Research Presentations!

Last Monday, the class had to give a five-minute presentation on our research topic. We had to formulate a quality presentation that was appealing to the eyes and also gave out just enough information for the audience to read and the presenter to elaborate on. I feel that my classmates did an overall great job of making their presentations aesthetic and well researched. I did not there was a bit of refinement that still needed to be made. For example, one of my classmates created a very interesting recreation of Morgan's attack on Panama. He was very knowledgeable in his topic but made simple mistakes on his presentation such as over explaining and not testing his equipment prior to his turn to present. The technical difficulties sort of made me lose my focus on his presentation and I began to look at other things other than him. Other students created props that the class was able to look through to better understand her topic, however, the presenter spoke softly and her presentation other than the props were forgetful, to say the least.

I personally enjoyed watching everyone present their research topics and noticed they all put in a great amount of effort in gathering the information necessary to craft their storyboard. With a bit of refining, I'm confident their mistakes would not have happened. 

Pirates research project

Did you know that one of the earliest places in history where Blacks and whites worked together as equals was actually on the pirate ships?

It's true! when most people think of  the word "pirates", they think of cruel, dirty, bloodthirsty criminals with the simple goal of looting and plundering the seas. While this is to a point true, pirates were much more complex than that. Pirates were in actuality more complex and accepting of different races than any other groups of people of that time!

The inner government of the pirates were ran by a set of rules called "The Code of Piracy". These sets of codes were unique to every pirates ship but one thing was universal, the code was designed by the crew that worked on the ship. It was the crew that elected their leaders, how the loot would be split, what the main rules of the ship would be prior to their voyage. Pirates also had the ability to impeach their captain! The rule was created as a means of protection for the crew just in case the captain that was elected would be either a coward or a sadist towards his men. This rule of impeachment is even used by our government today!

The codes demanded equality within the vessel in order to work. The codes needed every crew member involved to be drafted, they demanded that everyone cast votes on captains, loot, where to sail next, how ardguments would be settled, etc. These requirements would be impossible without inclusion.

Why is this important?

most people are unaware about the contributions black people played in the shaping of the Americas. When the discovery of the Americas is mentioned and what role blacks played in it, our automatic response is to to talk about slavery. While slavery is a HUGE part of black history, it is not their entire history. Black people were able to rise to the level of captains on these vessels and lead white pirates into battle. Though most of black pirates are seldom mentioned in the history books (which makes it all that much harder to know their impact in history) we can still find records of famous black pirates such as Diego El Mulato, Black Ceasar, or Juan Andres. These are pirate captains that aided more famous pirates like black beard and Francis Drake to the status they're known for today.

progressive pirates?

During the Golden Age of Piracy, the Navy of the dominant countries were exclusively white male. apart from the occasional slave, Navies were very much white and male. Pirate ships, however, were usually very integrated. ships with crews consisting of  Native Americans, ex-slaves, Dutch, Spanish, French, English, etc. who were all on equal terms was actually rather common.

Black pirates? 

Pirates had long had a problem with slavery. Beginning in the 1600’s, pirates who captured slave ships often gave the slaves an opportunity to join their crews. In the beginning, human cargo on captured ships might amount to 6 or 7 people. By the 1700’s, purpose-built slave ships were carrying hundreds of slaves from Africa. Capturing a slave ship could vastly increase a pirate captain’s power. At one point, pirate captain Sam Bellamy’s crew consisted for more than 50%, African slaves.

pirates crews are one of the earliest places that historians have been able to find equality among black and white people. It's ironic how pirates, people known throughout time as bloodthirsty, vicious people were the first to give equal footing to people regardless of race- sometimes sex. There has been documentation of black pirates even serving high ranking positions among famous pirate crews. It is widely accepted that Captain Kidd's quartermaster was black. A pirate that went by "Black Ceasar" was a high ranking member of the infamous Blackbeard pirates. 

Articles? 

