Education | Real Pirates & Buccaneers | America’s Race to the Moon | Links

Below is a hyperlinked index of excerpts from the historical sections of the game manual that comes with SeaRovers™, The Exciting Game of Real Pirates & Buccaneers. More will come in the expansion sets!

The History Behind the Cards
    Pirates — Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, Calico Jack and more.
    Buccaneers — Sir Henry Morgan, Francois l’Olonnais and more.
    Havens — New Providence, Port Royal, Tortuga and more
    Buccaneer Attacks — Sack of St. Augustine, Storming Santiago and more.
    Pirate Attacks — Blackbeard’s Blockade, Plundering the Plate Fleet and more.
    Wild Cards — Blackbeard’s Challenge, Duel, Mutiny and more.
    History Cards — Brethren of the Coast, the Jolly Roger, and more.
    Instant Cards — Davey Jones’ Locker, The Flying Dutchman and more.
    Equipment — Queen Anne’s Revenge, Sloops, 8-pounders and more.
Timeline of the New World
Sea Rovers of the New World — A short history of the real pirates of the Caribbean.
    The Buccaneer Age  1600 - 1695
    The Golden Age of Pirates  1695 - 1725
The Gameboard Map
     The Isle of Pines, Parrots and Treasure
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography
Credits
Dedication
    Howard Pyle  1853 - 1911
    Frank E. Schoonover  1877 - 1972
Expansion Set 1 Anne Bonny, The Exterminator, Boarding Party, Fireship, Scurvy and more!

The History Behind the Cards

PIRATE — Black Bart Roberts
Welshman Bartholomew Roberts was one of the most prolific pirates in history. He captured over 400 ships and terrorized both sides of the Atlantic. In 1719 he was serving as a mate on a British slave ship when it was captured by Howell Davis. He joined the pirates and was elected captain after Davis was killed. Roberts dressed in fine clothes wearing a scarlet overcoat, a tricorn hat with a red feather, and a gold chain with a diamond encrusted cross. One of the atrocities “Black Bart” committed was when his men set fire to a ship that had 80 African slaves aboard. Most died on the ship and the few that made it into the water were eaten by sharks. Robert’s career ended in 1722 during an encounter with the HMS Swallow off the coast of Africa when he was struck in the neck by a ball of grape-shot and killed almost instantly. The rest of his crew surrendered and 52 were hanged at Cape Coast Castle.

PIRATE — Blackbeard
The early life of Blackbeard is unclear. Some say he was born in Bristol, London or possibly Philadelphia. Even his real name is a mystery, commonly referred to as Edward Teach or Thatch. He sailed in consort with Sam Bellamy and the pirate mentor Benjamin Hornigold and by 1717 was one of the pirate commanders at New Providence. Blackbeard was an intimidating figure, before battle he is said to have festooned himself with six pistols and stuck burning fuses under his hat to create a demonic vision. Captain Johnson described his beard as, “Hair which like a frightful meteor, covered his whole face and frightened America more than any comet that has appeared there a long time.” By the spring of 1718 he was in command of four vessels including his flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge. In June 1718 he established his base at Ocracoke Island. Five months later the Governor of Virginia dispatched Lieutenant Robert Maynard to hunt down the notorious pirate. Maynard killed Blackbeard in a bloody battle at Ocracoke on November 22, 1718.

PIRATE — Billy One-Hand
The first name of this pirate has ranged from Edmund and Edward, to William and Christopher, his last name is usually given as Condent, Conden or Condon. There is enough uncertainty to justify his modern nickname “Billy One-Hand.” In February of 1718, anticipating the arrival of Governer Woodes Rogers, he fled New Providence as quartermaster aboard the pirate sloop Dragon. He later lost part of an arm as the result of a gunshot wound received in a fierce fight with a mutinous crewmate that was threatening to blow up the ship. Billy One-Hand was then elected captain by the crew for his bravery. Aboard his subsequent flagship the Flying Dragon, he terrorized both sides of the Atlantic and was one of the few pirates that had a successful career. He lived his remaining life in France as a wealthy merchant.

PIRATE — Black Sam Bellamy
Sam Bellamy was a seaman from Plymouth that moved to Cape Cod in 1714. He then sailed to Florida to search for treasure from the wreck of the Spanish plate fleet. Having little success, he turned to piracy and was soon sailing in consort with Henry Jennings. By 1716 he had joined forces with the veteran Benjamin Hornigold and Blackbeard, later that year he was elected captain of Hornigold’s sloop the Mary Anne. For a time, “Black Sam” cruised with the French pirate Oliver Levasseur and captured several vessels off the Virgin Islands. In March 1717 he captured a slave ship named the Whydah and made it his new flagship. A few weeks later, Bellamy was killed when the Whydah wrecked off Cape Cod during a violent storm on April 26, 1717.

PIRATE — Howell Davis
Welshman Howell Davis was a seaman aboard a slave ship that was captured by Edward England off the coast of Africa in 1718. He joined the pirates and made his way to New Providence where he then signed on a merchant vessel, raised a mutiny, and was elected captain. He often used deception, sometimes posing as a legitimate privateer. He plundereded ships on both sides of the Atlantic and off the coast of Africa captured a slave ship whose crew included Bartholomew Roberts. A few weeks later Davis was killed in an ambush by Portuguese troops at the island of Principe off the coast Guinea. Bartholomew Roberts was elected captain and the pirates returned to Principe at night, killing many of the city’s inhabitants to avenge the death of Davis.

PIRATE — Calico Jack Rackam
John Rackam was quartermaster under Charles Vane. In November 1718 after an arguement over whether or not to attack a French frigate, the crew voted to depose Vane on the grounds of cowardice and elected Rackam captain in his place. Captain Rackam often wore colorful calico shirts and trousers earning him the nickname “Calico Jack.” In May 1719 he sailed to New Providence and accepted the King’s Pardon. He refrained from piracy for awhile but soon returned to his illegal activities. In New Priovidence met Anne Bonny, she became his lover and a member of his pirate crew. Ironically his crew also came to include Mary Read. In November of 1720, Rackam and his crew were captured off Jamaica by pirate hunter Jonathan Barnett. Calico Jack was taken to Port Royal where he stood trial for piracy and was hanged. His body was then hung in chains at Deadman’s Cay, a small island known today as RackamÕs Cay.

