Legend says that Captain William Kidd was one of the most ruthless pirates of his time. Even today, people tell tales of this man and search for his buried treasure. However, William Kidd was not a pirate, nor particularly ruthless, but simply a privateer sailing for the British crown. Privateering could be considered a lawful form of piracy; privateers were given permission from the crown to seize enemy ships, whereas pirates pillaged illegally and as they pleased. Captain Kidd was a respectable mariner commissioned by the King to hunt pirates in the Indian Ocean, however, his investors got angry when he did not show any profits. Also, due to disputes among merchant ships and the accidental killing of one of his crew members, Captain Kidd’s reputation was severely damaged. Though Captain William Kidd was executed for piracy, he acted within his …show more content…
Before Kidd took the job of privateering in the Indian Ocean he was known as a reputable man from a well-known New York family, and was respected for his “honesty and courage” (Morgan 14). Kidd desired an appointment from the King’s navy, but unfortunately unable to receive one; however, he did meet some politicians willing to outfit him with an armed ship to repress pirates in the Indian Ocean. Several investors backed his journey, expecting to receive a large profit when he divvied up his spoils amongst them. Even King William III took a 10% share in exchange for his signature (Zacks 5). However, hunting pirates was a more difficult task than expected, considering the fact that only five European pirates active at the time. His lack of success, coupled with damaging rumors from his mutinous crew, spelled Kidd’s ruin. Many of Kidd’s troubles came from the fact that his investors and crew were angry that he had largely failed to make them any money, not because he was a
In my report i’m going to talk about the Pirate clothing, religion, where they from, how they live, the things they do, their history, and my 3 main points are gonna be their ships, blackbeard, and their flag . Almost all pirates stole their ships because they couldn’t buy ships incase they got caught and sent to jail. Once they had taken over a ship they had to covert it for pirate life, this usually meant making more room for sailors to live on bored and strengthening the decks to hold the weight of the heavy cannons. Ships sailing on their own often sailed close to warship or joined other convoys of ships to protect themselves from pirates. Pirates could only attack one ship at a time, so if the sailors traveled in groups there was a less chance of their boat being the one attacked.
He selected three less valuable slaves, killed one, and forced the others to eat his heart. Many of the ships were followed by, what Marcus called them, “greedy robbers.” Human waste and bodies were thrown off often enough to constantly have sharks following the ship, greedily waiting for the next over
Some slaves jumped overboard then suffering. Others staged violent shipboard
David Cordingly is a maritime historian and the author of many historical pirate books. Cordingly’s book Under the Black Flag shows how the pirates of fictional works have changed from the reality of pirates’ lifestyles. The book succeeds in describing the life of pirate crews along with documented evidence as proof to make the book fascinating and full of interesting information. Under the Black Flag explains how the pirates in fictional works may have evolved based on events that actually happened in the pirates’ world.
Before America became it’s own country, the American colonists had to work hard to fight for what they wanted. America didn’t do all its own work, the British helped them to achieve their goal. The British encouraged the American colonists to work harder to become independent by provided them with reasons to fight. Mercantilists believed that colonies existed for the home country, and not for settlers.
Henry the Navigator despite his
The War of 1812 is often a long forgotten war. It has been easy to skip over while learning about the history of our country. People often go from learning about the formation of our country in the Revolutionary War, to the Civil war that almost divided our young nation. No one can deny that these 2 wars are important in the history of the Untied States, but the War of 1812 made America the nation that we are now. Often called our second War of Independence from Britain and our second war with Native Americans, the War of 1812 broke any ties of control that Great Britain had on the newly formed nation, as we trumped the world’s strongest and largest navy.
Charles W. Chestnutt’s the Passing of Grandison is a tale that sheds light on southern slavery in a time where a movement to free slaves was a rebellious act. The author uses specific locations and dialogue to portray the reality of the era. The theme of the story is addressed through the acts of both of the main characters. On one end, Dick’s determination and courage is driven by a hidden motive that benefits himself; while Grandison’s courage and determination are led by his hidden motive to concur opportunity for himself and his family. Ironically, both men address the topic of what a man is willing to do for the person or people he loves, but the initial reasoning behind the both of the similar yet differing situations leads to a very unexpected outcome.
Four sailors were pressed into the Royal Navy. The men jumped ship and swam to shore. The British learned of this and went to find the people they considered to be deserters. When the men were identified on The Chesapeake, a British commander ordered that if a ship encountered The Chesapeake, its orders were to arrest the men. When The Chesapeake was approached by the HMS Leopard, the captain of the leopard asked if the men were on board, but the captain refused to give
In some instances, “the captain got his command from a merchant or group of merchants who own the ship and financed the voyage” (Rediker 190). Merchants would instruct captains which slaves to purchase, what goods to exchange, and how to ultimately treat and discipline the African captives and sailors. Additionally, merchants would instruct slave ship captains to “treat the slaves kindly, but not too kindly” (Rediker 197). These slave voyages were performed in order to advance profits.
The Misfortunes of Alonso Ramírez describes the adventures of Ramírez, a poor Spanish American carpenter from Puerto Rico, who was taken captive by British pirates and was supposedly forced to work with them for two years. The book portrays Ramírez as a victim in the hands of pirates while emphasizing the graphic depictions of English pirate cruelty in order to serve Ramírez and the Mexican Viceroy’s purposes. However, through careful examination of the story, I believe that he indeed was a pirate, and will explain so in this essay by arguing four points: first, that Ramírez headed towards familiar territory due to the lack of paperwork for his belongings, second, his lack of explanation of why he did not escape whenever possible, third, his ownership of special weapons, and lastly, the use of words in his storytelling. To begin, Ramírez sailed to Spanish territory because he had no papers that certified that the ship and its cargo were his, as seen through Zepherino de Castro’s many attempts to restrain and seize Ramírez’s property (149). This meant, that he needed to find Spanish soil and subjects, where he knew the laws will be more lenient (rather than somewhere like Madagascar, where he could be denounced as a pirate to Spanish authorities in exchange
A heroes journey To be a hero. No more does it take a brave knight draped in armor raving his sword at a fire breathing dragons to be a hero. To be a hero can be as simple as changing up from something you've been use to struggle a little bit but then rock it afterwards. Hero’s live amounts us everywhere. Here I will take you through one of my favorite hero journey stories.
Rediker, Marcus. Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age (Boston: Beacon Press, 2004). Marcus Rediker’s Villains of All Nations: Atlantic Pirates in the Golden Age explores the social, political, and cultural history of pirates during the Golden Age of Atlantic piracy. Rediker is a prize-winning historian and a professor of history at the University of Pittsburgh. The purpose of Villains of All Nations is to provide a new outlook on the history of piracy during the Golden Age of piracy while also highlighting how pirates created an egalitarian society.
William Moraley’s failure in the American colonies was not due to laziness but being at the wrong place at the wrong time. His hard work and motivation to better his life just didn’t work in his favor. Even before his journey to America, Moraley had a string of bad luck. After his father’s death, he quarreled with his mother for his rightful fortune. But unable to acquire these funds he was reduced to poverty.
The Chinese Dynasties are some of the most well-known empires in history. The topic of this report is on the book, ‘When China Ruled the Seas: The Treasure Fleet of The Dragon Throne’ by Louise Levathes. This book was written to narrate the history of China’s gigantic treasure fleet and the policies and events that changed the Ming Dynasty and eventually reached a global influence. Unfortunately, this book also gives a plethora of historical tidbits which the author could’ve explained all at the beginning at the book so she didn’t have to constantly look back at another event for reference and explain why she bought it up.