Posted on 01/30/2018 10:49:31 AM PST by SunkenCiv
Were 18th-century pirates literate? What sort of books did they keep on board ship? ...
During conservation work on artifacts recovered from the wreckage of Queen Anne's Revenge -- the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard -- 16 tiny fragments of paper were discovered in a mass of wet sludge removed from the chamber for a breech-loading cannon.
The largest fragment was only about the size of a quarter. Paper is an extremely rare material to find on shipwrecks, especially one 300 years old, because it usually disintegrates quickly under water... As the work progressed another discovery was made -- that there was still legible printed text on some of the fragments, although only a few words were visible. The challenge then became not just to conserve the paper fragments but also to identify where they were from.
After months of research, the fragments were determined to be from a 1712 first edition of a book by Capt. Edward Cooke, "A Voyage to the South Sea, and Round the World, Perform'd in the Years 1708, 1709, 1710 and 1711."
Cooke's book was a "voyage narrative" describing his adventures on an expedition made by two ships, Duke and Dutchess, which sailed from Bristol, England, in 1708. The expedition leader was Capt. Woodes Rogers, who also published an account of the expedition and who was sent in 1718 as royal governor to rid the Bahamas of pirates.
(Excerpt) Read more at salisburypost.com ...
Wait, what? There are fags living there now? OK forget it. Now my image is ruined. What a waste.
If you like it there’s a very nice condo for sale there, it’s that bit of light blue peeking out in the background along the shore of the sound. Stunning sunsets. Springer’s Point just behind is a great nature preserve too, a few pretty beaches or at least there are at low tide.
No, not particularly overrun. I was referring to how Key West is now. Ocracoke must be like what Key West was like before that happened.
Oh yeah, I know relatives who live close to Key West lol, it’s homo central. Ocracoke looks excellent now compared to Key West.
Amazing sleuth job!
Just a small drinking village with a fishing problem.
Wow! And cool!
BOOO!!! HISSS!!!!
Jealous.........................
You bet!
The fact that pages from books appear to have been used as wadding in their cannons indicates that they didn't place a high value on the written word.
It may have been done during their desperate last stand.
Sans-Culotte, as the name of a war ship, OTOH, always made me want to laugh, even knowing the origins of it.
bttt
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