Filed July 9, 2006 at 12:22 pm under Pirate Info by TJ
Avast, me hearties! What with that thar openin’ of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, we be thinkin’ it high time to bone up on yer knowledge o’ buccaneers, buried treasure an’ scurvy dogs. So, I’ve seen th’ movie twice now, helpin’ add t’ the’r all-time-record blockbuster weekend (Weekend Estimates: Pirates Opens with $132 Million), an’ will likely be seein’ ‘t again tonight wi’ me lovely buxom beauty, now that she be ou’ o’ th’ hospital. I think ’tis about time fer a sea dog info update.Â
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Anatomy of a pirate
The eye patch: Some people think pirates wore eye patches to help their vision adjust quickly from the bright sunlight on deck to the dark underbelly of the ship.
The peg leg: Real-life French pirate Francois LeClerc — he liked to burn villages in the Dominican Republic — is supposed to have had a wooden leg.
The hook: It was quite easy to lose a limb while living the pirate life (see PEG LEG). But no real pirates are known to have worn hooks. Although it would help explain the preponderance of eye patches . . .
The earring: It could have been a way to ease seasickness (by putting pressure on the earlobe), or a way to carry ready cash without taking up pocket space.
The bandana: To keep the sweat out of your eyes.
The three-cornered hat: To keep the sun and rain out of your eyes. Pirates were really quite sensible in their dress.
The parrot: Real-life pirates were probably much too practical to keep exotic pets. Although they would have nothing against taking them on as cargo to sell in port to the highest bidder.
A brief history of piracy
Technically, pirates are nothing more than robbers on water, and they’ve been around since ancient times, hectoring Greek and Roman ships. The highlights:
The corsairs: Pirates in the Mediterranean Sea from the 1400s to the 1700s. There were Muslim corsairs — the most famous were the red-bearded Barbarossa brothers, who operated along Africa’s Barbary Coast — and Christian corsairs. Rather than plunder treasure, they tended to kidnap seagoers and hold them for ransom, or sell them as slaves.
The buccaneers: These are the ones we’ve romanticized. They operated mainly in the Caribbean from around 1680 to 1730 — the “Golden Age of Piracy.” After Christopher Columbus claimed the Americas, the Spanish started mining their new colonies for silver, gold, gems and spices, which were sailed back to Europe in large galleon ships. The Caribbean coast of the Spanish empire became known as the Spanish Main. What self-respecting pirate could resist?
Privateers: Legal pirates who were commissioned by a government to attack enemy ships, and were paid with a share of the plunder. England and the nascent United States commissioned a lot of privateers. There was always an extremely thin line between pirate and privateer.
Modern times: Piracy is still very much alive and well, only now the pirates are armed with machine guns instead of machetes. There are several hundred reported pirate attacks every year, mostly off the coast of Somalia and in Indonesian waters. Pirates usually target merchant ships, but headlines were made late last year when two small boatfuls of pirates, armed with machine guns and a rocket-propelled grenade, attacked a cruise ship near Somalia. The cruise ship outran them.
Pirate FAQ
Q: What is a buckler and how do you swash it?
A: To swash means to move about noisily. A buckler is a shield. Therefore, a swashbuckler is somebody who makes a lot of noise in battle, by banging on a shield with a sword.
Q: Who is Roger, and why is he so jolly?
A: The Jolly Roger, the fearsome skull-and-crossbones flag, probably got its name from the French jolie rouge, or pretty red. A pirate ship would fly a red flag to signal that no mercy would be shown in battle. Most ships would simply surrender rather than fight.
Q: Who is Davy Jones?
A: In sailor mythology, he is the devil who presides over the deep. One legend holds that an unscrupulous pub owner named David Jones used to pack inebriated men into his ale locker and ship them off to sea. Or it could be taken from duffy, a West Indian word for ghost, and Jonah, the prophet who spent some time inside a whale. Davy Jones was also one of the Monkees; we have no idea what’s in his locker.
Q: What are pieces of eight?
A: Units of currency based on the silver Spanish dollar coin, which was in worldwide circulation by the end of the 18th century. The coins were frequently cut into eight bits, hence the slang “pieces of eight” (and also “two bits”). A doubloon was a Spanish gold coin.
