Being a Quote
Of, For, By, or About
Pyrates

For the Week of March 14, 2004

To be forthcoming...

For the Week of March 7, 2004

Here we landed to seek provisions, and by the by to plunder what we could
get; but, the country being alarmed since our blocking up the road of Panama,
they had put themselves into an indifferent good posture of defence, and
hereupon watched for our coming, and were resolved to entertain us as warmly
as they could. Captain Sawkins therefore, landing before the rest, as being a man
of undaunted courage, and running up with a small party to some breast-works they
had made before the town, was here unfortunately killed, more through his own
temerity and the rashness of his conduct than any other cause. Those who followed
could not possibly rescue him, as being not yet quite landed: besides him, two or
three more were killed and five or six wounded, which caused the residue of those
he had led up to retreat unto the waterside as fast as they could. Thus we were
beaten off from the place, and got nothing but blows for our pains.
(From Esquemeling's The Buccaneers of America.)

For the Week of February 29, 2004

On Monday, April 19th, at break of day, we hauled our canoe into the water
again, and departed the island aforementioned: wet and cold as we were, we
rowed towards the Punta de San Lorenzo, or Point St Lawrence. In our way
we met with several islands which lie straggling thereabouts. But now we were
again so hard put to it by the smallness of our vessel and being in an open sea,
that it had become the work of one man, sometimes two, to cast out the water,
which came in on all sides of our canoe. After struggling for some time with these
difficulties, as we came near one of those islands a heavy sea overturned our
boat, by which means we were all forced to swim for our lives. But we soon
got to the shore, and to the same place our canoe came tumbling after us. Our
arms were very fast lashed to the inside of the boat, and our locks were as well
cased and waxed down as was possible; so were also our cartouche-boxes and
powder-horns. But all our bread and fresh water was utterly spoilt and lost.
(From Esquemeling's The Buccaneers of America.)

For the Week of February 22, 2004

We came up with another sail at Cape Paffao (where we took the packet-
boat), which proved to be one of the greatest adventures of this whole voyage,
if not the greatest of all, had we but known our own happy fortune, and how to
make good use of it. This was a ship called El Santo Rosario, or The Holy
Rosary, of an indifferent big burthen and loaded with brandy and oil, wine and
fruit, besides good store of other provisions. They fired at us first, but we came
up-board to board with them, and gave them such volleys of small shot that
they were soon forced to surrender, having several of their men wounded,
their Captain killed, and one only man more. In this ship, besides the lading
abovementioned, we found also almost 700 pigs of plate, but we took them
to be some other metal, especially tin: and under this mistake they were
slighted by us all, especially the Captain and seamen, who by no persuasions
used by some few, who were for having them rummaged, could not be
induced to take them into our ship, as we did most of the other things. Thus
they were left on board the Rosario, and, not knowing what to do with the
bottom in that scarcity of men we were under, we turned her away loose
unto the sea, being very glad we had got such good belly-timber out of her
and thinking little of what quantity of rich metal we left behind. It should seem
this plate was not yet thoroughly refined and fitted for to coin; and this was the
occasion that deceived us all. One only pig of plate, out of the whole number of
almost 700, we took into our ship, thinking to make bullets of it; and to this
effect, or what else our seaman pleased, the greatest part of it was melted or
squandered away. Afterwards, when we arrived at Antigua, we gave the remaining
part of it, which was yet about one-third thereof, unto a Bristol man, who knew
presently what it was (though he dissembled with us), brought it to England,
and sold it there for seventy-five-pound sterling, as he confessed himself
afterwards to some of our men. Thus we parted with the richest booty we had
gotten in the whole voyage, through our ignorance and laziness.
(From Esquemeling's The Buccaneers of America.)

For the Week of February 15, 2004

From the book Port Royal Jamaica by Michael Pawson and David Buisseret.

The 'common women' of Port Royal, who "in their smockes ore linnen peticotes,
bare-footed without shoes or stockins, with a straw hatt and a red tobacco pipe
in their mouths, [would] trampouse about their streets in this their warlike posture,
and thus arrayed will booze a cupp of punch cumly with anyone."

For the Week of February 8, 2004

The Last Buccaneer

OH, England is a pleasant place for them that ’s rich and high;
But England is a cruel place for such poor folks as I;
And such a port for mariners I ne’er shall see again,
As the pleasant Isle of Avès, beside the Spanish main.

There were forty craft in Avès that were both swift and stout,
All furnish’d well with small arms and cannons round about;
And a thousand men in Avès made laws so fair and free
To choose their valiant captains and obey them loyally.

Thence we sail’d against the Spaniard with his hoards of plate and gold,
Which he wrung by cruel tortures from the Indian folk of old;
Likewise the merchant captains, with hearts as hard as stone,
Which flog men and keelhaul them and starve them to the bone.

Oh, the palms grew high in Avès and fruits that shone like gold,
And the colibris and parrots they were gorgeous to behold;
And the negro maids to Avès from bondage fast did flee,
To welcome gallant sailors a sweeping in from sea.

