Part Three

...back to...    Ed Pack Introduction Page

Harlequin Fish

·         A very common fish

·         Often referred to by its scientific name Rasbora heteromorpha

·         very peaceful fish from Asia

·         Rarely grows to see one inch

·         It has a silver body with its back half-covered in black

·         Its blackened back will often fade completely away in stressful conditions, which makes it an excellent stress indicator

·         Very efficient jumpers

·         Do not tolerate bullying

Manta Ray

DESCRIPTION

·         The largest rays

·         Closely related to sharks

·         Also known as the devil ray

·         Short tail and no stinging spine

·         Very acrobatic – can even leap from the water

·         Up to 29.5 feet (9m) wide, but average about 22 feet (6.7m)

·         The largest weighs about 3,000 pounds (1350kg)

·         Varies in colour from black to grey-blue along its back; has a white underside with grey blotches

·         Mouth contains small teeth exclusively in the lower jaw

·         Solitary creatures, but sometimes form groups of up to 50

·         Swim by moving their pectoral fins up and down

·         Harmless and non-aggressive

·         Flat and wide, with fleshy enlarged pectoral fins that resemble wings

·         Swim slowly in vertical loops, which keeps prey within the area while feeding

·         Male and female manta rays are very similar

·         Both sexes reach sexual maturity at five years of age

·         Live for 18-20 years

·         Entire skeleton is made of cartilage, giving it a wide range of motion

·         Manta rays leap out of water then smack against the surface to remove parasites and dead skin

DIET

·         Microscopic plankton

·         Small fish

·         Tiny crustaceans

·         Funnel the food into their mouth while they swim, using two large, flap-like cephalic lobes, which extend forward from the eyes

FAMILY

BREEDING

·         Reproduce via placental viviparity (DEFINE)

·         Mating takes place from early December to late April around rocky reef areas

·         Mantas gather in large numbers, with several males courting a single female

·         Females give birth to one or two pups – born wrapped up in their pectoral fins

·         13 month gestation period

·         Pups are about 45 inches wide and weigh roughly 20 pounds

·         Young mantas grow very rapidly

HABITAT

·         Tropical and warm temperate coastal regions

·         Live both close to shore and in open seas – but most of time close to shore because the food is most abundant

·         Found in all areas of the ocean

PREDATORS

·         No natural predators, although large sharks occasionally attack

MYTHS

·         Mantas capsize boats by leaping out of the water and crashing down on them

·         Mantas can drown swimmers by wrapping around them

Pirates

PIRACY

·         Crime of robbery, or other act of violence for private ends

·         On the high seas or in the air above the seas

·         Committed by the captain or crew of a ship or aircraft outside the normal jurisdiction of any nation

·         Without authority from any government

·         Persons who engage in acts of piracy are called "pirates"

·         Recognised as an offence against the law of nations

·         A crime not against any particular state, but against all humanity.

·         The pirate has no valid commission from a sovereign state or from an insurgent or belligerent government engaged in hostilities with a particular state.

·         Pirates are regarded as common enemies of all people

·         Piracy is of ancient origin

BUCCANEER

·         Title applied to English, Dutch, and French seafaring adventurers of the 17th century

·         Buccaneers are usually distinguished from privateers, who had official government commissions; buccaneers rarely had valid commissions

·         The term "buccaneer" was derived from their practice of raiding and taking the cattle from Spanish plantations; they dried the meat on grills, known in French as "boucan", and sold it to vessels that put in for provisions

·         Buccaneering came to an end in the 18th century when the buccaneers were hired by their respective governments to fight as privateers in the War of the Spanish Succession (1701-14)

PRIVATEER

·         Term applied to a privately owned, armed vessel whose owners are commissioned by a hostile nation to carry on naval warfare.

·         Privateering was abolished by the Declaration of Paris of 1856, but the declaration was not supported by the United States, Spain, Mexico, and Venezuela

·         The practice of privateering preceded the creation of national navies

·         Privateers were allowed to share any booty captured

·         The government contracts they were given were called letters of marque

PIRACY IN THE 1700S

·         If you became a pirate, it was called “going on the account”

·         For some, it was an escape from a life of hardship and poverty (e.g. slaves had nothing to lose)

·         Some pirates were political rebels

·         Many were regular sailors, who had been captured and forced to join up with the pirates

·         Others were gamblers and adventurers, who found everyday life boring or could not stand polite society.

MEET THE CREW

·         Captain

·         Most pirate captains were democratically elected by the ship’s crew and could be replaced at any time by a majority vote of the crewmen.