Q: What is the Flying Dutchman?
A: A ghost ship, doomed to wander the seas forever, with no hope of finding safe haven. The original Flying Dutchman is said to haunt the Cape of Good Hope, and was immortalized in poetry by Sir Walter Scott and in opera by Richard Wagner.
Q: What type of socks do pirates wear?
A: Arrrrrgyle.
Q: What’s a pirate’s favorite city?
A: Arrrrrlington.
Q: What’s a pirate’s favorite animal?
A: The aarrrrrdvaark.
Q: Who is a pirate’s favorite basketball player?
A: Kareem Abdul Jabarrrrr.
Q: How much did the pirate pay for corn on the cob?
A: A buck an ear.
Our favorite real pirates
Blackbeard: Not to be confused with Bluebeard, the fairy-tale pirate, or with Redbeard, the legendary Dallas DJ. Blackbeard (real name Edward Teach) was renowned as the fiercest pirate to sail the seas. He did indeed have a huge black beard, which he liked to decorate with black ribbons — or, in battle, with smoking fuses. He supposedly had 14 wives and 40 children. From a base in North Carolina, Blackbeard worked the Caribbean and the East Coast of America. He was killed in 1718 after a fearsome duel with a British lieutenant.
Sir Henry Morgan: Captain Morgan, as he’s known on the rum bottle, was Jamaica’s most beloved pirate. In the service of Britain, he looted and routed the Spanish throughout the West Indies. He was knighted and named lieutenant governor of Jamaica, although he never really settled down into respectable life. He was given a hero’s burial when he died in 1688.
Jean Lafitte: Known as “The Gentleman Pirate,” Lafitte operated out of New Orleans. He helped defend the city against the British in the War of 1812, which won him a presidential pardon. But as New Orleans grew, Lafitte was pushed out, and resettled his pirate band on Galveston Island. From there, his fate remains a mystery.
Sir Francis Drake: Yes, the legendary British naval hero is considered a pirate — albeit one of the most legitimate and successful ones. Drake served Queen Elizabeth I as a privateer, attacking Spanish ships. In 1580, Drake became the first Englishman to sail around the world, and he brought home one of the greatest booties ever plundered; it would be worth maybe $70 million today. The queen was so pleased she made Drake the mayor of the colony at Plymouth.
Captain William Kidd: He started his career as a British privateer, but then he attacked several ships of the influential East India Trading Company, so Britain declared him a criminal instead. Kidd fled to New York with a chest of treasure which he supposedly buried in the Connecticut River, before he was captured and hanged.
Black Bart: One of the last in the Golden Age of Piracy, Bartholomew Roberts captured more than 400 ships in less than four years. He was killed in 1722, in a barrage of cannon fire from a British naval ship.
Anne Bonny and Mary Read: The “pirate queens,” as they were known, sailed with Calico Jack. Bonny had left her husband to take up with the pirate, and their crew was joined by Read, who was disguised as a man. When Read’s secret came out, she and Bonny became fast friends. When their ship was finally captured by the British in 1720, Bonny and Read fought more ferociously than the men.
Lady Mary Killigrew: A member of the British aristocracy, Lady Killigrew loved to go pirating along the coast of Cornwall. But after a particularly brutal raid, she ran afoul of Queen Elizabeth I, who sentenced her to death, before relenting and pardoning her.
Black Caesar: Some say he was an African king, escaped from a slave ship. Others say he was a slave born on a French plantation in Haiti, who fought for his country’s independence, then turned to piracy. He worked out of the Florida Everglades — great place to hide treasure.
Shawn Fanning: Many consider the founder of the music-sharing Napster a scoundrel of a pirate.
Our favorite pop-culture pirates
Captain Jack Sparrow: Johnny Depp’s Oscar-nominated performance in the first Pirates of the Caribbean is a masterpiece of understated comedy. Oh, those eyes! His mastery of the sword! His flailing limbs and drunken slur! It’s enough to make you forget about that remake of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
Long John Silver: The treacherous, traitorous pirate from Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island (played by Robert Newton in the 1950 Disney movie) is the basis for many of our pirate stereotypes. He’s missing a leg, he buries treasure, he has a pet parrot. Plus he makes pretty good fried fish, especially if you can get extra crunchies.
