By Grey Lupindo
While I was
sailing a few days ago, I found an interesting pirate exhibit on a pier in Snug
Harbor. I quickly learned that the
exhibit is part of a larger museum being constructed at Snug Harbor Maratime
Museum, SH 2 (92, 188, 22). The
landmark describes the site as "A mini course in boating history and real
life facts about boats."
The exhibit
is a huge outdoor museum that is still under construction. However, there is already a wealth of
material about every aspect of ships, from the mechanics of engines and anchors
to the people and how they lived aboard these ships. There’s even a 16th century
Galleon that you can board and explore.
I found the
pirate exhibit to be the most interesting.
This exhibit has drawings and notecards with information about many different
pirates, both male and female, from many different countries. Some of the names were familiar, but there were
many pirates that were new to me.
Sometimes one country’s “pirate” is often another country’s hero.
The museum
gives an interesting explanation as to why a person would turn to piracy as a
career. A sign explains that "In
the 1700s for many sailors the prospects of sharing in a big haul was
overwhelming. When a man could be a pick
pocket and be hanged for stealing a shilling, why not be a pirate and steal a
fortune?" Sometimes, it seems,
crime did pay.
One of the
famous women pirates was Lo Hon-Cho, a Chinese woman who is said to be the
inspiration for the Dragon Lady pirate in the comic strip "Terry and The
Pirates." In 1921 she became a
pirate when her husband died and she took command of his pirate ship. She
was very successful and grew the business into a fleet of 60 pirate ships. She was also very ruthless and took women
and girls as prisoners to sell as slaves.
An American woman pirate from an earlier
era was Rachael Wall. She went into the
pirate business with her husband, George Wall. Her skills are detailed in the notecard
available at the site. In 1782 her
career as a pirate ended when their ship sank in a storm. Later, after being arrested for robbery, she
admitted she had once been a pirate. As a result of her confession, she was the
last woman to be hanged in Boston.
Piet Hein was a
Dutch hero but considered a pirate by other countries. In his early 20s he had been captured by the
Spanish and held as a slave for four years. After his release he became a privateer for
the Dutch West India Company and captured many ships. Later he became an Admiral and captured a
Spanish treasure fleet loaded with silver from the American colonies and the
Philippines without any loss of life. Following
the Dutch policy, Hein gave the Spanish crews enough supplies to reach Havana
and released them. The treasure Hein captured was the company's greatest
victory in the Caribbean.
The Maratime
Museum has informational notecards about all of the pirates, including Englishmen
Sir Thomas Cavendish and Sir Francis Drake, Indian Kanhoji Angre, and many
others. The notecard about Jean Lafitte
offers an interesting look at a man who was a pirate, a hero, and a savvy
businessman who chose piracy even when other options were open to him.
There are exhibits
on modern day pirates, too, and the U.S. Navy’s reaction to it.
When you visit the museum, be sure to
turn on your music. The site plays shanties
and sea sounds. I heard "Whiskey
Johnny", "Wild Goose", "Blood Red Roses", and "Hilo
Jonny Brown". There’s even a
notecard that explains the different types of shanties and why they were sung.
Of course no
pirate exhibit would be complete without rum.
Located on the pier is Barnacle
Ben's, the place for you to “rest your timbers” after a hard day of sailing.
For sailors,
Snug Harbor can be reached by water. The
dock at Snug Harbor also allows you to moor your boat for an hour or so while
you visit the museum.
Grey Lupind
Monday September 19 was "International Talk Like a Pirate Day,"
an informal holiday made up about two decades ago that gained publicity
thanks to a syndicated newspaper humor columnist. Those taking part are
encouraged to speak a little pirate lingo. In real life, there are
occasional stunts, such as the "Krispy Kreme" stores offering a free
doughnut for anyone willing to talk like a pirate. In Second Life,
there's no shortage of ways one can have some pirate fun. One can grab a
pirate outfit from a store, some of which are free such as this one. And one can usually find some pirate events somewhere.
