Dec 2009 /Jan/Feb 2010 | $6.00 New York’s History Magazine THE WAR AGAINST PIRACY: 1717 aND 2009 | NeW YORK & PIRACY IN THE AGE OF THE LAFITTE BROTHERS | THE SILVER OAR AND PIRATEs – THE PAST COMES FULL CIRCLE | PIRACY AND SEAFARERES 2 DEc 2009/Jan/Feb 2010 VOLUME XLV NUMBer 1 3 4 BECOME A CORPORATE MEMBER From the Director 5 by Mary Ellen Pelzer 6 Ip er si eum iniam zzrilisl dit accum quis dolestrud et, core ver Corporate Membership includes many of the following benefits 7 sum quisi. and many more depending on membership level: 8 Acknowledgement in the Annual Report, Seaport, the quarterly Museum magazine/calendar of events, Museum Web 5 9 X site and Visitor Center XCourtesy passes to the Museum X Discounts for all employees at Bowne & Co., Stationers 10 XElectronic announcements about exhibitions, public and family programs and other events that can be placed on your New York & Piracy 11 organization’s intranet for employees XInvitations to exhibition opening receptions XSubscriptions to Seaport in the Age of the Lafitte Brothers 12 By John Otrompke 13 Jean and Pierre Lafitte were pirates who were mostly active 14 Benefit packages are available at many corporate membership levels. For membership information around New Orleans, but their activities extended as far away 15 L EMAIL [email protected] iCALL Carol Rauscher at 212-748-8776. as New York City. 6 16 17 The War Against Piracy: 1717 and 2009 18 By Virginia Lunsford 19 An analysis of how deep sea pirates disrupted trade and the 20 actions which governments took against them hundreds of 21 years ago, and the similar actions taken against pirates today. 22 8 23 24 The Silver Oar and Pirates – 25 The Past Comes Full Circle 26 contents By Douglas Burnett 27 For centuries, the silver oar has been the symbol of the Admiralty Court of England. Burnett connects the oar to modern actions 28 which governments have taken due to the return of piracy. 14 29 30 31 Piracy and Seafareres 32 By Douglas Stevenson 33 A discussion of how pirates are portrayed in popular culture and how this portrayal effects the perception of piracy’s effects 34 on seamen. 35 18 36 37 38 Museum Happenings 39 The South Street Seaport Museum’s Spring Fundraiser 40 41 42 22 43 44 45 Photograph by tk by Photograph Broadside 46 - American Express Company - Credit Suisse First Boston - New York Container Terminal Inc. The South Street Seaport Museum’s calendar of events for CORPORATE 47 - Bowne & Co., Inc. - F. J. Sciame Construction Co., Inc. - NYSE Euronext December, January and February. MEMBERS - CB Richard Ellis - Goldman, Sachs & Co. - Ports America Group ON THE cover: Jotktktktktktktkktt 48 - Clearwater Capital Partners, LLC - Highstar Capital Partners - QBE the Americas Above: Jotktktktktktktkkttotktktktktktktkktt 49 - Consolidated Edison Company of - History/ A&ETV New York, Inc. Moody’s Investors Services 26 50 - 2009 51 2 OFFICERS OF THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES ...FROM THE DIRECTOR 3 CHAIRMAN Frank J. Sciame, Jr. 4 VICE CHAIRMAN Peter P. McN. Gates, Esq. 5 VICE CHAIRMAN Christopher Lee As supporters of the South Street Seaport Museum, you share our 6 Treasurer Richard Kennedy excitement for the opening of our new exhibition New Amsterdam: The 7 Island at the Center of the World. This show, based on the best-selling book BOARD OF TRUSTEES 8 by Russell Shorto, features a number of important documents: Henry May Chao 9 Susan Cummiskey Hudson’s contract with the Dutch East India Company for his fateful James Devine 1609 voyage, the 1667 Peace Treaty of Breda, the one original Castello 10 J. Edward Diamond plan by Johannes Vingboons depicting the ground plan of Manhattan 11 Patrick Durkin Edward C. Foppiano circa 1665, Vingboons’s beautiful watercolors of seventeenth-century 12 Peter P. McN. Gates, Esq. world ports and the renowned Pieter Schaghen Letter documenting the 13 L. Martin Gibbs, Esq. sale of the island of Manhattes for goods valued at sixty Dutch guilders. Thomas J. Gochberg 14 Lawrence S. Huntington – Chairman Emeritus The show opens on September 13 and runs through January 3, 2010. Richard T. Kennedy The Board and the Staff of the Museum all hope to see you at the show. 15 Christopher Lee While the documents featured in the show are rare and important, 16 Brian McAllister Robert Maher it is the story told by the exhibition that is truly significant: one of 17 Robert H. Moore II uncertain dangers, trade with unknown peoples and – most importantly 18 Harold Reed – the pursuit of new opportunities in a relatively unknown world. The Matthew Santirocco, PhD 19 story of exploration is a universal and everlasting theme – the idea of Frank J. Sciame, Jr. 20 Der Scutt mankind’s new achievements bringing him to, and sustaining him in, Whitney North Seymour, Jr., Esq. new environments was particularly important to one of our dearest 21 Russell Shorto Kelso Sutton Trustees, Walter Cronkite, who passed away on July 17, 2009. 