pirate tattoos(not jolly roger) and brandings

[miss adventure]

you know, being a tattooer, you think i would already know the answer to my question, but i don't...

is there any reference ANYWHERE to pirates having tattoos that labeled them a pirate? i saw that jack had what looked to be a brand with a capital P on his inner forearm, and i am wondering if there is any truth to this particular punishment?

i am having no luck, even after scouring my library and online...

if pirates were indeed tattooed, is there a database somewhere where i might find such images and their meanings?

[Black Deacon]

The branding at one point was done on the forehead. Usually we was just hung.

[Wartooth]

The branding at one point was done on the forehead. Usually we was just hung.

Lloyd's right. A brand wouldn't do much to mark you. Plus, who's to say a typical pirate would give a damn? Hanging was much more effective. Most tattoos would probably be more generally nautical in nature, found on sailors of all cultures and ship-classes.

Miss Adventure - not to steal your thread, but .....

I have been looking for flash art of octopuses (yes, octopuses not octopi ... don't mix your Latin and Greek ). Have been unable to find anything printable in black & white. Am wanting one on my left arm and my local artist only has 2 in his books ... both are okay but not exactly what I want. Any ideas where I can look?

Thanks,

Wartooth

[JoshuaRed]

Yeah. Tattooing was virtually unheard for Europeans to have prior to the Napoleonic era, early 19th century. I have read a few accounts of Europeans who spent time as captives of South American/Carib tribes being tattooed against their will. They felt it was the mark of the devil, not at all desirable as a fashion statement.

If a pirate was to get himself a tattoo, it probably would have Mayan influence, as they did tattooing.

[Paisley]

maybe not piracy, but stealing, etc....didn't those crazy brits brand people who commited crimes with ____?, then shipped them over to america??

or am i just having a moll flanders flashback????

[miss adventure]

so where did the idea of putting a "P" on ol' sparrow come from?

that had to have come from somewhars...

as for octopus flash, i would suggest NOT looking at tattoo designs, and instead looking at photographs, illustrations, anything BUT tattoo designs...

we tattooers are indeed pirates, we steal much of what is then turned into flash from existing art and photographs!

YARR!

image google on, me matey!!

[Maraudin Sparky]

Hmm, not sure about branding AND shipping...

Afterall, no good branding someone if you're going to put them out of sight anyway.

Still more info on delightful British punishments during 17th to 19th C's can be found here:

Crime and Punishment

Looking at some of them, quite makes me wish that some people I meet in London were still dealt with in this way!

[JoshuaRed]

Branding was used as a punishment in the 17th century, but by the early 18th century (in England at least) it came to viewed as excessive and was abolished. When it was done, brands were placed on the left cheek or dead center in the forehead, after all the point was that it should be seen, not convienently hidden under a shirtsleeve. Jack was lucky.

The funny thing is that branding continued to be used as punishment, but was done with cold irons as a symbolic form of public humilation well into the 1730's.

Btw, very cool that yer a tattoo artist! I always wanted to meet one. What's the most bizarre ink you've been asked to do?

[miss adventure]

so what did the brands look like then?

most bizarre tattoo i ever did was a chocoalte chip cookie on a grandma's forearm.

her nickname was "cookie"

stupidest tattoo i ever did was on either side of a girl's pooper 9sorry, it's true) a "T" on the left cheek and two "d"'s on the right

when read , uh properly, it spelled her boyfriend's name, T(O)DD...

you figure it out...

i didn't want to do it, and tried in vain for an hour to talk her out of it, but she insisted.

and hey, pirate ho's gotta eat and pay tha rent..

[miss adventure]

wait a sec, apply the branding iron COLD?!?!

what tha hell kinda punishment is THAT!?!

that seems akin to being slapped with a piece of bolgna!

cold iron...sheesh!

[JoshuaRed]

Uhhh....so it read like this: T * D D ? ? ?

[miss adventure]

yes.

the stupidity of some people never ceases to amaze me.

[corsair2k3]

Yeah. Tattooing was virtually unheard for Europeans to have prior to the Napoleonic era, early 19th century. I have read a few accounts of Europeans who spent time as captives of South American/Carib tribes being tattooed against their will. They felt it was the mark of the devil, not at all desirable as a fashion statement.

