Port Royal Whores

[Jib]

How much do we know about the whores who serviced the sailors in Port Royal and other sea towns. I remembered reading in NQG something about the French sending a shipment of "soiled doves' to one of the French colonies in effort to get the men to settle down. How did Royal Royal aquire all her ladies of the evening? Did they come to Jamacia as indentured servants? How many were tricked or forced into the flesh trade? I think Hurricane once posted that the Whores of Port Royal did not where head coverings to indentify them to customers. What do we know of the lives of these women?

[hurricane]

The answer would be yes to all the above. Many were local girls from the island, others were widows who had to make a living after their husbands dies, and still others were girls from Europe - all there to strip the men of their coin. There weren't any cases of women being brought in that I recall off hand like they had been in the French colonies.

This can be perhaps evidenced by the fact that unlike the rest of the Eastern Caribbean where male adults vastly outnumbered women and children, the number population of Port Royal at the time of the earthquakes was: 1,600 men, 1,400 women and 1,000 children. There are plenty of incidences of the criminals being sold off as servants -- an Ann Sharp went for $45 to Mr. Moss, a merchant, for instance. Bridewell was regularly filled with strumpets, to the point that they had to utilize the stocks often on High Street to handle the overflow.

The most famous strumpet there was the German Princess, who initially passed herself off as royalty. There is a reference at the time to her being much like a barber's chair in town -- no sooner had one customer left than another one got right in. :)

I have lots more, just not much time right now.

-- Hurricane

[Honour Bright]

Port Royal had gained a reputation in the 17th century as both the "richest and wickedest city in the world". It was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, and was a popular place for pirates to bring and spend their treasure. During the 17th century the British actively encouraged and even paid buccaneers based at Port Royal to attack Spanish and French shipping.

There was an average of one tavern per every ten of the population.

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.

OK so I lifted this off the internet. We all know about Port Royal.

The women did what they did best...FOLLOW THE MONEY.

These women are not to be confused with Les Filles du Roi. These were not strumpets. Thank goodness,as my X-times great grandmothers would have been...*gasp* HO-BAGS!

http://www.mainewriter.com/articles/Filles-du-Roi.htm

[Rumba Rue]

And to think I could have been rich!

[hurricane]

Port Royal at the time (this is pre-earthquake when buccaneers ruled the roost) was a mirror of England, but much more wealth and over the top. Everything was to excess.

I note:

One of the more fashionable residents, Mr. Downes, appeared "wearing a Turkish garment of black watered chambles lined with crimson taffety, a black clothe coat lined with blew sacronet, breeches, crimson velvet, a silk crimson Turkish sash, a pair of Turkish shoes, gloves and a periwig."

The women were similarly fashioned in the best. Even the whores were dressed relatively well, usually in the cast offs of the wealthy whose attire had been repurposed by a tailor in town. It's hard for any of to conceive of the tremendous wealth in a town where a buccaneer could bring in 10 years worth of wages and blow it all within a week.

Whoring there wasn't a loathsome job for the most part there - it was a service that was needed and provided profitably. The only poor people in town were the buccaneers who would beg along the wharves after they spent all their money in the public houses, with the merchants and on the whores.

-- Hurricane

[Jib]

While I am certain that there was money to be made I also imagine that "flesh trades" of Port Royal also had a lot of misery. Think about it, after a while a hard life, time, and the sun will rob a woman of her appearance. What can she do then?

Is there any mention of the pimps of Port Royal? I also imagine that you might find gay sex being offered as well (despite the morality of the time).

[Capn Bob]

Yes indeed, Mary Charleton, the "German Princess"...now there's an interesting story...the online version of the Newgate Calender has an article about here, but since its on the longish side, I'll just provide the link, which is:

http://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng34.htm

The answer would be yes to all the above. Many were local girls from the island, others were widows who had to make a living after their husbands dies, and still others were girls from Europe - all there to strip the men of their coin. There weren't any cases of women being brought in that I recall off hand like they had been in the French colonies.

This can be perhaps evidenced by the fact that unlike the rest of the Eastern Caribbean where male adults vastly outnumbered women and children, the number population of Port Royal at the time of the earthquakes was: 1,600 men, 1,400 women and 1,000 children. There are plenty of incidences of the criminals being sold off as servants -- an Ann Sharp went for $45 to Mr. Moss, a merchant, for instance. Bridewell was regularly filled with strumpets, to the point that they had to utilize the stocks often on High Street to handle the overflow.

