Daniel

I've read that the most common pirate ship guns were four-pounders, maximum range about 1,000 yards, weighing almost 1,000 lbs including the carriage. It does not seem that heated shot was used very often shipbord. As others have pointed out, heating the shot was probably riskier to the ship firing it than the ship receiving it. However, I'm guessing it was used on very rare occasions, because I've read about pirates and privateers wetting down their battle topsails in preparation for combat to prevent them catching fire. Loads were round shot, grape, and canister. (It seems canister came along surprisingly early; I've read about it being used in the late 1600s). Also various kinds of chain shot to destroy sails and rigging. Langrage or langrel (I believe these were the words Dorian was looking for) seems to have been used fairly often; I believe that's what Blackbeard used against Maynard's sloops. The process apparently was to ram down powder, ram down a shot with a wad behind it and then ram down another wad to prevent the ball rolling out of the bore when the ship heeled. You would then use a pick to clear the touchhole, and prime it with powder. I've heard contradictory accounts of how you actually fired; some people have a burning linstock applied directly to the powder, while others suggest some kind of fuse or matchcord was used. After firing it was necessary to sponge out the piece to extinguish leftover burning powder, and use a worm (a kind of roto-rooter looking thing) to clear out pieces of wadding. Ideally there were cloth cartridges prepared in advance with the correct amount of powder to pour into the barrel, but presumably you ran out of these pretty fast in combat. I understand guns are elevated by the use of a quoin and handspike (not clear on the exact process for this). I haven't read how windage was adjusted, but I guess one simply pulled on one gun tackle at a time to shift the gun left or right. One strange thing about sailing-era guns is the weird names they had. Four-pounders were initially called "minions," and other guns of various size had names like saker, falconet, culverin or demi-culverin, cannon, or cannon royal. I believe the proper "cannon" was a 36-pounder, and other guns were not considered cannon. It seems that the later one gets, the more one hears guns referred to by their shot weight (i.e. four-pounder) and the less one hears these exotic names.

I have the following information from Tony and Ozigirl at Krzysztof's Piracy message board. BTW, thanx very much for explaining about waring. I've been wondering for ages what the difference was between "wearing" and "jibing," and it never occurred to me it was a difference in sail plans and handling rather than actual maneuvering with respect to the water.

Thank you, Royaliste! To "ware" to the anchor is to sail until the ship is directly or almost directly above the anchor, I assume? Then if I'm following this, when the crew first turns the capstan, the hawser is slack, and when it does go taut, the hawser is almost vertical? I assume that, while the hawser is slack, you maintain your position above the anchor by lying hove to? And so the thing that holds the anchor is not an "anchor cable," but a "hawser" that is so many cables long? My dictionary defines "roadstead" as a place less enclosed than a harbor where ships may ride at anchor. Maybe I wasn't using the word correctly. Sorry about the references to forums and boards, 'tis black witchery.

I've got some questions about this. If you were anchored in a roadstead and getting ready to get under way, was the anchor broken out of the seabed just by the brute force of the crew turning the capstan? Or was there some special trick to breaking the anchor out? Did you have to be in some special position relative to the anchor and/or the wind? Are there any cases of the anchor being so firmly dug in that putting tension on the anchor cable just pulled the ship down instead of pulling the anchor up? Also, when dropping anchor, were there any tricks to getting it to dig in? Is a special kind of seabed ideal for this? I ought to be able to answer this question by reading Harland, but regrettably I can't understand most of what he writes about this. Please explain this to me like I'm ten years old. Also, are the words "hawser" and "anchor cable" interchangeable? BTW, I am posting this question at Krzsysztof's Pirates message board also, and I will try to put copies of any answers I get on both boards.

Actually, there are three pirate/nautical books I possess that I forgot to mention above. Howard Pyle's Book of Pirates. John Harland, Seamanship in the Age of Sail. This is indispensable. The Great Age of Sail.

