The pirate carpenter

The ship's carpenter by Christoph Weigel (1698).As all ships in the Age of Sail were made of wood a carpenter was essential, whether on a naval, merchant, or pirate ship. A ship’s carpenter was responsible for keeping the vessel afloat, making necessary repairs, and plugging holes. Carpentry was an extremely useful skill on board any ship and good carpenters were highly valued, especially on a pirate ship, which couldn’t just sail into a port for repairs. In the navy they were usually qualified shipwrights. They didn’t always have to be an able seaman, but were expected to pull and haul when required, although they probably spent most of the time carrying out repairs and generally maintaining the ship. On most vessels the carpenter usually answered directly to the boatswain.

​The Captain’s Beard

The Captain’s Beard are a folk-rock, pirate band from Brighton, UK. Their music ranges from traditional folk and sea shanties, upbeat originals and downright silly songs about Cockney Mermaids, English Monarchs and rubbish vans. Since their inception, they have released 3 albums and have toured extensively across the UK and Europe, making a name for themselves through their high-energy stage shows and intimate, impromptu offstage performances.

 

Benjamin Hornigold

Benjamin Hornigold in Black Sails. Black Sails Wiki - https://black-sails.fandom.com/wiki/Black_Sails_WikiBenjamin Hornigold is famous for founding the ‘Pirate Republic’ and ‘The Flying Gang’ of Nassau, but probably even more so for betraying the pirate cause. He is said to have been born around 1660 and little is known of his early life. It is thought to have been born in Norfolk, England, although other claims include Jamaica. He might have been married to Sarah Norris in England in 1679, but her fate is unknown. Hornigold was a privateer in The Spanish War of Succession, and later claimed he was continuing this conflict rather than committing acts of piracy. He had a puritan background and was a known patriot, constantly refusing to attack British and Dutch ships. He was also reluctant to take lives and generally treated his captives well.

Hornigold the pirate

Hornigold left Port Royal, Jamaica for Nassau in 1713, starting out in two piraguas, the second captained by John West.…

The 1715 Jacobite Uprising

James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales by Alexis Simon Belle, circa 1712.

The Jacobite cause came into being after The Glorious Revolution of 1688. The reigning monarch, James II of England and VII of Scotland, was extremely unpopular due to a combination of being Catholic and harbouring absolutist ambitions. Fear of Catholicism, which was the religion of the traditional enemies France and Spain, and James II’s tendency towards absolutism pushed several Protestant nobles to invite Mary, the eldest daughter of James II, and her husband, James’s nephew William of Orange, to take the crown. When William invaded England mass defections and little resistance to William’s cause forced James II and his wife to flee to France, where they became guests of his cousin Louis XIV. In March 1689, James attempted to reclaim his throne by landing in Ireland with 6000 troops, but was soundly defeated at the Battle of the Boyne in July of that year, forcing him to flee back to France where he died in 1701.…