by far the funniest thing about pirate history is that it implies the events of Black Sails have vast unforeseen consequences on the future of politics and science because at least two historical characters die too early to interfere with Benjamin Franklin’s childhood
When the real Blackbeard was killed in 1718 in North Carolina, 12 year old Ben Franklin wrote and published a poem about the incident that was apparently so bad that his father discouraged him from ever doing that again. Franklin notes in his memoir that this event likely saved him from growing up to be a terrible poet
When American colonial authorities were trying to track down Ned Low in 1722, Franklin’s older brother James published a satirical remark about how they didn’t seem to be in any hurry to catch him. He was put in jail for three weeks for this, forcing young Franklin to step into his brother’s shoes and take over the newspaper, during which he wrote about freedom on speech and eventually driving him to his involvement in the revolution
Thus, by this logic, Charles Vane and Woodes Rogers murdering both Low and Blackbeard in the Caribbean (rather than mainland colonies) years before they’re supposed to die creates all sorts of hilarious historical butterfly effects, potentially including the future invention of the lightbulb
In 1622, Hamburg captains and coxswains founded a private ransom insurance company, the “Casse der Stücke von Achten”“Cash of the Pieces of Eight” . Its purpose was to buy seamen out of the captivity of North African pirates (Barbary pirates - I have already written about them), who represented a great danger, especially in the 17th century. As a contribution, a Spanish peso of eight reales - the currency used in Castile to pay the ransom, hence the name - had to be paid before each voyage. However, this did not apply to ordinary sailors. No ransom was provided for them. Moreover, one had to be a citizen of Hamburg. It was introduced in a similar way in Lübeck and Copenhagen.
This ransom provision was taken over by the English 1644. There, an Algerian levy was introduced from customs revenues to finance the ransoms. The Spaniards and Italians, on the other hand, had to rely on the church, which tried to collect enough ransoms with donations to buy the poor souls back. In all other countries, it was more a private matter to raise the money to free a loved one.
In the end, these insurances were maintained until 1830, when the French managed to put an end to the pirates once and for all.
Piracy meant that men spent a lot of time on open sea, doing chores and waiting from something exciting to happen. The crew would have their own ways to keep themselves occupied, using dark and anti-authoritarian humor and unpretentious folk songs.
A pirate crew would typically include a musician skilled with an instrument and singing, who was often forced to be on the boat but received special privileges even over men with more “practical” tasks. Songs may include maritime work songs (sea shanties, if you use a broad definition), as work songs. These were especially useful for synchronizing tasks that required many people.
Pirates also hosted pageantry on deck. A common theme was to accuse their crewmates–or captain–of the heinous crime of piracy and put on a mock trial. Another member of the crew would play the judge, hear the evidence, and hand out a decision and (an often hilariously overly harsh) punishment.
If that didn’t work, there was always grog. A blend of rum, water, and lime, it was important to prevent dehydration and scurvy and to keep morale high.
Captain: each ship had a singular captain. They were generally elected and their decisions could be overruled, especially by…
Quartermaster: the second in command. In charge of settling disputes and representing the crew against the captain, if need be.
Sailingmaster: in charge of navigation and steering the ship. Required an education, and was often filled by kidnapped hostages.
Boatswain (Bo'sun): runs the ship. In charge of general maintenance, keeping track of supplies, and other miscellaneous tasks to keep things running smoothly.
Master Gunner: in charge of the cannons and anything they might need. A large pirate ship would have dozens of cannons, so he functioned more as an overseer than someone personally firing the cannons.
Surgeon/Carpenter: often the same person, and typically more a carpenter who did amputations than a skilled surgeon. Medications were typically hard to come by, and usually were raided for.
Cooper: makes barrels. Very important, as this was the only way to store food, fresh water, or anything else and keep is fresh.
Mates: crew who might be apprenticed to or serving under the upper roles. A ship would have multiple, in charge of things like the ropes, sails, and anchors. They had a hierarchy of “first mate”, “second mate”, and so on.