Unfortunately, finding scholarly articles that study integration among pirate ships is difficult. There isn't much focus on the study of race in this time. 

there is, however, a good amount of famous pirates and their affiliates that are black that supports my theory of equality within pirate crews. There is also documentation of female pirate captains that were known to be beyond powerful. so powerful, in fact, that it could take whole nations to stand a chance at taking them down. 

sources

http://thepirateempire.blogspot.com/2016/01/black-pirates.html

http://www.cindyvallar.com/blackpirates.html  

Blackbeard: Aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge!

The Queen Anne's Revenge

The Queen Anne's Revenge has been found on a sandbar in North Carolina! There have been efforts made towards restoring the ship of, in my opinion, most famous pirate of all time, Blackbeard!

Who is Blackbeard?

Blackbeard is regarded by many as the most famous pirate the ever terrorized the seas during the golden age of piracy. History claims that he had as many as fourteen wives, but there is no documentation on that. His last wife was Mary Ormound.

Blackbeard often fought, or simply showed himself, wearing a big feathered tricorn, and having multiple weapons always at his disposal. It was reported in theGeneral History of the Pirates that he had hemp and lighted matches woven into his enormous black beard during battle. Accounts of people who saw him fighting say that they thought he "looked like the devil" with his fearsome face and the smoke cloud around his head. This image, which he cultivated, has made him the premier image of the seafaring pirate.

Drawing of Blackbeard

How did it sink?

The ship sank around 1718 when it ran onto a sandbar in Beaufort Inlet, North Carolina. though the ship did not contain plunder, it did contain various artifacts that give us insight as to what ships probably carried during that period

What was found?

several cannons, sabers, and surgical tools were found within the wreckage. the medical tools were very rudimentary and used to conduct crude life-saving procedures after a battle.

The medical research team would be the best group to be involved in! To take a look back at how people understood medicine at the time and how far we have come is a definite eye opener to understanding how much we didn't know at the time. Can you imagine how many people could have been saved if they had a better understanding of medicine? Would Blackbeard's army have been more dangerous? How big could it have grown if his men survived injuries from their battles?






Sources.

http://www.qaronline.org/history/ships-journey

http://www.livescience.com/49564-photos-blackbeard-pirate-medical-instruments.html

Fact vs Fiction: Henry Morgan

In the books "Under the Black Flag" and "Buccaneers and Pirates", there is a significant mention of the famous buccaneer Henry Morgan. The books, however, vary significantly in his portrayal. Under the Black Flag depicts a more factual documentary of Henry Morgan as a he was while Buccaneers and Pirates depict Henry a Morgan as more of a character.

In "Under the Black Flag" by David Cordingly, Morgan was given a more factual perspective on Morgan's exploits as a buccaneer. "Buccaneers and Pirates" by Frank Stockton on the other hand, gave a more fantastical recollection of Morgan. Morgan was portrayed as more of an epic adventurer. 
For example, while it is true that real life Morgan caused much turmoil to the Spanish colonies, which, to be fair, was his job as a buccaneer, he was exaggerated as a character.




Both works talk about Morgan's attack on Panama City and how he managed to escape the trap set by the Spaniards but Stockton portrayed Morgan as a hero who managed to escape such a trap single-handedly with nothing but his wit and cunning. Stockton states Morgan would strategically hold civilians ransom and send the captain of the Spaniards letters threatening to burn the city to the ground if he was not released. While this recollection is, for the most part, true, the way these events were portrayed in "Buccaneers and Pirates" were almost too great to believe!






"Under the Black Flag" also spoke on the Morgan's attack on Panama but gave a more detailed recollection as to how Morgan went about preparations for his attack and his strategy in case they could not sack the city. Morgan was depicted as a more level-headed military leader in the book which is backed by other sources outside of this book. Cordingly also mentioned the conversation between Morgan and The captain of the Spaniards as well as a more detailed account as to how he escaped the trap using preparations he made prior to his attack, military strategy, and a bit of cunning   


Cordingly, David. "Sir Henry Morgan" Under the Black Flag the Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. New York: Random House, 2006. Print.

Stockton, Frank R. Buccaneers and Pirates. Place of publication not identified: Dover Publications Inc, 2007. Print.