Calico Jack: Why not just Cotton Jack?

[Nelson Cooke]

I know calico's a kind of cotton. But everyone wore it in Jack's day. It wasn't rare at all. It'd be like called Polyester Jack. A smart guy I know "hypothesizes" (the smart bastard loves that word instead of just "thinks") it's because Jack Rackham's cotton shirts were spotted with blood and gunsmoke--and spotted red and black is the dictionary definition of calico. Kinda like the cats. Historians, ahoy. Please don't tell me the smart bastard is right as usual.

[JoshuaRed]

I'm gonna put my vote in for NO on that theory on the grounds that Rackham was not known as a fighter, and rather was known as a bit of a dandy . But anything's possible.

[Lady Seahawke]

actually, not in the sense he was talking about. From my reading he got the name Calico because of the duds he wore. They were mulit colored. When I can find it again I'll post the source of it.

[Lady Seahawke]

Calico Jack

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Jack Rackham, commonly known as Calico Jack, was a pirate captain during the 18th century. He earned his name from the colourful Calico clothes he wore,

ther ya be...

[corsair2k3]

Actually, I'm not sure calico was all that common for sailors garb.

It was still being made in India--England's cotton mills were a good 50 or 60 years in the future.

So I can see how this choice might have been unusual enough to have aroused comment.

The Corsair

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Adding to what Corsair said

1689: the first calico printworks was begun in Germany at Augsburg and was later to grow into a large industry

1708 William III signed a law prohibiting the importation of printed silks, this only made calicos and silks more popular

1716 There were now more than 30 laws in England prohibiting the importation of calico and cotton; prints became more popular than ever.

So for early 18th I would imagine that they were still an unusual choice of clothing.... enough so to be have a nickname that reflected it.

GoF

And except for the early and late 18th Cotton will be banned in England to protect the domestic market from imports from India other places

[Nelson Cooke]

That's some right good thinking, and researc. Thanks kindly, brethren. I'd now savor telling that self-proclaimed maritime expert I know he's not so smart. Unfortunately he is an expert shot.

[Lady Seahawke]

well even though Jack was English...he was a pirate so, he would have access and be more likely to wear forbidden material .. sacking a ship that would have been carrying the forbidden stuff to another port.

For if nothing else but, to say nanner nanner...

:-P

to the authorities. ya know.