Actually, Horst Buchholz is the kid. My favorite pirate movies of all time are the 1950 and 1990 versions of Treasure Island. Then, oddly, comes Cutthroat Island, which most people despise, then Captain Blood and then Pirates of the Caribbean. Actually, I like The Sea Hawk better than any of these movies, but I don't really count it as a pirate movie.

Current project: C.S. Forester, Hornblower and the Hotspur. To be followed by Captain Mary, Buccaneer and Moby Dick.

What's the difference between a piercing dagger and a slashing dagger? Don't most daggers have both a point and a cutting edge?

It was my understanding that Blackbeard boarded Maynard's vessel, not vice versa. Whereupon Maynard's men charged up from below decks and gave Blackbeard and his crew a fight they hadn't been expecting.

My pirate/seafaring library is pretty small. David Cordingly, Under the Black Flagi, the must-have. Joan Druett, She Captains, I found this a bit disappointing. Richard Armstrong, The Merchantmen. Richard Henderson, Hand, Reef, and Steer. The New Encyclopedia of Knots. Black Flag, the d20 gaming system guide. And the 7th Sea gaming manuals.

Hi, I'm Daniel. I started studying piracy back in 2001 in preparation for writing a novel, which is almost done now. I started fencing in early 2002. Alas, my sea-going experience is limited to nine days as a lubber aboard the Canadian brigantine St. Lawrence II. Lately I've been visiting at the pirates forum at Krysztof's site piratesinfo.com, but I thought I'd come visit here too. Awesome site!

This is my satirical news article about pirates, in the style of, (but not copied from) The Onion. PIRATES MAKE UNINTELLIGIBLE DEMANDS CARTAGENA, New Spain -- Cartagena, the richest city on the Spanish Main, has been seized by a cutthroat crew of approximately 500 pirates, who are holding the community for a ransom not known at press time due to difficulty deciphering the pirates' speech. "Arrrr," Billy Leach Bloodblade told reporters. "If'n ye be wishin' to save yer capital unburnt, ye'd best yield up a squall full o' pretties, by thunder!" Efforts to determine how much one "squall" might be, or what might constitute a "pretty" proved unsuccessful. Upon being presented with a chest full of silver and gold coins, Captain Gorch Savage called a press conference. "Shiver me timbers," Savage stated. "Avast yon scanting swag! We'll not stand for the offing afore ye lay landside and haul up fairer purchase. Arrrrr!" Savage is then reported to have swashed his buckler; requests for a more detailed description of this behavior have not yet been answered. Bosun Scratch Bourbon attracted great attention on the weekend when he issued a demand which Cartagena residents thought they had deciphered. "I'll be ready to set sail," Bourbon said, immediately catching the townsmen's attention with that phrase, "when ye gi' me a fine, pretty pink wi' two long nines, white t'gans'ls and her deadeyes dark and tight." After extensive consultation, the Cartagenians interpreted this as a demand for a comely female, and they introduced Bourbon to 19-year-old Anita Suarez, who had expressed an admiration for the pirate's appearance. However, Mr. Bourbon reacted by running Miss Suarez through with his cutlass and storming off in apparent disgust, leaving Cartagenians still unsure of the actual object of his desire. Earlier this Thursday, Mr. Bloodblade reportedly announced to the citizens, "I'll be broached to! It's befogged as younkers ye are, and scurvy swabs too!" Mr. Bloodblade was then immediately attacked by his fellow buccaneer Dirk Fathom, who inflicted minor injuries with a weapon apparently called a "marlinespike." It appears that Mr. Fathom may have misunderstood Mr. Bloodblade's meaning, as the two shortly stopped fighting, shook hands, and parted as friends. Yesterday's reports of a final ransom demand from pirate leader Mace Hornswoggle are now discounted; current reports indicate that Mr. Hornswoggle had hawked up some phlegm, which was misinterpreted as an attempt at speech.