Fifteen men for a dead man's chest, yohoho and a bottle of rum,
And the devil will bring you to the end, yohoho and a bottle of rum …
This is a familiar phrase, isn't it? Mmm … the smell of gunpowder, strong alcohol, sweat, jerky and adventure … Did you know what was in the real chest? No, not in the one in the literary work, and not in the one in the "Black Pearl" of old Jack (Captain Jack). Nothing like that … It's about a real chest. You say - oh well, SV, almost every pirate had his own chest with a mortgage, but I'm not talking about this rabble of privateers, but about the most famous, most legendary pirate of all time and seas. Blackbeard himself, on his black ship - the revenge of Queen Anne, once blocked a whole port not of some Jamaica or Haiti, but almost the United States, and demanded from the governor of South Carolina, anchored with the whole armada, sinking ships, repairing robbery and murder, demanded,threatening to send the heads of several dozen noble people to the shore separately from the bodies, he demanded that only one chest be given to him …
Surprisingly, this story is not about gold. Old SV, SV captain, loves medicine and science, not drunken stories from Tortuga. And here, as in my other posts, not everything is so simple. In the early 18th century, there were things more expensive than yellow metal … things and / or substances that cost a fortune … Well, let's go on our own investigation, and find out - what was in Blackbeard's chest, and why a ship's first aid kit can cost an entire fleet ?
Edward Teach or Blackbeard is an English pirate who has gained immortal fame off the coast of the West Indies (Caribbean). A sailor who joined the Navy, probably as a child, and spent most of his life on private ships in the midst of European naval wars, sailing, the excitement of new discoveries and the fun of plundering newly discovered civilizations. It was a wonderful era in the War of the Spanish Succession. The thing is that in 1701 the last Spanish king from the Habsburg dynasty, Charles II, died. Habsburg bequeathed its lands to the grandson of the French king - Louis XIV. Why, Karl? What for?!
At that time, almost all Habsburgs were the holy Roman empire of the German nation. France, which is located between Spain and Germany, quickly realized that at such a pace it would be Hapsburg in a couple of decades without any wills, if it did not defend Charles's scribble in its favor. A dispute ensued, the fleets were uncovered, the troops were exposed and let's discuss on two fronts. England and the Dutch Republic were drawn into the showdown, which strongly did not want Spain and France to become de facto one whole. Colonies, dominions, chains of trade routes, friends, relatives, mistresses and allies … Only there were no dragons. The leapfrog of declarations of war and conflict, multiplied by the size of territories with distant colonies, from Japan to America, thrown on the shoulders of mizzen masts and inflated with sails, accelerated not only the development of sailing fleets around the world,but also set the spirit of the times. From trade relations with the shogunate to slave routes from Africa to epidemics in the United States, Charles changed the face of the world with the stroke of a pen, laying the foundation for conflict for a couple of centuries to come. Eh, Karl, what are you …
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Teach's story is the story of many people. But basically, what is called the heyday and golden era of piracy gave us one single ship and an incident with it. On July 24, 1715, a small detachment of Spanish ships, consisting of galleons with guards, is sent home with cargo from South America. His path runs between Florida and the Bahamas. But on July 30 the ships are fearlessly attacked by a hurricane. The fleet throws on the reefs of Florida, only one ship could survive. At the cost of incredible efforts, the crew managed to save some of the cargo and people. The ship is damaged and cannot move. In total, this is the 4th disaster with the loss of a ship in the history of Spain. (Others were already in 1554, 1622 and 1628). Degrading the Spanish crown with a golden galleon was not so easy even for a hurricane.
