DOCSLIB.ORG

People of the Dawnland and the Enduring Pursuit of a Native Atlantic World

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
People of the Dawnland and the Enduring Pursuit of a Native Atlantic World UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA GRADUATE COLLEGE “THE SEA OF TROUBLE WE ARE SWIMMING IN”: PEOPLE OF THE DAWNLAND AND THE ENDURING PURSUIT OF A NATIVE ATLANTIC WORLD A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE FACULTY in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY By MATTHEW R. BAHAR Norman, Oklahoma 2012 “THE SEA OF TROUBLE WE ARE SWIMMING IN”: PEOPLE OF THE DAWNLAND AND THE ENDURING PURSUIT OF A NATIVE ATLANTIC WORLD A DISSERTATION APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY BY ______________________________ Dr. Joshua A. Piker, Chair ______________________________ Dr. Catherine E. Kelly ______________________________ Dr. James S. Hart, Jr. ______________________________ Dr. Gary C. Anderson ______________________________ Dr. Karl H. Offen © Copyright by MATTHEW R. BAHAR 2012 All Rights Reserved. For Allison Acknowledgements Crafting this dissertation, like the overall experience of graduate school, occasionally left me adrift at sea. At other times it saw me stuck in the doldrums. Periodically I was tossed around by tempestuous waves. But two beacons always pointed me to quiet harbors where I gained valuable insights, developed new perspectives, and acquired new momentum. My advisor and mentor, Josh Piker, has been incredibly generous with his time, ideas, advice, and encouragement. His constructive critique of my thoughts, methodology, and writing (I never realized I was prone to so many split infinitives and unclear antecedents) was a tremendous help to a graduate student beginning his career. In more ways than he probably knows, he remains for me an exemplar of the professional historian I hope to become. And as a barbecue connoisseur, he is particularly worthy of deference and emulation. Our profession would certainly be better off with more people like him. Cathy Kelly’s insights, criticisms, and interminable support have done more for my career than she realizes. By way of a graduate seminar, directed readings, and countless discussions, I have learned to value her brilliance. Our conversations about this project and my future in the academy have built in me a level of confidence I never thought possible. I am also indebted to Jamie Hart for deepening my interest and understanding of early modern England. Through coursework and directed readings with him, I first began to explore the possibilities of developing an Atlantic history of American Indians. Jamie was tremendously enthusiastic and patient with this student of early America whose peripheral interests lay far beyond his metropolitan expertise. Paul Gilje, iv Sterling Evans, Judy Lewis, and Sandie Holguin were also eager to share their time and ideas. This project is certainly much stronger because of their generosity. Researching and writing a dissertation on the native northeast and Atlantic while residing on the dusty Plains has often been a challenge. But several generous individuals and institutions eased the burden, allowing me to temporarily trade the deer and the antelope for the saltwater and pines. The Department of History at the University of Oklahoma – especially the department chair, Professor Rob Griswold – offered immeasurable support throughout my tenure as a doctoral student in their program. With a Hudson Fellowship, an A.K. Christian Scholarship, a Morgan Family Fellowship, and a semester free of teaching responsibilities, the History Department generously equipped me with the tools to develop as a scholar and make a worthwhile contribution to our profession. The American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia likewise offered their support by awarding me a grant from their Phillips Fund for Native American Research. In addition, a Legacy Research Fellowship from the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester, MA and an Andrew W. Mellon Research Fellowship from the Massachusetts Historical Society in Boston afforded me opportunities to conduct extensive archival research at their prestigious institutions and present my project to other fellows, society members and staff. Certain people closest to me deserve the most credit for this accomplishment. My family has always been the ballast in my life; their own commitments and achievements, and their constant support of mine, continue to lend me invaluable strength and stability. Their genuine curiosity about my scholarly endeavors also sustains my own energy and enthusiasm for this project. My parents, in particular, v remain my compass in so many areas of life. They taught me at a very young age the importance of education, hard work, and commitment, and encouraged me to pursue my goals with a spirit of humility, simplicity, and authenticity. This dissertation would not have been possible, either, without the patience and boundless support of Allison. She has a knack for distracting me from the pressures and frustrations of academic life and refocusing my attention on its bright spots. Most significantly, she has shown me time and again what is truly important in life, what passes and what endures. This project, then, is as much her accomplishment as it is mine. