corsair2k3

Greetings, Oh, I definitely think the qm was of greater importance than the other officers--on some vessels, even more important than the captain. QM's were known to take a commanding role in boarding parties, and, when a likely prize was taken, they were almost always put in command of the new prize. This doesn't mean they were a 2nd in command--as I mentioned earlier, I am of the opinion that pirates of the early 18th century did not have a chain of command--certainly not in the same way RN or merchant vessels did. They certainly were accorded more respect, though. Definitely more than a boatswain The William Snelgrave volume I was talking about was A NEW ACCOUNT OF SOME PARTS OF GUINEA AND THE SLAVE TRADE. 1734 The George Roberts volume is THE FOUR VOYAGES OF CAPTAIN GEORGE ROBERTS...WRITTEN BY HIMSELF (1726). Both accounts are in CAPTURED BY PIRATES John Richard Stephens, editor (& proprietor of www.deadmentellnotales.com) [if he won't sell you a copy, I will :-) www.whydah.com] Regards, The Corsair Who is on his way back to bed...

Greetings, It's good to be skeptical! I'm probably opening up some bad cans of worms, but I have several thoughts on this that I'd like to throw out. First, I'm not sure that I would describe the Quartermaster of a 17th- or 18-century ship as a "Second-in-Command" I'm not satisfied that I have proof on this point, but am of the opinion that it is very much arguable as to whether there was ANY hierarchy aboard pirate ships; in other words, there is a fair amount of evidence that the organization of pirate crews during "the Golden Age" tended to be far more "functional" (by duties and rights) rather than "hierarchial "(formal chain of command). Having got that off my chest: there is indeed evidence outside the pages of "Captain Charles Johnson" (whoever he, she or they really were) which attests to the atypical importance of quartermasters aboard pirate vessels. One very important source for this would be William Snelgrave's account. Another can, I think, be found in that of George Roberts. And, if I am not mistaken, there is at least one trial where reference is made by the Prosecution as to the relative importance of that office abooard pirate vessels. [i will be glad to post the full citations for Roberts and Snelgrave if any one wants them--at the moment, however, I'm afflicted by a very bad cold and some other physical distress, so can't be as thorough (or probably as lucid) as I might be. Now, why the atypical role of the quartermaster aboard pirate vessels? My theory: I've noticed that privateers of the 1680's and 1690's seem to generally have a "Captain's Quartermaster" and a "Company's Quartermaster" I haven't the oomph tonight for a prolonged disquisition, but I SUSPECT that the Captain's Quartermaster aboard privateers might have been a sort of administrative officer as to distribution of rations and booty (in the technical sense of that overused word). The Company's Quartermaster, however, seems to have been more like a union rep from what I've seen--a very experienced seaman who acted as an official spokewman for the crew. Because privateers of this period operated on the principle of "No Prey, no Pay" just like pirates, privateering concerns did not have the same clout as did the RN or the merchant captains. They had to take into account the crew's opinion perforce. Pirate vessels adopted the same organization--but the two offices merged into one--thus creating a situation where what had started as a relatively lowly position became more powerful in day-to-day matters than that of captain. Don't know if this makes sense or not, but it's time for more aspirin. The Corsair www.whydah.com

Greetings, I've seen references to great displays of irreligiousity on the part of some pirates. Others, however, were another story. As far as society as a whole, however, the question of a proper burial was a matter of great importance. One of the reasons gibbetting was viewed with horror by the general public was that many believed that if one's body were not laid to rest in a consecrated grave, one's soul would be doomed to wander. Regards, The Corsair

To sign up for the Whydah project e-newsletter, go to: www.whydah.com I am advised that this is to come out every other month beginning in about a week. The Corsair

Much obliged for the link--my 'puter got trashed by hackers and a virus awhile back and I lost all my links. This pub is helping me reconstruct a lot of it. Many thanks to the moderators, the creators and anybody else who helps make it go. The Corsair

That's about what I'm reckoning--now to print out this thread and waddle off to show it to the blockhead I've been arguing with. Regards, The Corsair

Greetings, I was just wondering if any of the expert scholars here had seen primary source evidence showing that earrings were worn for any reason other than decoration. It's not like tattoos--18th century sailors had them and it can be reasonably argued that some sailors had them done for religious reasons as well as decoration since many of the reported designs had religious themes. But since a perceived relationship between earrings and better vision cannot be determined solely from the nature or appearance of the object, I was looking for some evidence for the existence of that belief among sailors of that period. Thanks for all your input! Regards, The Corsair

Greetings, Good answers thus far--but anything that shows that the sailors in question actually believed it would improve vision? Thanks in Advance, The Corsair.

