A Weather Eye on the Horizon

Historical Notes

So this is the historical note… which basically is… well, read it and you’ll find out. It might be kinda boring but I just want to point out that some of these characters are actually real. So read it anyway. Like, this isn’t actually a spoof on Pirates of the Caribbean as people may think. Yes, I got the idea of pirates from those movies, but other than that there are no similarities. The ship the William actually existed, as did Jack Rackham, Mary Read, and Anne Bonny. As for the others… well, they didn’t. But why am I saying this? Just read it!

Thanks again to you all for reading!

<3 vb123321

Historical Notes

§         Captain John “Calico Jack” Rackham (December 21, 1682 – November 18, 1720 in Jamaica) was a Caribbean pirate towards the end of the era known as the golden age of piracy from 1717-1720. A few of the things that have brought him fame are the allowance of women aboard his ship, something unheard of at this time, and also his flag, the Jolly Roger (The Skull-and-Crossbones insignia), which is one of today’s most popular symbols for piracy. “Calico” Jack is not known as a “particularly ruthless or bloody pirate;” in fact many times he would capture ships he would offer the crew to join him. He is known for inventing the flag The Jolly Roger and for having two of the most notorious female pirates aboard with him: Anne Bonny and Mary Read.

§         Capture, Trial, and Death: In the Autumn of 1720, governor Woodes Rogers began to focus his attention on capturing “Calico” Jack by ordering the capture of his ship and crew. Rackham’s ship was anchored in Dry Harbor Bay in Jamaica; meanwhile Rackham and his crew were drunk and tired. Woodes Rogers found “Calico” Jack’s ship in the harbor, and the British soldiers started to board the ship. They attempted to escape the British by starting to sail away, but ended up retreating to their cabins after the British got on deck. Mary Read, Anne Bonny, and one unknown pirate [who in this story I pretend is David] stayed on deck attempting to fight off the attack. Mary Read was enraged by the drunken cowardice of the crew and fired her pistol into the cabin, killing a shipmate. After a mighty struggle, the British officers finally overtook the crew and brought them back to shore, where they were being brought on trial for piracy. The Jamaican court sentenced Captain Jack Rackham and his crew to death by hanging. A few were able to get out of the ruling, including Mary Read and Anne Bonny who both claimed that they were pregnant at the time, they were only imprisoned for the time being. In accordance with British Law, Bonny and Mary had to have their executions postponed until after the birth of their child. In prison Mary died of fever several months later. There is no clear account of what happened to Anne Bonny. One source says that her well-connected father bailed her out of jail, and she moved to America and had a family.

§         In November of 1720, Captain John “Calico Jack” Rackham was hanged, and as a warning to other pirates, his gutted body was hanging from a tall post displayed at the shore. Rackham and his crew were captured October 1720 by Captain Jonathan Barnet. They were tried and convicted in St. Jago de la Vega (Spanish Town), Jamaica, November 16–17, 1720. Rackham was hanged at Gallows-Point in Port Royal on November 18, 1720. Rackham's body was then tarred, hanged in a cage, and gibbeted on display on a very small islet at a main entrance to Port Royal, Jamaica as a warning to other pirates (now known as Rackham's Cay). The others of the crew (comprising nine men) were executed by hanging.

§         Annie and all other characters (except for Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and Calico Jack) never actually existed and this diary is completely historical fiction, with a few twists of fact, such as Calico Jack Rackham and his crew’s death by hanging in Jamaica.