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................... iv List of Figures ................................................................................................................ viii Abstract ............................................................................................................................ ix Introduction – Charting a Course and Weighing Anchor ..................................................1 Chapter One - “On some rocks where the breakers were most violent”: Uniting and Reuniting Dawnlands and Oceans ..............................................................18 Chapter Two – “With all sails set”: Steering the Course of Transition in an Expanding Atlantic World ......................................................................................66 Chapter Three – “To go to all the fishing ilandes and so to drive all the contre before them”: Contesting Atlantic Colonialism and Regenerating Atlantic Autonomy .......................................................................................................112 Chapter Four – “His Majesty’s livery,” “the King’s presents,” and a “Sea of trouble”: Manipulating Power and Prestige in an Imperial World ..................166 Chapter Five – “Not to be under the command of any party”: Navigating the Shifting Winds of Imperial Conflict ....................................................211 Chapter Six – “Ye last & only door”: Struggling to Secure a Fleeting Vision ...........................................................................................................................254 Conclusion – Taking Soundings ...................................................................................296 Bibliography .................................................................................................................299 vii List of Figures Figure 1 – New England and the Canadian Maritimes…...…………………………..….6 Figure 2 – Major River Systems of Wabanakia………….……………………………..41 Figure 3 – Seventeenth-Century Wabanaki, French, and English Settlements ……………..………………………………………………..117 viii Abstract This dissertation explores the active engagement of an American Indian culture with the early modern Atlantic world. It argues that the Wabanaki of the American northeast were a quintessentially maritime-oriented people who time and again looked to the Atlantic as an essential means of mitigating the quotidian rigors of their society and enhancing its overall welfare. This process had sustained native life long before the arrival of Europeans, and afforded it valuable cultural and material resources to assuage the disruptive effects of colonialism from the early sixteenth through the mid-eighteenth centuries. In their exchanges with Euro-Americans, these people increasingly cultivated an array of novel Atlantic opportunities to enrich, augment, and protect their vision of this pelagic world in the face of increasing pressures to redefine its meaning and significance. By shrewdly engaging in trans-Atlantic gift-giving networks, astutely exploiting European imperial conflicts, carefully manipulating economic exchange complexes, respectfully invoking European monarchical authority, and strategically appropriating Euro-American sailing technology, Wabanaki consistently reinforced their presence on the high seas and elaborated their longstanding notion of the Atlantic world: the ocean was a profoundly generative and life-sustaining locus of power. Yet over the course of the colonial period, Wabanaki came to recognize that their Atlantic vision did not stand alone. As it ran up against European – and later primarily British – efforts to forcefully consolidate the Atlantic into a coherent and far- flung imperial network, Indian marine-warriors decimated and plundered the Euro- American maritime presence to fortify their conception of the Atlantic’s opportunity and their command of its waves. Countless imperial and colonial architects struggled ix relentlessly to rationalize and reign in this corner of the world, but the economic, diplomatic, and martial pursuit of a Wabanaki Atlantic constantly defied their efforts at cohesion. Ashore and afloat, a brutal contestation of oceanic spaces ensued in the northeast, and endured throughout much of the colonial era. British attempts to render the native Atlantic amenable to their own imperial designs gradually made
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Piracy, Illicit Trade, and the Construction of Commercial
    Navigating the Atlantic World: Piracy, Illicit Trade, and the Construction of Commercial Networks, 1650-1791 Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University by Jamie LeAnne Goodall, M.A. Graduate Program in History The Ohio State University 2016 Dissertation Committee: Margaret Newell, Advisor John Brooke David Staley Copyright by Jamie LeAnne Goodall 2016 Abstract This dissertation seeks to move pirates and their economic relationships from the social and legal margins of the Atlantic world to the center of it and integrate them into the broader history of early modern colonization and commerce. In doing so, I examine piracy and illicit activities such as smuggling and shipwrecking through a new lens. They act as a form of economic engagement that could not only be used by empires and colonies as tools of competitive international trade, but also as activities that served to fuel the developing Caribbean-Atlantic economy, in many ways allowing the plantation economy of several Caribbean-Atlantic islands to flourish. Ultimately, in places like Jamaica and Barbados, the success of the plantation economy would eventually displace the opportunistic market of piracy and related activities. Plantations rarely eradicated these economies of opportunity, though, as these islands still served as important commercial hubs: ports loaded, unloaded, and repaired ships, taverns attracted a variety of visitors, and shipwrecking became a regulated form of employment. In places like Tortuga and the Bahamas where agricultural production was not as successful, illicit activities managed to maintain a foothold much longer.