A call for help directed to Spain reaches Jamaica. The Governor of Jamaica, Mr. Hamilton, an honest man, dispatches two ships to prevent pirates from appearing and help the Spanish with security. Captain Henry Jennings is appointed chief of the special operation. Jennings, having learned what the task is, secretly recruits in addition to the 2 ships issued to him, 3 more and urgently moves to the Spaniards. Arriving at the scene, as part of a rescue operation, they kill 60 Spanish soldiers and seize 60,000 coins under their personal protection and guardianship. The coins were silver and were called eights, because they were cut into 8 pieces for smaller calculations. After Jennings' team returns to Jamaica to celebrate and walk. Governor Hamilton, an honest man, looking out the window, pretended that he did not see the mass festivities,so that the crowd does not overthrow and replace him with a new star and unwillingly oligarch Jennings. When everything calmed down, the captain was eventually kicked out of Jamaica for violating the order, fearing that if he was left, the Spaniards would retaliate and punish. Jennings was not taken aback and sailed with the silver to New Providence in the Bahamas. And everyone who, in one way or another, heard about the load of 60,000 coins and had enough grasp to try their hand at the team of the lucky cap, began to gather there. The pirate rush has begun in the Caribbean.who somehow heard about the load of 60,000 coins and had enough grip to try their hand at the team of the lucky cap. The pirate rush has begun in the Caribbean.who somehow heard about the load of 60,000 coins and had enough grip to try their hand at the team of the lucky cap. The pirate rush has begun in the Caribbean.
This is how Benjamin Hornigold, another sailor, gets to the Bahamas. During his leave, he, in the company of nearby drunks in sailing canoes, bravely storms and plunders passing merchant ships off the coast of New Providence and Nassau. The occupation seemed to him so profitable and interesting that he got carried away. In 1716, he had already raised a riot on the sloop, self-proclaimed himself a cap, renamed the vessel to "Ranger" and decided to try to make big money. The plan was as simple and reliable as a Swiss watch. He more than once hired merchant ships plying the Caribbean and North America, and knew perfectly well that most merchant ships are light, weakly armed vessels of private owners, where people, firstly, are not military, and secondly, as a rule do not own the load. Benji threw everything unnecessary from the sloop, loaded 30 guns on it, which,by local standards, there were even too many and allowed to capture many ships with a dozen soldiers and 4-6 guns without a fight at all, with just one glance 30 large barrels and hundreds of hooting thugs. Benjamin begins to get rich quickly.
Where is the beard? Blackbeard is still a simple young sailor with a thin mustache, but as far as we know, he took part in the pursuit of Spanish silver and also ended up in the Bahamas. Here, at the base of Captain Benjamin Hornigold, Teach easily changed employers and joined the new trend - to cut the dough without working anywhere. Seeing Teach's organizational talent, Hornigold quickly appoints him captain of one of the captured ships.
Steed Bonnett (1688 - 1718) awaited about the same rapid career growth. Steed was generally an exceptional example among this trinity. He was a hereditary nobleman, owned a huge estate and land in Barbados, participated in the formation of volunteer troops (in fact, the island Armed Forces) … But then an unhappy marriage in 1709 to Mary Allumby drove the man into the sea, and after 8 years of navigation, he realized, that you won't get freedom here either, you became a pirate, hijacked the ship and renamed it Revenge. To whom revenge - Steed did not specify, so everyone was afraid.
The Caribbean problem was snowballing. Teach, for example, looked after the 200-ton slave ship La Concorde, squeezed it out and radically altered it. In general, slave-trading ships are another story. Slaves in the 17th and 18th centuries, in terms of modern money, cost up to $ 40,000 for 1 healthy black young man. One voyage with 500 slaves is potentially 2 million. Less purchase, transportation and crew costs. Not as much as Aztec gold, but far from so little. Profit pushed the flywheel of progress forward and slave ships were at its forefront, well, not counting the galleons of Spain, they are in general - aircraft carriers of our time. Slave sloops are fast, with sufficient displacement for live cargo, but nothing more. Teach drove heavy guns to La Concorde, forced to cut through new loopholes, increasing the firepower to 40 barrels,and made him his personal flagship.
