First, errata from last week. Royal Holloway is in Surrey, not Sussex (I do need to learn my way around England... contemplating buying a wooden children’s puzzle with all the counties, but it was a little spendy!). And the Bridge of Sighs is part of Hertford College, not New College (I’ll blame that mistake on the Lonely Planet guide - should have asked the Oxford man to start with!).
It’s autumn here... Not very cold yet, and not even all that rainy, but the days are getting noticeably shorter, the sun is moving farther to the south, and the leaves and berries add a gold and red hue to the cityscape... and we just went off daylight savings time, so that the darkness will come too soon this evening.
It’s autumn here... Not very cold yet, and not even all that rainy, but the days are getting noticeably shorter, the sun is moving farther to the south, and the leaves and berries add a gold and red hue to the cityscape... and we just went off daylight savings time, so that the darkness will come too soon this evening.
Given the season, I decided that it was time for a Bristol pirate blog. First some vocabulary, because I found it interesting, and then some background (mostly taken from a book called The Bristol Treasure Island Trail). 'Buccaneer' derives from a Caribbean word; 'pirate' is Latin, from the word meaning 'attack'; and 'Viking' derives from vik, old Norse for inlet. 'Privateers' were essentially part of a covert navy - they carried a 'letter of marque' from the government that allowed them to attack vessels from specific countries (for any Stan Rogers fans, his song Barrett's Privateers mentions "a letter of marque came from the king" - I had never known exactly what this meant). The booty was divided among the sailors, therefore privateers never had problems finding recruits. Examples of privateers include Sir Francis Drake (waging covert war against Spain), Captain Kidd (who later lost his letter of marque and was therefore put to death for piracy), and Captain Woodes Rogers (more below). The 'West Country' (including Bristol) has had links to piracy since the days of the Vikings, who sailed into the Bristol Channel to stage their raids on the countryside. The Bristol Channel remained a target for pirates for centuries, because of its status as an important shipping route and the opportune location of Lundy Island at the mouth of the Bristol Channel (tagged in Google Earth photo below). Pirates who occupied this island included Sir William de Marisco, of local origin, as well as Colyn Dolphyn from Brittany, and Barbary Corsairs (a word derived from the Latin cursa, which means to raid) from North Africa. Apparently captured Corsairs were hanged near the current location of the Ostrich pub (built in 1745), which now sits at the intersection of the Floating Harbor and an inlet called Bathurst Basin. Smuggling was also common in Bristol and throughout southwest England.
Now for the local pirates and privateers. Blackbeard was reportedly born in Bristol around 1680, although his birthplace (and date and even original name, most often quoted as Edward Teach) are disputed. He was quite the colorful character: "With a cutlass and three brace of pistols slung about him he resembled a walking arsenal. His long black beard was twisted with brightly colored ribbons and turned about his ears. Slow burning fuses (or matches) tucked under his hat wreathed his head with demonic smoke. All this, together with his fierce and wild eyes made his such a figure that imagination cannot form an idea of a fury from hell to look more frightful." He punished a mutinous crew by leaving them on a remote island in the British Virgin Islands call Dead Man's Chest, each with a bottle of rum and a cutlass (the inspiration for "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest/Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum"). Captain Woodes Rogers was definitely a Bristol man, born in 1679. Backed by the Bristol Corporation, he had a letter of marque that allowed him to attack both Spanish and French ships. Particularly important for this post was his publication of a popular book called A Cruising Voyage Around The World, which included description of the rescue of the castaway Alexander Selkirk, which in turn provided inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner (more below). Woodes Rogers ended up being Governor of the pirate haven, the Bahamas.