PIRATE — Charles Vane
Charles Vane was an English pirate that sailed with Henry Jennings during his raid of the wreck of the Spanish plate fleet in 1716. By 1718 he was one of the many pirate captains based at New Providence. In July 1718, when Governor Woodes Rogers’ fleet arrived at Nassua, Vane made a bold escape by sending a fireship towards one of the warships and sailing out of the harbor defiantly flying his black flag. In November 1718, Captain Vane was deposed by his crew and replaced by John Rackam. Vane quickly recruited another crew and resumed his pirate career. In February 1719 he was shipwrecked by a hurricane and marooned on a small island in the Gulf of Honduras for several months. After being rescued by a merchant ship, Vane is recognized as a notorious pirate and taken to Port Royal where he stood trial and was hanged in November 1720.

PIRATE — Stede Bonnet
Stede Bonnet was an educated gentleman living on the island Barbados until the spring of 1717, when he bought a sloop, named it the Revenge and set sail as a pirate. At some point he crossed paths with Blackbeard. A Boston newspaper with news from Philadelphia dated October 24, 1717, reported a pirate attack by, “A pirate sloop called the Revenge, of 12 guns, 150 men, commanded by one Teach…the pirates expected a consort ship of 30 guns (likely Hornigold)…On board is Major Bennet (Bonnet), but has no command, he walks about in his morning gown, and then to his books…he was not well of his wounds received by attacking a Spanish man of war…After which putting into Providence…they put Captain Teach on board for this cruise.” In June 1718 Blackbeard’s fleet separated and Bonnet accepted the King’s Pardon from the Governor of North Carolina. He soon returned to piracy and plundered several ships off Virginia, then sailed up the Cape Fear River where he was captured by Colonel William Rhett. Bonnet was hanged at White Point near Charleston in November 1718.

PIRATE — Edward England
Edward England was a seaman aboard a merchant sloop based on Jamaica until it was captured by the pirate Christopher Winter. He joined with the pirates who were based on New Providence. After the arrival of Governor Woodes Rogers in July 1718, he became captain of his own ship and proceeded to plunder vessels on both sides of the Atlantic and in the Indian Ocean. In early 1721 England was deposed as captain and marooned by his crew for being to lenient with his victims. He was put ashore on a small island off Madagascar. England eventually made it to the mainland where he lived as a beggar until he died. Captain Johnson described one member of England’s crew as, “A fellow with a terrible pair of whiskers, and a wooden leg...swearing and vaporing.” It was this boisterous pirate that was the inspiration for Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic character Long John Silver.

PIRATE — George Lowther
George Lowther sailed from England in early 1721 as second mate aboard a slave ship. Off the coast of Africa he led a mutiny, seized the ship and headed for the Spanish Main as a pirate. He was known to torture his victims and be quite cruel. In the summer of 1722 off the coast of South Carolina, he attacked a ship that responded by firing a devastating broadside that killed and wounded many of Lowther’s men. The pirates were in such bad shape that they had to spend the winter recuperating in a North Carolina inlet. In October 1723 privateer Walter Moore found Lowther careening his pirate sloop at the island of Blanco off Venezuela. Lowther and a dozen of his men escaped into the bushes. All but three were captured and Lowther was later found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

PIRATE — Mary Read
Mary Read was raised as a boy and lived her life posing as a man. She joined the British Army and married a soldier that died soon after. Mary then headed for the Caribean. During the voyage her ship was captured by Calico Jack Rackam and she joined his crew which also included Anne Bonny. Mary was well-versed in combat and is said to have killed a crewmate in a duel. She was captured with Bonny and Rackam and stood trial in Jamaica in November 1720. During the trial, victims reported that, “The two women wore men’s jackets, long trousers, and handkerchiefs tied about their heads; and each of them had a machet and pistol in their hands.” It was also stated, “That when they saw any vessel, or attacked, they wore men’s clothes; and at other times, they wore women’s clothes.” All were found guilty of piracy and sentenced to hang but Bonny and Read were reprieved because they were both pregnant. Mary died in prison a few months later either from illness or childbirth.

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BUCCANEER — Sir Henry Morgan
Welshman Sir Henry Morgan was one of the most successful buccaneers in the Caribbean. Early in his career he sailed under the command of Christopher Myngs during his assault on Santiago. In 1668 Morgan joined forces with the Brethren of the Coast and led attacks on the Spanish at Puerto Principe. His tactics were brutal and often included heinous acts of torture. In 1670 he was named Admiral and Commander in Chief of all Jamaican warships. In 1672 he was arrested for attacking Panama during a time of peace. The charges were eventually dropped and King Charles II knighted Morgan and appointed him Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica in 1674. Sir Henry Morgan lived the rest of his life on Jamaica and died a wealthy plantation owner in 1688.

BUCCANEER — Sir Christopher Myngs
Sir Christopher Myngs was an officer in the Royal Navy and the mentor of Henry Morgan. In 1656 he arrived at Port Royal in command of the frigate Marston Moor. The following year he was named Commander of Jamaica’s fleet of naval and buccaneer vessels. In 1658 he was arrested for embezzlement after capturing the silver at Coro. The charges were later dropped and in 1662 he led the buccaneer attack that destroyed Santiago. In 1664 he was promoted to Vice-Admiral in the Royal Navy. A year later he fought in the battle of Lowestoft and was knighted for his actions. In 1666 he was in command of the HMS Victory during the Four Days’ Fight. Sir Myngs never left the bridge, even after receiving several wounds that led to his death a few days later.

BUCCANEER — Laurens de Graff
Laurens de Graff was one of the most fearsome buccaneers in the New World. Born in Holland, he was captured by the Spanish and shipped as a slave to the Canary Islands. From there, he was put aboard a Spanish galley fighting pirates along the Spanish Main. De Graff escaped from the Spanish and joined the Brethren of the Coast, eventually becoming one of their greatest leaders. His first recorded action was with de Grammont during his assault on Maracaibo in 1678. He took part in and led many expeditions against the Spanish including Vera Cruz in 1683 and Campeche in 1685. In 1699 he was with the French expedition that founded the colony of Louisiana. De Graff lived in Biloxi, Mississippi before his death in 1704.

BUCCANEER — Michel de Grammont
Born in Paris, Michel de Grammont was a French buccaneer based on Tortuga. At age 24 he was captain of a frigate in the French Navy. He left the Navy after several campaigns in the Caribbean and joined the Brethren of the Coast. He became a commander of the Brethren and was given the title of “Chevalier” because of his bold leadership and charisma. Chevalier de Grammont organized and led many attacks against Spanish colonies including those at Maracaibo in 1678 and la Guaira in 1680. He sailed as vice-admiral with van Hoorn and de Graff during the attacks on Vera Cruz in 1683 and Campeche in 1685. He is believed to have died in a shipwreck off Florida in 1686.