Unlike slave traders, pirates, seizing a ship, sold slaves on a neighboring island, from where they were then resold in the United States. And this is $ 2 million without investments and strong risks. He called his flagship Queen Anne's Revenge. Queen Anne took revenge, according to Teach, for the peace treaty. The war ended in 1713 with the Peace of Utrecht, in which, of the conditions, only North America and the power over the Iroquois were redistributed. But the golden Spanish galleons remained intact, which was very unfair from the point of view of Beard. Well, you can't get hold of nationwide events within the framework of the war? So don't get the Spanish gold to anyone! And Britain pretended that there were no pirates in the West Indies.
Thus, by 1717 in the Caribbean, this trinity: Edward Teach, Steed Bonnet and Benjamin Hornigold with their ships were living legends, robbing everything and everyone. Well, or a small business - from the point of view of history. On the territory of New Providence, more than 500 pirates were permanently hanging out, drinking, trading and hiring wherever possible. It seems to be a lot, but in comparison with the English fleet - no, there were 60,000 sailors at that time …
My further narration is inextricably linked with the activities of Teach himself, his character and his personal ideas. The first number on the list is his image. For example, Edward's capture of the Boston merchant ship “Great Allen” began to shape his image as a sea devil. He let go of his beard, grew old, and from the captured ship let everyone go, having previously menacingly examined it. The naturally escaped and survivors began to spread rumors. But what is even more interesting - there were many who remained. The fact is that the snowball of piracy would not have grown so quickly if it were not for the position of the sailors and the difficult history of the British Royal Navy, from where there were always those who wanted to screw up. It was not a confrontation with the empire, it was not even a conflict with it.
For you to understand, this whole Royal Navy scale pirate story was not worth a damn. Teach, for example, escaped for several years from a 30-gun ship sent to capture him, having at least 3 ships, one of which was 40-gun (Queen Anne's Revenge). The seasoned pirate and sailor did not even leave the thought that a drinking rabble could be compared with a military crew. While the flagships of Britain, sailing the seas of Europe at the same time, there were up to 100 guns on board (King George, London, King William, Queen Anne, Britain, etc.). The mere presence of a heavy battleship of this class would put an end not only to Teach, but in general to piracy in the Caribbean. Once and for all. But the problem was that on this ship there would be people who wanted to stand next to Blackbeard in the hope of acquiring gold teeth,parrot and something fortified.
The reason for this was again Karl, not Habsburg, but Stewart. In 1634 Charles the First, King of England, imposed a ship tax, and laid the foundation for the civil war of 1642-45. By this time, being a sailor in England was not only not prestigious, but, frankly, harmful and dangerous to life. No money was paid. The ships stood at the docks and rotted, they were appointed to normal positions in the fleet based on the position, cronyism and bribes: relatives, morons and pests, respectively. After the revolution and global collapse in 1649, the fleet began to reform. Robert Blake - the father of the British Navy - is only introducing combat instructions for senior commanders, combat instructions and battle tactics. And this, excuse me, in general, the main purpose of the Navy is to conduct combat operations. And only just begin to systematize and put it in order. And before that they fought as best they could and wanted, at least put penguins at the helm.
But the early 18th century is still not a good idea for a marine career. The rapidly resurgent fleet carried out millions of assigned tasks - from guarding ships sailing in the colony to military presence in the Baltic, Africa and North America. Dozens of ships were under construction, and dozens sank. Thanks to Drake, the replenishment of officers became possible at the expense of merit, and not just the blue blood of corrupt officials. On the one hand, this is a plus. Quite often boys still entered the service, and they were recruited from everywhere, including from the poorest families. If they survived and remained on their feet by the age of 16, they could be considered full-fledged sailors. Then - 10 years of dull campaigns, and at 26 these sailors, as a rule, left the service and settled on land. So, you are under 30, and you are a veteran of the Royal Navy already written off ashore. On the other hand,the minimum requirement for an officer is 6 years of service. That such a career growth as, for example, Cook's, makes it physically impossible. Well, not counting the moment with the end of the service in the bowler hat at the island Zusul.