Woodes' pilot William Dampier [bottom left in the photo collage... and yes, I couldn’t resist adding a photo of Jack Sparrow to the group!] also published an account of his time as a buccaneer, an account that was apparently read by both Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. He was interested in natural history, made an early study of prevailing winds, documented the wildlife of the Caribbean, and took careful notes on the natural history of Juan Fernandez Island and the Galapagos; he was also the first Englishman to describe breadfruit, bananas and plantain. He visited Australia, Indonesia, SE Asia, and eventually circled the globe. He was later given a commission to lead a scientific exploration of the Pacific (in 1699 - well before Cook) but only made it as far as Ascension Island before his ship sank. Plants that he collected on this trip form the core of the herbarium at Oxford. On his next command he attempted to capture a Spanish vessel, failed, and his crew mutinied, one of whom was Alexander Selkirk, who would spend several years on Juan Fernandez Island before being rescued (by Woodes and Dampier!). Dampier's accounts of his adventures were also read by Coleridge, Defoe and Stevenson, as well as Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels) and the poet John Masefield.
And now for the pirate children’s literature, much of which stems from the story of Alexander Selkirk, who abandoned Dampier's ship for Juan Fernandez Island off the coast of Chile in 1704. Alone on the island for more than four years, he apparently sang songs, read scripture, tamed goats for food and bred cats to save him from the rats. He was rescued in 1709 by Woodes Rogers and Dampier, when they returned to the island. The account of his castaway life, published by Woodes Rogers, was certainly read by Daniel Defoe; it is less clear whether or not Defoe actually met Selkirk in Bristol, where he spent time on the run from his creditors. But regardless of how he learned about Selkirk's story, apparently Robinson Crusoe has never been out of print since its first publication!!! And it helped to inspire Treasure Island... Robert Louis Stevenson also read the accounts of both Woodes and Dampier, and wore a pirate cloak fastened with a snake buckle as he roamed the streets of Edinburgh. Here he befriended a one-legged Gloucestershire (just north of Bristol) poet who became the template for Long John Silver. While attending a tuberculosis sanitorium in Switzerland, he also met a Bristol writer and historian, an encounter that, together with the pirate heritage, may have convinced him to set the beginning of Treasure Island in and around Bristol (Treasure Island is another book that has never been out of print since publication).
Bristol and Treasure Island: I'll keep this short. It opens at the Admiral Benbow, a pub on the Devon Coast (SW of Bristol), where young Jim Hawkins lives with his parents. Admiral Benbow is modeled after the Llandoger Trow, in Bristol... the pub was built in 1664; the name refers to the Welsh ‘trows’ constructed in Llandogo Wales, which carried building material from Wales to Bristol. Here he meets up with Billy Bones, who has a map showing the location of Capt Flint's treasure. Enter Blind Pew, who hands Billy the Black Spot. The pirates die, and Jim sets off with Dr Livesey and Squire Trelawney (both apparently good Bristol names) to seek treasure - first stop is the Bristol docks to find a ship. Here Dr Livesey meets Long John Silver at the Spyglass Inn : “I found he was an old sailor, kept a public house, knew all the seafaring men in Bristol, had lost his health ashore, and wanted a good berth as a cook to get to sea again.” LJS had a parrot named Capt Flint... The Spyglass Inn is generally agreed to be the Hole-in-the-Wall pub in Bristol (now a fairly upscale looking pub just off Queens Square, where Woodes Rogers lived; when I walked by there was a group of Morris dancers there enjoying a beer, but apparently it actually has a spy-hole that the occupants used for looking out for Customs men or Press Gangs). The Spyglass looks across the Floating harbor to Redcliffe, where LJS was born. Ater that the action leaves Bristol...
Now for the local pirates and privateers. Blackbeard was reportedly born in Bristol around 1680, although his birthplace (and date and even original name, most often quoted as Edward Teach) are disputed. He was quite the colorful character: "With a cutlass and three brace of pistols slung about him he resembled a walking arsenal. His long black beard was twisted with brightly colored ribbons and turned about his ears. Slow burning fuses (or matches) tucked under his hat wreathed his head with demonic smoke. All this, together with his fierce and wild eyes made his such a figure that imagination cannot form an idea of a fury from hell to look more frightful." He punished a mutinous crew by leaving them on a remote island in the British Virgin Islands call Dead Man's Chest, each with a bottle of rum and a cutlass (the inspiration for "Fifteen men on the dead man's chest/Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum"). Captain Woodes Rogers was definitely a Bristol man, born in 1679. Backed by the Bristol Corporation, he had a letter of marque that allowed him to attack both Spanish and French ships. Particularly important for this post was his publication of a popular book called A Cruising Voyage Around The World, which included description of the rescue of the castaway Alexander Selkirk, which in turn provided inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, Treasure Island and Coleridge's Rime of the Ancient Mariner (more below). Woodes Rogers ended up being Governor of the pirate haven, the Bahamas.