The most famous strumpet there was the German Princess, who initially passed herself off as royalty. There is a reference at the time to her being much like a barber's chair in town -- no sooner had one customer left than another one got right in. :)

I have lots more, just not much time right now.

-- Hurricane

[hurricane]

One must remember that nearly everyone was not as attractive as the paintings would appear them to be. A painter was the PhotoShopper of the day and omitted things like pox, missing jaws, scars, etc. As for pimps, the model was bordellos with madams, and I can't imagine a pimp standing up to a pirate who wanted his doxie then and now.

As for gay sex... everyone wants to introduce that but there's no records of it in Port Royal. Even though it was a sinful town, it had many, many churches -- nearly every religion (including the Jewish faith) was represented there and homosexuality was not condoned or accepted. The incidences of homosexuals within the population would have been constant with what it is today. If you think about it, if gay sex was so rampant, why did the stumpets, whores and doxies do so well in town? :)

Again, pre earthquake Port Royal was very different from the Port Royal in the Golden Age when most of the wealth and population had moved to Kingston. In fact, Port Royal was banned from being rebuilt after the earthquake, even though it did anyway, albeit on a much much smaller footprint that it had in its heyday.

-- Hurricane

While I am certain that there was money to be made I also imagine that "flesh trades" of Port Royal also had a lot of misery. Think about it, after a while a hard life, time, and the sun will rob a woman of her appearance. What can she do then?

Is there any mention of the pimps of Port Royal? I also imagine that you might find gay sex being offered as well (despite the morality of the time).

[Raphael Misson]

One must remember that nearly everyone was not as attractive as the paintings would appear them to be. A painter was the PhotoShopper of the day and omitted things like pox, missing jaws, scars, etc. As for pimps, the model was bordellos with madams, and I can't imagine a pimp standing up to a pirate who wanted his doxie then and now.

I personally doubt appearance was as important then as it is now. We are fed a constant diet of unwittingly coordinated, visually stimulating models of an ideal that didn't really begin until the 20th century. Besides, when you stop to consider it, just how important it he appearance of a whore, even today? Sure, attractive prostitutes would be a bonus (which is most likely reflected in their rates), but let's be realistic...

Plus, as Hurricane says, people were much more likely to have blemishes and facial disfigurements then than now as Hurricane said. To quote the excellent book Hubbub: Filth, Noise, and Stench in England, 1600-1770 by Emily Cockayne:

"Many conditions would have caused itching, including eczema, impetigo, ‘psorophthalmy’ (eyebrow dandruff), scabies, chilblains, chapped and rough skin, ‘tetters’ (spots and sores), ‘black morphew’ (leprous or scurvy skin) and ringworm. Few citizens enjoyed smooth unblemished skin. Cuts and grazes could lead to ugly and uncomfortable scabbing and unattractive scarring. In this pre-antibiotic era, skin eruptions in the forms of bulging pustules, lesions, acne and gout-induced ulcers could all have become infected, causing chronic wounds.’” (Cockayne, p. 54)

As for gay sex... everyone wants to introduce that but there's no records of it in Port Royal. Even though it was a sinful town, it had many, many churches -- nearly every religion (including the Jewish faith) was represented there and homosexuality was not condoned or accepted. The incidences of homosexuals within the population would have been constant with what it is today. If you think about it, if gay sex was so rampant, why did the stumpets, whores and doxies do so well in town? :)

Most modern psychological studies find the percentage of gays in the US to be in the range of 5 - 6%. Even the most liberal estimates of the percentage only suggest it could be as high as 8%. So unless there was some amazing fascination with homosexuality during period (which would be curious given cultural and religious mores of the time), it would not seem to me that there would have been excessive demand for this. Again, I suggest that our increased access to homoerotic imagery combined with a much greater acceptance of homosexuality and the presence of many androgynous male models as "ideal" via the media, we would probably have far more fascination with homosexuality today than they would have had 300 years ago when it was usually abhorred, even by many of its practitioners.

