Pirate News

How Real Is It? Pirate Historian Rates 8 Pirate Battles in Movies & TV.

 

I just watched Rebecca Simon, a piracy Historian, rate pirate battles for realism as part of the Business Insider's YouTube series "How Real Is It". They have hundreds of topics they cover, such as how real are submarine movies. A while back I was contacted because Buisness Insider wanted to use a small segment of one of my Youtube videos on how to load and fire a flintlock pistol.

Overall the video is pretty good n' most of the information be correct, but not all of it; At one point Simon notes cutlasses being made for poking n' not slashing, which isn't quite accurate as that is much more true of rapiers than of cutlasses n' hangers. Despite some of the scewed information n' ratings I don't fully agree with, Simon is a well established historian within the community n' has many publications, including books and articles. I personally also think Buisness Insider could of used much better props for discussing the topic, instead of the cheap Elope foam hats and wall hanger swords.

In this video Simon covers Pirates of the Caribbean, Black Sails, House of Dragon, Treasure Island, Our Flag Means Dead, n' One Piece.

 

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Pirates of the Caribbean 5 Trailers

Well shiver me timbers, the first three trailers fer the next Pirates of the Caribbean Movies, Dead Men Tell No Tales have come out! 

The first one be the introduction of the new villain, Captain Salazar, played by Javier Bardem, as ghost pirate.  It sets up the start of the movie, but not what it’s about, plus there be no sight of Cap'n Jack Sparrow. Maybe Disney is still mad at John Depp fer bringin' that illegal monkey to Australia, as well as getting hurt and stopping productions fer a couple of months. 

The second trailer aired during the Super Bowl. This one you don’t see until the very end and he is completely covered with mud. We do get to see Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and the new heroine, played by Kaya Scodelario in the preview. It shows lots of tiny scenes, but still no overall story, other than lots of ghostly pirates.

I have no idea why they decided to set the trailer to Johnny Cash’s “Ain’t No Grave” song as the soundtrack to the trailer, it has a cowboy feel to it.  Why they didn’t use a Keith Richards song instead? I have no idea!

The third trailer came out on March 2nd, n’ it finally tells a bit of the story, instead of just a teaser that doesn’t say anything other than a movie is coming out. It tells the backstory of how he destroyed Captain Salazar n’ why he is after Jack n' all the other pirates. It shows a number o' interactions between Jack and the two new major characters, Henry, a stubborn young sailor n' Carina Smyth, a gifted astronomer. They help Jack find the legendary Trident of Poseidon to battle Captain Salazar.

What we believe to be the Official Spanish theatrical movie poster came out n’ I like it! We finally get a good view of some of the new outfits from the Movie! Jack n' Barbosa sport the same outfits as the last movie, but ye can see the two new character in standard period garb of the Golden Age. Captain Salazar is wearing a Napoleonic Era uniform, which be almost an entire century too early.

They say that this is supposed to be more like the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie with zombie pirates n' it will reboot the series. But I swear they said the same thing fer the last one as well! Maties, we can always hope fer the best n’ plan fer the worst!

POTC5 is due to be release on May 26, 2017 during Labor Day Weekend, so we will see the movie in 3 months time, arrrgh!

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Captain Henry Morgan as a Pop Culture Icon

We have told ye the tale who the infamous Cap'n Morgan wasas a historical figure. Now we will detail some o' his exploits as a pop culture icon through the Ages! Pirates n' Swashbucklin' Legends have been the source of many stories, even the historians of the 17th n' 18th Centuries and their accounts may have been embellished for the purposes of entertainment.

 



Morgan was best known by the historical accounts of AlexandreExquemlin, a Franco-Dutch writer n' a sailor who wrote the "History of the Bouccaneers of America."Exquemlin was a barber-surgeon in Morgan's crew, perceived to have resented Morgan for his renegade nature n' his reputation for torture. He didn't speak favorably o' him in his accounts!

Henry Morgan would not appear in outright published fiction until 1922, in "Captain Blood," written by Rafael Sabatini. Even then he merely provided the inspiration for the eponymous hero, Peter Blood. Sabatini however, enjoyed basing his works of historical fiction very heavily on the history that inspires him. John Steinbeck's first novel, "The Cup of Gold" was also heavily inspired by the Legend himself!

 


13 Years after "Captain Blood" was written, a live action movie version was released with Erroll Flynn in his first starring Hollywood role! Itbe a much looser interpretation o' Henry Morgan, but it stillbe a fine testament to Pirates in Media. A foothold that Henry Morgan holds to this day, though entertainment may not even be the greatest part of his career!

In 1944, the Seagram Company created the first incarnation of Captain Morgan's Rum. O'er the rest of the 20th-century hotels in the Caribbean would pop up with names incorporatin' the name, "Captain Morgan" to woo tourists and hark to the tales of old. In 2001, Captain Morgan Rum was acquired by London-based Diageo.

 



Suffice it to say Morgan be a Legend among Pirates. He lived long enough to retire from the Life and even became a Governor! Which makes him a great all Gentlemen (and Ladies) o' Fortune!

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Pirate Fashions, Black Powder Weapons in Black Sails

On severaloccasions, Pirate Fashions has had the privilege of providin' firearms for several period piece shows. Recently the final season of Black Sails premiered on Starz n' yemaybe surprised that ye could find several o' the firearms seen on the show inarrr own hoard o' goods!

Captain Flint's own signature pistol be a Scottish Dag (or all steel pistol,) specifically a Murdoch Highland that appeared in the early 17th Century n' was found to be in use until the early 19th Century. Itbe a very realistic firearm to have on the show!

They were usually made with metal stocks. This made'em an ideal weapon in the rainy Scottish Highlands or on the rugged seas in the hands o' pirates, when a wooden grip could quickly rot away. To avoid rust, the weapon would have to be oiled n' cleaned on a fairly regular basis. Believe itarrr not, Pirates appreciated Order and Cleanliness! 

Arrr French Sea Service pistols were also Guests on the Show! They were issued to the French Navy in 1763 well after the events in Black Sails, but ye cannot deny that they were good looking pistols! 18th Century British and American soldiers n' private citizens appreciated them as well.

The French Holster Pistol was another guest n' it was also a period appropriate weapon! They first began to appear between 1675 n' 1700 in the hands o' Frenchmen across the seas. Though they were a common Pirate Pistol as well!

There be many details to these stories of how these Pirate Fashions pistols (n' other weapons as well) came to be featured in such a widely renowned piece of pirate media. But we couldn't tellye thedetails, unless we made ye walk the plank! Browse the Pirate Fashions Website n' see where elsearrr weapons have been featured! http://bit.ly/2jRYHRJ

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