Back to the Future.... NO, WAIT. The PAST...of pirates!

     I have subsequently been sent to the past... It is about 1710 A.D. according to my phone. How do I even get reception here? I walk through an alley, towards a light in the distance, hoping I am greeted by friendly people. I see a coastline with a few boats a few feet further away. I run, hailing one of the men I see grumbling, walking around, and carrying huge loads of who-knows-what. He looks towards me, drops what he's carrying, which is a sack of flower I presume, and pulls me aside. "What do you think you are doing here and in that get-up?"

      I am fairly confused by this until I peek over his shoulder to see loads of men; they're not just men but pirates. Tons and tons of pirates, cleaning the boat and supplying the ship with enough stored meat and bread to last months. I could not believe my eyes, and when I looked at the pirate, he began to undress. "That is totally unnecessary," I say with a bit of caution and fear in my eyes.

     "No, look," he commands, or she?
     The once fearsome-looking pirate has unbuckled her cloak and coat to reveal he is actually a she, a real-life women pirate. I am utterly shocked because what I learned in my English 1102 class is that no woman was allowed on deck of a pirate ship unless authorized. By the looks of the girl standing in front of me, she was about my age, around 19 to 20 years of age. She pulled her slick, velvet-looking jacket back over her slender body and her silk cloak over her head. She slightly gestures to my clothing, and I notice that not only I look like a female, but my clothes haven't even been thought of yet. She puts one finger to her lips, motioning that I stay here and be quiet. I wait, while she leaves and returns with a bag of garments for me to slip into. After changing and somehow masquerading the fact that I have a working cellphone in this century of little technology, she brings me aboard the ship. She tells me I will get off at the next raid, and I can see what real woman, although dressed as a man, can do with a double-edged cutlass and a pistol of admirable caliber. I stay in "his" bunk because the captain has nowhere else to put me; he greeted me with reluctance but allowed me to stay from my dedication to hard work and learning new things. We end up on some foreign coast several days later, my feet and hands aching at the jobs the captain had lined up for me. Sometimes I'd see the girl, Mary Read, sneak out of her room and head into the captain's, and I pondered whether or not he knew she was not actually a boy. When she came back one morning, right before a raid, I questioned her of this, but she just laughed and grabbed her weapons. It was time. We had a city to raid and people to steal from and kill. I knew subconsciously I wasn't ready for this, but I was going to try. I grabbed a pistol and hitched it in my holster. Then, I grabbed an unmanned cutlass, double-edged to my liking, and threw my arm into the air with a battle cry. I never actually killed anyone, just lowkey took an entire bag of coins for my classmates as proof. I watched Mary in her wrath, weed-whacking down soldiers as fast as they could run to her. She was magnificent, but little did I know, in the midst of my thievery, my cloak had fallen off; I was exposed. What did I do next? I ran. I ran as fast as my little, size 6 1/2 feet could take me, and I high-tailed it back to 2017 with gold in hand. When I got back, I started to wonder how I'd ever share my story without having anyone doubt me. That's when my English teacher proposed a piratical blog post where I, the main character, had to make up a tale about meeting a woman pirate. So as I am writing, you, the reader, have to decide is this fact or a work of pure fiction from a real, woman pirate.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Pirate of ze Wales, Sir Henry Morgan...

Issue: 1 -THE PIRATE POST -Est. February 1, 1671

By: Taylor Reynolds

(Sir Henry Morgan & the Raiding of Panama)

  SIR Henry Morgan has done it! He has earned the title of knighthood and has successfully pulled off the heist of the century. After all that he's been through, you'd think he'd deserve something a little more permanent than all that money. But, let's really look into what happened...
   
     Henry Morgan, "inconspicuously sanctioned by England," he planned an attack on a port, Portobello, in 1668, in which the Spanish had moved their riches and product too when Nombre de Dios was attacked by Sir Francis Drake years earlier. "Lionel Wafer....described it as having 'a very, fair and commodious harbor...," in which intrigued Morgan to the fullest. He figured he could ambush the two castles that were poorly stocked with lowly soldiers, who hadn't a clue of what they were supposed to be doing. Not manning a fort should be punishable by the gallows if I do say so myself.

     But, nevertheless, Morgan planned to use a fleet of 12 ships, take out the lookout posts, capture the towns, and finally, deliver a fatal blow to the President of Panama. Everything pretty much went according to plan: lookout posts, and maybe some soldiers, taken out. Then, after scaring off more citizens, the towns were taken over. It was time to deliver a knock-out message to the President, Don Agustin, to either give Morgan and his crew 350,000 pesos, or send his own fleet and battle it out. Eventually, although refusing at first, the President agreed and sent around 250,000 pesos in gold and silver, in which he took off to his home in Jamaica. 