    [Show full text]
  • Introduction Since Time Immemorial, Human Beings Have Used Narrative
    Chapter 1 – Introduction Since time immemorial, human beings have used narrative to help us make sense of our experience of life. From the fireside to the theatre, from the television and silver screen to the more recent manifestations of the virtual world, we have used storytelling as a means of providing structure, order, and coherence to what can otherwise appear an overwhelming infinity of random, unrelated events. In ordering the perceived chaos of the world around us into a structure we can grasp, narrative provides insight and understanding not only of events themselves, but on a more fundamental level, of the very essence of what it means to live as a human being. As the primary means by which historical writing is organized, narrative has attracted a large body of historians and philosophers who have grappled with its impact on our understanding of the past. Underlying their work is the tension between historical writing as a reflection of what took place in the past, and the essence of narrative as a creative, imaginative act. The very structure of Aristotelian narrative, with its causal link between events, its clearly defined beginning, middle and end, its promise of catharsis, its theme or moral, reflects an act of imagination on the part of its author. While an effective narrative first and foremost strives to draw us into its world of story and keep us there until the ending, the primary goal of historical writing, in theory at least, is to increase our understanding about the past. While these two goals are not inherently incompatible, they do not always work in concert.
    [Show full text]
  • Explorers of Africa
    Explorers of Africa Prince Henry the Navigator (1394-1460) Portugal Goals of exploration: establish a Christian empire in western Africa find new sources of gold create maps of the African coast Trips funded by Henry the Navigator led to more Impact: exploration of western Africa Bartolomeu Días (1450-1500) Portugal Rounded the southernmost tip of Africa in 1488 Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia Impact: Led the Portuguese closer to discovering a water route to Asia Vasco da Gama (1460s-1524) Portugal Rounded the southernmost tip of Africa; Reached India in 1498 Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia Found a water route to Asia and brought back Impact: jewels and spices, which encouraged further exploration Explorers of the Caribbean Christopher Columbus (1450-1506) Spain In 1492, Columbus sailed the ocean blue (He sailed again in 1493, 1498, and 1502) Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia Discovered the New World and led to Impact: exploration of the Americas Vasco Núñez de Balboa (1475-1519) Spain Discovered the Pacific Ocean and the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 Goal of exploration: further exploration of the New World Discovered the Pacific Ocean and a new Impact: passage for exploration Explorers of South America Ferdinand Magellan Spain (1480-1521) Magellan's ships completed the first known circumnavigation of the globe. Goal of exploration: find a water route to Asia across the Pacific Discovered a new passage between the Impact: Atlantic and Pacific Oceans Francisco Pizarro Spain (1470s-1541) Conquered
    [Show full text]
  • OF COLONEL HENRY BOUQUET's EXPEDITION AGAINST the OHIO INDIANS, 1764 (CARLISLE to FORT PITT) Edited by Edward G
    ORDERLY BOOK I OF COLONEL HENRY BOUQUET'S EXPEDITION AGAINST THE OHIO INDIANS, 1764 (CARLISLE TO FORT PITT) Edited by Edward G. Williams Foreword 1959, the orderly book of the march of Colonel Henry Bouquet's Inarmy from Fort Pitt (Pittsburgh) to the Muskingum River in Ohio, with an introduction and explanatory notes by this author, ap- peared in the Western Pennsylvania Historical Magazine in three in- stallments. 1 At that time a promise was made to print the orderly book of the march of the army from Carlisle, Pennsylvania, to Pitts- burgh. A decision of editorial policy was made to print the second orderly book during that bicentennial time. The accompanying presen- tation is a fulfillment of that obligation. There were originally three books which recorded the daily orders and explicit instructions to the regimental and company commanders for every detail of duty in the camp, courts-martial, road cutting, marching, and troop formations to receive an enemy attack. 2 Only two of the books have survived the years and, after the lapse of nearly two centuries, have found their way into hands that cherish them. The William L.Clements Library of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is the reposi- tory of these rare manuscript pieces among other collections of original source materials of American history. The books are bound inbrown leather, 8 by 4-7/16 inches, hinged at the top of the narrow dimension. The pages are yellowed, foxed, and water stained but well preserved and, for the most part, very legible. Mr. Williams, scholar, historian, and author of works on General Lachlan Mclntosh, General Richard Butler, and other notable persons connected with the early history of Western Pennsylvania,— resumes his annotation of the orderly books of Col.