BUCCANEER — Nikolaas van Hoorn
Born in Holland, Nikolaas van Hoorn arrived in the Caribbean in 1682 as a slave trader. He received a privateer commision from the French Governor at Petit Goave. He became one of the fierce leaders of the buccaneers and was a cruel and vicious drunk. It was said that he once whipped an Englishman to death for no reason. During the expedition against Vera Cruz in 1683, an arguement between van Hoorn and de Graff turned into a duel with swords. Van Hoorn received a slash on the wrist that later turned gangrene and resulted in his death.

BUCCANEER — Francois l’Olonnais
Jean-David Nau, also known as Francois l’Olonnais, was one of the cruelest of the French buccaneers on Tortuga. He came to the Caribbean when he was a boy as a slave or indentured servant. L’Olonnais became a hunter on Hispaniola and then turned to a life of piracy. He carried out many raids against the Spanish including the attacks on Maracaibo and Gibraltar in 1667. His atrocities made his name notorious among Spainiards and it is said that he cut the heart out of a prisoner and knawed on it in front of him. He died a fitting death after being captured by Carib Indians who hacked him to pieces and roasted him limb by limb.

BUCCANEER — Robert Searle
Robert Searle, also known as John Davis, was a bold English buccaneer that sailed out of Port Royal. He is first mentioned when he purchases the largest of three Spanish vessels captured by Christopher Myngs during his attacks on Tolu and Santa Marta in 1658. He named the 60-ton sloop the Cagway and sailed with Christopher Myngs during the assault on Santiago in 1662. Searle was known for his leadership abilities and was one of the first buccaneers to conduct raids by land against the Spanish. He led many successful expeditions and was one of Morgan’s officers during the sack of Panama in 1671. In his later years, Searle lived in Honduras where he was killed in a duel with an English logwood cutter.

BUCCANEER — Rock the Brazilian
Born in the Netherlands, Roche Brasiliano emigrated to the Dutch colony of Bahia in Brazil. When the Dutch were driven out of Bahia by the Portuguese in 1654, he moved to Port Royal. He joined ranks with the English buccaneers who called him “Rock the Brazilian”. He sailed with Henry Morgan during his attacks on Puerto Bello and Panama and won local fame by capturing a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure. Rock was particularly brutal and had a deep hatred for Spaniards. He is said to have once roasted Spanish prisoners alive on wooden spits. After returning from an expedition, he reportedly roamed the streets of Port Royal a drunken madman swinging his cutlass at anyone that was unfortunate enough to get in his way.

BUCCANEER — Pierre le Grand
Born in Dieppe, France, Pierre le Grand was one of the early hunters called buccaneers based on the island of Tortuga. His moment of fame came in 1602 when he captured the flagship carrying the vice-admiral of the Spanish Windward fleet. He then set sail in his prize for Dieppe where he is reported to have sold the ship and lived out the rest of his life an honest citizen. Le Grand’s amazing feat inspired many of the buccaneers on Tortuga to turn to a life of piracy.

BUCCANEER — Bartholomew Portugues
Born in Portugal, Bartholomew Portugues came to Port Royal following the capture of Jamaica by the English in 1655. In 1663 he captured a merchant ship near Cabo de Corrientes, off Cuba. Soon after, he was captured by the Spanish and taken, along with his prize, to Campeche where he was sentenced to death. He escaped and returned to recapture his ship. During his voyage back to Jamaica, he was shipwrecked in the Jardines del Rey, off the southern coast of Cuba . He survived and carried out other attacks on the Spanish but continued to be plagued by bad luck and reportedly died in poverty.

BUCCANEER — Yankey Willems
Jan “Yankey” Willems was a Dutch buccaneer based out of Petit Goave. He sailed in the company of Andrieszoon, de Graff, de Grammont, Paine, and van Hoorn. He participated in many buccaneer expeditions against the Spanish including Vera Cruz in 1683, Cartagena in 1684, and Campeche in 1685. After Cartegena, Willems was given the command of de Graff’s previous flagship, the former Princesa. Willems is believed to have died in the Gulf of Honduras in 1688.

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HAVEN  H1 — Ocracoke Island
Blackbeard sailed to North Carolina and established his base on Ocracoke Island following his blockade of Charleston in May of 1718. In nearby Bath Towne, he accepted the King’s Pardon from Governor Charles Eden. Blackbeard soon resumed piracy and it was said that Governor Eden was in league with the pirate. It was also rumored that Blackbeard intended to fortify the island as a large base for pirates. In October of 1718, Charles Vane and his crew visited Ocracoke Island and joined Blackbeard and his men in a week-long festival of debaucheries.

HAVEN  H2 — New Providence
New Providence, a small island in the Bahamas, was first colonized by England in the 1640s. By 1716 pirates such as Henry Jennings found that the harbor town of Nassau was a perfect haven. Within a few months, Nassau was one of the largest pirate bases in the Caribbean. The rovers based there terrorized the sea lanes and called themselves the “Flying Gang.” In 1717 it was reported that five pirate commanders; Burgiss, Hornigold, Jennings, Thatch (Blackbeard) and White, made New Providence their haven. Other pirates known to rendezvous at Nassau included; Bellamy, Bonnet, Condon, Davis, England, Levasseur, Rackam, Vane, Winter, and the female pirates Bonny and Read. The lawless republic ended in July of 1718 with the arrival of Governor Woodes Rogers who was sent to rid the Bahamas of pirates.

HAVEN  H3 — Tortuga
The island of Tortuga was first settled in the early 1600s by vagabonds from France and other countries that became known as buccaneers. They were forced from Hispaniola by the Spanish and by the 1620s had turned to piracy. In the 1640s the island was fortified by the French as a buccaneer haven. Around this same time the Brethren of the Coast was formed. In 1665 the island came under official French rule when Bertrand D’Ogeron became Governor. He encouraged the buccaneers because they provided protection for the French settlements on Hispaniola. Tortuga continued to be a pirate haven until piracy was outlawed by France in 1713.

HAVEN  H4 — Bennet’s Key
Bennet’s Key is located in the Gulf of Samana on the northeast coast of Hispaniola. It is one of the many secluded inlets and harbors provided by the island’s large land mass. Bartholomew Roberts careened his flagship the Royal Fortune and consort the Good Fortune, at Bennet’s Key following his raids in the French Leeward Islands. While ashore, the pirates traded with the local inhabitants and took on a large quantity of rum, sugar, water and other provisions.

HAVEN  H5 — Petit Goave
During the 1660s, French settlements spread along the northern and western coasts of Hispaniola. In 1676, Jacques de Pouancay was appointed the new French Governor of Tortuga. The following year he proposed that a new colony be created on Hispaniola with its capital in Petit Goave. By the 1680s Petit Goave offered a better market for pirated goods and had replaced Tortuga as the main French buccaneer haven in the Caribbean. The notorious filibusters and freebooters that operated out of Petit Goave included Andrieszoon, de Graff, de Grammont, van Hoorn and Willems.

