Pirate Kilts?

[MacWage]

For a cheap book, "Pirates and Patriots of the Revolution: An Encyclopedia of Colonial Seamanship" by C. Keith Wilbur, M. D. is pretty good. It is part of Illustrated Living History Series, all by Wilbur, and published by The Globe Pequot Press of Old Saybrook, CT. The cover price is $14.95, but I bought it for less. It is about the privateers fighting for the patriots and mixes drawn pics based on primary source material-> relics (given after the title page, as a pre-text bibliography). The text is in a hand writen style. It is a good "quick reference book, and ideal for "armchair historians" and model makers (the minitures kind-> and I don't mean midgets or pygmies). It touches a topic which few other public books discusses. It offers decent details of sailor garb/kit, but is much better on ship construction, operation, and the details of life aboard a privateering voyage. It is better than most "cheap" books largely because it focuses on a VERY brief period, while being of a decent length and detail.

I'm sure those interested in 17th/18th century naval history would be glad to enlighten us all on better books on this topic (ships used by pirates and privateers and the life aboard them).

Kilted Pirate,

[highlandcelt]

I just finished watching the Below Deck section of the Pirates of the Carribean movie, disc 2. No mention of clothing other than eye patches. I was mistaken. But, did find out that John Paul Jones was a "privateer" in the American Revolution, and had become known as a pirate to the British for him being a menace to the British Navy and causing the surrender of a British warship.

[beloitpiper]

Captain John Gow was a Scottish pirate that employed the bagpipes. I'm sureyou could find a kilt among his men...

Piper leading Gow's men back to the ship.

[Riverkilt]

Grizzly visions of kilted pirates aloft in the rigging....arrrrrgh.....

Ron

[Pour1Malt]

it's well kent that John Paul Jones wuz a pirate afore helpin found the US Navy...

of course he wuz a la'llan'er sae he probably didnae wear a kilt...

[macwilkin]

it's well kent that John Paul Jones wuz a pirate afore helpin found the US Navy...

of course he wuz a la'llan'er sae he probably didnae wear a kilt...

Hmmm...I've never read of JPJ being a "pirate" before joining the Americans. He did serve on a number of merchant ships and even a few slavers.

T.

[davedove]

Hmmm...I've never read of JPJ being a "pirate" before joining the Americans. He did serve on a number of merchant ships and even a few slavers.

T.

Well, throughout history many merchants did supplement their cargoes with a bit of piracy. Maybe he was a pirate in British eyes. And of course the difference between a pirate and a privateer is whose court you happen to be in.

Interesting point of trivia, the United States is one of the few major nations that did NOT sign the Declaration of Paris, April 16, 1856 which abolished privateering.