JoshuaRed

Perfect, thanks!

Does anyone have or know of a place I might find some authentic or accurate reproduction knucklebone dice? I understand they were about 1/3rd the size of modern dice. I'd love to have a few pairs.

Ah you are right Maria! I KNEW I remembered that I had some good info on Hornigold somewhere.... Yes, this chart she speaks of is really quite impressive...sort of a piratical family tree. Pretty much ALL of the post-QAW pirates could be directly traced to just a few initial pirate crews.

I could have sworn Capt. Johnson devoted a chapter to him, but upon checking the book I realized I was wrong. If memory serves me correctly, I believe he was a privateer in QAW as was Teach.

I got the Pirates of the Caribbean book...it's pretty good overall, but with a heavy focus on the Elizabethan raiders like Drake and Hawkins. Not a whole lot in there on the early 18th century guys post-Q.A.War. What is good about it is that it's written by a Spanish historian, and the info is culled from Spanish primary sources, so it's a very interesting viewpoint. Other side of the coin, so to speak.

While at Syracuse I took a terrific course called The History of Colonial America that covered the 17th-18th century in great depth. We spent a solid month on the West Indies with MUCH discussion and lecture on piracy....best course I ever took! I ended up writing a term paper on privateering in the American Revolution....was a very rewarding experience. So Drunken, just hang on till college....there's lots of neat courses to be found.

My wife read 'em all...loved 'em. I'm more into Defoe, O'Brian, etc.

Aye DrunkenPirate Lassie, I heartily wish for him to win too. Keepin' my bones crossed! :)

Yeah seriously...where do we sign up? On PBS in April there is new reality immersion series called 1628. It was filmed right here in Maine. They dumped something like a dozen people into a perfect reconstruction of a small coastal colony for 6 weeks or so. Looks great!

Yeah, post the 5 questions here, we'd be happy to help if we can. Like many of the fine folks here, I've got a LARGE collection of literature on piracy, from contemporary sources going back to the 17th century, up to the newest stuff.

That also makes sense. Lots of possibilities! We may never know. It sure would be amazing if in our lifetimes, someone somewhere discovers a long-hidden first hand documentative source shedding unprecedented light on the REAL lives of pirates and all seafarers of that period.....

Some people also think that the term Jolly Roger may be a reference to Satan, as he was sometimes called by the nickname of Roger in those days. But I think it's more likely to be an offshoot of joli rouge.

LOL apparently Larry David has tried 'em! If any of ya out there watch his friggin' genius, hilarious show on HBO, "Curb Your Enthusiasm" , hopefully you caught this past Sunday's episode. He goes into a store to pick up some snacks and grabs a bag of Pirate Booty, even sings a little song about it!

Oh yeah! The wife and I have been lovin' em for years! They also have "fruity booty" which is the same thing but flavored with fruit instead of cheese.

Actually many pirates including New Low and George Lowther were known to raid cod fishing vessels in Newfoundland for fresh provisions as well as eager recruits who were sick of cod fishing. :)

There are many. Though it's hard to know for sure how much was actually uttered by the pirate versus how much was added by contemporary writers of the day like Dampier, Defoe, Ringrose and others. BUT, assuming that the quotes are more or less accurate and attributable to the actual pirates, here goes my faves: Bartholomew Roberts: "In an honest service there is thin commons, low wages and hard labour; but in a pirate life there is plenty and satiety, pleasure and ease, liberty and power. And who would not balance creditor on this side when all hazard that is run for it, at worst, is only a fore-lock or two at choking?" Black Sam Bellamy: "You are a devilish conscious rascal, damn ye! I am a free prince and have as much authority to make war on the whole world as he who has a hundred sail of ships and an army of a hundred thousand men in the field. And this my conscience tells me me; but there is no arguing with such snivelling puppies who allow superiors to kick them about deck and pleasure, and pin their faith upon a pimp of a parson, a squab who neither practices or believes what he puts upon the chuckle-headed fools he preaches to."

Ah that makes perfect sense Bob...thanks!

Why the dislike of Bill Murray, Bess? Had a rough personal encounter? Just curious....

That's just it, the fact that the Academy has more or less matured enough to recognize that comic genius is just as valid, and probably more difficult to pull off than dramatic genius. They are showing this very well but including both Murray and Depp. Huzzah! Btw, regarding Disney licensing...there actually wasn't much for POTC. I was kinda disappointed, actually. No action figures, no toys, no shirts, mugs, etc. Pretty much all you can get are the soundtrack, dvd, and movie posters and the PC game. (Which is really just Sea Dogs 2 with a POTC skin) Maybe after the sequel they'll begin a good ol' fashioned marketing blitz. Although, it was kind of like taking the high road to allow the film to stand on it's own merit and not the sale of it's toys unlike the Matrix....

We all knew he deserved it, and voila!! Depp is nominated for best actor!!! Fantastic! Though I fear he doesn't stand a chance against Bill Murray or Ben Kingsley. But as they say..."it's an honor just being nominated".

Something I've always wondered - exactly when did New England merchants begin shipping ice to the West Indies? If it occurred during the Golden Age, I wonder if pirates ever raided a ship expecting rum, sugar, slaves or molasses and got a hold full of ice instead. And I wonder what they did with it. After all, it must have been a priceless commodity in the southern climes...but I suspect this industry did not come around in time for the pirates to experience it. Here in Maine they used to carve massive chunks of it out of lakes, haul them on horse to icehouses where they were stored in sawdust to insulate them from melting. Then they were loaded on ships and shipped south.

Aye Salem Bob, you are quite right about the massacre of Ayuh. I was born in Mass. and raised in Maine. Moved away for awhile, but missed it too much and moved back a few years ago. I lost much of my accent when away, but when I moved back here it was amazing how fast I began dropping my "r"s, and sounding like a wicked true Yankee again.GO PATS! And Pirate Queen - same thing happened to me in my office. All day I was pestered with "Hey man, I bet this is like Christmas for you...so c'mon! Talk like a pirate! " I proceeded to ramble on in an enhanced Downeastah drawl with nary an ARGH or Avast in sight. Was a letdown for the chuckleheads in the office, but at least I was not a contributor to Blackbeard rolling over in his grave that day.

Aye I saw this booty recently in the store and plan to pick some up for me and me wifey pirate too!

Course Teach also royally screwed Stede who wasn't too wise in the ways of the sea. I don't think Teach liked or respected Stede much at all, but saw him as a means to an end. (mainly getting a free ship). Unfortunately for Stede he was arrested and hung before he could get revenge on Blackbeard. Which he was planning to do, I've been told.

Absolutely. Typically pilots were responsible for steering a ship into harbors and ports, past reefs, anywhere that had potential for the ship to run aground. Pilots were not members of the crew, but rather would row out to meet incoming ships at ports, hop on board and guide the ship to anchor or pier or mooring, for a fee of course.