HAVEN  H6 — Port Royal
The island of Jamaica was first settled by Spain in 1509. In 1655 an English squadron led by Sir William Penn, captured the island. A fort was built at the natural harbor on the southern coast and the town of Port Royal was soon born. English buccaneers found the town an ideal base. Rum was their drink of choice and in July of 1661 over 40 new licenses for taverns and grogshops were issued. Some of them had names such as Black Dog, Green Dragon, Sign of the Mermaid and Three Crowns. With a population of 6,000, Port Royal became known for its immoralities and was soon called, “The most wicked and sinful city in the world.” By 1670 it had become one of the New World’s principal slave ports and the center for contraband trade in the Caribbean. In 1692 a devastating earthquake stuck killing thousands and plunging most of the town into the sea.

HAVEN  H7 — Roatan
Located in the Bay of Hoduras, the island of Roatan was once inhabited by Paya Indians and is surrounded by the world’s second largest coral reef. Throughout the 1680s it was a popular rendezvous point for buccaneers during their expeditions against the Spanish Main. In 1683 over 1,000 buccaneers gathered at Roatan for a council of war. Those present included Andrieszoon, de Graff, de Grammont, van Hoorn and Willems. In 1685 and 1686 de Graff used the island as a haven during his raids against Campeche, Tihosuco and Valladolid.

HAVEN  H8 — Old Providence
In 1629 the first English colony was formed on Old Providence. Two years later, Puritans arrived aboard the Seaflower, the sister ship of the Mayflower. In 1641 the Spanish captured the island and took 400 colonists to Spain as prisoners. In 1666 English buccaneer Edward Mansfield led a force that recaptured the island. Mansfield’s plan was to create a buccaneer republic on Old Providence, unfortunately he was killed by the Spanish before securing reinforcements. The following year a small Spanish fleet sent by the Governor of Panama recaptured the island. In 1670, during his expedition against Panama, Henry Morgan captured the island and secured it as an outpost for future raids against the Spanish Main.

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BUCCANEER ATTACK  B1 — Sack of St. Augustine
In 1668, Robert Searle, also known as John Davis, commanding a fleet of seven or eight ships, attacked and plundered the small Spanish town of St. Augustine, Florida. The fort was garrisoned by two companies of Spanish soldiers, yet the buccaneers succeeded in plundering the town and escaping with little injury.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B2 — Hostility near Havana
In 1684 Yankey Willems and Michiel Andrieszoon captured two large ships belonging to the Dutch East Indies Company near Havana, Cuba. Because they were carrying merchandise from Spanish Cartegena, the Dutch buccaneers took 100,000 pieces of eight from the vessels and then allowed them to continue their voyage.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B3 — Mayhem on a Man-O-War
In 1666 Francois l’Olonnais, in a small vessel with a crew of only 20 men, captured a large Spanish man-o-war at the town of De los Cayos on the north coast of Cuba. The buccaneers boarded the ship with cutlasses in hand and chased the Spaniards below deck. L’Olonnais waited for awhile and then as they came up through the hatch, he struck off their heads one after another.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B4 — Calamity off Cuba
In 1663, Bartholomew Portugues in a barque with four guns and a crew of 30 men, attempted to board a 20-gun Spanish ship near Cabo de Corrientes. Beaten back by the vessel’s defenders on their first attempt, the rovers struck back and successfully took the ship on their second. The prize was loaded with 120,000 pounds of cocoa and over 70,000 pieces of eight.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B5 — Storming Santiago
In 1662, Sir Christopher Myngs sailed from Port Royal, with a joint military-buccaneer force of 1,300 men, and stormed Santiago, Cuba. Among his officers was Robert Searle in command of his sloop the Cagway, and a young Henry Morgan. The buccaneers captured seven vessels anchored in the port then sacked the city. They used 700 barrels of gunpowder to blow up the castle walls and left the city in burning ruins.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B6 — Capture at Campeche
In 1663, Bartholomew Portugues captured a merchant ship near Cabo de Corrientes, off Cuba. Soon after, he was intercepted and captured by three Spanish ships and taken, along with his prize, to Campeche where he was sentenced to death. Before he could be executed, Portugues managed to escape and made his way overland to Triste where he found a buccaneer ship. He returned to Campeche in a canoe with 20 men and recaptured his prize.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B7 — Princesa off Puerto Rico
In 1682, at La Aguada de Puerto Rico, Laurens de Graff attacked the frigate Princesa, a ship of the Spanish Windward Fleet. After a running gun battle that lasted for several hours, the Princesa finally surrendered. The buccaneers discovered that it was carrying the payroll for Puerto Rico and Santo Domingo. De Graff made the prize his new flagship, and the buccaneers returned to Petit Goave with over 120,000 pieces of eight.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B8 — Folly of the Flagship
In 1602 Pierre le Grand was sailing in a barque with a crew of 28 men, when he sighted the flagship of Spain’s Windward Fleet near Cape Tiburon off Hispaniola. At dusk the rovers came along side the ship and silently climbed aboard. They made their way to the cabin and surprised the ship’s officers while they were playing cards. One of them turned out to be the vice-admiral of the fleet. Le Grand took his prize and set sail for France where he retired.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B9 — Grand Theft at Granada
In 1664 Robert Searle, also known as John Davis, led a daring raid with 90 men up the Nicaragua river to sack the city of Granada. The rovers travelled for three days, in three canoes, for more than 40 leagues upstream. On the third night they reached the town and proceeded to plunder several mansions and churches. With as much as they could carry, the buccaneers quickly fled before the city’s garrison of 800 soldiers were alerted. Their booty included silver, jewels and 40,000 pieces of eight.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B10 — Pillage of Porto Bello
In 1668 Henry Morgan set sail to attack Porto Bello. With four warships and eight smaller vessels, he sailed to the Bay of Boca del Tora where he then transferred his attack force of 500 men to canoes to get them about a league from the town. The buccaneers then marched overland to attack the city by surprise just before dawn. They captured the two forts and held the terrified town for ransom. After committing many acts of cruelty and barbaric torture, Morgan and his men returned victoriously to Port Royal with over 500,000 pieces of eight.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B11 — Plunder of Panama
In 1670 Morgan set sail with a buccaneer force of 37 ships and 2,000 men on an expedition to sack Panama. They first captured the island of Old Providence, then sent an advance squadron to capture the fortress at San Lorenzo. Morgan and his men then rowed up the Chagres River in canoes and marched through the jungle to reach the city in January of 1671. Rather than let Panama fall into the hands of the buccaneers, the Spanish destroyed the fort and set fire to most of the city. Morgan left with 175 mules loaded with 750,000 pieces of eight and other Spanish treasures.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B12 — Torching of Tolu
In May 1658, Spain landed 550 soldiers at Cagway Jamaica, in an attempt to recapture the island. Sir Christopher Myngs was sent with a fleet of ten ships to attack the invaders and after a bloody battle on the beaches of Cagway, destroyed the enemy troops. In October of the same year, Myngs retaliated against the Spanish by burning Tolu, sacking Santa Marta, and capturing three Spanish merchant vessels sailing from Cartagena to Porto Bello.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B13 — The San Francisco Treat
In 1683 Laurens de Graff, in command of a squadron of seven vessels, set sail to attack Cartagena. His men included fellow Dutchmen Yankey Willems and Michiel Andrieszoon. When the buccaneers arrived at the harbor, they were met by 800 soldiers aboard three large merchant ships. The ensuing battle lasted for hours but the buccaneers finally prevailed. The 40-gun San Francisco, largest of the three ships, was triumphantly taken by de Graff as his new flagship.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B14 — Capturing the King’s Silver
During a four-month in period in 1658, Sir Christopher Myngs, in his flagship the Marston Moor and with two consort ships, carried out a relentless campaign of surprise attacks against the Spanish along the Venezuelan coast. He destroyed the port at Cumana, sacked Puerto Caballos, and at Coro captured 22 chests of silver being delivered to the King of Spain. Myngs returned to Jamaica with booty valued at over 250,000 English pounds.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B15 — Mayhem at Maracaibo
In 1669, following the loss of the HMS Oxford, Henry Morgan set sail with his buccaneer fleet for the Gulf of Venezuela. The buccaneers sailed into Lake Maracaibo and sacked the cities of Maracaibo and Gibraltar. Most of the local inhabitants fled but those few who could be caught were tortured for their valuables. Morgan collected booty for a month then learned that the Spanish had three warships blockading the lagoon. By using deception and a fireship, Morgan escaped and returned to Port Royal with over 250,000 pieces of eight.