    [Show full text]
  • A Selective Bibliography of Exploration Relating to the United States
    A Selective Bibliography of Exploration Relating to the United States By William H. Goetzmann University of Texas at Austin Because of the Lewis and Clark bicentennial celebrations the history of North American exploration is undergoing a renaissance. Thus it is appropriate that during this bicentennial year we should create a bibliography of works that is useful and selective rather than exhaustive, especially since it is aimed at the public as well as the scholar or collector. The scope of this bibliography is confined to voyages and expeditions that impinge on the United States and its interests in Alaska and the Far North from the early Spanish and English voyages down to 1908, though I have also included the Vikings, which have long been a serious interest of mine. Due to length restrictions, I have also not included American expeditions to Africa, Asia and South America. Canadian exploration, an exciting field for future work, has also been excluded. But extensive coverage of this subject can be found in William H. Goetzmann and Glyndwr Williams, The Atlas of North American Exploration: From the Norse Voyages to the Race to the Pole, New York, Prentice Hall, 1992. Many volumes on Canadian exploration can be found in The Champlain Society publications in Toronto, Canada. The history of American exploration has been one of the mainstreams of American history since the publication of Justin Winsor’s Narrative and Critical History of the United States, Boston, 8 vols., Houghton-Mifflin, 1884-1998. Over the years exploration history has had political implications, especially in the contested Far West and in relation to U.S.-Mexican and Canadian-American boundary negotiations.
    [Show full text]
  • Languages of the World--Native America
    REPOR TRESUMES ED 010 352 46 LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD-NATIVE AMERICA FASCICLE ONE. BY- VOEGELIN, C. F. VOEGELIN, FLORENCE N. INDIANA UNIV., BLOOMINGTON REPORT NUMBER NDEA-VI-63-5 PUB DATE JUN64 CONTRACT MC-SAE-9486 EDRS PRICENF-$0.27 HC-C6.20 155P. ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS, 6(6)/1-149, JUNE 1964 DESCRIPTORS- *AMERICAN INDIAN LANGUAGES, *LANGUAGES, BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA, ARCHIVES OF LANGUAGES OF THE WORLD THE NATIVE LANGUAGES AND DIALECTS OF THE NEW WORLD"ARE DISCUSSED.PROVIDED ARE COMPREHENSIVE LISTINGS AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE LANGUAGES OF AMERICAN INDIANSNORTH OF MEXICO ANDOF THOSE ABORIGINAL TO LATIN AMERICA..(THIS REPOR4 IS PART OF A SEkIES, ED 010 350 TO ED 010 367.)(JK) $. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH,EDUCATION nib Office ofEduc.442n MD WELNicitt weenment Lasbeenreproduced a l l e a l O exactly r o n o odianeting es receivromed f the Sabi donot rfrocestarity it. Pondsof viewor position raimentofficial opinions or pritcy. Offkce ofEducation rithrppologicalLinguistics Volume 6 Number 6 ,Tune 1964 LANGUAGES OF TEM'WORLD: NATIVE AMER/CAFASCICLEN. A Publication of this ARC IVES OF LANGUAGESor 111-E w oRLD Anthropology Doparignont Indiana, University ANTHROPOLOGICAL LINGUISTICS is designed primarily, butnot exclusively, for the immediate publication of data-oriented papers for which attestation is available in the form oftape recordings on deposit in the Archives of Languages of the World. This does not imply that contributors will bere- stricted to scholars working in the Archives at Indiana University; in fact,one motivation for the publication
    [Show full text]
  • The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse 1
    The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse 1 The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: The Pirates' Who's Who Giving Particulars Of The Lives and Deaths Of The Pirates And Buccaneers Author: Philip Gosse Release Date: October 17, 2006 [EBook #19564] Language: English Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PIRATES' WHO'S WHO *** Produced by Suzanne Shell, Christine D. and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Transcriber's note. Many of the names in this book (even outside quoted passages) are inconsistently spelt. I have chosen to retain the original spelling treating these as author error rather than typographical carelessness. THE PIRATES' The Pirates' Who's Who, by Philip Gosse 2 WHO'S WHO Giving Particulars of the Lives & Deaths of the Pirates & Buccaneers BY PHILIP GOSSE ILLUSTRATED BURT FRANKLIN: RESEARCH & SOURCE WORKS SERIES 119 Essays in History, Economics & Social Science 51 BURT FRANKLIN NEW YORK Published by BURT FRANKLIN 235 East 44th St., New York 10017 Originally Published: 1924 Printed in the U.S.A. Library of Congress Catalog Card No.: 68-56594 Burt Franklin: Research & Source Works Series 119 Essays in History, Economics & Social Science
    [Show full text]
  • Inhabiting New France: Bodies, Environment and the Sacred, C.1632-C.1700