Captain Hook: Peter Pan’s one-handed nemesis — his missing appendage was eaten by that ticking crocodile — is a bit of a fop, with a variety of hooks for different occasions. For extra credit: Discuss the evolution of Hook from the J.M. Barrie play and novel, through Disney’s cartoon to Dustin Hoffman’s fey portrayal in the live-action Hook.
Errol Flynn: Starting with his breakthrough role in Captain Blood in 1935, he put the swash in buckle.
The Dread Pirate Roberts: From The Princess Bride novel and movie, this most romantic of pirates dresses all in black, and is reputed to leave no survivors.
The Pirate King: Leader of the band of soft-hearted orphan pirates in Gilbert and Sullivan’s operetta The Pirates of Penzance. The Pirate King’s nemesis is a very model of a modern major general.
The Sea Captain: The beloved Simpsons character, the owner of the Frying Dutchman restaurant, is not openly a pirate, although he has two glass eyes and says “arrrrrr” an awful lot.
Captain Feathersword: This friendly kids’ pirate consorts with The Wiggles. He carries a giant magenta feather for a sword, with which he tickles his victims.
Pittsburgh Pirates: They started playing baseball in 1887 as the Pittsburgh Alleghenies, before switching to the more fearsome name in 1891. Not to be confused with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Oakland Raiders.
Jimmy Buffett: The pirate be lookin’ at 60 this year.
Talk Like a Pirate Day
A few years back, in the middle of a racquetball game, two guys from Oregon — John Baur and Mark Summers — started talking like pirates, and it stuck. They decided to make an annual celebration of it: “Talk Like a Pirate Day,” Sept. 19.
Four years ago, Dave Barry wrote about it, and now people send in photos of themselves, their babies and even their pets dressed up as pirates. They’re posted at www.talklikeapirate.com — along with party tips, a pirate glossary, an English-to-pirate translator, a pirate personality test and more.
So how do you talk like a pirate? The folks at Talk Like a Pirate Day (U.K. edition) offer these general tips:
1. Double up on all your adjectives. Instead of “a big ship,” it’s “a great, grand ship!”
2. Drop all your g’s. “Rowin,’ ” “sailin’ ” and “fightin.’ ”
3. Drop all your v’s. “Ne’er,” “e’er” and “o’er.”
4. Instead of “I am,” say “I be.” Instead of “you are,” say “you be.”
5. Ne’er speak in anythin’ but the present tense!
6. If it be helpin’, start yer sentence wi’ a “Arr, me hearty,” in a deep, throaty voice. Ye’ll find that the rest be comin’ much easier!
Pirate speak: Yo-ho!
The most famous use of “yo-ho” is in a poem in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island: “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest/Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!” — taken from a legend in which Blackbeard stranded 15 men on an island known as Dead Man’s Chest, with only a bottle of rum and a sword apiece.
The famous pirate song Yo Ho Yo Ho (A Pirate’s Life for Me) was written in 1967 for the Disneyland ride Pirates of the Caribbean. “We extort, we pilfer, we filch, and sack . . . Maraud and embezzle and even high-jack.” Hmmmm, sounds like corporate raiders.
Pirate yarrrrrns
Some piratical literature for the lads and lassies:
How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long: Young Jeremy Jacob gets to join the crew of Captain Braid Beard. He learns there are upsides to the pirate life (no teeth-brushing!) and downsides (no bedtime stories). David Shannon’s illustrations are a hoot, especially the pirate with two eye patches.
Roger, the Jolly Pirate by Brett Helquist: The tale of a lousy pirate, from the illustrator of the Lemony Snicket books. Roger is simply much too jolly, and must endure the scorn of his shipmates — until he saves the day by baking a cake in a cannon.
The Ballad of the Pirate Queens by Jane Yolen: An unromaticized look at real-life female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read, told half in verse, with sumptuous illustrations by David Shannon.
Pirateology: The Pirate Hunter’s Companion: The latest in the popular “Ologies” series of kids’ history books will be released July 11. Pirate history is presented in the guise of a rollicking yarn, complete with lots of flaps, maps, charts and booklets.