Oh, sweet it was in Avès to hear the landward breeze
A-swing with good tobacco in a net between the trees,
With a negro lass to fan you while you listen’d to the roar
Of the breakers on the reef outside that never touched the shore.

But Scripture saith, an ending to all fine things must be,
So the King’s ships sail’d on Avès and quite put down were we.
All day we fought like bulldogs, but they burst the booms at night;
And I fled in a piragua sore wounded from the fight.

Nine days I floated starving, and a negro lass beside,
Till for all I tried to cheer her, the poor young thing she died;
But as I lay a gasping a Bristol sail came by,
And brought me home to England here to beg until I die.

And now I ’m old and going I ’m sure I can’t tell where;
One comfort is, this world’s so hard I can’t be worse off there:
If I might but be a sea-dove I ’d fly across the main,
To the pleasant Isle of Avès, to look at it once again.

Charles Kingsley (1819–75)

For the Week of February 1, 2004

From Esquemeling's The Buccaneers of America,
there is this quote about the division of some booty.

"On Tuesday, February 1st, we had a clear observation, and by it
we found lat. 19° 06' S.  This day we shared the old remains of our
plate, taken in some of our former booties. Our shares amounted
to only 37 pieces-of-eight to each man."

For the Week of January 25, 2004

Captain Sam Bellamy's A Free Prince Speech
"D--n my bl--d... I scorn to do any one a Mischief, when it is not for my
Advantage... Tho', d--n ye, you are a sneaking Puppy, and so are all those
who will submit to be governed by Laws which rich Men have made for their
own Security, for the cowardly Whelps have not the Courage otherwise to
defend what they get by their Knavery; but d--n ye altogether: D--n them for
a Pack of crafty Rascals, and you, who serve them, for a Parcel of hen-hearted
Numskulls. They vilify us, the Scoundrels do, when there is only this Difference,
they rob the Poor under the cover of Law, forsooth, and we plunder the Rich
under Protection of our own Courage; had you not better make One of us, than
sneak after the A---s of those Villains for Employment?..."

"I am a free Prince, and I have as much Authority to make War on the whole
World, as he who has a hundred Sail of Ships at Sea and an Army of 100,000
Men in the Field; and this my Conscience tells me; but there is no arguing with
such snivelling Puppies, who allow Superiors to kick them about Deck at
Pleasure; and pin their faith upon a Pimp of a Parson; a Squab, who neither
neither practices nor believes what he puts upon the chuckle-headed Fools
he preaches to."

For the Week of January 18, 2004

This week, we stray into murky, obscure waters with a quote from Robert Anton Wilson,
from his book, Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults and Cover-ups.

Great Pirates.
In the sociological theory of R. Buckminster Fuller, the Great Pirates signify those men
combining elements of what ethnologists call the alpha male, historians call the despot,
and sociologists call the sociopath. (Radical feminists such as Susan Brownmiller and
Robin Morgan believe that there are no other kinds of men.) Our primitive ancestors,
Fuller explains, were conquered by wave after wave of these despotic-sociopathic
Great Pirates, until all humans became accustomed to being ruled by Great Pirates,
since the only other choice was to be murdered by them.

The Great Pirates then discovered that other people were working at science, and
hired the scientists to produce gadgets to suit there own needs. Therefore, Bucky says,
scientists know more about weaponry than about livingry. Fuller's experimental geometry
and housing were attempts to contribute to the livingry he felt science had largely ignored.

For the Week of January 11, 2004

In Captain Johnson's book A General History of the Pyrates,
there is a passage about pirates putting some of their own on trial for desertion.
The trial took place in the hold. They had a large bowl of punch and much tobacco.
After much deliberation, in which the defendants were found guilty, one of the judges,
Valentine Ashplant:

"stood up, and taking the pipe out of his mouth, said, he had something to
offer to the Court, in behalf of one of the Prisoners; and spoke to this
Effect.  '----- By G--, Glasby should not dye, d--n him if he should.'  After
this learned Speech, he sat down in his Place, and returned his Pipe.  This
Motion was loudly opposed by all the rest of the Judges, in equivalent Terms;
but Ashplant, who was resolute in his Opinion, made another pathetical
Speech, in the following Manner.  'G-- d--n you Gentlemen, I am as good a Man
as the best of you; d--n my S--l if ever I turn'd my Back to any Man in my
Life, nor ever will, by G--; Glasby is an honest Fellow, notwithstanding this
Misfortune, and I love him; D---l d--n me, if I don't: I hope he'll live and
repent of what he has down; but d--n me if he must dye, I will dye along with
him.'  And thereupon, he pulled out a pair of Pistols, and presented them to
some of the other learned Judges upon the Bench; who, perceiving his Argument
so well supported, thought it reasonable that Gladsby should be pardoned;
and so they all came over to his Opinion, and allow'd it to be Law."

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