    Inhabiting New France: Bodies, Environment and the Sacred, c.1632-c.1700 Robin Macdonald PhD University of York History September 2015 2 Abstract The historiography of colonial and ‘religious’ encounters in New France has tended to focus on encounters between human beings, between ‘colonisers’ and ‘colonised’ or ‘natives’ and ‘newcomers’. This thesis will focus on encounters between people and environment. Drawing on recent anthropology, notably the work of Tim Ingold, it will argue that whilst bodies shaped environment, environment also could shape bodies – and their associated religious practices. Through the examination of a broad variety of source materials – in particular, the Jesuit Relations – this thesis will explore the myriad ways in which the sacred was created and experienced between c.1632 and c.1700. Beginning with the ocean crossing to New France – an area largely unexplored in the historiographical literature – it will argue that right from the outset of a missionary’s journey, his or her practices were shaped by encounters with both humans and non-humans, by weather or the stormy Ocean Sea. Reciprocally, it will argue, missionary bodies and practices could shape these environments. Moving next to the mission terrain, it will analyse a variety spaces – both environmental and imaginary – tracing the slow build up of belief through habitual practices. Finally, it will chart the movement of missionaries and missionary correspondence from New France back to France. It was not only missionaries, it will argue, who could experience
    [Show full text]
  • The Scottish Highland Regiments in the French and Indian
    Eastern Illinois University The Keep Masters Theses Student Theses & Publications 1968 The cottS ish Highland Regiments in the French and Indian War Nelson Orion Westphal Eastern Illinois University This research is a product of the graduate program in History at Eastern Illinois University. Find out more about the program. Recommended Citation Westphal, Nelson Orion, "The cS ottish Highland Regiments in the French and Indian War" (1968). Masters Theses. 4157. https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/4157 This is brought to you for free and open access by the Student Theses & Publications at The Keep. It has been accepted for inclusion in Masters Theses by an authorized administrator of The Keep. For more information, please contact [email protected]. PAPER CERTIFICATE #3 To: Graduate Degree Candidates who have written formal theses. Subject: Permission to reproduce theses. The University Library is rece1v1ng a number of requests from other institutions asking permission to reproduce dissertations for inclusion in their library holdings. Although no copyright laws are involved, we feel that professional courtesy demands that permission be obtained from the author before we allow theses to be copied. Please sign one of the following statements. Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University has my permission to lend my thesis to a reputable college or university for the purpose of copying it for inclusion in that institution's library or research holdings. I respectfully request Booth Library of Eastern Illinois University not allow my thesis be reproduced
    [Show full text]
  • 2010 Census CPH-T-6. American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010
    2010 Census CPH-T-6. American Indian and Alaska Native Tribes in the United States and Puerto Rico: 2010 Description of Table 1. This table shows data for American Indian and Alaska Native tribes alone and alone or in combination for the United States. Those respondents who reported as American Indian or Alaska Native only and one tribe are shown in Column 1. Respondents who reported two or more American Indian or Alaska Native tribes, but no other race, are shown in Column 2. Those respondents who reported as American Indian or Alaska Native and at least one other race and one tribe are shown in Column 3. Respondents who reported as American Indian or Alaska Native and at least one other race and two or more tribes are shown in Column 4. Those respondents who reported as American Indian or Alaska Native in any combination of race(s) or tribe(s) are shown in Column 5, and is the sum of the numbers in Columns 1 through 4. For a detailed explanation of the alone and alone or in combination concepts used in this table, see the 2010 Census Brief, “The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2010” at <www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-10.pdf>. Table 1. American Indian and Alaska Native Population by Tribe1 for the United States: 2010 Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2010 Census, special tabulation. Internet release date: December 2013 Note: Respondents who identified themselves as American Indian or Alaska Native were asked to report their enrolled or principal tribe. Therefore, tribal data in this data product reflect the written tribal entries reported on the questionnaire.
