History

Belize Pirates

The story usually begins when the settlements began, in the 1600s. But the Maya had settlements here on Moho Caye centuries before that. And the site at Altun Ha that the Maya occupied for over 1200 years before their mysterious collapse is thought to date back to around 250 BC . Beginnings in Belize are [...]

March 17, 2013 admin Articles, History 0

Pirates of the Galapagos Islands

The Spanish considered the Galapagos Islands an anathema, calling them “Las Encantadas,” the bewitched islands. When enshrouded in mist, they were difficult to find, and the area’s gentle winds gave sailors the sensation that the islands themselves were moving instead of their ships. Though conveniently located, the Islands couldn’t be relied upon to provide a [...]

January 13, 2013 admin Articles, History 0

Robinson Crusoe: Life on the real island

Daniel Defoe’s famous novel was inspired by the true story of an 18th Century castaway, but the real Robinson Crusoe island bears little resemblance to its fictional counterpart. Think of the island on which Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked in Daniel Defoe’s famous book and you’re likely to think of a sun-drenched Caribbean idyll with sandy [...]

October 2, 2012 admin Articles, Famous Islands, History 0

Did the pirates of the Caribbean build a lair in Down East Maine?

It was a bestseller on both sides of the Atlantic and made superstars of its subjects: Blackbeard, Sam Bellamy, Calico Jack Rackham, Bartholomew Roberts, the women pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny, and others. Most everything you’ve likely heard about these pirates came from this 1724 book, which inspired the later works of [...]

August 7, 2012 staveng42 Articles, History 0

Drake’s Raid exhibit on display just feet from where artifacts were discovered

Proof that Sir Francis Drake did indeed burn St. Augustine to the ground lies in the newly unveiled exhibit at the St. Augustine Art Association at 22 Marine St., the very spot where the 16th-century burn layer and artifacts were found. Titled “Art y Facts of Drake’s Raid,” the exhibit was formed by a [...]

June 26, 2012 admin Articles, History, Pirates In the News 0

Pirates In Cyclades

When North Africa had been definitively integrated into the Ottoman Empire, and above all when the Cyclades passed to the Kapudan Pasha, there was no longer any question of the Barbary pirates continuing their raids there. Thus they were active in the western Mediterranean. In contrast, the Christians had been driven out of the [...]

June 19, 2012 staveng42 Age of Pirates, History 0

Drake’s Raid on St.Augustine 1586

The following is a modern translation of an excerpt from: A Summarie and True Discourse of Sir Francis Drakes West-Indian Voyage, etc. [Begun by Walter Bigges, continued by Lieutenant Crofts and edited by Thomas Cates.] 19. On March 13th we again departed Cabo San Antonio, and on May 28th, sailing about Cabo de la Florida, we never [...]

June 3, 2012 staveng42 History 0

Ships and Rigs

Until the reign of Henry VIII. the shipping of these islands was of two kinds. There were longships, propelled, for the most part, by oars, and used generally as warships; and there were roundships, or dromonds, propelled by sails, and used as a rule for the carriage of freight. The dromond, in war-time, was [...]

March 31, 2012 staveng42 History, Ships 0

Privateering Document

A 1798 cruise report from the privateer ship Charles Mary Wentworth This report was sent to the British government in 1799 by the Governor of Nova Scotia, to demonstrate the effectiveness of Nova Scotian privateers. It is noteworthy for the ambitious scope of operations which include attacking and capturing Spanish island forts as well as [...]

March 6, 2012 staveng42 Articles, History 0