BUCCANEER ATTACK  B16 — Cutthroats at Caracas
In 1680 Michel de Grammont led an attack on La Guaira, the harbor that serves Caracas. The buccaneers attacked at night and captured the forts defending the harbor. The city’s militia launched a fierce counterattack in which de Grammont received a cutlass wound to the neck. The buccaneers withdrew and managed to escape with only a modest amount of booty.

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PIRATE ATTACK  P1 — Devils off Delaware Bay
On July 29, 1718, Stede Bonnet, using the alias Captain Thomas, captured a 50-ton sloop six to seven leagues off Delaware Bay. The sloop, commanded by Thomas Read, was bound from Philadelphia to Barbados and loaded with provisions. Bonnet added her to his flotilla.

PIRATE ATTACK  P2 — Blackbeard’s Blockade
In May of 1718, Blackbeard, with his flagship Queen Anne’s Revenge and three consort sloops, blockaded the harbor of Charleston for five days. The pirates captured eight or nine ships and held the vessels with those aboard as hostages demanding a chest of medicine from the town as ransom. Blackbeard’s demands were met and he released the vessels after plundering them of over 1,500 pounds sterling in gold and silver along with provisions.

PIRATE ATTACK  P3 — Fright off Cape Fear
In August 1718, Charles Vane attacked four ships near Cape Fear off the coast of South Carolina. The sea rovers plundered them of all valuables and then let them go. The unfortunate vessels were a sloop from Barbados, a small ship from Antigua, a sloop from Curacco, and a large brigantine from Guinea.

PIRATE ATTACK  P4 — Bandits near Bermuda
In early 1719 near the island of Bermuda, Calico Jack Rackam captured a ship bound to England from Carolina and a small pink out of New England. The pirates took the prizes back to the Bahamas where Governor Woodes Rogers, having heard of the piracy, sent out a well armed sloop which retook the prizes while the pirates were fortunate to escape.

PIRATE ATTACK  P5 — Blackbeard off Bermuda
In June 1718 Blackbeard attacked two French ships off the island of Bermuda. Blackbeard let one ship go that had little cargo, the other which was loaded with sugar and cocoa, he brought home to North Carolina where he claimed the ship was found adrift without a soul aboard. The plunder was shared with Governor Eden whose dividend was 60 hogsheads of sugar.

PIRATE ATTACK  P6 — Plundering the Plate Fleet
In July 1715 the Spanish plate fleet was caught in a hurricane off the coast of Florida near Cape Canaveral. Eleven vessels sank with an immense amount of gold, silver, jewels, and other treasures valued at over 7,000,000 pieces of eight. In January 1716, Henry Jennings led a group of 300 former privateers from Port Royal, on an expedition to attack the Spanish salvage camp at Palmar de Ays, near present-day Sebastian, Florida. The freebooters made off with 350,000 pieces of eight and four large great guns.

PIRATE ATTACK  P7 — Ruffians off Rum Key
In April 1718 Charles Vane attacked a Bermuda sloop named the Diamond off Rum Key. After savagely beating the captain and torturing the crew, the pirates set fire to the vessel and sailed off with a black man and 300 pieces of eight. Less than three hours later, Vane came across another Bermuda sloop named the William and Martha. Once again the pirates beat and tortured those aboard, then looted the vessel of all valuables.

PIRATE ATTACK  P8 — Stealing a Slave Ship
In March of 1717, Sam Bellamy was cruising the Windward Passage between Cuba and Hispaniola when he sighted a large merchant ship. He chased the ship for three days until finally capturing her with little resistance near Long Island in the Bahamas. The vessel was an 18-gun English slave ship named the Whydah. There were no slaves aboard but she was loaded with sugar, ivory, indigo, and Jesuits’ bark, as well as gold and silver valued at between 20,000 to 30,000 pounds sterling. Bellamy mounted the Whydah with ten more guns and made her his new flagship.

PIRATE ATTACK  P9 — Hijacking off Jamaica
In November 1718, Charles Vane was deposed by his crew. John Rackam was elected the new captain and Vane was put aboard a small sloop with about 20 men. A few days later, Vane and his small crew captured a sloop and two pettiagas off the north-west coast of Jamaica. Vane kept the sloop and the crew aboard joined in with the pirates.

PIRATE ATTACK  P10 — Broadsides in the Bay
In January 1722 George Lowther intercepted a 200-ton ship in the Bay of Honduras. The ship was the Greyhound from Boston commanded by Benjamin Edwards. Lowther hoisted the Jolly Roger expecting the vessel to surrender. Captain Edwards refused and the pirates fired a broadside which was promptly returned by the Greyhound. The ensuing battle lasted for over an hour when finally the Greyhound surrendered. The pirates came aboard and tortured Captain Edwards and his crew, then burned the Greyhound.

