Pirates and Privateers

Being a wordsmith, I often like to discover the origins of a word or phrase. Pursuing this curiosity doesn’t exactly provide me with a clear-cut answer, although most sources agree that the roots of “eat, drink, and be merry” can be found in the Bible. Except, nowhere do those exact words appear.

And behold ioy and gladnesse, slaying oxen and killing sheep, eating flesh, and drinking wine; let vs eate and drinke, for to morrow we shall die. ~ Isaiah: 22:13, King James Bible (1611)

Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing vnder the Sunne, then to eate and to drinke, and to be merrie: for that shall abide with him of his labour, the days of his life, which God giueth him vnder the Sunne. ~ Ecclesiastes 8:15, King James Bible (1611)

If after the maner of men I haue fought with beasts at Ephesus, what aduantageth it me, if the dead rise not? let vs eate and drinke, for to morrow wee die. ~ 1 Corinthians 15:32, King James Bible (1611)

And I will say to my soule, Soule, thou has much goods layd vp for many yeeres, take thine ease, eate, drinke, and be merry. ~ Luke 12:19, King James Bible (1611)

Since the purpose of this article concerns pirates and their daily lives, I’m not going to expound on biblical teachings and what any of these quotations mean. (That’s something I invite you to discover on your own if desired.) Instead, let me ask you, “Does the title of this article, or any of these verse quotations bring to mind the words alleged to have been pronounced by a pirate?

Ah, I see I’ve sparked your curiosity. I’m fairly certain you’ve figured out I refer to Bartholomew Roberts’s oft-quoted words:

No, a merry Life and a short one, shall be my Motto.

This quote comes from Captain Charles Johnson’s 1726 edition of A General History of the Pyrates: “Thus he preached himself into an Approbation of what he at first abhorr’d; and being daily regal’d with Musick, Drinking, and the Gaiety and Diversions of his Companions, these deprav’d Propensities were quickly edg’d and strengthened, to the extinguishing of Fear and Conscience.” (Defoe, 244)

If you notice, I said the words are allegedly those of Roberts. With Johnson, you should always check from one edition to another because they aren’t the same. In the first edition, which was published two years earlier, the quotation doesn’t exist. Instead, the pirate often drank “D—n to him who ever lived to wear a Halter.” (Johnson, 213-214)

Despite this discrepancy as to whether Roberts believed pirates should eat, drink, and be merry, he understood that having chosen this wayward path, there was a chance he would die young. (Between 1653 and 1728, a person might live between twenty-five and thirty-seven years on average.) The simple fact was, life was short for many people. Plus, it was often safer to drink alcohol than water. To a pirate, wasn’t it better to be merry and cheerful than sad and gloomy? So how did pirates have fun, especially during the holidays?

Pirates Feasting
(Source: Shutterstock)

 
How the average person celebrated Christmas depended on their location, religion, and the law. The leaders of the Massachusetts Bay Colony passed a law in 1659, that set a fine of five shillings on anyone who chose to be idle, have a feast, or celebrate “any such day as Christmas or the like.” (Pruitt) In England and many of her colonies, it was common to drink, party, and sing. These were the ways pirates celebrated whatever occasion they deemed worth observing, but only a few left accounts of how they marked special days.

One of the earliest records of a special observance came from Père Jean-Baptiste Labat, a French missionary who found himself the guest of buccaneers. (English translation) Capitaine Daniel wanted him to say mass aboard their barque in March 1694.

They sent for the church ornaments, and put up an altar on the poop under an awning, and then chanted Mass lustily. A salvo of eight cannons marked the commencement of the service, they fired a second salvo at the Sanctus, and third at the Elevation, a fourth at the Benediction, and lastly a fifth after the Exaudiat, while the prayer for the King was followed by the most hearty “Vive le Roi”.

Only one incident slightly marred this ceremony. One of the pirates adopted an offensive attitude during the Elevation, and on being rebuked by the captain, he replied insolently with a horrible oath. Daniel promptly drew his pistol and shot him through the head and swore by God that he would do the same to anyone else who showed disrespect to the “Sainte Sacrifice”. (Labat, 221-222)

Daniel expressed his thanks to Père Labat, giving “him several valuable presents” one of which was a slave “to wait on him” since he had no one. (Labat, 222)

Pirates did, on occasion, celebrate holidays. Basil Ringrose, a buccaneer surgeon who sailed with Bartholomew Sharp, wrote of Christmas 1681.