Add to this the lingering technical lag behind the Danes. For example, already in the 16th century they knew how to deal with scurvy. And the British will come up with fruit and citrus fruits and citrus fruits to diversify dried meat, biscuits and sauerkraut on the advice of James Lind only somewhere in the second half of the 18th century. The same problem with general medicine. Philip Pinel only by the 1800s initiated reforms in the care of the mentally ill and forced the authorities to abandon chains for the sick, proving that it was not about demons and they, in principle, are not so dangerous for the Universe. But what is there, before the invention of the stethoscope is still a hundred years, and before vaccination against smallpox in Britain - 50 years.
In this vein, piracy is rather a social draft. When the boys who replenished the merchant and military fleets, seeing no prospects or hope, neither before the start of service, nor after, and realizing that they would die on this ship, corny rushed at any chance to get something other than lashes and salted meat with rotten ship beer. By the way, spanking was the most popular punishment. If we discard all these mythologized castrations and dragging under the keel, then most sailors were simply flogged so that they could return to work later. Well, how simple … They used a nine-tailed cat - a lash with 9 or more twisted leather ends, into which metal tips and / or hooks are woven. It was introduced in 1681, and was canceled only in 1870. By the way, the ship's surgeon supervised the flogging. It was the surgeon.
The division of professions was already there. If a doctor, a doctor is something like a therapist, they put leeches, gave mercury to drink, bleed, made diarrhea and vomited, then a surgeon is a paramedic and a pharmacist, a butcher who can cut off a leg and take childbirth, and from one person, and then write opium. Then, by the way, there was an interesting theory on account of the fact that all diseases are either sthenic or asthenic in nature and are treated with either alcohol or opium. And that's all. And nothing else is needed for health and happiness. No antibiotics there.
It was a combination of problems that ensured the quick delivery of merchant ships to pirates and a motley crew, which was full of people of various professions and positions dissatisfied with life. This is probably why Blackbeard felt so confident. So confident that it is even daring. On May 22, 1718, his makeshift flotilla appeared near Charlesstown, South Carolina. The entrance to the bay is full of sandy spits and shoals, and in fact it is possible to dock only with the help of local pilots who accompany ships on a mandatory basis. Teach did not have a pilot, so he simply anchored, not giving himself away, and waited for a delegation with the local authorities and the pilot to be sent to him. Over the next couple of days, he captured two more ships that arrived in Charlesstown and anchored to wait for the pilot,who was where? That's right on Queen Anne's Msta!
Gradually, it dawned on the residents that the port was blocked and no one left or entered it. Panic began, trade arose, rumors began to creep that the city would be wiped off the face of the earth, that reinforcements were sailing to the pirates, and almost the devil himself was about to go ashore. The city had coastal artillery, but starting a battle against a dozen ships was not the best idea: it is not known whether they could have sunk the ships, and how badly the city would have gotten. In general, the governor was not the most daring guy. The pirates were in no hurry to land. The Founding Fathers decide to send messengers and listen to the demands of terror in the flesh, fearing the most daring of them. But the governor is presented with only one demand: to provide a chest with medicines. Everyone agrees, they collect all the available medicines, load them into the chest and give them to the pirates,which, as if nothing had happened, sail away. This is the official part.
The explanation is very prosaic. Rather than loitering along trade routes in search of loot and risking a warship, Teach anchored at the trade route destination and waited for the ships there. There was no point in tying up long negotiations and demanding a ransom, since during the week the residents were collecting money, the military would arrive at the port, the garrison would be strengthened, the faint-hearted governor would drink for courage, and the pirate fleet would be attacked from the sea with Her Majesty's ships of the line and, having pinned the pirates in a corner, they would have been sent eventually either to the bottom or to the gallows. But the drugs were more than relevant. Just at this time, yellow fever, a terrible disease from the very heart of Africa, is being brought into the Caribbean. And there is no escape from it either in the colonies or on the islands, and even less so on ships with pirate rabble. Moreover, then,that the ship is pirate does not mean that there is no medical unit on it.
