Our July trip to Cape Cod seemed to have a definite pirate flavor. Of course, with my love of history, and a 12 year old daughter in love with Jack Sparrow (and what's not to love about
Jack?), the boys just simply had to tag along!
First stop was at Heritage Museum and Gardens ( in Sandwich, MA) to see the new exhibit which explores America's facination with pirates. The highlight of this exhibit for my daughter was the autographed photo of Johnny Depp as Capt. Jack!
Next, we scooted down to Newport, RI, and took a spooky walking Ghost Tour through the dark streets of the little seaside town. We heard tales of lost ships and lost souls, and a tavern still creaking with a pirate past.
As if this wasn't enough, we pointed the minivan toward P-town, and visited the dockside museum of the pirate ship The Whydah, which was found by Barry Clifford and his team of explorers in 1984, off the coast of Cape Cod.
Well, we couldn't leave the Cape without a round of minigolf at Pirate's Cove! I actually think minigolf is an olympic sport! Aaargh!
What has all this got to do with colonial history and my blog? Pirates were a very real part of life in the American colonies, and the results of their deeds could be felt in the towns populating the Eastern seaboard. Pirate "treasure" was often very marketable, such as spices, teas, and slaves. Selling and trading such commodities by the pirates undermined the hardworking merchants and affected the economy. Trade routes were interrupted, goods were pillaged, destroyed and lost at sea. But this all pales in comparison to the fact that lives were lost to the pirates' cruelty.
Much is confirmed about the violent way of life aboard a pirate ship. However, certain elements of pirate life have enticed scholars to use words such as"democratic" and "majority rules" to describe the 'code of articles' by which they lived.
If you are interested in pirates, I suggest the book by David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag. You'll never look at a pirate the same way again!