Pirate: DK Eyewitness Books brings its in-depth, lushly illustrated style to the study of buccaneers.
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson: The mother of all pirate stories. Young Jim Hawkins goes in search of buried treasure, only to be doublecrossed by Long John Silver.
Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson: Yes, that’s humorist Dave Barry, and this is a rollicking, goofy prequel to Peter Pan, in which an 8-year-old Peter joins his 14-year-old shipmate, Molly Aster, in a quest to keep magical “starstuff” out of the hands of bad guys.
The Giant Rat of Sumatra: or Pirates Galore by Sid Fleischman: A humorous tale in which young Edmund Amos Peters gets mixed up with pirates and the 1846 Mexican-American War.
Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary “Jacky” Faber, Ship’s Boy by L.A. Meyer: The first in a series of novels about the orphaned 8-year-old Mary, who disguises herself as a boy and joins a ship’s crew, where she battles pirates and growing up.
A High Wind in Jamaica by Richard Hughes: After a hurricane destroys their home in Jamaica, the five Bas-Thorton children find refuge on a pirate ship, and find they enjoy their horrible new way of life. This 1929 novel has been described as Lord of the Flies, but with refreshing irony.
Filed June 20, 2006 at 8:56 am under Boring Stuff and Family and Geeky and Grog and Salmagundi and Pirate Info by TJ
I tried to get this update out in May (5/17), as an email newsletter, but I had formatting issues. I’ll refresh the content a little bit, but some of the “news” is a month old, keep that in mind.
TJ & Jaymie Tryon and Family Update
After a few hours of beautiful afternoon today, it has started raining again here in Indiana. I think we have had rain for about 10 days in a row, which is a good thing, as it is not snow. That means that it is spring again in Indiana! Another season and another year, it’s time to give everyone an update on our family.
If you haven’t been by my blarg lately, be sure to stop on by, as I’ve upgraded the software and formatting that runs my server, giving it a new look and feel, and I’m doing very regular updates to it. It’s a great place to stop by and see pictures of the kids, as well as to find out what we are up to now. Sometimes you may even get some useless information that comes out of my head, or my “secret” recipes for things. Any way about it, be sure to stop on by…
For our annual spring break trip, we made the entire Florida loop, with family stops in St. Pete (Jaymie’s Cousin), North Port (My uncle Tab), Ft. Myers (Oma). Both girls and mom handled the drive time quite well. After we were done visiting our families, we had to get back to the islands. Key West was the destination (of course) and we spent a few days in the sun, and enjoying the sites and sounds of paradise. Both Tanner and Teressa got to experience their second Sunset Celebration, as well as plenty of swimming time, and the best of all, the site seeing around town. After a few days, we headed up to Orlando, as Teressa wanted to see the “Rat”. We had a beautiful condo for the rest of vacation, just outside the entrance to Disney. We got to go to Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios, Magic Kingdom and Epcot. Teressa and Tanner had a great time.
Click on the picture to view a larger image,
or see the picture galleries at http://www.tjtryon.com/galleries      Â
Let’s start with the youngest… I bet you thought that would be Tanner, well, guess what, you’re wrong. Jaymie is pregnant again, about half way through. This baby is due on October 10th, and we are excited. We don’t know the sex of the baby yet, but knowing my track record, I’d bet on a girl. Speaking of bets, we’ve started a pool for guessing the new baby’s info, which can be found here: http://www.pregpool.com/online/jaymiet/. The pool is a 70/30 split, and each guess costs $10. Be sure to stop on by to register your guess.
As far as names, I think we’ve decided on either Tabytha Rose Tryon or Tobyas Trey Tryon (yeah, I know, it’s the Tryon name game).
Tanner is 1 year old on Sunday. Time just goes by too fast. She’s been walking for several months now, and talking up a storm. Too bad we don’t always know what she’s saying, but if we don’t understand, she’ll point to whatever she wants anyways. Anytime someone walks into the room, she greats them with a big smile full of teeth and a “Hi!”. All in all she’s doing great, and really looking forward to her first birthday party on the 28th.