PIRATE ATTACK  P11 — Burning Protestant Caesar
In the spring of 1718, Blackbeard attacked a large merchant ship in the Bay of Honduras. The ship was the Protestant Caesar from Boston. The vessel had successfully fought off an earlier attack by one of Blackbeard’s consorts. This provoked Blackbeard and he searched for the vessel until he found it. Blackbeard, aboard Queen Anne’s Revenge, hoisted his Jolly Roger and fired a gun, upon which the captain and crew immediately abandoned the ship and rowed ashore in a jolly boat. Blackbeard then plundered and burned the vessel so that the captain “might not brag when he went to New England—that he had beat a Pirate.”

PIRATE ATTACK  P12 — Hooligans off Hispaniola
In 1721 George Lowther plundered a French sloop near the west end of Hispaniola. Posing as merchants, the pirates boarded the vessel to discuss trade. After some discussion, the pirates made their illegal intentions known and seized 70 English pounds, 30 casks of brandy, five barrels of wine and other valuable goods. Lowther gave five pounds back to the vessel’s master for his polite behavior.

PIRATE ATTACK  P13 — Cruising Crab Island
In December 1717 Blackbeard attacked a sloop near Crab Island, off Puerto Rico. The vessel was the Margaret out of St. Christophers. The vessel’s master, Henry Bostock was held aboard Queen Anne’s Revenge for about eight hours before being released. The pirates stole cutlasses, 35 hogs, books and navigational instruments. Two members of the crew were forced to join the pirates. Bostock later gave one of the few eyewitness descriptions of Blackbeard, describing Captain “Tach” as, “A tall spare man with a very black beard which he wore very long.”

PIRATE ATTACK  P14 — Larceny in the Leewards
In October of 1720, Bartholomew Roberts wreaked havoc in the French Leeward Islands. During a four-day period he attacked and plundered no less than fifteen French and English vessels and captured a forty-two gun Dutch interloper at Dominica. Out of revenge for being denied provisions and supplies, Roberts and his sea dogs fired their great guns at the town and burned two ships at St. Christophers.

PIRATE ATTACK  P15 — Marauders at Martinique
Near the end of 1720, Bartholomew Roberts plundered twenty vessels at Martinique out of revenge for the Governor’s attempt to capture him with two armed sloops. By posing as a Dutch trader, Roberts captured each vessel one after another and ordered them to leave their money behind. He held one vessel for the passengers to get on shore again and the others he burned.

PIRATE ATTACK  P16 — Capture of the Concorde
In November of 1717, Edward Teach, later known as Blackbeard, sailing in consort with Benjamin Hornigold, captured a large French Guineaman 30 to 40 leagues south of Martinique. The ship was named the Concorde and had 26 gun ports, with 14 great guns aboard. She was also heavily laden with African slaves, gold dust, jewels and other valuables. Teach took command of the prize and renamed her the Queen Anne’s Revenge.

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WARSHIP — HMS Oxford
Sir Henry Morgan’s flagship the HMS Oxford was a 34-gun British warship sent to the Caribbean to defend Jaimaca. In October 1669 Morgan sailed to the Isla Vaca off the southwestern coast of Hispaniola to hold a council of war and plan an attack against the Spanish. He was joined by French buccaneers from Tortuga and by January there were 800 men and 10 vessels gathered at the island including the Oxford. Morgan tranferred his command to the Oxford making her the flagship of the buccaneer fleet. Unfortunately the ship was destroyed when the powder magazine exploded during a raucous party aboard the vessel before departing.

WARSHIP — Marston Moor
Sir Christopher Myngs’ flagship the Marston Moor was a Royal Navy frigate mounted with 44 guns. Myngs was sent to Jamaica in 1756 to continue offensive actions against the Spanish following England’s capture of the island the year before. From the bridge of the Marston Moor he led his Jamaican fleet of Naval and buccaner vessels on a relentless campaign against the Spanish treasure ports in the Carribean.

WARSHIP — Queen Anne’s Revenge
Blackbeard’s flagship the Queen Anne’s Revenge was the former slave ship the Concorde. On November 17, 1717 Blackbeard and Benjamin Hornigold captured the vessel 30 to 40 leagues south of Martinique. The ship was loaded with African slaves, gold dust, jewels and other valuables. Blackbeard took command of the prize, renamed her the Queen Anne’s Revenge and increased her armament to a formidable 40 guns. In June 1718 he wrecked her at Topsail Inlet off North Carolina. In 1996 a consortium of researchers called the Queen Anne’s Revenge Shipwreck Project discovered what is believed to be the wreckage of the legendary pirate flagship at Beaufort Inlet off the coast of North Carolina.

WARSHIP — Royal Fortune
Bartholomew Roberts had several flagships named Fortune or Royal Fortune. The first that he christened the Royal Fortune was a former French warship captured off Martinique in 1720. A Dutch seaman that was held prisoner aboard the Royal Fortune described her as being mounted with 42 great guns ranging in size from 4-pounders to 12-pounders. By 1721 Black Bart Roberts’ pirate flotilla consisted of the 42-gun Royal Fortune, the 32-gun brigantine Sea King, a French ship named the Ranger, and a 16-gun Bristol galley used as a tender.

3-MAST SHIP
Three-masted ships are large merchant vessels with square-rigged sails used to transport goods throughout the oceans of the world. Suitable as the flagship of a pirate fleet, by tearing out her bulkheads and cutting more gun ports, a common 12-gun merchant ship of 300 tons could be converted to carry 40 or more great guns, making her a match for any Naval vessel of the same size. Although slower than smaller vessels such as a sloop, a three-mast ship is more seaworthy and can carry a much larger amount of pirated booty.

BRIGANTINE
The brigantine is a two-masted vessel with a combination of square sails and fore-and-aft sails. This sail combination allows her to take advantage of a wide variety of wind conditions. When compared to a sloop, the mid-size brigantine has a greater capacity in terms of guns, crew and cargo, making her the chosen vessel of many pirate captains.

SLOOP
The sloop is a single-masted vessel favored greatly by pirates. She mounts a bowsprit almost as long as the hull, enabling her to mount an enormous amount of sail in relation to her size. She is very fast and agile, making it possible to outmanuever larger vessels. A sloop’s speed can exceed 11 knots in favorable winds and with her shallow draft she can sail in the channels and inlets where larger vessels would run aground. Sloops built in Jamaica and Bermuda were highly regarded and earned a reputation for speed and seaworthiness.

SLOOP — Cagway
Robert Searle’s first known vessel was a 60-ton sloop that he named the Cagway. She was the largest of three Spanish merchant vessels captured by Christopher Myngs during his raid on Santa Marta and Tolu. Searle bought the 8-gun vessel from Myngs at Port Royal and four years later sailed the Cagway as part of Myngs’ expedition against Santiago, Cuba in 1662.