·         Expected to be bold and decisive in battle

·         Have skill in navigation and seamanship

·         Had to have the force of personality necessary to hold together such an unruly bunch of seamen

·         Some were little more than a figurehead

·         Was someone the crew would follow if he treated them well and was a fairly successful pirate captain…but, could be replaced in enough of the men lost confidence in him and felt he wasn’t performing his duties as well as he should

·         Frequently looked upon with respect as a knowledgeable leader of men

·          Historically, the pirate crews appeared to have followed his judgement in most matters

·         Few detailed descriptions of what the pirate captains looked like – most seem to have adopted the clothes of naval officers or merchant sea captains, which in this period followed the style of English gentlemen

·         Quartermaster

·         During the Golden Age of Piracy, most pirates delegated unusual amounts of authority to the Quartermaster ® became almost the Captain's equal

·         Captain retained unlimited authority during battle, but otherwise he was subject to the Quartermaster in many routine matters

·         Was elected by the crew to represent their interests

·         He received an extra share of the booty when it was divided

·         Protected the Seaman against each other by maintaining order, settling quarrels, and distributing food and other essentials

·         Could punish minor offences.

·         Only he could flog a seaman after a vote from the crew

·         Usually kept the records and account books for the ship

·         Took part in all battles and often led the attacks by the boarding parties

·          If the pirates were successful, he decided what plunder to take

·          If the pirates decide to keep a captured ship, the Quartermaster often took over as the Captain of that ship

·         Sailing Master

·         Officer in charge of navigation and the sailing of the ship

·          He directed the course and looked after the maps and instruments necessary for navigation

·         Many Sailing Masters had to be forced into pirate service

·         Boatswain

·         Supervised the maintenance of the vessel and its supply stores

·         Responsible for inspecting the ship and it's sails and rigging each morning, and reporting their state to the captain

·         Also in charge of all deck activities, including weighing and dropping anchor, and the handling of the sails

·         Carpenter

·         Responsible for the maintenance and repair of the wooden hull, masts and yards

·         Worked under the direction of the ship's Master and Boatswain

·         Checked the hull regularly, placing oakum between the seams of the planks and wooden plugs on leaks to keep the vessel tight

·         Highly skilled in his work which he learned through apprenticeship

·         Often he would have an assistant whom he in turn trained as a carpenter

·         Master Gunner

·         Responsible for the ship's guns and ammunition ® included sifting the powder to keep it dry and prevent it from separating, insuring the cannon balls were kept free of rust, and all weapons were kept in good repair

·         A knowledgeable Gunner was essential to the crew's safety and effective use of their weapons

·         Mate

·         On a large ship there was usually more than one Mate aboard

·         Served as apprentice to the Ship's Master, Boatswain, Carpenter and Gunner

·         Took care of the fitting out of the vessel, and examined whether it was sufficiently provided with ropes, pulleys, sails, and all the other rigging that was necessary for the voyage

·         Also took care of hoisting the anchor, and during a voyage he checked the tackle once a day. If he observed anything amiss, he would report it to the ship's Master

·         Arriving at a port, the mate caused the cables and anchors to be repaired, and took care of the management of the sails, yards and mooring of the ship

·         Sailor

·         The backbone of the ship

·         Needed to know the rigging and the sails as well as how to steer the ship and applying it to the purposes of navigation

·         Needed to know how to read the skies, weather, winds and most importantly the moods of his commanders

·         Other jobs on the ships were surgeon (for large vessels), cooks and cabin boys

·         There were many jobs divided up amongst the officers, sometimes one man would perform two functions

WOMEN

·         Banned from sailing as members of the crew, often on pain of death ® it was an old sailing tradition

·         Wore pants and shirts not only for disguise but also because they were more practical for fighting and hauling ropes

·         Mary Read and Anne Bonny persuaded a pirate captain to take them on and proved that women could be just as ruthless as the men could

 LIFE AT SEA

·         hard for all sailors, pirates or not

·         Cramped and uncomfortable

·         Rats lived below deck

·         Open flames forbidden – fear that a spark would set off the stored gunpowder

·         Beds were hammocks

·         The toilet was a slatted box at the ship’s bow with a hole open to the waves

·         Injury and disease were rampant

·         Medical skills and supplies were minimal

·         Corsair galley slaves were forced to row for their lives – whipped mercilessly and given barely enough food to stay alive

·         Most food had to be preserved by salting and drying, although hens might be kept on board for fresh eggs and meat

·         Endless rounds of hard labour : cannons cleaned, sails raised and furled with changes in the wind and direction, repairs, etc