Teressa is doing great in school as usual. Can you believe she’s a teenager now? That’s right, she turned 13 in March. She’s a great big sis to Tanner, and they get along fantastic. She’ll be up for most of the summer this year, as usual, and I would bet she’s going to be spending most of the time on the lake. Last summer she learned to waterski and kneeboard, and was pretty good at it. She even topped ole’ dad on the kneeboard, as she was able to do 360’s on it. She’s made it to visit quite a few times, as well as us making it to Tennessee as well.
Jaymie wanted to tell everyone she is fat and miserable. We found out Jaymie was pregnant on February 1st, and we are anxious and excited about the new baby, however completely terrified – We’ll have two in diapers at the same time. She’s been planning Tanner’s 1st birthday party, which will have a “JoJo’s Circus” theme, and having too much fun with that.
TJ (Me) – Since it’s warmed up, we’ve been trying to spend a bit of time outside, getting Tanner and mom outside as much as possible. As always, I’m trying to find a way to enjoy being outside and the nice sunny weather we (sometimes) have. I’ve been busy the past couple of months with yardwork, and will be starting a project to extend the deck around our hot tub.
Computer Tip
What is Phishing and Pharming?
Phishing attacks use both social engineering and technical subterfuge to steal consumers’ personal identity data and financial account credentials. Social-engineering schemes use ’spoofed’ e-mails to lead consumers to counterfeit websites designed to trick recipients into divulging financial data such as credit card numbers, account usernames, passwords and social security numbers. Hijacking brand names of banks, e-retailers and credit card companies, phishers often convince recipients to respond. Technical subterfuge schemes plant crimeware onto PCs to steal credentials directly, often using Trojan keylogger spyware. Pharming crimeware misdirects users to fraudulent sites or proxy servers, typically through DNS hijacking or poisoning.
The number and sophistication of phishing scams sent out to consumers is continuing to increase dramatically. While online banking and e-commerce is very safe, as a general rule you should be careful about giving out your personal financial information over the Internet. Here is a list of recommendations below that you can use to avoid becoming a victim of these scams.
- Be suspicious of any email with urgent requests for personal financial information
- unless the email is digitally signed, you can’t be sure it wasn’t forged or ’spoofed’
- phishers typically include upsetting or exciting (but false) statements in their emails to get people to react immediately
- they typically ask for information such as usernames, passwords, credit card numbers, social security numbers, etc.
- phisher emails are typically NOT personalized, while valid messages from your bank or e-commerce company generally are
- Don’t use the links in an email to get to any web page, if you suspect the message might not be authentic
- instead, call the company on the telephone, or log onto the website directly by typing in the Web adress in your browser
- Avoid filling out forms in email messages that ask for personal financial information
- you should only communicate information such as credit card numbers or account information via a secure website or the telephone
- Always ensure that you’re using a secure website when submitting credit card or other sensitive information via your Web browser
- to make sure you’re on a secure Web server, check the beginning of the Web address in your browsers address bar – it should be “https://” rather than just “http://”
- Regularly log into your online accounts
- don’t leave it for as long as a month before you check each account
- Regularly check your bank, credit and debit card satements to ensure that all transactions are legitimate
- if anything is suspicious, contact your bank and all card issuers
- Ensure that your browser is up to date and security patches applied
- in particular, people who use the Microsoft Internet Explorer browser should immediately go to the Microsoft Security home page — http://www.microsoft.com/security/ — to download a special patch relating to certain phishing schemes
- Always report “phishing” or “spoofed†e-mails to the following groups:
- forward the email to mailto:reportphishing@antiphishing.org
- forward the email to the Federal Trade Commission at spam@uce.gov
- forward the email to the “abuse” email address at the company that is being spoofed (e.g. “spoof@ebay.com”)
- when forwarding spoofed messages, always include the entire original email with its original header information intact
- notify the Internet Fraud Complaint Center of the FBI by filing a complaint on their website: www.ifccfbi.gov/
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Pirate Yarns
Anne Bonney was born Anne Cormac in County Cork, Ireland. Her mother, Mary Brennan, was the daughter of a servant woman who had an affair with her employer, a lawyer named William Cormac. His wife soon discovered the affair and William Cormac, Mary Brennan, and a young Anne crossed the Atlantic to flee the scandal. They settled in Charleston, S.C.Anne quickly became bored with life on her father’s plantation, and was drawn to a life of adventure. Before Anne was out of her teens she married James Bonney, who was a renegade seaman and sometimes pirate. At this time pirates frequented Charleston. James planned to steal William Cormac’s land through the marriage but Anne’s father disowned her before this could be done. Legend has it that in retaliation, Anne burned the plantation to the ground.