22 John B. Thomson, Jr. Everyone knew Uncle Walter - he was, after all, “the most trusted 23 David B. Vietor man in America.” Cronkite was known for his love of sailing, science, William Y. Yun 24 history and the exploration of Moon. He chose projects that reflected 25 HONORARY TRUSTEES his love of the exploration, particularly his interest in the Apollo 26 Peter A. Aron – Chairman Emeritus missions to the Moon. What many did not know about Mr. Cronkite Marc S. Cohn was his Dutch heritage – perhaps his interest in exploration was not just 27 E. Virgil Conway Sir James Galway the excitement of the age but something deeper in his DNA from his 28 Jakob Isbrandtsen – Chairman Emeritus ancestors who first settled inManhattes. We like to think that he would 29 Mrs. Emil Mosbacher, Jr. Peter Neill – President Emeritus have enjoyed this show. The Museum thanks Mr. Cronkite for all his 30 Fergus Reid III support throughout the years. He will be sorely missed. Larry A. Silverstein 31 Howard Slotnick 32 Peter Stanford - Mary Ellen Pelzer, Director Edmund A. Stanley, Jr. 33 Charles O. Svenson Just as a grand adventure to the new world requires the assistance of many 34 Daniel K. Thorne people so does its documentation in an exhibition. The Seaport Museum Ward J. Timken 35 Charles H. Townsend would not have been able to host this show without the partnership of the Terry Walton Nationaal Archief, the Consul General of the Netherlands and our other 36 major supporters: 37 38 DIRECTORSeaport | Mary Ellen Pelzer 39 EDITOR IN CHIEF | Megan Laurel Maxwell 40 ART DIRECTOR | Casey Maher MANAGING EDITOR | Lauren Marchisotto 41 COpy EDITOR | Roselyn Hirsch 42 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS 43 Justin H. Davidson, Jack Putnam 44 e-mail [email protected] membership [email protected] 212-748-8766 OUR MARCH/ARPRIL/MAY 2010 DOUBLE ISSUE OF 45 reservations [email protected] 212-748-8786 SEAPORT WILL FEATURE THE SS NORMANDIE. 46 47 Seaport Magazine Petrus Plancius and Jan Baptist Vrients, Orbis Terrae Compendiosa (ISSN 0743-6247) 48 Descripto Ex peritissimorum totius orbis Gaeographorum operibus Editorial offices at 49 12 Fulton Street desunta, 1596. Courtesy of the Nationaal Archief (National Archives of New York, NY 10038 50 212-748-8746 the Netherlands). 51 2 2 3 The boom in piracy following the War of 1812 left an indelible impression of New York City. His first privateer was named the General Armstrong, 3 4 on the infancy of the United States. A seminal influence was the partnership named after the Secretary of War. 4 5 of Jean and Pierre Lafitte. While their activities were concentrated in In March of 1813, Champlin spied what he thought was a British 5 Louisiana, where they also took an interest in brigandage and revolution in merchant, about 30 miles east of the mouth of the Surinam (now known 6 6 Latin America, the effects reached all the way up to New York City. as the Republic of Suriname). He tried to engage the ship but the General 7 The Lafitte brothers were from the French Territory Saint Domingue Armstrong was severely undergunned. Champlin was shot in the shoulder 7 8 (present-day Haiti) and came to New Orleans after being displaced during and while he was below with the vessel’s surgeon, he threatened to blow 8 9 the Haitian Revolution (1791 to 1804). While in New Orleans, they began their the ship if his crew surrendered. General Armstrong was able to get 9 careers as privateers by smuggling slaves, which became incredibly lucrative away from the British vessel and returned to New York City. Champlin’s 10 New York & Piracy 10 after the United States outlawed the international slave trade in 1807. About employers were so impressed they gave him a ceremonial sword. 11 11 3,000 people were involved in the brothers’ organization, which was based On the advice of a friend Champlin went to New Orleans and began 12 12 out of the bayous around New Orleans. After the Lafittes aided the United another ship’s chancellery business. Once in New Orleans, Champlin 13 in the Age of the Lafitte Brothers 13 States during the War of 1812, they were pardoned for their previous crimes. met the Lafittes and became involved in slave smuggling, operating on 14 The first known association of the Lafittes with New York City was a dubious privateer commission out of Montevideo. When the Lafittes 14 15 lined with deception. In March of 1813, while the brothers were under took over Galveston Island in 1817, the first ship that came in belonged 15 16 indictment, one of the Lafitte brothers registered as captain of Le Brig to Champlin, and it was loaded down with slaves.