Filosofická Fakulta Masarykovy Univerzity
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Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky Bakalářská diplomová práce Luk áš Lengyel 2015 Lukáš Lengyel 2015 Hřbet Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Lukáš Lengyel Pirates of Colonial America and Their Cultural Heritage Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: Bonita Rhoads, Ph. D. 2014 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author’s signature I would like to thank Ms. Bonita Rhoads for steering me away from shallow waters around cape Primary Lit, back into the deep, blue sea of secondary literature. Contents Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 6 1. Pirate Defined ......................................................................................................... 8 2. A Brief History of Piracy ........................................................................................ 9 3. Why Would Somebody Become a Pirate? ........................................................ 15 4. Pirates in Popular Culture ................................................................................... 20 a. Books ................................................................................................................. 21 i. Buccaneers of America .................................................................................... 22 ii. General History of the Pyrates ....................................................................... 24 iii. Treasure Island ................................................................................................ 27 iv. One More Book ............................................................................................. 34 b. Era of the Movies and Pirates of the Caribbean .......................................... 35 i. Visual and Technical Execution .................................................................. 36 ii. Inspiration ..................................................................................................... 38 iii. Advertisement Campaign and Popularity.................................................. 42 c. Internet Piracy .................................................................................................. 44 i. Piracy and Copyright ....................................................................................... 44 ii. The Pirate Bay .................................................................................................. 50 4.3.4. Political Side............................................................................................... 52 5. Concluding Thoughts ................................................................................................... 55 Works Cited ........................................................................................................................ 57 ENGLISH SUMMARY .............................................................................................. 62 ČESKÉ RESUMÉ...................................................................................................... 63 Introduction Pirates have been a theme for countless stories that have enthralled masses of people and have a significant impact on our culture. Be it books, games or movies, pirates have captured imagination of people with their adventurous and carefree lives. From bloodthirsty burglars portrayed in contemporary accounts, through adventurous and courageous crews in books and movies, pirates were during the history elevated to a symbol of resistance against politics and capitalism. Moreover, when pirates are mentioned, one cannot help but think about all the stereotypes or mythology. Pirates are everywhere. If you look around your house, the possibility of finding a pirate-themed object is almost 100%. That particular something might be a bottle of a rum, a t-shirt, carnival costume, box of breakfast cereals, pen, a computer game, and so on. The list of items containing pirate references is almost inexhaustible, the most common design elements being the Jolly Rogers, peglegs, skulls and bones, parrots or sea monsters, because they all share a connection with pirates, as we know them. Where did these elements come from and how did they established such a solid place in our society? The cultural impact of pirates in our world is undeniable. The thesis will deal with the influence of the pirates of colonial America on the popular culture from the 18th century until present. The definition of piracy will be provided both for classical and modern sense of the world. A brief history of piracy and social situation of pirates will familiarize the reader with some of the nuances of pirates’ lives, to create a historically accurate background, which will allow for a better comparison with pirate culture. An analysis of particular elements in The book Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, the film series Pirates of the Caribbean, or torrent database The Pirate Bay, will provide the reader with knowledge about the sources that inspired pirate-oriented books, movies, websites or political movements. The elements, such as real-life inspirations for characters or mythology will be compared with contemporary accounts of pirate life, as provided by Alexandre Exquemelin in his Buccaneers of America and Captain Charles Johnson in The General History of Pyrates (sic.) to determine the extent of influence of reality on pirate fiction. The analysis will reveal the Treasure Island, as one of the most famous pirate fiction stories that gave birth to many pirate stereotypes and this thesis intends to uncover the origins of some of them. Treasure Island influenced later works on pirates by introducing a treasure hunt, as a part of the story. Treasure is subsequently found in most pirate stories, including Pirates of the Caribbean (POTC) – a multi-billion dollar grossing film franchise. POTC series, with its glamorous setting and daring adventures, was an instant success and continues to influence the culture by visualizing pirates, as they were never before seen. Moreover, the series succeeded in creating a vast mythological background to the pirate heritage that will be used, without doubt in future stories about pirates. Lastly, The Pirate Bay and internet piracy are a current phenomenon frequently appearing in media headlines. The controversies surrounding copyright laws and intellectual property is contrasted with free access to information create a tension between self-proclaimed pirates and governments. In a sense, modern, intellectual pirates resemble classical pirates in their worldview and means of defying government regulation in the open seas of the internet. In the end, thesis should bring the reader closer to answering the question: why are pirates so popular? How does popular culture display pirates and how does it add to their popularity? Why do people associate themselves with pirates and in what sense? The thesis’ conclusions about popularity of pirates in particular works of literature, movies, websites or political movements will be based on scholarly, as well as layman opinions or percentages from various ranking websites, where it applies. 1. Pirate Defined The origin of the word pirate comes from Greek peiratēs, from peiran to attempt. The Merriam-Webster1 online dictionary defines piracy as three main actions, i.e. the act of attacking and stealing from a ship at sea, the act of illegally copying someone's product or invention without permission and the act of illegally making television or radio broadcasts. According to Dawdy and Bonni (675), piracy is “a form of morally ambiguous property seizure committed by an organized group which can include thievery, hijacking, smuggling, counterfeiting, or kidnapping.” It is worth noting, that the term for sea bandits is used also to describe individuals that commit illegal actions in the media or on the internet. According to UNESCO report, “In its usual sense, 'internet piracy' 1 http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/piracy refers to the activity of manufacturing unauthorized copies ('pirate copies') of protected material and dealing with such copies by way of distribution and sale” (Panthiere 2). 2. A Brief History of Piracy Pirates have been on the earth since the first humans started moving valuables through the waters. There are many accounts of piracy in the times of ancient Rome. Due to neglecting their naval defense responsibilities, pirates have been flourishing in the Mediterranean, robbing vessels around rich Greek and Italian coasts. One of the most famous pirate deeds of that time is kidnapping of young Julius Cæsar on his way to Bithynia, a Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor. The other famous pirate story talks about Barbarouse, a man who thanks to nonexistent naval fleets in the Mediterranean was able to create his own pirate fleet. Thanks to his tremendous power, he was able to become a king of two countries that he, after his death, successfully left as an inheritable asset to his brother. There are accounts of piracy all across the globe, many from China and Asia, nowadays mostly in Africa and Asia (Rankin). The pirates that people commonly associate with popular heroes of well-known stories were a by- product of constant wars between Spain, Portugal and England over the colonies in the New World.