This kit conjures up images of the age of the Caribbean pirates; a favourite subject for all who love adventure yarns. Many pirates of the 17th and 18th century have become famous over the years and there are not many people within the western world who will not have heard of Black Beard the Pirate, Captain Kidd, and Henry Morgan. The Caribbean is now a favourite tourist attraction and a place where many go on luxury holidays, but many still think of it as the one-time centre of the pirate community.
How the Buccaneer’s got their Name
“Buccaneer” was the title applied to a group of multi-national seafarers of the 17th century, also called “freebooters.” Most of these fearless plunderers originated from England, Holland and France and were united in plundering the rich Spanish colonies founded along the shores of North and South America. The name “buccaneer” was derived from their practice of stealing cattle from the settlers and then preserving the meat by roasting it on a barbecue and curing it with smoke. The fire pit and grating were called a boucan and the finished strips of meat were also known as boucan.. They sold the boucan at great profit to other seafarers to be used as ship’s rations.
Sir Henry Morgan
The famous buccaneer and adventurer, Sir Henry Morgan, was born around 1635 in Llanrumney, South Wales. His name lives on as a brand name for Captan Morgan Rum, a liquor sold throughout the world. We know him as a pirate, but Henry Morgan was flying the flag for the British against the dreaded enemy of the day - the Spanish. He plundered their settlements in North America and Mexico, holding towns to ransom and building a huge fortune for himself. In 1671 he attacked Panama at a time when a truce had been signed between the British Government and the Spanish; he was arrested and brought back to England. When relations with Spain deteriorated again, King Charles II forgave him, gave him a knighthood and sent him back to Jamaica. He became deputy governor and owned a large sugar plantation. He died in 1688 a very wealthy man..
Captain William Kidd
The ‘Privateer” Captain William Kidd was famous for burying his treasure in and around Long Island, New York. Some could still be hidden along the coast of North America; although, probably not, as most, if not all, of his treasure was dug up and turned over to the authorities long before Kidd met his undeserved death on the gallows in 1701.
Piracy was fairly common in the area as early as 1654, when the Long Island "plantations" tried to get together for protection against robbers and pirates. Piracy was at its height in 1696, when Captain William Kidd, Scottish by birth, set sail from London to waylay and rob French vessels and plunder any other spoils that might come his way.
Kidd, like all ‘Privateers’ at the time, was working for king and country; his task being to rob vessels from countries that were the enemies of Britain – and many that were not!. He was ‘falsely’ accused of piracy in 1699.
On his way to Boston to prove his innocence. Kidd stopped at Gardiner's Island, where he buried treasure worth about £20,000. He asked a certain Mrs. Gardiner to have a pig roasted for him. It was done so well that he presented her with a piece of gold cloth that came from the trousseau of the daughter of the Grand Mogul; it was from a Moorish ship captured by Kidd off the coast of Madagascar. Unfortunately this was to serve as evidence in his trial. When Kidd left the island, he promised to return for the buried treasure, and threatened the Gardiner family: "If I call for it and it is gone, I will take your head, or your son's too." At any rate, Kidd was put through the motions of a trial and hanged in London in 1701.
Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
Blackbeard was also known as Edward Teach, It is believed he was born in Bristol, England and, like many other pirates, came to the Caribbean as a privateer. He was killed in combat on November 22, 1718, near Ocracoke Island, North Carolina. He is considered one of history's most famous pirates. He was a giant of a man, standing over six feet in height, he was strong and brave.
Blackbeard converted a captured French merchantship into a 40-gun warship, "Queen Anne's Revenge." He quickly became notorious for outrages along the Virginia and Carolina coasts and in the Caribbean Sea. In battle, he armed himself with several pistols, knives, and a cutlass. He often put lighted matches under his hat or braided into his beard so that it would appear that his head was on fire.
In 1718, Alexander Spotswood, lieutenant governor of Virginia, dispatched a British naval force under the charge of Lt. Robert Maynard, who, after a hard fight, succeeded in killing Blackbeard.
The pirate's body was decapitated, and his head was affixed to the end of the bowsprit of his ship. Apart from the luxuriant black beard which earned him his nickname, the most prominent aspect of the Blackbeard legend is his great buried treasure, which has never been found.
The Pack Contents
The Buccaneer consists of four sheets of high quality card with die-cut sections and a base-card. The pirate ship has three main pop-up parts, the mainsail, front sail and ship’s bow. They are glued onto the base-card in a ‘V’ shape that levers them into a pop-up position. A fourth card contains a selection of fold-up pieces including a desert island with a treasure chest, gulls, shark, flying fish and an octopus. The kit includes full instructions and a detailed history of pop-up cards. The size of the pop-up card when folded together is 110mm x 150mm and fits inside the Caribbean-blue C6 envelope which is supplied with the kit.