They Fled to Nassau, the pirate haven. In this time it was called New Providence. James Proved a coward and a traitor, then became a paid snitch for the governor. Anne soon distanced herself from James, perferring the company of the island’s notorious pirates and women.
After meeting the pirate “Calico Jack†Rackham (nicknamed for his tacky striped pants) she became romantically involved with him. He had just commandeered a ship full of liquor from his former boss, pirate captain Charles Vane. When James Bonney objected to the affair, he took Anne, brought her naked before the governor and charged her with the felony of deserting him. Calico Jack suggested instead putting Anne up for sale to the highest bidder because she was then considered to be stolen property (an “under-the-table legal practice for divorce at the time). James got a court order forbidding Jack and Anne to see each other. Despite Jack’s rather less-than-romantic proposal, Anne ran away with Calico Jack and joined his ship’s crew, disguised as a man.
The Conclusion: Charles Barnet, a former pirate turned pirate-hunter, attacked Calico Jack’s ship in 1720. Barnet caught Rackham and his crew. Anne is said to have shouted, “If there’s a man among ye, ye’ll come out and fight like the men ye are to be.†When this provoked no answer, they were outraged by the cowardly men. Anne and Mary shot the male pirates, killing one and wounding several others, including Jack Rackham. Only Anne and Mary stood their ground, fighting furiously. But despite Anne and Mary’s ferocity, the pirates were captured.
At this time women had no rights, although it was illegal to execute a pregnant woman, so Anne and Mary, “plead their belliesâ€, claiming to be with child. All that were captured were hanged, except Anne and Mary. After the trial, Anne Bonney disappeared from this historical record.It is rumored she was hanged around a year later, however other rumors were that she was granted a reprieve, some even say that she returned to her father, others say her husband and one myth even went as far as to say that she became a nun.
Links
Last time, I had just finished reading a book who’s story was geographically located in the Gulf Shores/Mobile area, and I included some good links to the area. We recently got back from Key West, and I love the area. There is so much history to Key West, so I am going to include a little story and some links to more info on Key West.
My favorite story is about a drunk mayor, and an overzealouse US Government roadblock effort, in April of 1982, on Key Largo to stop illegal products or immigration:
“Enter a bunch of outraged Conchs, who came up with the brilliant idea of seceding from the USA. They formed the nation of the Conch Republic, whose first act was to secede from, and whose second act was to declare war on, the USA. The third act, of course, was to surrender and request $1 million in foreign aid, presumably for more tequila.â€
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“Well I hope you understand, I just had to go back to the island.†– JB
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Official Web Site of the Conch Republic
Pirate’s In Paradise
Some Key West History
Official Key West Florida Site
Key West Travel Links
Key West Travel Links
Drink of the Week
The Mojito. Very yummy. For a variation, try pineapple or mango rum. I had the pineapple.Mojito
Ingredients:
2-3 oz Light rum
Juice of 1 Lime (1 oz)
2 tsp Sugar
2-4 Mint sprigs
Soda water
Mixing instructions:
Lightly muddle the mint and sugar with a splash of soda water in a mixing glass until the sugar dissolve and you smell the mint. Squeeze the lime into the glass, add rum and shake with ice. Strain over cracked ice in a highball glass. Top with soda water, garnish with mint sprig and serve.
Filed February 14, 2006 at 8:33 am under Pirate Info by TJ
Anne Bonney was born Anne Cormac in County Cork, Ireland. Her mother, Mary Brennan, was the daughter of a servant woman who had an affair with her employer, a lawyer named William Cormac. His wife soon discovered the affair and William Cormac, Mary Brennan, and a young Anne crossed the Atlantic to flee the scandal. They settled in Charleston, S.C.Anne quickly became bored with life on her father’s plantation, and was drawn to a life of adventure. Before Anne was out of her teens she married James Bonney, who was a renegade seaman and sometimes pirate. At this time pirates frequented Charleston. James planned to steal William Cormac’s land through the marriage but Anne’s father disowned her before this could be done. Legend has it that in retaliation, Anne burned the plantation to the ground.
