Gail Selinger - Pirates of New England: Ruthless Raiders and Rotten Renegades

Pirates of New England

Pirates of New England

Ruthless Raiders and Rotten Renegades

Gail Selinger

Guilford, Connecticut

An imprint of Rowman & Littlefield

Distributed by NATIONAL BOOK NETWORK

Copyright 2017 by Gail Selinger

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Selinger, Gail, author.

Title: Pirates of New England : ruthless raiders and rotten renegades / Gail Selinger.

Description: Guilford, Connecticut : Globe Pequot, an imprint of Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017021676 (print) | LCCN 2017021776 (ebook) | ISBN 9781493029303 (ebook) | ISBN 9781493029297 (pbk.)

Subjects: LCSH: PiratesNew EnglandHistory18th century.

Classification: LCC F7 (ebook) | LCC F7 .S454 2017 (print) | DDC 974/.02dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017021676

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

To Shelly Shipper

You know why.

Acknowledgments

In writing this nonfiction book I endeavored not to record simply a series of dry facts concerning the lives of these pirates. Hopefully I have succeeded. There are a number of people I wish to thank for their support. I raise a full tankard of rum to them.

My husband, Captain Erik H. Berliner, who checked my nautical information for accuracy. His patience, understanding, and love are always there even through my toughest days.

Denise Little for daring to suggest all those years ago that my personal knowledge of pirate history could lead to something.

Susan Williams, friend and computer guru, who got me through a forty-eight-hour computer near-death experience. Thankfully we all survived.

Sara Ameri, Claudette Guy, Lin Kings, Denise Little, Joan Salisbury, Shelly Shipper, and Pat Summers. You were all there when I needed you the most.

Cindy Vallar, author and pirate historian, and Maria Blumberg of the Huntington Library and Gardens for their expertise when I needed help verifying historical facts.

My sister Carol Sue. She has always been my cheerleader, editor, and best friend. In my childhood she was the person who got me hooked on the lives and histories of these interesting pirate women and men.

Any erroneous historical information sits solely on my shoulders.

Fair winds and smooth sailing. I am Gail Selinger at .

Authors Note on Wages, Cost of Living, and Pirate Booty

When discussing pirate history one of the first questions people inevitably ask is, How much is pirate treasure worth today?

The biggest obstacle in translating the value of pirate booty from the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries is multilayered. To make a precise monetary equivalent of a pirates take in twenty-first-century money is not truly possible. However, a rough estimation can be achieved.

During the time these pirates lived, the US dollar did not exist. When US currency was officially minted in 1783, the British one-pound sterling note had the purchasing power of five US dollars. I have used this ratio when estimating monetary values.

For the reader to get a better perspective of the disproportionate amounts being transported on seized vessels to wages or goods of the general public, I have used the historic standard of living.

Though there might be a few similarities, the exact goods available in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries cannot be purchased today. Quantities of items were extremely limited. Everything had to be produced by hand. For example, women hand-stitched clothes, as the first sewing machine was not invented until 1790.

With wages so low in that time, a great many items could be purchased with one penny. Lodging and food were relatively cheaper than today. Other items such as imported cloth, fine clothessuch as a wealthy mans brocade coator a pair of shoes came with very high price tags.

Before decimalization in 1970, the denomination of currency in Britain broke down to:

4 farthings = 1 penny (called a pence, written as d. ).

2 half pennies, called hapennies = 1 penny (pence).

12 pennies (pence) = 1 shilling (written as s. ).

20 shillings = 1 pound (written as ).

1 = 20s = 240d, means 1 pound is equivalent to 20 shillings or 240 pence (pennies).

10 shillings and 6 pence = 1/2 guinea.

21 shillings = 1 guinea.

For example, if I purchased a mans wig for the amount of one pound, fifteen shillings, and one penny, the price tag would read 1.15.1 or 1.15s.1d.

The Spanish piece of eight, an eight-reale silver coin, was in heavy circulation in the North American colonies. It had the same purchasing power as one English pound.

To entice men onto a blue-water voyage (a long ocean journey), a minimum of one months wage was paid in advance. Because it was widely known that the life and work on a merchantman ship was harsh, the advance lured men to sign on. This tactic did not always work to a ship owners advantage. It was not an uncommon occurrence for men to desert at the first port once they had received their pay. The more common payment arrangement was percentages of their wage doled out at various points in a ships journey, with the final payment made upon return to the home port.

The political climate, as it does even to this day, influenced wages and prices. Prices went up during wartime. Commodities were harder to get. The economic and political influence of individuals with wealth was great. Since there was less of everything in those centuries, according to historian Jan Rogoziski a man with 500 cash in his pocket possessed more wealth than 99 percent of the population of Europe and North America.

Below I have listed the wages of a ships crew throughout the eighteenth century. All values are for monthly wages unless otherwise stated.

Captains of varied ship sizes received 5 to 6.

Captains of large vessels, such as those run by the East India Company, received 10.

First mate or mate received 3.63 to 4.38.

Second mate (only on a large ship) received 2.50 to 3.

Carpenter received 3.08 during peace and 4.09 during war. If teaching an apprentice, he would receive an additional 2 or 3.

Surgeon received 3.06 during peace and 4.09 during war.

Boatswain (the petty officer) received 2.52 during peace and 3.20 during war.

Gunner received 2.10 during peace and 3.20 during war.

Cooper (the builder of wooden barrels) received 2.07 during peace and 2.80 during war.

Sailmaker, caulker, and armorer received 2 to 3 a month.

Cook received 1.62 during peace and 2.40 during war.

Able-bodied seaman (a.k.a. able seaman), a man with over two years experience sailing as a deck hand, received 1.65 during peace and 2.58 during war.

Foremastman (a.k.a. common tar, a.k.a. common seaman) received 1.46 during peace and 2.20 during war.