Post by CSA FD on May 11, 2010 15:57:48 GMT -6
John Rackham (December 21, 1682 – November 18, 1720)
often spelled Rackam or Rackum in contemporary documentation), known also as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing he wore.
Captain John “Calico Jack” Rackham 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, however there are a few reasons in particular why he is still studied today.
John "Calico Jack" Rackham is most remembered for two things; firstly, the design of his Jolly Roger flag, seen to the left, which contributed to the popularization of the design and its association with piracy in popular culture; and secondly employing two of the most notorious female pirates of the age as part of his crew – Mary Read and Anne Bonny (the latter of whom he had whisked away from her husband).
Since little is known of his upbringing or early life except for the fact that he was British, one starts to understand "Calico" Jack Rackham through those who were around him. The very first time that we hear about the legendary pirate captain “Calico Jack”, is where he began his pirate career as the quartermaster on Charles Vane's sloop. Throughout Charles Vane’s time as captain of his sloop, his crew took and spent many riches. The crew, however, believed that Vane himself was a selfish and cruel captain, who refused to reward his men because of his ego. These issues that the crew had with Vane in command would soon lead to a mutiny. After robbing several ships outside of New York City, Vane and his crew encountered a large French man-o-war. The ship, which was at least twice as large as Vane's sloop, went after them in an attack.Vane, claiming caution as his reason, commanded a retreat from battle, because of the size of the French ship. Jack Rackham quickly spoke up and contested the decision, suggesting they fight the man-o-war, because it would have plenty of riches. Not only that, but if they captured it, it would give them a much larger ship to have at their disposal. Of the approximately ninety men on the ship, only fifteen supported Vane in his cowardly decision. Despite the overwhelming support for Rackham's cry to fight, Vane declared that the captain's decision is considered final. They fled the man-o-war. The crew continued to discuss Vane's behavior and Rackham's bravery with the French vessel, and on the following day they met on the deck and instigated a mutiny. The men decided to put Charles Vane's status as captain to a democratic vote. Vane was quickly and easily removed from the captaincy, and the crew appointed Jack Rackham to be the new captain because of his bravery. “Calico” Jack Rackham's first act as captain was to give Charles Vane, and his fifteen loyal supporters, the other sloop in the fleet, along with a decent supply of ammunition and goods. His very first day as the captain of his ship was November 24, 1718. “Calico” Jack did not have to give Vane anything, but he felt that as though he owed the start of his pirating life to Vane, and that it was the proper send-off.
Rackham originally sailed as a crewman for Charles Vane, an English pirate captain. During 1718, Vane refused to attack a French man-of-war, to the dismay of his crew. The crew voted for Rackham (at the time the ship's quartermaster) to depose Vane for cowardice. Vane was cast off in a smaller sloop with a handful of crewmen who had voted against Rackham.
About Bonny & Read
He met Bonny as a wife on one of his "vacations". She always wanted to be a pirate of importance. When Read became a crew member, Jack thought that she was a man and because she was spending a lot of time with Bonny, Jack threatened to shoot her as he thought Read wanted Bonny as a girlfriend or wife. However when Read told her secret she was spared and became a crew member.
While he is in port, he meets Anne Bonny, the husband of James Bonny, a sailor and informant for the British government about pirates. Anne and “Calico” Jack soon meet, and have an affair that leads to a relationship. After finding out about the affair, James Bonny gets so embarrassed that he brings Anne to his close friend Woodes Rogers involved. Being the Governor, Rogers orders her whipped on charges of adultery, due to her marital desertion. Rackham, however, offers to buy Anne in a “divorce by purchase,” but she refused to be sold like an animal. However, before they could even present this to Anne Bonny, “Calico” Jack gets news of this, and they escape to the sea. While it is illegal for Anne to leave, it also voids “Calico” Jack’s pardon. Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny escaped by tricking guards on the British ship “Curlew”. Rackham and his crew sailed the Caribbean for several months, overtaking other pirate ships and often Rackham would invite the crew of the ships he overtook to join his own. The majority of Rackham’s crew is believed to not know Anne Bonny’s true gender, if they did realize her gender, they most likely thought that she was Rackham’s lover, and would say nothing. However, this poses a difficult question, how would the crew not know her identity if she was pregnant with “Calico” Jack’s son? Because, according to most accounts, Anne soon became pregnant with Rackham’s son. Not all accounts agree on what happened, some say that there are no records of what happened, while others say that she gave birth in Cuba, but the baby was premature and soon died. Either way, “Calico” Jack’s only account of a son or daughter did not live. Sometime after the birth of “Calico” Jack’s son, the crew fought and defeated a Dutch merchant vessel, upon which Mary Read was a sailor. Mary “Mark” Read was an illegitimate child from England, like Anne who was an illegitimate child from Ireland. Mary was born sometime around 1690 in England, and her mother would dress her like a boy, to pass her off as her older deceased brother, as well as to obtain financial support from Mary’s paternal grandmother. As a teenager, Mary ran away and joined the army, there she fell in love with another soldier and then married and opened an inn in Holland. A few years later her husband had an untimely death, Mary decided to dress like a man and went to sea. Not originally realizing her gender, Rackham welcomed Mary Read aboard his ship to join his crew. Anne Bonny started to have feelings for Read, and after flirting with Read; Mary revealed her gender to Anne by exposing her breasts. The two women became fast friends, and according to some sources, lesbian lovers as well. Rackham, becoming jealous of the amount of attention Bonny was giving Mary Read, threatened to kill Read. Rackham reportedly burst in upon them in a cabin, finding them partially undressed. Despite learning the secret of her sex, Rackham nevertheless welcomed Mary into his crew, and according to certain accounts he, Mary, and Anne had many three-ways and loved to fuck. Others hold that Mary fell in love with a different male crewmember. According to a few sources, Rackham himself is also a bisexual, and had a fling with Pierre the Pansy being one of his purported lovers.
Captain Rackham
Calico Jack and his crew captured the “Kingston”, a small Jamaican vessel, and made it their flagship. He made several conquests to the West Indies, and a couple of large ships off of Bermuda. In 1719, he sails into Nassau in the Bahamas to take advantage of a general amnesty for pirates. This amnesty would require the he obtain a royal pardon and commission from Governor Woodes Rogers, a former pirate who returned to Britain with riches and glory. Woodes Rogers was sent to Jamaica to get rid of the pirates in the Caribbean because they had started to attack and steal from British ships. The British government then sent him to Jamaica as Governor to give out pardons, in hope that most would either give up their life of piracy or fight with the British against the Spanish. Calico Jack had plenty of treasures and a reputation as a good pirate, but he was only able to receive a pardon. Rogers would have given him commission if he were able to take Spanish ships, but he had little faith that Rackham could defeat larger Spanish vessels.
Once gaining the captaincy, "Calico Jack" made a career of plundering small vessels close to shore. This boldness proved to be his undoing. During the autumn of 1720 he cruised near Jamaica, capturing numerous small fishing vessels, and terrorizing fishermen and women along the northern coastline. During November 1720, he came across a small vessel filled with nine English pirates. Soon after, Rackham's ship was attacked by an armed sloop sent by Governor Nicholas Lawes, and was captured. Rackham and his crew were brought to Jamaica, where he and nearly all of his crew members were sentenced to be hanged.
Capture, Trial and Death
In the Fall of 1720, 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 finds “Calico” Jack’s ship in the harbor, and the British soldiers start 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 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 moths 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. Other sources say that she returned to a life of piracy, however this does not seem likely since the “Golden Age of Piracy” died soon after she would have gotten out. Captain Charles Johnson is quoted for saying "What has become of her since, we cannot tell; only this we know, that she was not executed. "At “Calico” Jack’s trial Anne Bonny was asked to testify on his behalf. She told the court the famous line “If he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a dog.” In December 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, then 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). Of the two female members of the crew, Mary died before execution and the fate of Anne, who was not executed, is unknown. The others of the crew (comprising nine men) were executed by hanging.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_Jack
often spelled Rackam or Rackum in contemporary documentation), known also as Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the calico clothing he wore.
Captain John “Calico Jack” Rackham 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, however there are a few reasons in particular why he is still studied today.
John "Calico Jack" Rackham is most remembered for two things; firstly, the design of his Jolly Roger flag, seen to the left, which contributed to the popularization of the design and its association with piracy in popular culture; and secondly employing two of the most notorious female pirates of the age as part of his crew – Mary Read and Anne Bonny (the latter of whom he had whisked away from her husband).
Since little is known of his upbringing or early life except for the fact that he was British, one starts to understand "Calico" Jack Rackham through those who were around him. The very first time that we hear about the legendary pirate captain “Calico Jack”, is where he began his pirate career as the quartermaster on Charles Vane's sloop. Throughout Charles Vane’s time as captain of his sloop, his crew took and spent many riches. The crew, however, believed that Vane himself was a selfish and cruel captain, who refused to reward his men because of his ego. These issues that the crew had with Vane in command would soon lead to a mutiny. After robbing several ships outside of New York City, Vane and his crew encountered a large French man-o-war. The ship, which was at least twice as large as Vane's sloop, went after them in an attack.Vane, claiming caution as his reason, commanded a retreat from battle, because of the size of the French ship. Jack Rackham quickly spoke up and contested the decision, suggesting they fight the man-o-war, because it would have plenty of riches. Not only that, but if they captured it, it would give them a much larger ship to have at their disposal. Of the approximately ninety men on the ship, only fifteen supported Vane in his cowardly decision. Despite the overwhelming support for Rackham's cry to fight, Vane declared that the captain's decision is considered final. They fled the man-o-war. The crew continued to discuss Vane's behavior and Rackham's bravery with the French vessel, and on the following day they met on the deck and instigated a mutiny. The men decided to put Charles Vane's status as captain to a democratic vote. Vane was quickly and easily removed from the captaincy, and the crew appointed Jack Rackham to be the new captain because of his bravery. “Calico” Jack Rackham's first act as captain was to give Charles Vane, and his fifteen loyal supporters, the other sloop in the fleet, along with a decent supply of ammunition and goods. His very first day as the captain of his ship was November 24, 1718. “Calico” Jack did not have to give Vane anything, but he felt that as though he owed the start of his pirating life to Vane, and that it was the proper send-off.
Rackham originally sailed as a crewman for Charles Vane, an English pirate captain. During 1718, Vane refused to attack a French man-of-war, to the dismay of his crew. The crew voted for Rackham (at the time the ship's quartermaster) to depose Vane for cowardice. Vane was cast off in a smaller sloop with a handful of crewmen who had voted against Rackham.
About Bonny & Read
He met Bonny as a wife on one of his "vacations". She always wanted to be a pirate of importance. When Read became a crew member, Jack thought that she was a man and because she was spending a lot of time with Bonny, Jack threatened to shoot her as he thought Read wanted Bonny as a girlfriend or wife. However when Read told her secret she was spared and became a crew member.