Gunners: The men who aimed guns and cannons, something that took years of practice. They took orders from the Master Gunner.
Powder Monkeys: The young boys (often aged 12 to 14) who moved powder from storage to the cannons. They tended to be orphans or from poor families.
Cabin boys: young servants who did dirty work and didn’t have chance for a promotion.
Musicians: life on sea could have long stretches of boredom, where nothing happened. Musicians were oftentimes captives or hostages, but they received special privileges like less work, more time off, and increased pay.
Pirates had a number of personal weapons and even more attached to their ship. While weapons were personal, there are three that were seen as standard; a single man might carry all three at once if he had the money.
Acutlass is a short sword best for slashing. Its blade was single-edged and either straight or with a slight curve. It was incredibly common for sailors of all times, because it could also hack through ropes and wood, while also being short enough for use in close quarters. The blade would typically be around 24 inches (60cm).
Pistols were the ranged weapons, often used in duels to settle disputes. Pistols are smaller handguns, although blunderbussesused in the time period were longer than the revolvers we typically think of. A blunderbuss (the terms aren’t concrete, so sources say blunderbusses and pistols were two types of guns and pirates had both, others would describe a single gun as a ‘blunderbuss pistol’) was lightweight and also usable in close quarter fighting. It could also be called adragon or a dragoon.
Apiecewas the term for a musket or rifle, also used as a ranged weapon and the main method for hunting. Loading them took time, so they were typically no pirate’s first choice. 17th century pirates would often carry 12 musket charges nicknamed “The Apostles”.
Pirates would also use knives, grenades, and whatever they could get their hands on–dirty fighting was expected in piracy. A pirate ship might have dozens on cannons, often taken from captured vessels, so one ship may have a mix-and-match collection. However, since pirates would want to loot the ship and possibly take it into their fleet (and because they rarely killed during raids, wanting surrender to be the more popular option), pirates on a raid might not use cannons at all. Furthermore, a pirate being pursued by the navy would generally prefer to run away with their quicker and sleeker boats then attempt to a full battle. Even when they had to, captains would wait until they were within 500ft (150m) of a target before firing a cannon, aiming to hit the broadside of the ship.
On the 12th of December, 1715, pirate Captain Francis Fernando, commander of the sloop Bennett, received his privateering commission from Jamaican Governor Lord Archibald Hamilton; one of many who had been granted the right to hunt down pirates in the area.
Pirates had been causing issues around Jamaica, as ‘privateers without licenses’ as merchants complained. In total, fourteen sloops, including Fernando’s Bennett, were commissioned to hunt down the rogues, but would later all be referred to as “…the remedy was worse than the disease.”
As for Captain Fernando, he was described as a mulatto commander of his sloop and that “this tawny Moor has an estate at Jamaica and has given good security for his navigation.” He had also sold a share of one-third of his sloop to Governor Hamilton, meaning that any profit he’d make out at sea, the Governor would stand to profit from it.
However, once at sea, Captain Fernando and the crew of the Bennett immediately turned to piracy. Rather than setting out to pursue the ‘rogue privateers’, they intercepted a Spanish sloop (a target not acceptable for his privateering commission) named the Nuestra Senora de Belen, captained by Manuel de Aramburu. She had been making her way to Havan from Veracruz, but had been severely damaged by a storm at sea, seeing her dismasted and her guns thrown overboard to keep afloat.
Fernando would go on to easily seize the vessel, which contained 250,000 pieces of eight, jewels and fine goods. He would write a letter to Hamilton, with his excuse that what he did was okay, as the sloop had originally been named the Kensington, an English sloop that had been captured by the Spaniards off of Cartagena, and that he was simply returning her to the English. When the captured and enraged Spanish captain was brought before Hamilton, Hamilton agreed with him that what Fernando had done was indeed piracy, but offered no remedy.
