A 1734 engraving of Blackbeard
WHO WANTS TO BE A PIRATE?
Despite the swashbuckling image pirates were insecure men
Somehow I had always thought of piracy as something from the past, a maritime scourge that affected previous generations but not of much interest today.
After all, in this age of satellite surveillance the traditional sea-borne pirating vessel has little or no chance of success. However, it lingers on.
That came to my attention after I joined this newspaper and discovered that Bangladesh suffers from coastal pirates and, if anything to a greater extent, from fresh water piracy in the form of raiding ferry boats.
Although in popular imagination piracy has a distinctly Western image and flavour there are Eastern pirates and always have been for many centuries. However, the Eastern variety receive relatively little publicity although no doubt they were and are just as numerous, fierce and successful as the others.
Today piracy survives in places such as Bangladesh and the waters between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, particularly the coastal regions of Malaysia and Singapore.
My guess is that in the fullness of time satellite technology will make it all but impossible for large scale and spectacular robbery on the high seas or in territorial waters to be a career option for the sane.
The United Kingdom has a long history of combating piracy and of encouraging it in the form of commissioning privateers (a ship authorised by a government to attack and rob vessels belonging to the flag of a hostile state).
Lt. Commander Steve McNeil of the Royal Navy has this to say: “Queen Elizabeth (the first) authorised Francis Drake to do piracy (i.e., privateering). If we (the Royal Navy) encounter piracy on the high seas we are still obliged to stop it. In the Singapore Straits this phenomenon gives one authority to act.
“Some of the navy’s actions are rooted in the laws abolishing slavery.”
One possible problem is that most native British people get their initial impressions about piracy from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The problem lies in the fact that that happens to be a work of fiction while the world of piracy, past and present, is real.
Whatever, for many British boys and grown up boys the one-legged Long John Silver is the archetypal pirate. Anyhow, here is a sample of his talk from the novel: “Now,” resumed Silver, “here it is. You give us the chart to get the treasure by, and drop shooting poor seamen, and stoving of their heads in while asleep. You do that, and we’ll offer you a choice. Either you come aboard of us, once the treasure shipped, and then I’ll give you my affy-davy, upon my word of honour, to clap you somewhere safe ashore. Or, if that ain’t to your fancy, some of my hands being rough, and having old scores, on account of hazing, then you can stay here, you can. We’ll divide stores with you, man for man; and I’ll give you my affy-davy, as before, to speak the first ship I sight, and send them here to pick you up. Now, you’ll own that’s talking. Handsomer you couldn’t look to get, not you. And I hope” – raising his voice – “that all hands in this here block-house will overhaul my words, for what is spoke to one is spoke to all.”
When it comes to real pirates, here is the biography of Blackbeard, possibly the wickedest one of all, from http://www.piratesinfo.com/:
“Edward "Blackbeard" Teach was undoubtedly was one the most feared and most despised pirates of all time. Edward Teach is thought to have lived in England before his pirate career, although his exact origins are unknown. He was named "Blackbeard", for his large black beard that almost covered his entire face. To strike terror in the hearts of his enemies Blackbeard would weave hemp into his hair, and light it during battle. Edward Teach was an unusually large man, carrying two swords, numerous knives, and pistols- he was feared by his own crew.
“At the sight of this pirate, many of his victims were quick to surrender without a fight. If they did, he would often times just take their valuables, rum, and weapons— allowing them to sail away. However, if the vessel resisted capture, he would either kill the crew, or maroon them. Blackbeard needed to maintain his devilish image in order to maintain the respect of his crew (very few members of the crew doubted that he was the devil himself, very few didn’t fear him, and therefore they obeyed him).
“Blackbeard began his pirating career sometime after 1713, as an ordinary crewmember aboard a Jamaican sloop commanded by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold. In 1716, Hornigold supplied Teach with a small crew, and a small captured vessel to command. By 1717 Hornigold and Teach were sailing in alliance, and together were feared throughout the seas. In November 1717, Hornigold and Teach were able to capture a 26 gun French vessel called the Concorde (recent research has shown that the vessel had originally been built in Great Britain). Blackbeard’s pirate partner, Hornigold, decided to take advantage of a recent offer of general amnesty from the British Crown- and retire in comfort. Teach rejected the offer and resolved to convert the captured French vessel Concorde into his flagship. Teach increased her armament to 40 guns, and re-named her the Queen Anne's Revenge.
“Soon Teach and the Queen Anne's Revenge met another pirate vessel. She was the ten-gun pirate sloop Revenge from Barbados, commanded by Stede Bonnet. Soon after agreeing to sail together, Blackbeard thought that Bonnet was a poor leader and an incompetent sailor. He promptly appointed a different pirate to command the Revenge, and made Bonnet a "guest" aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge , where he remained until the ship finally wrecked six months later.
“In the winter of 1717-1718, Blackbeard sailed the Caribbean with his two ships. While plundering vessels, Teach decided to add two more captured vessels to his group of pirating watercraft. in the Spring of 1718 Blackbeard was in command of four pirate ships, and well over 300 pirates.