If a pirate was to get himself a tattoo, it probably would have Mayan influence, as they did tattooing.

Might be true for most Europeans, but then sailors weren't most Europeans.

As a consequence, one frequently runs across mention of tattoos in the descriptions of runaway sailors found in colonial newspapers of the early 18th century. The ones I've seen all had religious/magical themes.

Don't think there were any tattoos specific to pirates, though. Seems sorta counterintuitive to me--but who's to say?

As to branding with a "P"--several instances of this are recorded as an East India Company punishment during the 1680's and 1690's. When the John Company caught a batch of pirates, it would usually sentence only a few to death. The rest would be branded--so that future merchant captains would know them for what they were.

Regards,

The Corsair

[Captian Wolfy Wench]

Interestin'. I never really thought of whether or not it was historically accurate. I know pirates that were caught were hung and displayed so that passing ships could spot the bodies; served as a warning. I'm sure many ports would utilize the brand to mark and punish marauding pirates. Personally, I'd love one of those tats on me arm. O.o

Captain Wolfy Wench

[miss adventure]

i want one too!

that's why i'm asking!!

dammit, now where can we find some images of those!?!

yarrr..

on a quest!

[miss adventure]

ok, this is one of the bizarre things i came across in my search for the info...

DO NOT DO THIS TO YOURSELF DAMMIT!!!

My Brush With The East India Trading Company: Or, Marking Myself a Pirate

At A Glance

Author

spikeyannie

Contact

spikeyannie@bme.anon

IAM

SpikeyAnnie

When

It just happened

Artist

me

Fanatics. They come in all shapes and forms. For some people, it's Disney memorabilia. For others, it's Krispy Kreme. For even others, it's Lord of the Rings, or Harley-Davidson motorcycles, or even religion.

Everybody has something that they're passionate about, if not many things. Sometimes that passion will grab someone and affect them to the point where they feel like it's been assimilated into their being.

I think many people on BME can attest to that powerful feeling of devotion and what some wrongly call "obsession" about a particular thing; I see many tattoos and scars that are tributes to songs, bands, artists, movies, characters, ideas. As human beings, we are forever being touched by fictional worlds and people. There is nothing wrong with it.

This past summer, i fell in love. I stumbled upon a character who i was told resembled me in many ways, who inspired me to no end. He made me lighten up and see the more humorous, crazy side of life, but he also made me value the only two things that really matter: what you can do, and what you can't do.

His name was Captain Jack Sparrow.

I have been a Johnny Depp fan for years, and I have been a pirate fan for years. These two things combined, were a match made in silver screen heaven. But let me explain: this was not just the admiration of a fan, this was finding the brave, funny, totally fucking weird, adventure-seeking part of me all over again.

I got into live-action roleplay and saw "Pirates" again and again, dressed up as my own personalized version of Captain Jack. It was an awesome feeling. I felt like through the fabrics of my costume, I was finally coming through to others as my true self.

The same self who would jump out of trees from high up in the air, and swing from rope swings into the lake, and sail the ocean always watching the horizon. Who would stand on the beach and let the waves wash up over her feet. I have always grown up near the sea and it always finds its way into my dreams and artwork.

In the midst of realizing these things, the recording industry was beginning to crack down on the modern-day pirates of today. As I type this, they still are, and many shared and pirated files sit on my hard drive. Yes, I have always been a pirate.

So without further ado, here is what I did for my latest form of dermal art, although I do have to include a brief history lesson. When the East India Trading Company would catch pirates, they would brand them with the letter P. In the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean", Jack Sparrow had a pirate brand on the top of his wrist right underneath his sparrow tattoo.

This is actually incorrect placement because in reality, the brands were on the forehead. But I digress; I did not want to do a brand because I felt like it wasn't for me, and I certainly didn't want it on my forehead (whatever the mark would be made of), so I chose the top of my wrist.