[hurricane]

I would highly recommend that everyone interested in the way things were read Hubbub as noted by Mission. It is a real eye opener of the conditions and lives people really led in the time. Very well researched and a great read. I reference it often, as does my good friend Mission, obviously. :)

-- Hurricane

[Raphael Misson]

I would highly recommend that everyone interested in the way things were read Hubbub as noted by Mission. It is a real eye opener of the conditions and lives people really led in the time. Very well researched and a great read. I reference it often, as does my good friend Mission, obviously. :)

-- Hurricane

I read it based on your recommendation, actually. It's an excellent book.

[Cap'n Black Jack]

Doing The Nasty In Colonial America

It ain't about Port Royal but its interesting...

[CaptainSatan]

I thought that this was an interested read.

Everything from self pollution to widespread polygamy.

Edited August 7, 2009 by CaptainSatan

[Jib]

Perhaps a better term than pimp would be a "Bawd"? Someone who would act as a middle man and direct the pleasure seekers to the vice of choice...

Mission makes a strong point on appearance. Ever had the chance to see a common street waker today? I have a friend who drives a truck and has tale of the lot lizards who ask if he is "looking for a date".

Still a few must have been lovely or else a pirate would not have paid so much to see one naked...

[Guest]

Still a few must have been lovely or else a pirate would not have paid so much to see one naked...

She wouldn't have had to be lovely....I can't remember where I read it, but most of the time the eeergh...."ladys" didn't disrobe to do their job.... So the novelty of seeing one naked, might be what the Pyrate was after...(welllll....and..... awh... nevermind... )

[Raphael Misson]

Still a few must have been lovely or else a pirate would not have paid so much to see one naked...

She wouldn't have had to be lovely....I can't remember where I read it, but most of the time the eeergh...."ladys" didn't disrobe to do their job.... So the novelty of seeing one naked, might be what the Pyrate was after...(welllll....and..... awh... nevermind... )

That's interesting. I might be interested in reading whatever you read that in if you can remember it. (Treating VD was a part of the surgeon's job.)

[Guest]

(Treating VD was a part of the surgeon's job.)

Yeah... and I've seen those syringes that (reenactor) surgeons like to show off so much.....

[Fox]

I can't remember where I read it, but most of the time the eeergh...."ladys" didn't disrobe to do their job.... So the novelty of seeing one naked, might be what the Pyrate was after...

Prostitutes on the job, 1726.

[CaptainSatan]

I thought that this was an interested read.

Everything from self pollution to widespread polygamy.

WOW! An image of a book with a woodcut of nude woman on the cover was censored by Photo Bucket (lol)!

[Salty]

just goes to show, a lass has got to make a living. that said on the topic of overwhelming beauty, its all the same in the dark and drunk. standards change with every age and i am sure there was not a differnce in the flesh trade...

it is one of the oldest occupations.

[Calico Jack]

(Treating VD was a part of the surgeon's job.)

Yeah... and I've seen those syringes that (reenactor) surgeons like to show off so much.....

Those syringes always make one half of the audience wince, and the other half snicker. That makes it a goodprop to have [grins].

[Jib]

I too, seem to recall that people often did not fully undress while engaged in sex. I can site an example in fiction of the Three Musketeers where Athos does not seem to notice that his lady wife has been branded a whore, yet he has made love to her many times. I also recall a Victorian tale mentioning a whore who charged more money for "stark" naked intercourse.

Can anyone confrim this?

[Mission]

Yeah... and I've seen those syringes that (reenactor) surgeons like to show off so much.....

Those syringes always make one half of the audience wince, and the other half snicker. That makes it a goodprop to have [grins].

Ah, yes. Lest we forget the surgeon's treatment for the gentlemen - a mercury injection tool:

[Rumba Rue]

I too, seem to recall that people often did not fully undress while engaged in sex. I can site an example in fiction of the Three Musketeers where Athos does not seem to notice that his lady wife has been branded a whore, yet he has made love to her many times. I also recall a Victorian tale mentioning a whore who charged more money for "stark" naked intercourse.

Can anyone confrim this?

^{I'll never tell}

[CaptainSatan]

About a 100 years I ran out of books to read. And I ended up reading a book

about the historical Best Little Whore House in Texas.There were many

references to people having sex while wearing clothes. This was especially

true in the winter time. I suspect that most brothels were like drive through

windows. And the patrons probably didn't have time to fully undress.