[Page of 13] Author: savage | The Golden Age of Piracy

Loose Cannon

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This phrase is used to describe someone who is unstable, unpredictable, or uncontrollable. This term has its roots in Naval warfare in the Age of Sail. Due to their weight the cannons on a sailing ship, which were generally referred to as guns, were secured to prevent them from moving about with the waves of the sea or to prevent damage from the enormous recoil when fired. A cannon that had become loose of its restraints and was rolling dangerously about the deck could cause immense damage to the vessel and crew.

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Charles Vane

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“All the Pyrates who were found at this Colony of Rogues, submitted, and received Certificates of their Pardon except Captain Vane and his Crew, who, as soon as they saw the Men of War enter, slipp’d their Cable, set Fire to a Prize they had in the Harbour, and sailed out with their pyratical Colours flying, firing at one of the Men of War as they went off.” – Captain Charles Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates

Little is known about Charles Vane’s his early life, except that he was a sailor from Port Royal, although not believed have been born there. He is thought to have been born about 1690, probably in England. He was an outspoken Jacobite, who served as a privateer under Henry Jennings, in 1716 helping him to secure the gold from the Spanish treasure fleet that had sunk off the coast of Florida in a storm.…

Chock-a-block

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To be packed together so tightly that there is very limited movement. This phrase is thought to originate from the use of the block and tackle system on a sailing ship, referring to when rigging blocks are so tight against one another that they can’t be tightened any further. The word ‘chock’, possibly derived from the Old French word for block – ‘choque’, was a wedge or block of wood used to prevent movement, and ‘block’ refers to the pulleys used in the ship’s rigging, that have one or more grooves over which a line is roved, being used to change the direction of a line or, in pairs, to form a tackle. When a ship’s rigging was pulled as tight as possible and there was no more free rope, the blocks would be tightly compacted and said to be ‘chock-a-block.’

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The Great Storm of 1703

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“No pen could describe it, nor tongue express it, nor thought conceive it unless by one in the extremity of it.” – Daniel Defoe, The Storm

The Great Storm Novber 26 1703 Wherein Rear Admiral Beaumont was lost on the Goodwin Sands (18th century). The Great Storm, a force two hurricane with wind speeds of up to 95 miles per hour, hit the south of England and Wales on 26^th November 1703, the strong winds finally abating on 28^thNovember. The Church of England declared that the storm was God’s retribution for the sins of the nation and it couldn’t have hit at a worse time. That year saw the greatest concentration of both naval and merchant shipping on the British coast to that date. Due to The War of Spanish Succession merchant ships were forced to travel in escorted convoys for safety against the attacks of French privateers. Three such convoys were anchored in Milford Haven, the Kentish Downs, and the estuary of the Humber when the storm hit.…

Dutch courage

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False or foolhardy courage that comes from consuming alcohol. A term believed to have been circulated by English sailors during the Anglo-Dutch wars of the 17^th and 18^th centuries. A term of derision which accused the Dutch of being cowardly and only able to fight when intoxicated. Conflicts between the Dutch and the English took place 1652-1654, 1665-1667, 1672-1674 and 1780-1784, mainly fought over trade and overseas colonies. Another claim is that the term arose when the Dutch and English were allies. Gin in its modern form was reputedly invented by the Dutch physician Franciscus Sylvius in the 17th century and English soldiers fighting alongside their Dutch allies in the Low Countries appreciated the effects of Jenever, or Dutch gin. Cheap gin was widely available in London by the early 18th century, resulting a period called the gin Craze between 1695 and 1735.

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