“In late May, Blackbeard’s flagship was lost at Beaufort Inlet, and a smaller vessel of his fleet was lost that same day while trying to assist the stranded Queen Anne's Revenge . Before leaving Beaufort Inlet, Blackbeard left twenty-five members of his crew on a deserted rocky ledge, and stripped the Revenge of her provisions. Stede Bonnet helped the marooned men, and in return they agreed to obey his commands. Together with his crew, Bonnet resumed his lawless ways aboard the Revenge, which he re-named the Royal James.
“Meanwhile, Teach and his crew had sailed to Bath, and then to the capital of North Carolina, where Governor Charles Eden pardoned them. Blackbeard; however, did not stop his pirate habits, and continued to take ships after the period of amnesty had expired. A government official spotted him and thus a fleet of Royal Navy ships surprised Blackbeard at Ocracoke Inlet on November 22, 1718, where he was killed. Although it was a short battle, it was one of the most bloody in Blackbeard’s pirating career. Before he fell, he had a reported 5 bullet wounds and more than twenty sword cuts before dying. As a show of victory, the Royal Navy captain decapitated Blackbeard, and hung his head on the ships rigging. Blackbeard had captured over 40 ships during his piratical career, and had been the cause of the deaths of hundreds of people. Although Blackbeard's lawless career lasted only a few years, his fearsome reputation has long outlived him.”
Colin White of the Royal Naval Museum has this to say: “I guess the Royal Navy has been fighting piracy in all its forms going back to Johnny Depp (of Pirates of the Caribbean) and Treasure Island based on Blackbeard in the 17th century.
WHO WANTS TO BE A PIRATE?
Despite the swashbuckling image pirates were insecure men
Somehow I had always thought of piracy as something from the past, a maritime scourge that affected previous generations but not of much interest today.
After all, in this age of satellite surveillance the traditional sea-borne pirating vessel has little or no chance of success. However, it lingers on.
That came to my attention after I joined this newspaper and discovered that Bangladesh suffers from coastal pirates and, if anything to a greater extent, from fresh water piracy in the form of raiding ferry boats.
Although in popular imagination piracy has a distinctly Western image and flavour there are Eastern pirates and always have been for many centuries. However, the Eastern variety receive relatively little publicity although no doubt they were and are just as numerous, fierce and successful as the others.
Today piracy survives in places such as Bangladesh and the waters between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, particularly the coastal regions of Malaysia and Singapore.
My guess is that in the fullness of time satellite technology will make it all but impossible for large scale and spectacular robbery on the high seas or in territorial waters to be a career option for the sane.
The United Kingdom has a long history of combating piracy and of encouraging it in the form of commissioning privateers (a ship authorised by a government to attack and rob vessels belonging to the flag of a hostile state).
Lt. Commander Steve McNeil of the Royal Navy has this to say: “Queen Elizabeth (the first) authorised Francis Drake to do piracy (i.e., privateering). If we (the Royal Navy) encounter piracy on the high seas we are still obliged to stop it. In the Singapore Straits this phenomenon gives one authority to act.
“Some of the navy’s actions are rooted in the laws abolishing slavery.”
One possible problem is that most native British people get their initial impressions about piracy from Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. The problem lies in the fact that that happens to be a work of fiction while the world of piracy, past and present, is real.
Whatever, for many British boys and grown up boys the one-legged Long John Silver is the archetypal pirate. Anyhow, here is a sample of his talk from the novel: “Now,” resumed Silver, “here it is. You give us the chart to get the treasure by, and drop shooting poor seamen, and stoving of their heads in while asleep. You do that, and we’ll offer you a choice. Either you come aboard of us, once the treasure shipped, and then I’ll give you my affy-davy, upon my word of honour, to clap you somewhere safe ashore. Or, if that ain’t to your fancy, some of my hands being rough, and having old scores, on account of hazing, then you can stay here, you can. We’ll divide stores with you, man for man; and I’ll give you my affy-davy, as before, to speak the first ship I sight, and send them here to pick you up. Now, you’ll own that’s talking. Handsomer you couldn’t look to get, not you. And I hope” – raising his voice – “that all hands in this here block-house will overhaul my words, for what is spoke to one is spoke to all.”
When it comes to real pirates, here is the biography of Blackbeard, possibly the wickedest one of all, from http://www.piratesinfo.com/:
“Edward "Blackbeard" Teach was undoubtedly was one the most feared and most despised pirates of all time. Edward Teach is thought to have lived in England before his pirate career, although his exact origins are unknown. He was named "Blackbeard", for his large black beard that almost covered his entire face. To strike terror in the hearts of his enemies Blackbeard would weave hemp into his hair, and light it during battle. Edward Teach was an unusually large man, carrying two swords, numerous knives, and pistols- he was feared by his own crew.