    [Show full text]
  • European Nations Settle North America MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES
    2 European Nations Settle North America MAIN IDEA WHY IT MATTERS NOW TERMS & NAMES EMPIRE BUILDING Several The English settlers in North •New France • New European nations fought for America left a legacy of law and •Jamestown Netherland control of North America, and government that guides the • Pilgrims •French and England emerged victorious. United States today. • Puritans Indian War • Metacom SETTING THE STAGE Spain’s successful colonization efforts in the Americas did not go unnoticed. Other European nations, such as England, France, and the Netherlands, soon became interested in obtaining their own valuable colonies. The Treaty of Tordesillas, signed in 1494, had divided the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal. However, other European countries ignored the treaty. They set out to build their own empires in the Americas. This resulted in a struggle for North America. Competing Claims in North America TAKING NOTES Clarifying Use a chart to Magellan’s voyage showed that ships could reach Asia by way of the Pacific record information about Ocean. Spain claimed the route around the southern tip of South America. Other early settlements. European countries hoped to find an easier and more direct route to the Pacific. If it existed, a northwest trade route through North America to Asia would Name of General become highly profitable. Not finding the route, the French, English, and Dutch Settlement Location instead established colonies in North America. New France Explorers Establish New France The early French explorers sailed west with New dreams of reaching the East Indies. One explorer was Giovanni da Verrazzano Netherland (VEHR•uh•ZAHN•noh), an Italian in the service of France.
    [Show full text]
  • Going on the Account: Examining Golden Age Pirates As a Distinct
    GOING ON THE ACCOUNT: EXAMINING GOLDEN AGE PIRATES AS A DISTINCT CULTURE THROUGH ARTIFACT PATTERNING by Courtney E. Page December, 2014 Director of Thesis: Dr. Charles R. Ewen Major Department: Anthropology Pirates of the Golden Age (1650-1726) have become the stuff of legend. The way they looked and acted has been variously recorded through the centuries, slowly morphing them into the pirates of today’s fiction. Yet, many of the behaviors that create these images do not preserve in the archaeological environment and are just not good indicators of a pirate. Piracy is an illegal act and as a physical activity, does not survive directly in the archaeological record, making it difficult to study pirates as a distinct maritime culture. This thesis examines the use of artifact patterning to illuminate behavioral differences between pirates and other sailors. A framework for a model reflecting the patterns of artifacts found on pirate shipwrecks is presented. Artifacts from two early eighteenth century British pirate wrecks, Queen Anne’s Revenge (1718) and Whydah (1717) were categorized into five groups reflecting behavior onboard the ship, and frequencies for each group within each assemblage were obtained. The same was done for a British Naval vessel, HMS Invincible (1758), and a merchant vessel, the slaver Henrietta Marie (1699) for comparative purposes. There are not enough data at this time to predict a “pirate pattern” for identifying pirates archaeologically, and many uncontrollable factors negatively impact the data that are available, making a study of artifact frequencies difficult. This research does, however, help to reveal avenues of further study for describing this intriguing sub-culture.
    [Show full text]