     Later, early this year, Morgan planned another attack on Panama, in which he was restricted by an order to not raid anything having to do with the Spanish. England and Spain were at war, and raiding was a crime at the time. Morgan went through with his plan anyways, and reversed his previous feat. He did not plan a frontal attack, and even with a win, he was arrested for breaking the law... BUT, by the power of God himself, the Queen of England has granted Morgan a pass and has even given him the title of a KNIGHT. By the power vested in the Queen herself, we shall all shout for joy at this miraculous achievement!

Arghhh... Captain Taylor Reporting...

In Under the Black Flag, page 52, it says that Don Juan, the President of Panama, set his ships ablaze in order to discourage Morgan from taking their valuables (their treasure). On the other hand, in Buccaneers and Pirates, page 160-161, Stockton writes that Morgan crashed his ships right into Juan's fleet, burning them to the ocean's floor. What exactly happen and which is really true? We know that Morgan did gather the treasure from the sea floor, taking a lot of 'booty,' but did Morgan come to pick up the pieces of his attack or did he come back to pick up the President's?

ARGH, BUT HOW DID MORGAN ESCAPE THE SCURVY-RIDDEN PLACE OF MARACAIBO??

He simply sent his men in small boats, canoes of some sort, tricking the people into thinking he was planning a frontal, land assault. BUT, he simply had his men get to his ship. Avast! And the Spanish admiral had no idea! He should walk the plank for not seeing through that trick, if walking the plank wasn't a myth.......

Cordingly, David. UNDER THE BLACK FLAG. NEW YORK, NEW YORK: RANDOM House, 1995. Print.

Arrrrgh... questions from BEYOND DAVY JONES' LOCKER...

1. Why was Panama so important to both Drake and Morgan?
Panama was so important to Drank because on the port of Nombre de Dios, a lot of silver and gold was delivered from Peru and Bolivia, to be sent to Spain; it was a great port to attack for all the riches the Spaniards wanted to take with them. Morgan, on the other hand, since Nombre de Dios was stripped of its port and changed to Portobello, had the same idea; he pulled off two different attacks, frontal and on the sea, at Portobello.

2. What was a Cimaroon and how did they help Drake?
They were natives  from Sudan (Africa) in Panama, whom were once slaves to the Spanish, in which they revolted and had two kings of their own. Because of the tension between them and Spain, they helped Sir Francis Drake to defeat the Spanish conquest.

3. How was Drake similar to a pirate?
He plundered Nombre de Dios, the port, of Spanish gold and silver, and afterwards, carried on the plunder a numerous amount of ports in Africa and the West Indies.

4. How did Drake fool the Captain of the Spanish ship Cacafuego?
He dressed his ship, the Golden Hind, as a merchant ship, in order to trick the Captain of the Cacafuego into thinking he could win. When the captain refused to surrender to this lowly, little, merchant ship, the Golden Hind started firing, and defeated the other ship's men.

5. What did Francis Drake accomplish that made him world famous?
He was the first captain to circumnavigate the world and make it, unlike Magellan, whom died during his voyage. He also brought back around 500,000 pounds for himself and the Queen, in which would be about 68 million pounds today.

6. How many voyages did Christopher Columbus make?
He made 4 voyages around the world in his search of India and their silk and spices; his first landed him in the Bahamas, his second in Dominica, and his third and fourth landed him on the Coast of South America and the Gulf of Darien.

7. In what ways is he considered a pirate in the narrative "Masters of Piracy"?
The book states, "robbery, murder, and the destruction of property...who have no warrant or commission for their conduct, is the same as piracy..." which is what Columbus was doing when his mindset supposedly "changed."His mindset was altered when he found out that these new lands were filled with riches beyond his imagination of just silk and spices from India.

8. In "Plundering and Treasure Ports" (UBF) we learn of other "explorers" who were de facto pirates. Choose one and learn more about him.
Pizzaro: Franciso Pizzaro had heard about the gold and silver that the Incas had in Peru, and he set off with his crew in 1532. He was nothing like Cortes, and he was illiterate and came from peasantry. He did successfully capture the Inacans' ruler, Atahualpa, took over the capital of Cuzco, and had the Incan ruler executed.

9. On p 40 of UBF, we learn about a ship's surgeon, Alexander Exquemelin. What did he write and why is it so important to the study of pirates?
He published a work about Henry Morgan's impact on Panama city, and it featured different things about the "lives and customs of buccaneers." This educated and entertained he public it sold to.

10. Write down some details about Sir Henry Morgan.
There's a debate whether or not he was a pirate, privateer or corsair, although he mainly plundered for England. He did do some off-site plundering of his own while England and Spain were at peace.

The BIG Picture - Connecting the Pieces

1. Overall, what statement can you make about Sir Francis Drake, Henry Morgan, Columbus and the other explorers that would be part of the bigger picture of piracy and "discovery" of the New World?