WEAPONS

·         Personal weapons were the tools of a pirate’s trade, and captured weapons were highly valued prizes

·         Pirates cared for their arms, cleaning them regularly and keeping them dry – their lives depended on the weapons being in good condition

·         Clubs, spears, daggers and swords to pistols and muskets

·         Vikings are remembered for their battle-axes

·         Swords of the Barbary corsairs were of the highest quality steel and finely crafted

·         Buccaneers of the Caribbean were famed as sharpshooters

·         Pirates of southeast Asia used spears, darts from blowpipes and very ornate swords

·         Most common and useful was probably the cutlass – a sword used by pirates and other sailors form the 1600s onwards

TREASURE

·         Pirates wanted it to be valuable, easily transported and readily sold

·         Gold, silver, precious stones

·         Fine quality cloths (eg. silks and heavy embroidered materials)

·         Ivory

·         Bulk cargo unwanted because it was difficult to unload and sell without attracting attention

·         Captured ships were stripped of everything valuable – either to improve the pirates’ ship or to be sold

PUNISHMENT

·         Torture, burning, and mutilation

·         Used as a quick means of extracting information and spreading terror

·         Pirate disobeyed ship’s rules  or quarrelled – faced being flogged, beaten or being set adrift in a small boat

·         Pirate robbed another member of the crew – might be punished by having his ears and nose slit

·         Flogging

·         Ducking (suspended from yard-arm and ducked into the ocean while the ship sails along)

·         Towing (tied to the end of a rope and tossed into the ocean, then towed along behind the ship for hours)

·         Stitched-up (sewn into a piece of old sailcloth with other prisoners and thrown overboard)

·         Keelhauled (a rope is passed under the ship from starboard to port, the pirates tie the prisoner to the rope and toss him/her overboard and is then hauled back and forth across the keel that is covered in barnacles, etc)

·         burning

HAVENS

·         Safe place/home base

·         Place to take on supplies and plan next voyage

·         Had to be easily defended

CAPTURED PIRATES

·         Once caught pirates could be hung, beheaded, or hung in chains

·         Executed pirates would be bound in iron hoops and left till bones picked clean

·         Some cases could be pardoned if they were forced into piracy and had never used weapons against others

Flags

·         Stereotypical image: black flag with skull and crossbones

·         In truth, varied from pirate to pirate

·         Commonly known as the Jolly Roger

·         Generally, only began widespread use in the late 1600s and early 1700s

·         Before 16-1700s ranged from national flags to solid colours (usually black or red)

·         Displayed death or scary images – skulls, bones, swords/daggers, hourglasses

·         Bones and weapons signified death

·         Hourglass used to signify time was running out for the victims

·         Main reason for use was to make enemy surrender without a fight

·         Theories as to origin of term “Jolly Roger”

1.       Main belief is it is a French to English translation ® plain red flag indicated that no mercy would be given, believed term was derived from this: in French, “jolie rouge” roughly translates into “beautiful/lovely red” which may have altered into “jolly roger” over time

2.       Take on the devil’s nickname – around the 18^th century the devil was known as Old Roger

·         Solid red and black flags also used: red stood for no quarter given and black stood for standard battle

·         Not all pirates had their own pirate flag – some only flew a national flag

·         Some pirates would also have several national flags as well as a pirate flag to cover up their true identity

·         Apparently some captains used the same pirate flag (eg. the flag recognised as Blackbeard’s has also been said to be flown by pirates active before him)

List of References for this page... 

·        Harlequin Fish

www.aqualink.com/catalogs/xcyprin2.html

·        Manta Ray

www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/sharks/rays/Mantaray.shtml

Reader’s Digest (1997) Encyclopedia of Australian Wildlife. Reader’s Digest: Sydney

animal.discovery.com/fansites/jeffcorwin/carnival/waterbeast/mantaray.html

·        Pirates

Malam, J. (2003) The Danger Zone: Avoid Becoming a Pirate’s Prisoner! Koala Books: Australia

Steele, P. (2003) The Amazing World of Pirates. Lorenz Books: London

www.rochedalss.eq.edu.au/pirates/pirate1.htm

www.geocities.com/captcutlass/Ship.html

·        Flags

www.geocities.com/captcutlass/Ship.html

View other Your Work entries...     Val's Journal      Jodie's Journal

...or view other Ed Pack pages...     Introduction     Part One     Part Two     Part Three     Part Four

Part Five     Part Six     Part Seven     Part Eight     Part Nine     Part Ten     Part Eleven     Part Twelve

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This page last updated: 17th February 2006