Subject: buccaneer
Culture: Euro-Caribbean
Setting: piracy, Caribbean mid-late 17thc
Evolution:
Context (Event Photos, Primary Sources, Secondary Sources, Field Notes)
* Lapouge 2004 p80
"The English tended to be drawn by Jamaica, whose capital, Port Royal -- despite a 'Pascalian' name that did not invite high jinks -- 'became one of the richest and probably the most immoral city in the world'. The French preferred the island of Hispaniola, which Columbus discovered on his first voyage in 1492, and which is now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Almost as big as Cuba, Hispaniola was occupied with total and uncompromising brutality. The Arawak Indians who had lived there since time immemorial were decimated by the Spanish, who later abandoned it, leaving mainly scorched earth behind them and a population that largely comprised vagabonds of history, cows and wild pigs. When sailors from Europe stepped ashore, they killed the animals and cut them into strips. They smoked the meat on a wooden rack known as a boucan. They then dried the skin in the sun. Thus, the buccaneer was born, with his pirate, or buccaneer, gastronomy."
* Konstam/McBride 2000 p
"
* Exquemelin tr. Brown 1969 p
"
* Эксквeмeлин 1968 p
"
Costume
* Konstam/McBride 2000 p14-15
"By the 1660s, buccaneers were more amphibious raiders than privateersmen, and their dress changed accordingly. Many of the discharged soldiers who accompanied Christopher Myngs on his raid on Santiago in 1662 wore their old military uniforms .... This introduced a practical form of military dress, and by the late 1660s, buccaneers bore more of a similarity to contemporary soldiers than sailors. Coats cut in a military style became popular attire, and with variations based on a woolen or canvas coat or vest which extended to the calf. The cut changed over the years in line with contemporary fashion .... Footwear and even stockings are depicted, as are leather sandals and boots. Following a successful raid, the buccaneers would take clothing as part of their plunder, which further added to their eclectic appearance. Above all, they carried weaponry and the accoutrements of war, and regardless of any other aspect of their appearance, this was the first thing which observers noticed about them."
Swords
* Konstam/McBride 2000 p18-20
"Unlike firearms, which were fairly standard throughout the time period, swords were a matter of personal style and taste. An examination of contemporary or near-contemporary illustrations reveals that the buccaneers carried a wide variety of edged weapons. 'Hangers' were a form of hunting sword adapted for military or naval use, and were the most popular form of blade, although by the end of the buccaneer period they had developed into a weapon resembling the true naval cutlass. Broadswords or other heavy blades were also popular, underlying the buccaneer preference for 'cut' rather than 'thrust' weapons.... The heavier swords carried by the buccaneers gave them a distinct advantage in hand-to-hand combat [over Spanish officers using rapiers and smallswords]." [CRITICAL THINKING QUESTION: If so, why do Konstam and McBride reconstruct buccaneers using rapiers and smallswords on p34, 35, 36, 37, 38-39, and 41?]
Cf.
* Alleyne 1986
* Bowling 2008
* Breverton 2004
* Breverton 2005
* Choundas 2007
* Cordingly 1996
* Cordingly ed. 1998
* Earle 2003
* Konstam/Bryan 2003
* Lewis 2008
* Little 2005
* Pirates 2006
* Seitz 1925
* Woodard 2007