December 7th. This day our worthy Commander, Captain Sharp, had very certain intelligence given him that on Christmas Day, which was now at hand, the company, or at least a great part thereof, had a design to shoot him; he having appointed that day some time since to be merry. Hereupon he made us share the wine amongst us, being persuaded they would scarce attempt any such thing in their sobriety. The wine we shared fell out to three jars to each mess. (Esquemeling, 462)

Sharp reckoned that if he kept the men drunk, they would lack the desire to do away with him. Then, as promised, they celebrated on Sunday, 25 December 1681.

When we took the two Barks at Nicoya, we had a little sucking Pigg in one of them, which we kept on Board ever since for our Christmas days Dinner, which now was grown to be a large Hogg; so we killed it for Dinner, but thinking it not enough for us all, we bought a Spaniel-Dogg of the Quarter-Master for forty pieces of Eight, and killed him; so with the Hogg and the Dogg, we made a Feast, and we had some Wine left, which made us merry . . . . (Sharp, 108-109)

Benerson Little theorized that “[g]iven that their only way at sea of cooking was in a copper kettle, they would have boiled the flesh” and, if present, they might have seasoned this with “lime juice, salt, hot peppers (pimento, or chili peppers as we know it), probably allspice, and perhaps a black or similar common pepper . . . .” (Little, Of Buccaneer) Coarse, boiled cornmeal might have accompanied the meal.

Sometime after his release, Second Mate Richard Lazenby of Cassandra, penned a narrative of his time as a captive of John Taylor and Jaspar Seagar in July 1720.

[T]hey caroused, and kept their Christmas in a most riotous manner, destroying most of the fresh provisions they had aboard, of which quite two-thirds was wasted. After three days of such debauchery and waste, they decided to go to Mauritius to repair the Victory, which was now in a very bad way. (Pirates, 284)

William Dampier mentioned Christmas in connection with a visit to Salt Tortuga. The merchantmen who frequented the island to gather salt, also brought with them, “Rum, Sugar and Lime-juice to make Punch, to hearten their Men . . . and they commonly provide more, in hopes to meet with Privateers . . . purposely to keep a Christmas, as they call it; being sure to meet with Liquor enough to be merry with, and are very liberal to those that treat them.” (Dampier, 56)

That was Christmas 1682. Three years later, he and his mates dined on “3 great Jew-fish, which feasted us all.” (Dampier, 259) (Jewfish was renamed Atlantic Goliath Grouper in 2001.)

According to Captain Johnson, Jack Rackham and his crew “went into a small Island and cleaned, and spent their Christmas ashore, drinking and carousing as long as they had any Liquor left . . . .” (Johnson, 113)

Punch also helped ring in 1 January 1709, during Woodes Rogers’s circumnavigation.

This being New-Year’s Day, every Officer was wish’d a merry New Year by our Musick; and I had a large Tub of Punch hot upon the Quarter-Deck, where every Man in the Ship had above a Pint to his share, and drank our Owners and Friends Healths in Great Britain, to a happy new Year, a good Voyage, and a safe Return. We bore down to our Consort, and gave them three Huzza’s, wishing them the like. (Rogers, 78)

Another holiday that these privateers celebrated was Valentine’s Day. On 14 February 1710, Rogers and his officers opted to give the men either “half a Pound Flower or Bread more to a Mess.” They also celebrated with “the antient Custom in England of chusing Valentines.” With no women aboard, Rogers “drew up a List of the fair Ladies in Bristol, that were any ways related to or concern’d in the Ships,” from which the officers drew names and toasted “the Lady’s Health in a Cup of Punch . . . .” (Rogers, 263)

Of course, pirates didn’t need special days to eat, drink, and be merry.

And pomp, and feast, and revelry,
With mask, and antique pageantry . . .

These words from John Milton’s poem “L’Allegro,” capture the essence of what pirates desired when they had cause to celebrate.


. . . to be continued


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While I worked on this article, my father passed away. He shared his affinity for the water and boats with me in my youth, which helped awaken a desire to write about pirates. This article is for him. Now that you are at peace and without pain, Dad, may you eat, drink, and be merry. Lee Aker Rest in peace

Copyright ©2024 Cindy Vallar

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