Woodes' pilot William Dampier [bottom left in the photo collage... and yes, I couldn’t resist adding a photo of Jack Sparrow to the group!] also published an account of his time as a buccaneer, an account that was apparently read by both Daniel Defoe and Jonathan Swift. He was interested in natural history, made an early study of prevailing winds, documented the wildlife of the Caribbean, and took careful notes on the natural history of Juan Fernandez Island and the Galapagos; he was also the first Englishman to describe breadfruit, bananas and plantain. He visited Australia, Indonesia, SE Asia, and eventually circled the globe. He was later given a commission to lead a scientific exploration of the Pacific (in 1699 - well before Cook) but only made it as far as Ascension Island before his ship sank. Plants that he collected on this trip form the core of the herbarium at Oxford. On his next command he attempted to capture a Spanish vessel, failed, and his crew mutinied, one of whom was Alexander Selkirk, who would spend several years on Juan Fernandez Island before being rescued (by Woodes and Dampier!). Dampier's accounts of his adventures were also read by Coleridge, Defoe and Stevenson, as well as Jonathan Swift (Gulliver's Travels) and the poet John Masefield.
And now for the pirate children’s literature, much of which stems from the story of Alexander Selkirk, who abandoned Dampier's ship for Juan Fernandez Island off the coast of Chile in 1704. Alone on the island for more than four years, he apparently sang songs, read scripture, tamed goats for food and bred cats to save him from the rats. He was rescued in 1709 by Woodes Rogers and Dampier, when they returned to the island. The account of his castaway life, published by Woodes Rogers, was certainly read by Daniel Defoe; it is less clear whether or not Defoe actually met Selkirk in Bristol, where he spent time on the run from his creditors. But regardless of how he learned about Selkirk's story, apparently Robinson Crusoe has never been out of print since its first publication!!! And it helped to inspire Treasure Island... Robert Louis Stevenson also read the accounts of both Woodes and Dampier, and wore a pirate cloak fastened with a snake buckle as he roamed the streets of Edinburgh. Here he befriended a one-legged Gloucestershire (just north of Bristol) poet who became the template for Long John Silver. While attending a tuberculosis sanitorium in Switzerland, he also met a Bristol writer and historian, an encounter that, together with the pirate heritage, may have convinced him to set the beginning of Treasure Island in and around Bristol (Treasure Island is another book that has never been out of print since publication).
Bristol and Treasure Island: I'll keep this short. It opens at the Admiral Benbow, a pub on the Devon Coast (SW of Bristol), where young Jim Hawkins lives with his parents. Admiral Benbow is modeled after the Llandoger Trow, in Bristol... the pub was built in 1664; the name refers to the Welsh ‘trows’ constructed in Llandogo Wales, which carried building material from Wales to Bristol. Here he meets up with Billy Bones, who has a map showing the location of Capt Flint's treasure. Enter Blind Pew, who hands Billy the Black Spot. The pirates die, and Jim sets off with Dr Livesey and Squire Trelawney (both apparently good Bristol names) to seek treasure - first stop is the Bristol docks to find a ship. Here Dr Livesey meets Long John Silver at the Spyglass Inn : “I found he was an old sailor, kept a public house, knew all the seafaring men in Bristol, had lost his health ashore, and wanted a good berth as a cook to get to sea again.” LJS had a parrot named Capt Flint... The Spyglass Inn is generally agreed to be the Hole-in-the-Wall pub in Bristol (now a fairly upscale looking pub just off Queens Square, where Woodes Rogers lived; when I walked by there was a group of Morris dancers there enjoying a beer, but apparently it actually has a spy-hole that the occupants used for looking out for Customs men or Press Gangs). The Spyglass looks across the Floating harbor to Redcliffe, where LJS was born. Ater that the action leaves Bristol...
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