It was then that with a scalpel blade and some patience, I marked myself a pirate. I swabbed off the top of my wrist with iodine and drew it on with a new ballpoint pen. The P is facing downwards towards my hand and about an inch high. I don't know how noticeable it will be when it heals, but regardless of what it looks like, it's something for myself and myself only. It was hard to make the curved part of the P but I managed quite nicely. It didn't take long at all, nor did it hurt. When I was finished cutting, I poured some peroxide on it, scrubbed it with a toothbrush, and resigned myself to the Leave It The Hell Alone method (except for the occasional picking of scabs!).

Oddly enough, I've been modifying my body for many years now and it was only yesterday when I did this cutting, that I truly felt like I was doing something only for my own happiness and not for anyone else's benefit. As soon as the cutting was complete, I felt a momentary wave of intense panic where I wondered briefly if I had done the right thing, and how would I explain it to people, and so on.

Then I realized, "So what? This is MINE!" which was followed by one of the best feelings I've had in my entire life, because I was no longer held back by the fear of what others would think. So remember to always follow your heart and never compromise or change yourself purely for the sake of others. After all, the only things that matter are what you can do, and what you can't do...(Drink up me hearties, yo ho...)

Disclaimer: The experience above was submitted by a BME reader and has not

been edited. We can not guarantee that the experience is accurate, truthful,

or contains valid or even safe advice. We strongly urge you to use BME and

other resources to educate yourself so you can make safe informed decisions.

[JoshuaRed]

Wow. Hey to each his own, right?

Me, I'm quite content paying homage to Mr. Depp by merely enjoying the hell out of his movies once and awhile. But that's just me. I do fully intend on getting a pirate tattoo one day...but branding is a bit much. And being the history buff I am, I would be nitpicky and insist on usual an actual period brand...

[miss adventure]

indeed, to each his own....

whether it be a self inflicted P cut into your wrist or your boyfriend's name tattooed around your poopchute....

[Paisley]

think i'll just stick with my one day hope of a full sleeve.....

and the tattoos covering my right calf, more native work on my neck, a few more faeries, throw in a couple more pirate-y things here n there...

i think i need more skin!

hey miss---how bout a weeks worth of food n board at me new casa in florida for getting me closer? lol

btw-there are a few threads already started up on tattoos n piercings, just do search...you'll see some great artwork.

[miss adventure]

miss paisley, email me!

[Wartooth]

Ooooookay ....

Makes ye wonder.

Wartooth

[Isabella]

This is a joke regarding the T*DD tattoo, other wise ignore in the flow of the thread.

A woman decides she's going to get her husband's initals tattooed on her butt, so she goes and has it done. She goes home, and sets up the house for a romantic evening, and he comes home.

"I've got a suprise for you!" She churps.

"OH? What is it?" He asks

"You'll see."

So the evening goes on, and they retire to bed, and she says, "I'll show you your suprise now, winking. So she pulls down her pants, all excited to show him his suprise, and he asks, "Who's Bob?"

Totally stupid...but fit to Todd story. *shakes head* Why wouldn't I be suprised if she broke up with him three weeks later? That's my husband's only rule. No names tattooed on the body. It's one of those "Doomed to break up" weird things he has. Don't ask. :)

On Topic:

I would think maybe they would have done things like whales or albatrosses. I agree definately with the sea theme.

[Isabella]

Also let me look up in my big history of the Philippines book. They talk about tribal branding etc in there in the 1620's. I know some of the Spanish adopted some of it. :)

[HarborMaster]

indeed, to each his own....

whether it be a self inflicted P cut into your wrist or your boyfriend's name tattooed around your poopchute....

WOWSA !!!., "Holy Dawg S%it " !!!

(I just saw this post)

My Gawd Man., If ever I was a Ravashing and Pilaging away on a Wench and in the Glimmering Moon light...,and I could make out something like the words......, PROPERTY OF TOP-HAT :angry: Around some Wenches Ho-Ho.....,

I'd be hook'in back to the ship fast!!!! weighin'in the anchor an makin fer another port., before some 400lb land-lubbin Biker type wanted to sink me !!!....,

whoooooo !!!!., :) I get weak in the knees just thinkin about it......., at my age I am more interested in the treasure than todays booty.

HarborMaster

[the Royaliste]

Those of us who generally resemble several of those remarks swore off the 'property of' tat's long ago. On the left coast, at least to the R.P, names on arses are thought of mostly as 'hookers'...file that, mate...for future reference! :angry: