Quote:
Originally Posted by Taltarzac725
Blackbeard's spell over the pirates was aided by pirate culture which had a very dry British wit to it in the use of the language to describe certain events. Much of this culture dated back to pirates like Sir Francis Drake and Henry Morgan. Blackbeard added quite a bit to pirate lore in the very short time he was actually involved in piracy. Under the canopy of pirate lingo were such phrases as: 1) "a sweat" for laughingly poking captives of pirates with knives when they run around in a circle of pirates; 2)" sun-dried" for pirates' corpses the authorities hung out at piers as warnings against piracy; 3) "questioning with the usual ceremonies" for torture; 4) "soft farewell" for escaping from a tight situation; and 5) "forced loan" for stealing Spanish treasures. Such language buttered up hands so-to-speak to readily fork over the booty as quickly as possible to pirates with little resistance. One such instance of this working was when Blackbeard's flotilla encountered the Boston ship the Protestant Caesar under Captain Wyar in the Bay of Honduras sometime after April 9, 1718. Finding out that the ship was from Boston which had authorities who on November 15, 1717 had hung six of the Brethen of the Coast (from "Black Sam" Bellamy's convoy and its two ship wrecks near Cope Cod) ; Blackbeard burned the ship after taking off what cargo he thought would be valuable. He then marooned the crew of the Protestant Caesar on the closest shore.
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Now calling himself Commodore, Blackbeard brought his flotilla to block the waterways into Charleston, SC. His men kidnapped some of the
common citizens of Charleston as well as many of its upper
crust. Many of these nabobs came off
the Crowley which had been bound for London and its many cultural offerings. The people of Charleston were in dire need of one of the
jesters you would find in many a play showing in London at that time under George I's reign. The only thing floating on Charleston's harbor was the
filmy tide.