“At the sight of this pirate, many of his victims were quick to surrender without a fight. If they did, he would often times just take their valuables, rum, and weapons— allowing them to sail away. However, if the vessel resisted capture, he would either kill the crew, or maroon them. Blackbeard needed to maintain his devilish image in order to maintain the respect of his crew (very few members of the crew doubted that he was the devil himself, very few didn’t fear him, and therefore they obeyed him).
“Blackbeard began his pirating career sometime after 1713, as an ordinary crewmember aboard a Jamaican sloop commanded by the pirate Benjamin Hornigold. In 1716, Hornigold supplied Teach with a small crew, and a small captured vessel to command. By 1717 Hornigold and Teach were sailing in alliance, and together were feared throughout the seas. In November 1717, Hornigold and Teach were able to capture a 26 gun French vessel called the Concorde (recent research has shown that the vessel had originally been built in Great Britain). Blackbeard’s pirate partner, Hornigold, decided to take advantage of a recent offer of general amnesty from the British Crown- and retire in comfort. Teach rejected the offer and resolved to convert the captured French vessel Concorde into his flagship. Teach increased her armament to 40 guns, and re-named her the Queen Anne's Revenge.
“Soon Teach and the Queen Anne's Revenge met another pirate vessel. She was the ten-gun pirate sloop Revenge from Barbados, commanded by Stede Bonnet. Soon after agreeing to sail together, Blackbeard thought that Bonnet was a poor leader and an incompetent sailor. He promptly appointed a different pirate to command the Revenge, and made Bonnet a "guest" aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge , where he remained until the ship finally wrecked six months later.
“In the winter of 1717-1718, Blackbeard sailed the Caribbean with his two ships. While plundering vessels, Teach decided to add two more captured vessels to his group of pirating watercraft. in the Spring of 1718 Blackbeard was in command of four pirate ships, and well over 300 pirates.
“In late May, Blackbeard’s flagship was lost at Beaufort Inlet, and a smaller vessel of his fleet was lost that same day while trying to assist the stranded Queen Anne's Revenge . Before leaving Beaufort Inlet, Blackbeard left twenty-five members of his crew on a deserted rocky ledge, and stripped the Revenge of her provisions. Stede Bonnet helped the marooned men, and in return they agreed to obey his commands. Together with his crew, Bonnet resumed his lawless ways aboard the Revenge, which he re-named the Royal James.
“Meanwhile, Teach and his crew had sailed to Bath, and then to the capital of North Carolina, where Governor Charles Eden pardoned them. Blackbeard; however, did not stop his pirate habits, and continued to take ships after the period of amnesty had expired. A government official spotted him and thus a fleet of Royal Navy ships surprised Blackbeard at Ocracoke Inlet on November 22, 1718, where he was killed. Although it was a short battle, it was one of the most bloody in Blackbeard’s pirating career. Before he fell, he had a reported 5 bullet wounds and more than twenty sword cuts before dying. As a show of victory, the Royal Navy captain decapitated Blackbeard, and hung his head on the ships rigging. Blackbeard had captured over 40 ships during his piratical career, and had been the cause of the deaths of hundreds of people. Although Blackbeard's lawless career lasted only a few years, his fearsome reputation has long outlived him.”
Colin White of the Royal Naval Museum has this to say: “I guess the Royal Navy has been fighting piracy in all its forms going back to Johnny Depp (of Pirates of the Caribbean) and Treasure Island based on Blackbeard in the 17th century.
“Now piracy takes newer and newer forms but the public imagination still has the image of the pirate captain with a long flowing beard.
“Piracy used to be the most serious crime a man could commit. Pirates in Britain were punished very severely. They were put to death by being pinned down to a beach at the low tide mark.
“Drake may have been a pirate but was definitely a privateer issued with a special warrant from the queen.
“Drake may have been a pirate but was definitely a privateer issued with a special warrant from the queen.
“During the 19th century the Royal Navy had ships all over the world and pursued piracy in all waters. At that time a focus of attention was the activities of Chinese pirates in junks. They were every bit as terrible as their European counterparts but they got less publicity.”
Dr White also said that today a great deal of piracy is connected with drug running.
One common thread connecting piracy past with piracy present is that, as with all forms of victimisation, the opponent is attacked when he is most vulnerable. In this case the target ship is closed upon when it has to go slow, for example, when passing a narrow strait, as in the Malay Peninsula.
Despite the romantic image, the lives of pirates of old, and doubtless their latter day counterparts, were short and brutal. Nearly all of them suffered from VD because of loose living and they received as little quarter as they gave.
Note: Dr White specially asked me to state that the Royal Naval Museum in Portsmouth is presenting an exhibition Chasing Freedom from 3rd February, 2007 to the end of the year. It addresses dealing with slavery after it was outlawed.
THE END
This article was published in the 22 February, 2007 issue of the Bangla Mirror, read all over the world - from the Arctic Circle to the sub-Antarctic.
1 comment:
Sir Francis drake is considered one of Britain's most famous sea heros - but the Spanish consider him a murderous Pirate in Blackbeard's tradition.
All a question of perspective, I guess.
Great article.
Post a Comment