Greetings, Am looking for a 17th or 18th century reference source for the allegation that sailors of that era indeed believed that wearing a gold or silver earring would improve vision. Thanks in advance, The Corsair

Greetings, Are there any records related to pardoned pirates in these Vice-Admiralty records? Thanks in advance, The Corsair

Greetings, Manuscripts by pirates are extremely rare--I think there was a certain sense of "collectors' value" even back then. In the case of BB, for example, his logbook was recovered by Maynard etal. yet nobody knows what happened to it. There are other references/inferences to pirate papers that are either no longer in existence or have been squirrelled away--either by collectors or by the British government. [sometimes I envision an old chest at the PRO...] If such papers were kept in Virginia, however, they might have been destroyed at the burning of Richmond during the War Between the States. Regards, The Corsair

RETURN TO TREASURE ISLAND--Barry Clifford's account of the discovery of pirate ships at St. Mary's off the northeast coast of Madagascar in 1999 and 2000--is now available as a trade paperback. Check it out here: http://whydah.com/store/product_info.php?p...products_id=225 (you might have to cut and paste the URL address into your browser) Regards, The Corsair

I'll be posting some more grenades as I can get to them----their roughness or smoothness seems to have more to do with the quality of the original cast iron than the fact that they were in water. The thickness varies on the broken grenades but they are thicker at the bottom. We have seen none with necks--either on the site, or in the literature for this period. They vary a bit in diameter but three inches/90cm would be a good working average. Will try to post a couple more by the weekend Also a pistol. Regards, The Corsair

One of the best ways of dispersing crowds that I can think of... The Corsair Who notes that 18th-century grenades were pretty dangerous even when simply hurled.

I had these when I was a kid--probably part of what got me hooked... http://whydah.com/store/product_info.php?c...products_id=206 The Corsair

Well, grenades could be from coehorn mortars... Might liven things up considerably... The Corsair

I'll take that as a hint... The Corsair

I'm with both you guys--I wonder where people find this stuff, and I wish to hell they would post their sources. "Teague" is a point of curiosity with me insofar as there was at least one Teague family in Cecil Co. Maryland at the time. Regards, The Corsair

Greetings, Latest in our efforts to get out info http://www.whydah.com/page.php?id=past022 [you might have to cut and past the above address into your browser] Questions and/or constructive criticism welcome! The Corsair

"Teague" is Scottish, no? The Corsair

check it out: http://whydah.com/store/product_info.php?p...4f27aec85dcbf2d [You might have to cut and paste the URL into your browser]

Greetings, Just wanted to clarify a couple of things--it is important to note that this medallion is not a replica made from a mold, it's a recreation made through digital artwork. We've been victimized in the past by people who've altered our replicas so they can be passed off as real. Although the artwork is (mostly) faithful to the original, there are a number of features incorporated into the medallion to reduce the chance someone might be tempted to pass it off as real. Among others: the original is not quite as regular as the medallion. We'll be posting photos and drawings of the original at the site at some point. (a cartouch box, a grenade and some other stuff is ahead in the line). Anyway, we're glad you like the medallion! We got them in the store very late in the season, but they have proven to be popular. The first run might sell out before our season recommences. A quick marketing question: should we sell it with a chain for a necklace? I prefer it as a key chain myself The Corsair Who needs more coffee this morning

Greetings, I'll take it up with Ken etal and see what they say. On one hand, posting/circulating artifact data enables people to do their own gear. On the other, it's conceivable that there might still be a market for such bespoke wares. The Corsair

...for your skeleton crew... http://whydah.com/store/product_info.php?c...&products_id=40

See, this is what I'm talking about... http://www.whydah.com/page.php?id=past021 ["Now where's the card for that cartouch box...?"] The Corsair