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Pirates, Privateers and Buccaneers

© Virginia Marin

The first half of the eighteenth century was the Golden Age of Pirates bold and sea rovers and privateers and buccaneers. It was swashbuckling time when swaggering fighting men knew how to move and ah! yes, how to love.

Pirate! The word conjures a mind's eye view of clashing swords, buried treasure, walking the plank, skull and crossbones and the roar of pirate guns. It recalls with fear the names of the famous and the infamous - Edward Teach, a.k.a. Blackbeard, Captain Kidd, Major Stede Bonner, William Fly, Thomas Hawkins, Bellamy and Quelch, Samuel Cole, Bartholomew Roberts, Low and possibly, just possibly my ancestor,Phillip Babb, according to the family legend of Ocean-Born Mary Fulton!

And pirates were not only of male gender. Women earned their place beneath the black and white flag as well with their names forever etched in history. During the 1719's the scandalous Anne Bonny dressed like a man and tormented those unlucky enough to meet up with her and the fearful Mary Read could match any male pirate in brain or brawn.

Folktales and legend are rich with tales of pirates and their ghosts. Tall ships and wooden walls plied the high seas and made the coast of North America their watery home. In excess of twenty rovers routinely cruised the Bay of Maine, the favorite haunting grounds for the Scottish-born privateer and pirate, William Kidd. We all know what happened to Kidd. He wanted a necktie but was, instead, given a noose!

Then there was the pirate Low, who was a hare-brained, impetuous old sea dog hailing from Boston. He became well-known for his frequent voyages to the bleak Isles of Shoals off the coasts of Maine and New Hampshire. Low is well-remembered for seizing three Shoals fishermen and damming them to death. Considering himself a fair-minded Jack-a-float, he promised the piscatorian three their freedom if they would but call down evil thrice on the name of the Reverend Cotton Mather, who was the common enemy of all pirates. They hated Mather, known for his hell-fire and brimstone sermons against them, as much as Mather loathed the pirates.

Now old water dog, Samuel Bellamy, was captain of the pirate ship Whydah. His favorite hunting ground was the wavy waste off the coast of New England. At first sight of the Whydah hearts failed from fright, but in 1717 the Whyday took on water and