Before Fernando and the crew of the Bennett could be chastised for his actions, they departed for the Bahamas. Early into 1716, the crew would hit more ships, including another Spanish sloop who’s contents would be brought to the pirate haven of Nassau. By the end of the year Captain Francis Fernando would be mentioned in a letter by Captain William Howard of the HMS Shoreham off of Charles Town South Carolina, along with Henry Jennings and Benjamin Hornigold as privateers turned pirates who take refuge at Nassau, stating multiple vessels had arrived in Charles Town harbor that had been plundered by each.
(Pictured is a letter of marque being held up [from Pirates of the Caribbean], the coastline of Jamaica, and a load of gold below deck [from Black Sails])
On This Day in Herstory, November 15th 1720, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, two pirates, were captured and brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica for trial.
Anne Bonny was born Anne Cormac c.1698, near Cork, Ireland; she is thought to be the illegitimate daughter of an Irish lawyer, and one of the maids who worked in his house. When her father’s wife found out about his affair he took Bonny and her mother, and the family emigrated to Charles Towne, South Carolina. When she was 13 her mother died, and shortly thereafter her father betrothed her to a local man, which she heavily opposed. In an act of rebellion in 1718 she ran off and married a sailor, called John Bonny, and the couple moved to the island of New Providence in the Bahamas, where her husband acted as an informant for the governor of the Bahamas. Bonny was less than thrilled by her new husband, and she became involved with pirate John “Calico Jack” Rackham, Calico Jack offered Bonny’s husband money for a divorce, but he refused.
In August 1720 Bonny abandoned her husband and helped Calico Jack in commandeering a ship, and along with a crew of a dozen people the pair began pirating merchant ships along the coast of Jamaica. Bonny’s presence aboard the ship was unusual, as many people thought women on board brought bad luck; but she was fierce, one story said that in her youth she beat an attempted rapist so badly he was hospitalized. Bonny made no attempt to conceal her gender from her shipmates, but when pillaging she disguised herself as a man and participated in armed combat. At some point, it’s not known when, another pirate, called Mary Read joined Calico Jack and Bonny’s crew.
Mary Read was born c.1695 in England, and relatively little is known about their early life. Read’s mother was married to a sailor, and together they had a son; the sailor deserted the family and Read’s mother had an affair that resulted in Read’s birth. Not long after, Read’s half-brother Mark died, and their mother decided to pass Read off as Mark to continue to receive money from his paternal grandmother; and so from then, Read was known as Mark Read. When they were 13 the grandmother died, but they continued to live as Mark, and eventually joined the military. While in the military they met another soldier, and after revealing their sex to him they married, the couple moved to the Netherlands and opened an inn, but their husband quickly died. Following this, she went back to living as Mark, and found work as a sailor, and when the ship was seized by pirates they decided to become a buccaneer. In 1717 they sailed to the Bahamas, and at some point thereafter joined Calico Jack and Bonny, as a member of their crew. Read continued to live as Mark, though the crew soon realized their sex, and so they lived as Mary on-board the ship.
Together Bonny and Read earned a reputation for ruthlessness, and were described as “very profligate, cursing and swearing much, and very ready and willing to do anything on board.” In September 1720 the governor of the Bahamas declared the pirate crew, and Bonny and Read specifically, as “Enemies to the Crown of Great Britain.” On November 15th 1720, law enforcement caught up to them at Negril Point, Jamaica. The entire crew except for Bonny and Read were drunk, entirely useless, and couldn’t help fight; so Bonny and Read fought until they were finally overwhelmed, and Calico Jack surrendered. The crew were captured and brought to Spanish Town, Jamaica for trial; Calico Jack and all other men from the crew were immediately found guilty and hung. On November 28th Bonny and Read were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death; however, it was discovered that they were both pregnant, and this caused their executions to be postponed. In April 1721 Read died in prison after developing a fever, and was buried on April 28th 1721. Bonny, however, was released (probably due to her father’s influence) she returned to Charles Towne, she got married, had children, and died c.April 25th 1782, she was 84.
