravagant lifestyle that would be evident from that much money. And his wife of 20 years upon his death certainly didn't live an extravagant life after his death. It's another buried treasure tale that doesn't hold water. True, the buccaneers thought there would be more and blamed Henry for it, but his will, probate and inventory of his posessions doesn't bare out any fortune at all. -- H. M.

I don't think its out of the realm of possibility at all. Port Royal was a very sophisticated city before the earthquake, on a par with Boston in the 1700s. The gentry of town came mostly from England, where of course, theatre had been part of society since long before Shakespeare. There is no documentation I could find, but certainly I think it's very feasible. -- Sir Henry

I would hardly say definitive. It's a stout piece of work, but hardly the be all-do all. As for Morgan, if we're talking facts, it was planter Thomas Lynch, who's investments were in the slave trade with Spanish America, who betrayed both Modyford and Morgan. He was in London during the Panamanian campaign and had wriggled his way into Charles' ear with a loan of 50,000 pounds. He was angry that his efforts to become a power on the island of Jamaica were circumvented by Modyford. They had come to blows by the end of 1664 when he was dismissed from the Council and removed as Chief Justice. Even when Modyford had been shipped back Lynch still protected Morgan. In a letter to Lord Arlington, he wrote, "To speak the truth of him, he's an honest and brave fellow, and had both Sir Thomas Modyford and the Council's commissions and instructions, and they thought he had obeyed and followed them so well that they gam him public thanks, which was recorded in the Council books." Since Lynch was the one who wanted the both of them removed so he could attain the power he wanted, it's funny that even in his own private letter he characterized his supposed enemy as an "honest and brave fellow." Truth was, he was never after Morgan. He was after Modyford and Morgan was simply caught between them. That's the main reason why he was never tried, not because of some grand pay off while in England. - H.M. And an apology for the slight - most people go there as tourists and never step foot in Port Royal. My apologies - it must have been a grand adventure indeed - one of a lifetime to sail in pirate waters. I had the pleasure of doing so on a smaller scale aboard the Schooner Wolf two months ago. It was like stepping back 330 years.

You crack me up! Yeah, I've heard they didn't think too highly of him on the tourist side of the island. Far different in his old haunts. By the way, Random House, Cordingly's publisher, says he's a revisionist, so that can't be all bad. He has some good stuff in his book, damned revisionist... From the Random House site: For this rousing, revisionist history, the former head of exhibitions at England's National Maritime Museum has combed original documents and records to produce a most authoritative and definitive account of piracy's "Golden Age." As he explodes many accepted myths (i.e. "walking the plank" is pure fiction), Cordingly replaces them with a truth that is more complex and often bloodier. 16 pp. of photos. Maps. From the Hardcover edition - Sir Henry