Torture On the High Seas!

Life on the sea was a harsh and difficult life. Your daily battles were not only against enemy ships but also from within. crew members were often tortured or flogged for minor infractions. You might think that this type of treatment was exclusive to outlaws - no, sailors among Navy ships were much more likely to be flogged for the most menial of infractions.


healed back after being flogged

This type of treatment to the crew can be justified with one word- order. Crewmates aboard a ship, from the Navy to Pirates are all strong, rough men who have experienced war and extreme violence. To keep these king of men in line, a captain must resort to heavy measures to maintain order. Torture may seem like too much to an modern people like us but, in an era where the Americas was a wild and unexplored land, harsh discipline was necessary to curb theft, violence, and possible mutiny.

Sources Cited

Vallar, Cindy. "Pirates & Privateers - The Pirates' Arsenal of Torture." Pirates &    Privateers - The Pirates' Arsenal of Torture. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Feb. 2017.

Back In Time: Encounter With Ching Shih

Imagine, you're sent back in time to the Golden Age of Piracy. A time where life in the sea is as dangerous on the waters as it is under it. This is the time and place where it truly was a man's world. Dangerous men were free to scour the seas to rape and pillage any village they deemed vulnerable to attack. You are transported to a pirate's vessel, you look around you and notice that you are in the company of one of the most dangerous pirates of all time, Madam Ching. As you look in disbelief at a woman that's as dangerous as she is beautiful command over 300 war rigs carrying upwards of 180,000 pirates almost all them being men - She is preparing for a battle against the combined forces of the Chinese, British, and Portuguese. Would your reaction be anything other than fearful?

My personal reaction would be a mix of fear and admiration, her very gravitas is enough to intimidate even the most stoic of men. A woman so powerful and beautiful that nations have to combine their forces to have a chance at subduing her. Madam Ching was equally intelligent, managed to negotiate a deal with the Chinese emperor that would allow her and her crew to live their lives and keep their plunder so long as they turned in their war rigs and quit piracy forever. A woman with this kind of talent is someone who proves sex is irrelevant so long as you have the tenacity to achieve a goal.

sources

http://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/ching-shih-prostitute-pirate-lord-002582?page=0%2C1

Crime Pays: Sir Henry Morgan's Rape of Panama

One of the, if not, THEE most famous buccaneer of all time was a man known as Sir henry Morgan. Morgan was tasked with the job of disrupting  Spanish trade in the New World. Not only did Henry Morgan do just that, he robbed the Spaniards of their gold and ships, often leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their back. Henry Morgan also attacked civilian ships for their property and fled to the Galapagos islands for refuge to regroup and set sail once again. Eventually, Morgan was given credit for his work on disrupting Spaniard ships and bringing the wealth back to England. Little did the queen know, Sir Morgan had already taken a large cut of the loot before brining it back over seas. Sir Morgan's reputation had become so notorious that on his last recruitment day before October 24, 1670, more than 2,000 men in 37 ships appeared. 
 

What's so special about October 24 1671?

 

 October 24, 1671 was they day they set to rendezvous in Tortuga to discuss their next attack. An attack on a major city non other than, Panama City. Morgan assembled close to 2,000 pirates. Morgan was versed in strategy and left different amounts of his men in key locations in case something went wrong. 120 in their base of operations in St. Catherine, 500 in Chagre and 200 behind them in case of retreat. Morgan took about 1,200 pirates to attack the Panama City. Interestingly, the ship's crew was incredibly diverse. Among the crew were criminals, blacks, Dutch, English, Spanish, Native American were all together in charge against Panama. Panama city fell in a matter of a few hours to a band of Pirates, who immediately began to pillage. Panama continued to burn for four weeks as the pirates began going to adjacent cities in search of possible caches of loot. Morgan and his crew returned to Chagre where he ordered most of the crew to burn the city to the ground while he made a sneaky get away and leaving the remaining pirates under the mercy of the Spaniards. Morgan Escaped with around 400,000 pesos.

 

Crime Pays

 

In 1672 Morgan was eventually captured and shipped back to England where he was to be tried for piracy as an attempt to ease tensions with Spain. On his arrival, instead of  being brought in as a typical prisoner, Morgan was given a hero's welcome by the public. Morgan was welcomed into

Chief Justice Morgan

rooms in high society where he would be asked to recount his travels and "adventures" in the New World. Major General Bannister had written a letter to the Lord Arlington asking him to let Morgan go and the he would be a, "Great asset to a possible war with Spain." Morgan was never charged with an offense and said he was unaware of a treaty on Panama prior to his attack. Morgan was sent back to Jamaica as a Chief Justice of Jamaica. 

 



 




Sources consulted
 
http://www.historynet.com/henry-morgan-the-pirate-who-invaded-panama-in-1671.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Morgan#Attack_on_Panama_.281669.E2.80.931672.29