SLOOP — Dragon
In February 1718 a pirate sloop named the Dragon sailed out of New Providence with a quartermaster aboard whose nickname today is Billy One-Hand. Shortly after, an irate crewmate who had received a beating earlier, barricaded himself in the hold and threatened to ignite the powder magazine. With a pistol in one hand and a cutlass in the other, Billy took it upon himself to leap into the hold. He was shot in the arm, but returned fire and killed the mutineer. After enduring the amputation of part of his arm, he was elected captain of the Dragon.

GREAT GUNS — (4, 6, 8, 12, and 18-Pounders)
Great guns, also known as cannons or carriage guns, were a valuable prize that sea rovers often took from the vessels they plundered. During the 16th century, great guns were classified by size with names such as cannon-royal, cannon, demi-cannon, culverin, falcon and minion. By the end of the 17th century they were simply classified based on the weight of the shot that they fired. Most merchant vessels carried guns ranging from 4-pounders to 12-pounders, however, guns as large as 42-pounders were used on large Naval warships.

CREW — Buccaneer
Based mainly in Port Royal and on the island of Tortuga, buccaneers were mostly English and French pirates who raided Spanish ships and settlements in the Caribbean during the mid-17th century. The word buccaneer comes from the name given to the early settlers on Hispaniola. These hunters and seamen became expert marksmen with their long barrelled muskets and smoked their meats in the fashion of the Carib Indians.

CREW — Pirate
An able pirate crew was made up of men of many races and nationalities. Most were professional seamen that were former sailors on a military warship or aboard a merchant vessel. Some were deserters from Naval warships, some were pressed into service from a captured merchant vessels, while others simply yearned for the freedom of a pirate’s life.

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WILD — Blackbeard’s Challenge
According to Captain Johnson, Blackbeard, once while drunk challenged his crew to create, “A hell of our own.” He led several of his men down into the ship’s hold and closed the hatches. Blackbeard then lit pots of brimstone and other flammable material and the pirates sat in the fiery smoke-filled chamber until they almost suffocated. When some of the men cried out for air, Blackbeard finally opened the hatches—pleased that he had held out the longest.

WILD — Duel
The duel was viewed by pirates and buccaneers as an honorable way of settling a dispute. Duels were fought to the death and the quartermaster would oversee the proceedings to ensure fairness. Mary Read is said to have fought a duel with a fellow crewmate. She had fallen in love with a young artisan that was forced to join the pirates and took action when he was challenged to a duel by one of the rogues. Mary picked a fight with the cutthroat and demanded a duel two hours before her lover’s. Her request was granted and the two went ashore to face off. They fired pistols first then drew swords and Mary killed the man on the spot.

WILD — Explosion!
In January 1669, at Isla Vaca off the southwestern coast of Hispaniola, Henry Morgan assembled a joint force of buccaneers from Jamaica and Tortuga to plan an assualt against a Spanish treasure port. It was decided to sack Cartagena and the night before the fleet set sail a rowdy celebration was held aboard his flagship the HMS Oxford. During the festivities a drunk gunner accidentily ignited the ship’s gunpowder magazine blowing the vessel to pieces. Over 200 crew members were killed with only Morgan and 10 others surviving.

WILD — Hurricane
Hurricanes have always been common in the Caribbean. In February 1719 Charles Vane was hit by a hurricane that drove his sloop into the Bay of Honduras and shipwrecked him on a small island. Edward Low was also caught in a violent hurricane in 1722. His crew pushed six great guns overboard along with most of the cargo to lighten the vessel enough to survive the storm. The same hurricane hit Port Royal and flooded the town to a depth of five feet.

WILD — Marooned
Marooning was a form of punishment used by pirates and buccaneers. The process was simple, the condemned man was abandoned on a deserted island with only a few basic items including a pistol loaded with a single shot for use to commit suicide. In early 1721 Edward England was marooned by his crew on a small island off the coast of Madagascar.

WILD — Lieutenant Maynard
In 1718 Governor Alexander Spotswood of Virginia, after recieving complaints from merchants and traders about Blackbeard’s pirate activities, and fearing he planned to make Ocracoke Island a large haven for pirates in the region, dispatched Lieutenant Robert Maynard of the Royal Navy to hunt down the villian. In command of two small sloops and 60 men, Maynard sailed to Ocracoke Island on a mission to take Blackbeard dead or alive. Maynard killed Blackbeard in a bloody battle on November 22, 1718.

WILD — Mutiny
On most pirate vessels the captain was elected by a democratic process and could just as easily be removed in the same manner. On merchant and Naval vessels mutiny occured when members of the crew lost faith in the captain’s ability to command or were displeased with his coarse of action. Some notable examples of pirates that led mutinies and the vessels they aquired are; Henry Avery aboard the Charles II which becomes the Fancy, Howell Davis aboard the Buck, and George Lowther aboard the Gambia Castle which becomes the Delivery.

WILD — Spanish Man-O-War
The Spanish man-o-war was a large heavily armed galleon. These powerful warships were mostly used in the Caribbean to protect ports and escort treasure ships that carried vast amounts of gold, silver, and jewels from the New World back to Spain.

WILD — Walk the Plank
More fiction than fact, walking the plank was a form of punishment pirates dealt to victims or to crew members that broke the rules. There is no record or verified account of a 17th or 18th century pirate making someone walk the plank. Some stories from pirate lore claim that Bartholomew Roberts popularized this actvity but this is most likely the invention of 19th century writers. However, there is a newspaper report from July 23, 1829 detailing a pirate attack in the Carribean in which victims were blindfolded with shot fastened to thier feet and forced to, “Walk the plank.”

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HISTORY — Alexander Selkirk
Alexander Selkirk was a Scottish seaman whose true-life adventure was the basis for Daniel Defoe’s classic tale Robinson Crusoe that was first published in 1719. In 1703 Selkirk sailed from England as a navigator on a privateering expedition to the South Seas led by William Dampier and Thomas Stradling. In 1704 they reached the Island of Juan Fernandez in the Pacific Ocean. After quarreling with Captain Stradling, Selkirk was marooned and remained there for more than four years. In 1709 he was rescued when an expedition led by Woodes Rogers arrived at the island. William Dampier was ironically serving as a pilot for Rogers and recognized Selkirk. He was described as being clothed in goat skins and looking wilder than the first owners of them.

