“The soldiers briefly exchanged some words and then they too started singing vociferously.”
The Pyrate Chronicles website serves two purposes. Firstly, it presents the historical background to the books series. Secondly, it provides detailed information on the Golden Age of Piracy in general. The Pyrate Chronicles book series tells the story of a group of pirates who find themselves on a desperate journey to return to familiar lands after inadvertently sailing into a mysterious mist. It is pirate fanstasy set to a historical background. This website is a work in progress, constantly being added to.
“The soldiers briefly exchanged some words and then they too started singing vociferously.”
On stepping out onto the cobbled street, he saw that Pete was already staggering down the middle of the road, supported by two shipmates, leading another rowdy verse of the crew’s favourite shanty.
In the tavern in Steinburg the crew of Dream Chaser sing a sea shanty. As a tribute to one of my favourite bands, I chose not to use an historical song, but rather one written by them. It is the fourth track on the Ye Banished Privateers album Hostis Humani Generis, which was released on 7th February 2020, and was written by their songwriter and accordion player Björn “Bellows” Malmros.
The song is about Johnnie, a carpenter and Jacobite, who fled his home after the failed Jacobite rebellion in 1745, taking the King’s shilling and joining the British Navy. Always desperate for recruits, no questions were usually asked, especially for someone who was a skilled carpenter, which made it a viable option for those wishing to evade justice.…
The year is 1723 and the condemned pirate, William Benton, awaits his appointment with death at Execution dock. To pass the time he recounts tales of his adventures to the naïve young journalist, Nathaniel Bagshaw, who hopes to publish a popular book on pirate histories.
Benton’s story begins in 1718, when the pirate stronghold of Nassau is under threat and its inhabitants are torn between accepting the King’s pardon or continuing their precarious life as sea rovers. Captain Gunnarsson and his crew choose the latter and are forced to flee a place they once called home. Their luck seems to change when they sight a Spanish galleon separated from the treasure fleet by a storm, but during the pursuit their ship, Dream Chaser, is engulfed by a sudden, eerie mist. When they emerge they find themselves no longer in known territories, but in unknown and mysterious lands. Now they are struggling for their lives as they attempt to return to familiar waters with or without the Spanish treasure.…
The second book in the Pyrate Chronicles series.
Still awaiting his appointment with the hempen jig at Execution dock, the condemned pirate William Benton continues with the account of his past adventures on the pirate vessel Dream Chaser, commanded by the idealistic Captain Ironside. Although doubtful of the authenticity of some of the retold exploits, the young journalist Nathaniel Bagshaw is intrigued by the sea rover‘s incredible tales.
Meanwhile, after having survived an ordeal in the mysterious, war-torn kingdom of Holstein and a fateful encounter with the missing arch-pirate Henry Avery, the crew of Dream Chaser now find themselves in yet another unknown territory ruled by descendants of a long forgotten conquistador expedition. Their struggle for survival is hampered by the lust for gold and glory with loyalties being pushed to their very limits. The desperate crew become increasingly doubtful that they’ll achieve their goal of returning to the familiar waters of the Caribbean, but refuse to relinquish the hope they will one day reach home.…
In the prologue of the first novel William Benton explains that he stayed with a group of maroons after he jumped ship. Nathaniel Bagshaw was unaware of the term. Benton explains that they were communities of escaped black slaves. A large community began to flourish on the island of Jamaica, which was ruled by the Spanish at the time, from 1530 onwards after several slave revolts in the colonies of New Spain. The Spanish called them maroons, which is believe to come from the word ‘cimarron’, meaning ‘fierce’ or ‘unruly’. They were known to often ally themselves with buccaneers.
In 1655 the British conquered much of Jamaica and many slaves took advantage of the opportunity to join the maroon communities in the hills. At first, they fought the British, but later allied themselves with them against the Spanish under their leader Lubolo, finally driving the Spanish from the island in 1660.…