While he is in port, he meets Anne Bonny, the husband of James Bonny, a sailor and informant for the British government about pirates. Anne and “Calico” Jack soon meet, and have an affair that leads to a relationship. After finding out about the affair, James Bonny gets so embarrassed that he brings Anne to his close friend Woodes Rogers involved. Being the Governor, Rogers orders her whipped on charges of adultery, due to her marital desertion. Rackham, however, offers to buy Anne in a “divorce by purchase,” but she refused to be sold like an animal. However, before they could even present this to Anne Bonny, “Calico” Jack gets news of this, and they escape to the sea. While it is illegal for Anne to leave, it also voids “Calico” Jack’s pardon. Jack Rackham and Anne Bonny escaped by tricking guards on the British ship “Curlew”. Rackham and his crew sailed the Caribbean for several months, overtaking other pirate ships and often Rackham would invite the crew of the ships he overtook to join his own. The majority of Rackham’s crew is believed to not know Anne Bonny’s true gender, if they did realize her gender, they most likely thought that she was Rackham’s lover, and would say nothing. However, this poses a difficult question, how would the crew not know her identity if she was pregnant with “Calico” Jack’s son? Because, according to most accounts, Anne soon became pregnant with Rackham’s son. Not all accounts agree on what happened, some say that there are no records of what happened, while others say that she gave birth in Cuba, but the baby was premature and soon died. Either way, “Calico” Jack’s only account of a son or daughter did not live. Sometime after the birth of “Calico” Jack’s son, the crew fought and defeated a Dutch merchant vessel, upon which Mary Read was a sailor. Mary “Mark” Read was an illegitimate child from England, like Anne who was an illegitimate child from Ireland. Mary was born sometime around 1690 in England, and her mother would dress her like a boy, to pass her off as her older deceased brother, as well as to obtain financial support from Mary’s paternal grandmother. As a teenager, Mary ran away and joined the army, there she fell in love with another soldier and then married and opened an inn in Holland. A few years later her husband had an untimely death, Mary decided to dress like a man and went to sea. Not originally realizing her gender, Rackham welcomed Mary Read aboard his ship to join his crew. Anne Bonny started to have feelings for Read, and after flirting with Read; Mary revealed her gender to Anne by exposing her breasts. The two women became fast friends, and according to some sources, lesbian lovers as well. Rackham, becoming jealous of the amount of attention Bonny was giving Mary Read, threatened to kill Read. Rackham reportedly burst in upon them in a cabin, finding them partially undressed. Despite learning the secret of her sex, Rackham nevertheless welcomed Mary into his crew, and according to certain accounts he, Mary, and Anne had many three-ways and loved to fuck. Others hold that Mary fell in love with a different male crewmember. According to a few sources, Rackham himself is also a bisexual, and had a fling with Pierre the Pansy being one of his purported lovers.
Captain Rackham
Calico Jack and his crew captured the “Kingston”, a small Jamaican vessel, and made it their flagship. He made several conquests to the West Indies, and a couple of large ships off of Bermuda. In 1719, he sails into Nassau in the Bahamas to take advantage of a general amnesty for pirates. This amnesty would require the he obtain a royal pardon and commission from Governor Woodes Rogers, a former pirate who returned to Britain with riches and glory. Woodes Rogers was sent to Jamaica to get rid of the pirates in the Caribbean because they had started to attack and steal from British ships. The British government then sent him to Jamaica as Governor to give out pardons, in hope that most would either give up their life of piracy or fight with the British against the Spanish. Calico Jack had plenty of treasures and a reputation as a good pirate, but he was only able to receive a pardon. Rogers would have given him commission if he were able to take Spanish ships, but he had little faith that Rackham could defeat larger Spanish vessels.
Once gaining the captaincy, "Calico Jack" made a career of plundering small vessels close to shore. This boldness proved to be his undoing. During the autumn of 1720 he cruised near Jamaica, capturing numerous small fishing vessels, and terrorizing fishermen and women along the northern coastline. During November 1720, he came across a small vessel filled with nine English pirates. Soon after, Rackham's ship was attacked by an armed sloop sent by Governor Nicholas Lawes, and was captured. Rackham and his crew were brought to Jamaica, where he and nearly all of his crew members were sentenced to be hanged.
Capture, Trial and Death
In the Fall of 1720, 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 finds “Calico” Jack’s ship in the harbor, and the British soldiers start 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 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 moths 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. Other sources say that she returned to a life of piracy, however this does not seem likely since the “Golden Age of Piracy” died soon after she would have gotten out. Captain Charles Johnson is quoted for saying "What has become of her since, we cannot tell; only this we know, that she was not executed. "At “Calico” Jack’s trial Anne Bonny was asked to testify on his behalf. She told the court the famous line “If he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a dog.” In December 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, then 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). Of the two female members of the crew, Mary died before execution and the fate of Anne, who was not executed, is unknown. The others of the crew (comprising nine men) were executed by hanging.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_Jack