#bucaneers

[illustratus]

Smugglers' Bay by Montague Dawson

[shipwreckedwithcaptainmarrow]

On the 9th of February, 1663, the Sack of Campeche occurred; a raid by pirates led by Christopher Myngs and Edward Mansvelt, which became the model for later coastal pirate raids during the buccaneering era. Myngs had previously assembled the largest buccaneer fleet (so far, of the time) ever assembled, fourteen ships with around 1,400 pirates, including Henry Morgan. The primarily English fleet was bolstered by four more French ships, and three Dutch Privateer vessels, and had departed from Port Royal. On February 8th, Myngs had landed about 1,000 men a short distance from Campeche .

  The morning after, at 8 am on the 9th, Spanish lookouts saw some of the smaller ships in the distance and sounded the alarm, unaware that Myngs’ larger 40-gun flagship lay just out of sight. The warning for the Spanish was too late however, and those pirates already on land began their assault immediately. The pirates struggled against the city’s militia, who used high ground of flat-roofed stone houses to their advantage, and at some point during the ensuing battle, Myngs was seriously injured. He returned to his ship, leaving pirate Edward Mansvelt in charge. After two hours of conflict, fifty Spaniards lay dead, and the pirates had lost thirty of their numbers. The Spanish would agree to terms of surrender, and the pirates would sack the city for a total of two full weeks' plundering a total of 150,000 pieces of eight, and stealing fourteen more ships from the harbor on their way out. Christopher Myngs would later return to England to recover from his wounds. Myng’s strategy of using the buccaneers to supplement English forces in the Caribbean became England’s policy for nearly 40 years, with his tactics becoming a template for Captain Henry Morgan and other buccaneers’ attacks on coastal settlements going forward. (pictured are English ships approaching land (from Black Sails), and a 17th century map depicting Campeche and its fortifications)

[metalcube]

End of an era indeed! Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Phillip Rivers, Ben Roethlisberger, Eli Manning. NFL QBs -- 2004 Draft Class

[steampunktendencies]

Actually most popular in our group on Facebook. Give it a name #steampunk #steampunkart #steampunkdesign #steampunkstyle #funny #r2d2 #pirate #bucaneers #rhum #rum https://www.instagram.com/p/B80nZ1UILXu/?igshid=1n869i5i1z8o3

[venezuelaflight]

                                           Blackburn Buccaneer

[skrankku]

The Grand Pirate Master Post.

[pittrarebooks]

There are many topics which seem to especially capture the imagination of young children, and premier among these is pirates. I can remember at a young age pouring over picture books that explained the history of these robbers of the high sea. While my focus hasn’t remained lasered in on pirates, it is still quite an interesting topic. Today we investigate something a bit more academic than a child’s picture book, The History of the Bucaniers of America by Alexandre Olivier Exquemeling. This book was published in London in 1699, and features a number of different accounts of the pirates and “bucaniers” of the early Americas.

The book is broken up into four parts, each separately numbered. They were originally written in a number of different languages, including Dutch, Spanish, and French, and this book collects these stories and translates them into English. The particular worth and interest of this collection is that, besides the translation, these are primary sources of the pirate adventures that are so common in our popular culture. The stories were written by the buccaneers themselves, or at the very least, their companions. This gives a fascinating insight into what the reality behind the stories really is.

One particularly nice feature of this book is a number of fold out illustrations spread throughout the book. Among these are a number of different maps drafted at the time, which allows an interesting insight into the geographic assumptions of the era. Other illustrations include portraits of the various buccaneers that the stories focus on and drawings of cannon battles between various warships. These illustrations were done in a popular method of the time, that being copper plate.

These stories offer a bit of a personal insight into a part of history that often becomes a bit fantasized by popular culture. While Johnny Depp is nowhere to be found within these pages, the tales that lie within these pages are no less interesting for that exclusion. Primary sources can truly make history come alive, and if that’s something you’re looking for, come check it out here at Special Collections.

-Connor Wurst, student employee

[skrankku]

Pirates!