Calico Jack and His Pack of Pirates:
Author's Note: For this story I wanted Mari to attempt to first join Calico Jack’s crew because he is most famous for letting Anne Bonney and Mary Read onto his ship. Calico Jack got the name Calico from the bright clothes he wore which is very different from other pirates and something Mari probably would not have expected from this pirate that she has heard about. I chose to have Calico drinking and his crew to be a little wild because he is not known for being a very bold or vicious pirate so I wanted him to embody the wildness that people associate with pirates. I changed his story a little to include that he orchestrated Charles Vane’s demise and his rise to Captain to give him some depth to his character and hint that he is not just some drunk. Reading Mary Read’s story I was heartbroken to find out that she lost all of her family so early and was pressured to live the life that was meant for her half-brother. I imagine that that would stay with her and that she might be a little sad to end up in Davy Jones’s Locker without the loved ones that she lost.
Bibliographies:
Biography of Pirate Anne Bonny from ThoughtCo by Christopher Minster WEB LINK
Mary Read, Pirate from Historic UK by Robyn Codlin WEB LINK
Biography of Famed Pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham from ThoughtCo by Christopher Minster WEBLINK
Pirates and Their Dice
If you have watched the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, you might remember them playing a game of pirate dice. Well, Disney made this game into a real life dice game that they sell in stores and my family bought it years ago and since then it has become the favorite game that we own. Since I had mentioned Pirate Dice before in the story I thought it might be fun to involve it more in this story. I imagine that pirates would love to gamble when they don’t have any ships to attack, and since Calico Jack lost his ring in a game of dice what better way for Mari to get it back? Since she was not a pirate I didn’t think she would know how to play the game, nor would she seek out the gambling den. And since Bartholomew Roberts is a pirate known for doing whatever it took to gain treasure, I can imagine him cheating at a game. To have the pirates break into a fight was something that came to me while I was writing. It provided a way for Mari to steal the ring from the pile, and not get caught doing it.
Also, there were additional pirates in my story: Sam Bellamy, Edward Low, and Benjamin Hornigold. Sam Bellamy was coined the Robin Hood of the Sea. His death is particularly sad as he was supposedly trying to return to the woman he loved. Benjamin Hornigold sailed with both Bellamy and Blackbeard in his career before ultimately becoming a pirate hunter. Edward Low was known to be a ruthless pirate who angered both the English and American governments. Low's death is unclear but he was rumored to have been abandoned by his crew.
Bibliographies:
Famous Pirate: Bartholomew Roberts from The Way of The Pirates WEB LINK
To Learn More about Sam Bellamy, Benjamin Hornigold, or Edward Low
Famous Pirate: Samuel Bellamy from The Way of the Pirates WEB LINK
Famous Pirate: Benjamin Hornigold from The Way of the Pirates WEB LINK
Famous Pirate: Edward Low from The Way of the Pirates WEB LINK
Blackbeard's Missing Head
Author’s Note
I wanted to do a story about Blackbeard because he is one of the most famous pirates of all time. However, with such a rich history I struggled with knowing which part of his life to tell the story about. I decided to go with the story of Blackbeard’s missing head because it was a part of his story that I had never heard before. The story that Blackbeard tells to Mari is pretty much the same as the original story because I wanted to share what happened to him in death. However, I left out that Blackbeard was stabbed in the neck by the other pirate and instead had Maynard be the one that chopped off his head because it fit better with Blackbeard’s anger at the Lieutenant. Another reason that I went with telling the story of Blackbeard’s missing head was because it gave me a reason to have Blackbeard be the enforcer on the ship instead of one of the regular rowdy pirates. Since he is in debt to Ching Shih he acts as one of her ‘employees’ for lack of a better word. This is why he ends the fight and is the one to bring Mari to Ching Shih.
Bibliography: Blackbeard- The Most Notorious Pirate Ever from The Way of The Pirates LINK
Ching Shih: The Pirate Queen
From the beginning of my storybook I have wanted to end with a story of Ching Shih. While doing research I thought her story was awe inspiring and one that I had never heard before. I was just so amazed that a woman who had no background in piracy could marry into a fleet and make it into arguably the most successful pirate fleet in history. The story that she tells in my story is a condensed version of what happened to her in life. I wanted to keep to her original story as much as possible, since so many people have never heard of her. I cut the end of her story a little short, but she was the one to end negotiations with the Chinese government that pardoned her and her crew and allowed them to keep all the treasure that they had accumulated. Ching Shih died a natural death after a long life, which I think makes her successful in any age.
Because of her strict adherence to rules in life, I wanted her to still abide by that code in death. Because of this she could not just let Mari get away with stealing from her.
Bibligraphy: Ching Shih- from Prostitute to Pirate Lord from Ancient Origins Web Link