Treatment of the sick and wounded was a problem on official military courts, not just on stolen ones. When Beard was still a Little Beard and was just capturing Queen Anne's Revenge, he provided not everyone with a voluntary opportunity to leave the ship. Three surgeons, several carpenters and a cook were denied such a chance. In the 1707 maritime code of the Vade Mecum of a sailor, it is generally stated that no surgeon has the right to leave his ship before the completion of the voyage and arrival at the port of destination. From the logbook carried away after the capture, we know the names of these three unfortunate medics and their salaries. These are the chief of the medical unit Jean Dubois from Saint-Etienne (50 livres for the swim), the second surgeon Marc Burneuf from La Rochelle (30 livres for the swim) and the junior surgeon Claude Deschay - 22 livres. There was also an assistant surgeon (Nicholas Gautrin) with a salary of 12 livres, but he does not count,since he was not included in the qualified personnel, he was among the minor servants.
We know how the medical room of the real Black Pearl of the real Blackbeard was arranged because in the end, after adventures in the port, Teach decided to accept the offer of pardon, ran the ship aground to disperse the crew and surrendered on the sly to the authorities. As a result, the vessel sank, it was covered with silt, it rested on the seabed for 400 years, until in 1996 it was found and began to methodically dig it. In addition to the abandoned relics of gold and silver, several dozen guns, scientists have even managed to unearth medical instruments, among which we can highlight the most interesting.
For example, a urethral syringe with residual mercury. A popular myth of that time was that syphilis and, in general, all genital diseases, and indeed all diseases of the genitourinary system, could be treated with mercury, since they were not separated from one another. Mercury was mined in a new light on an industrial scale and mainly by the forces of slaves. The need for such mining was primarily in the purification of silver, before being melted into those same silver coins and sent by galleons to Spain. The duration of the use of mercury ointments and remedies such as Guaiacum tincture (a tree native to Jamaica) is explained by the latency period in syphilis disease. But neither one nor the other helps. And almost more people died from mercury than from syphilis, Guaiacum is useless, although now it is added to one of the expectorants. Howbeit,drugs were extremely popular, take at least the saying "Night with Venus - Life with Mercury" (mercury - mercury).
A bloodletting bowl, or poringer, is a silvery bowl where blood was collected after the veins were cut with a leaf-shaped scalpel. Of course, it was possible to bleed on the floor, but then the medical procedure would lose a touch of scientific and safety. So the blood was collected in a businesslike manner, examined and only then disposed of overboard.
The found styling, unfortunately, did not retain the names or remnants of ointments and balms. Silver needles for sewing wounds, saws, scalpels, two enemas, brass screws for tightening tourniquets. Everything is labeled “Made in France”. European imports. Quality. But the ship's doctor had a lot of problems even without these instruments. For example, an endless war with facial worms. So SV, take it easy, what the fuck are worms? And this is another long-running myth. Acne on the nose was considered a parasite for some time. If you do not wash your mug for a very, very long time, in some cases they can grow to impressive sizes, after which any doctor of the 17-18 century, before whom you squeeze it out, will say that it is a worm larva. They were treated with vinegar, prunella and nightshade water. Presumably, success played from time to time.
If you open the medical textbook of 1710 - "The Book of Physiology", "The Book of Phisick", where, by the way, on the first page there is a cool article "How to cook a husband" (meaning to bewitch / charm), and look there folk medical recipes, then we will see that great importance is given to all kinds of cleansing, both with the help of laxatives (the juice of the bark of ash and lemon), and with an enema-forced method. Heavy dryness was believed to cure parasites and indigestion. (In case you think so too - no, diarrhea of any nature only depletes the body).
Stop bleeding - lead salts (lead acetate). Applied to the amputated limbs, sprinkled like flour. Headache - bloodletting from the temple, rubbing vinegar into the head, taking emetics. Cough with phlegm - drink seawater with mercury and nettle decoction. Jaundice caused by an increase in bilirubin in the blood (pirate cirrhosis, yohoho) - oral olive soap and celandine lotions. Toothache - garlic in the ear.
In general, surgery is great and a doctor is needed on the ship, because any attempts to do science in one way or another lead to the accumulation of knowledge, which moves us as humanity forward. But in my opinion, Edward Teach with the chest is clearly cheap …