They Fled to Nassau, the pirate haven. In this time it was called New Providence. James Proved a coward and a traitor, then became a paid snitch for the governor. Anne soon distanced herself from James, perferring the company of the island’s notorious pirates and women.
After meeting the pirate “Calico Jack” Rackham (nicknamed for his tacky striped pants) she became romantically involved with him. He had just commandeered a ship full of liquor from his former boss, pirate captain Charles Vane. When James Bonney objected to the affair, he took Anne, brought her naked before the governor and charged her with the felony of deserting him. Calico Jack suggested instead putting Anne up for sale to the highest bidder because she was then considered to be stolen property (an “under-the-table legal practice for divorce at the time). James got a court order forbidding Jack and Anne to see each other. Despite Jack’s rather less-than-romantic proposal, Anne ran away with Calico Jack and joined his ship’s crew, disguised as a man.
The Conclusion: Charles Barnet, a former pirate turned pirate-hunter, attacked Calico Jack’s ship in 1720. Barnet caught Rackham and his crew. Anne is said to have shouted, “If there’s a man among ye, ye’ll come out and fight like the men ye are to be.” When this provoked no answer, they were outraged by the cowardly men. Anne and Mary shot the male pirates, killing one and wounding several others, including Jack Rackham. Only Anne and Mary stood their ground, fighting furiously. But despite Anne and Mary’s ferocity, the pirates were captured.
At this time women had no rights, although it was illegal to execute a pregnant woman, so Anne and Mary, “plead their bellies”, claiming to be with child. All that were captured were hanged, except Anne and Mary. After the trial, Anne Bonney disappeared from this historical record.It is rumored she was hanged around a year later, however other rumors were that she was granted a reprieve, some even say that she returned to her father, others say her husband and one myth even went as far as to say that she became a nun.
Filed February 9, 2006 at 10:52 pm under Pirate Info by TJ
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Under the Black Flag
The Romance and the Reality
of Life Among the Pirates
by Dr. David Cordingly
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   Rich Mason, for Christmas this year, bought me this great book. I’m a little slow at reading, but I have been absorbing the content with great fun. It’s about real live pirate history and stories and the such, and I would go into more tonight, but my ambien just kicked in, making it is bedtime for me. In the meantime, read some about the book from the Dead Men Tail No Tails website:
  “Pirates have become so much a part of story and legend that it is easy to forget they actually existed in the flesh. Their roving lives left behind little in the way of historical record; thus our image of them is derived from a smattering of fact overlaid with three centuries of ballads, plays, epic poems, and films. But how does our conception of pirates compare with the reality, and why has such a romantic aura become associated with murderers and thieves?
 Pursuing that question, Dr. David Cordingly, former head of exhibitions at England’s National Maritime Museum, has mined a wealth of original sources—eyewitness accounts, court documents, national archives, and more—to create the most authoritative and definitive account of the great age of piracy since the 1724 bestseller
The General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates (which will soon be republished by Fern Canyon Press). Under the Black Flag explodes many closely held myths and replaces them with a truth that is more complex and every bit as fascinating. Here are the real stories of Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan, along with lesser-known but equally noteworthy pirates such as Henry Avery (who captured an emperor’s treasure fleet but died penniless) and the cross-dressing women Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
From the havoc of battle to the isolation of life at sea, Under the Black Flag, makes tangible the day-to-day existence of pirates. How they attacked, how they governed themselves, what they wore, what ships they used, why they flourished in the years around 1720, and what brought their reign of terror to an end—all is revealed in this rousing and revisionist history.
 Over the centuries, pirates have been portrayed as both admirable rogues and bloodthirsty devils, but as Under the Black Flag shows, the one thing that has remained constant is our fascination with the freedom they represent. In examining why their image endures in our hearts and minds, Cordingly speaks to the pirate in all of us.”
help?
  