Morgan, Drake, and Columbus all had their share in pirating by plundering each place they landed on: Panama, the Bahamas, etc... but, it did pave the way for new lands to be discovered and settled in, and it paved the road (and sea) for the New World.

EXTRA! EXTRA! Pirate of ze Wales, Sir Henry Morgan...

Issue: 1 -THE PIRATE POST -Est. February 1, 1671

By: Taylor Reynolds

(Sir Henry Morgan & the Raiding of Panama)

  SIR Henry Morgan has done it! He has earned the title of knighthood and has successfully pulled off the heist of the century. After all that he's been through, you'd think he'd deserve something a little more permanent than all that money. But, let's really look into what happened...
     Henry Morgan, "inconspicuously sanctioned by England," he planned an attack on a port, Portobello, in 1668, in which the Spanish had moved their riches and product too when Nombre de Dios was attacked by Sir Francis Drake years earlier. "Lionel Wafer....described it as having 'a very, fair and commodious harbor...," in which intrigued Morgan to the fullest. He figured he could ambush the two castles that were poorly stocked with lowly soldiers, who hadn't a clue of what they were supposed to be doing. Not manning a fort should be punishable by the gallows if I do say so myself.
     But, nevertheless, Morgan planned to use a fleet of 12 ships, take out the lookout posts, capture the towns, and finally, deliver a fatal blow to the President of Panama. Everything pretty much went according to plan: lookout posts, and maybe some soldiers, taken out. Then, after scaring off more citizens, the towns were taken over. It was time to deliver a knock-out message to the President, Don Agustin, to either give Morgan and his crew 350,000 pesos, or send his own fleet and battle it out. Eventually, although refusing at first, the President agreed and sent around 250,000 pesos in gold and silver, in which he took off to his home in Jamaica.
     Later, early this year, Morgan planned another attack on Panama, in which he was restricted by an order to not raid anything having to do with the Spanish. England and Spain were at war, and raiding was a crime at the time. Morgan went through with his plan anyways, and reversed his previous feat. He did not plan a frontal attack, and even with a win, he was arrested for breaking the law... BUT, by the power of God himself, the Queen of England has granted Morgan a pass and has even given him the title of a KNIGHT. By the power vested in the Queen herself, we shall all shout for joy at this miraculous achievement!

Annotations, my dear pirates... or is it salutations?

     I compare doing these annotations to a mnemonic device; it'll be easier to remember the facts by reading a narrative, which helps us connect the two.

     In Buccaneers and Pirates, by Frank R. Stockton, he mentions wanting to "be called a marine Robin Hood" and how he would "take from the rich and give to the poor" (Stockton 1). But, if we look at the facts in Under the Black Flag, we read that "pirates were not maritime versions of Robin Hood and his Merry Men" (Cordingly xiv).

     Another connection can be made to where most pirates came from. In Under the Black Flag, Stockton writes, "The French played a major part in the history of piracy. Many of the most successful and most fearsome of the buccaneers who prowled the prowled the Spanish Main came from French seaports" (Cordingly xvi). In Buccaneers and Pirates, the author states, "There was a Frenchman of that period who must have been a warm-hearted philanthropist, because, having read accounts of the terrible atrocities of the Spaniards in the western lands, he determined to leave his home and his family, and become a buccaneer, in order that he might do what he could for the suffering natives in the Spanish possessions" (Stockton 18-19). Both accounts are completely opposite, contrasting in the motives of the buccaneers. Both mention them being French, but Cordingly writes that they're brutal, while Stockton perceives them as kind and doing their duty to society, even going as far as calling the Frenchman a "philanthropist," coming from the French etymology,"philanthropique," or the Greek word, "philanthrōpos," meaning 'man-loving.' 

     

Southern Hospitality

Southern Hospitality

     When you think of the South, you think collard greens, sweet tea, and some southern hospitality. Well, it is not all it is cracked up to be. I have found that some southerners are not so hospitable like we say we are.

     Ever hear the term "bless your heart?" Well, it is not a friendly term. I have been told many times and have probably said it more than enough myself. "Bless your heart" is a phrase that Southerners like to used when we do not want to say something overly rude. Instead of saying, "Haha, good luck with all of your problems you just told me" or "you're screwed," we say, "bless your heart." It means, "good luck, and I am SO glad I am not in your position." I remember someone telling me this at my job, Gymboree at Sugarloaf Mills, after telling them about my three little brothers (2, 5, and 12). After stating that my brothers inspired me to major in Early Childhood Education and become a kindergarten teacher, they sighed and began to mumble, "well, bless your heart, darlin'." It doesn't feel good to know the meaning nor is it good to not know and eventually find out that all your southern friends pity you.

     To those who've ever said or heard this, be wary. I compare it to the same level of disappointment someone receives when something is sent to your email, but that email no longer exists. Trust me, that hurts.