HISTORY — Brethren of the Coast
Around 1640 the buccaneers on the island of Tortuga formed a democratic society called the Brethren of the Coast. To become a member a buccaneer had to vow to follow a strict code called the Custom of the Coast. This code set forth specific rules for chosing a captain, the division of booty, compensation for the wounded, and punishment for those that broke the code. It was enforced by duelling and boycott.

HISTORY — Buried Treasure
Although pirates rarely buried their treasure, tales do exsist of pirates such as Blackbeard and Captain Kidd burying their booty. One of the few documented examples of buried treasure is that of Rock the Brazilian’s on the Isle of Pines. After he was captured and tortured by the Spanish at Campeche, Rock admitted to burying a large amount of treasure that he had captured from a Spanish treasure galleon. Spanish soldiers sent to find the stolen loot dug up more than 100,000 pieces of eight.

HISTORY — William Dampier
Born in 1652, William Dampier was an English buccaneer, explorer, scientific observer and author. He sailed around the world three times and was the first person to circumnavigate the globe twice. From 1679 to 1681 he plundered Spanish settlements in the Carribean with Bartholomew Sharp. In 1697 he published a best-selling book about his adventures called A New Voyage Around the World. Dampier’s description of breadfruit led to Captain Bligh’s ill-fated voyage on the HMS Bounty and he is cited over a thousand times in the Oxford English Dictionary. Although he lived a life of adventure and fame, he died a pauper in London in 1715.

HISTORY — The Jolly Roger
The pirate’s flag known as the Jolly Roger was addorned with graphic symbols of death and designed to strike fear in all victims they approached. The idea was to scare a ship’s captain into surrendering immediately so the vessel could be captured undamaged. The name Jolly Roger probably derived from “Old Roger,” a nickname for the devil. Many pirate flags displayed Old Roger and other instruments of violence and intimidation.

HISTORY — Mermaid
The mermaid is a mythical creature with the upper body of a woman and the lower body of a fish. Stories of these strange beings were common among seamen and some believed that they were good, while others believed they were evil and would lure a sailor to his doom. Christopher Columbus reported seeing three mermaids off the coast of Hispaniola in January of 1493. He wrote that they, “Rose very high from the sea,” but were, “not so beautiful as they are painted.”

HISTORY — The Mariner’s Mirror
In 1584 Dutch cartographer Lucas Waghenaer produced a complete sea atlas of northern and western Europe titled The Mariner’s Mirror. It contained 44 charts that included sailing instructions, soundings, tide tables, and symbols representing anchorages, buoys and hazards. Waghenaer was the first cartographer to use standardized symbols for navigational information. Lord Admiral Charles Howard of the Royal Navy ordered an English translation that was first published in 1588.

HISTORY — Treasure Island
First published in book form in 1883, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson provided popular culture with the classic image of the pirate with a wooden leg and a map leading to buried treasure. It all began with a map Stevenson drew with his twelve-year-old stepson during a leisurely afternoon. When he added names to the various places such as Skeleton Island and Spyglass Hill, and then wrote the name Treasure Island at the top right-hand corner, it became the inspiration for one of history’s most famous tales of fiction.

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INSTANT — Blackbeard’s Last Fight
On November 22, 1718, Lieutenant Robert Maynard found Blackbeard and 19 of his men anchored at Ocracoke Island. After a short chase and seamingly devastating broadside from the pirates, Maynard laid a trap by hiding all but two of his men. Blackbeard and 10 of his men boarded Maynard’s sloop and then the real fight began. An edition of The Boston News Letter from 1719 reports that, “Maynard and Teach begun the fight with swords, Maynard making a thrust, his sword against Teach’s cartridge box, and bended it to the hilt. Teach broke the guard of it, and wounded Maynard’s fingers…whereupon he fired his pistol which wounded Teach. Demelt struck with his sword and cut Teach’s face…one of Maynard’s men being a Highlander…with his broadsword gave Teach a cut on the neck, Teach saying ‘well done lad,’ the Highlander replied, ‘if it not be well done, I’ll do it better.’ With that he gave him a second stroke, which cut off his head.” In Maynard’s report he states that Blackbeard died, “With five shot in him and 20 dismal cuts in several parts of his body.” Maynard returned to Virginia with Blackbeard’s severed head hanging from the bowsprit of his sloop. Legend has it that his headless body swam around the sloop several times before sinking.

INSTANT — Broadside
The broadside is the most effective way of concentrating a ship’s firepower during combat. It is performed by firing all of the guns on one side of a ship at the same time. The key to winning a naval artillery battle is to outmaneaver your opponent and gain a superior position from which to deliver a broadside—without allowing your enemy to do the same.

INSTANT — Captain William Kidd
Captain William Kidd became one of history’s most famous pirates because of the political scandal that surrounded his trial and execution. An experienced privateer, Captain Kidd set sail in 1696 on an expedition funded by a wealthy group of polititians and aristocrats. His mission was to hunt pirates and French vessels in the Indian Ocean and bring back their treasures. The voyage turned into a disaster for Kidd and a public embaressment for his backers. After several months at sea with little success, Kidd turned to piracy. In 1697 and 1698 he seized several ships off the east coast of Africa, the richest of which was the Quedah Merchant. His crew commited acts of torture and brutality and Kidd himself killed his gunner with a wooden bucket. On May 8, 1701 Captain Kidd stood trial in London for murder and five acts of piracy. He was found guilty and hanged at Execution Dock. His body hung in chains for a number of years at Tilbury Point on the banks of the River Thames.

INSTANT — Davey Jones’ Locker
For centuries Davey Jones has been an old seaman’s name for the evil spirit of the sea. Davey Jones’ Locker is the nickname for the bottom of the deep ocean where Davey Jones roams. To be sent to Davey Jones’ Locker means to perish at sea.

INSTANT — The Flying Dutchman
The appearance of the Flying Dutchman is considered by mariners to be the omen of a disaster. The legend is believed to have started in 1641 when a Dutch ship sank in a violent storm near the Cape of Good Hope. It is said that Captain Vanderdecken swore he would not retreat in the face of the storm and would continue his attempt to round the cape even if it took until Judgment Day. For his blasphemy Vanderdecken and his crew were cursed by Davey Jones and doomed to sail the seas forever. The Flying Dutchman is said to appear under the dark clouds of a storm. His vessel is seen as a glowing red phantom ship. Witnesses to this ghostly apparition have ranged from a Royal Navy ship in 1881 to a German submarine during World War II.

INSTANT — Letter of Marque
A letter of marque was a commission or license issued to privateers giving them the authority to capture enemy ships. This letter of marque was issued to Captain William Kidd under the authority of King William III. It authorized Kidd to capture, “Pirates, Freebooters and Sea Rovers,” and to seize French vessels during his expedition to the Indian Ocean. The document was suspiciosly lost just before Kidd’s trial in 1701. It was not see