C
CosmicWeinerDog
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We gave them no quarter and then we did hearThat for to engage us they did volunteer.They trebled our metal with e'en two for one,But Fortune's kind favor saved Freedom's bold son...Then Dighton cried out, "Now the battle is o'er,Let the Brits learn this lesson and teach it on shore,Go back to their country and friends and take careTo treat well in future each prisoner of war!"To conduct the Brits back we the Tiger then gave,Our seamen were generous and valiant and brave;Then down to Tortuga with our corvette we bore,And on the next morning we all jumped ashore...Drink a health to each seaman that ploughs the rough main.May each, crowned with laurels, return home again.May the fair of our country some gratitude showTo the sons of the ocean that fight the proud foe...And as for brave Dighton, our true valiant friend,May glories pursue him while honors attend,And when he does die may each seaman draw near,Come kneel at his tombstone and let fall a tear...- An Excerpt from Bold Dighton,Author Unknown
I remember the Death of Tortuga...
It was a quiet death, not one of banners and bloodshed but rather one of paper. We had all seen it's coming. The turn of the decade brought acts of parliament under the English flag, forbidding sailing beneath foreign colors. It was ironic really, it hadn't been the first time a reign in was attempted. I was young when it happened, but I recall a time when boats of French prostitutes were shipped overseas in a means to normalize what was considered "unruly pirate life". Needless to say, the end result hadn't panned out the way it was initially planned. When sex doesn't work, does one resort to politics? Perhaps so...
For the better part of a half century, the island's colonies had been held independent of a standing army. France and England both made claim to the territories along the island but the hold was in name only. Privateers held the grounds, manned the docks and fueled the economy. An army of convenience; unpaid, unsupplied and maintained completely on it's own volition. Pirates, free men. The situation wasn't ideal for either empire, but the hold served as a barrier against the long reach of Spain. With that barrier came our Solidarity.
When the Spanish armada touched our beaches in 1654, it was our boots on the front lines. To those of us who laid our head on the shores of Tortuga, it was more than a haven between voyages. The island was home. Even so, the Spanish fleet proved too great. When the Docks fell to invasion, it was only a matter of time before a change in the colors.
It took the better part of a year for us to win the Haven back. Fighting from ditches and tree lines we outlasted the invading force as they struggled against their own limitations. Supplying a land war from across an ocean is never easy. Doing it when your enemy knows ever inch of the Island you happen to be trespassing on? Much less so. We earned back our home, but our stumble had caught the eyes of England and France. Slowly, the nations began a more active approach to secure their investment. Bastards.
1684 was the nail in the coffin. The year gave way to the Truce of Ratisbon and just like that Pivateering was made illegal. To fly beneath the protection of a foreign banner was punishable on penalty of death. Without what little protection that sovereignty gave us, our safety net was discarded. A few of the more resourceful lots banded together and set off for Port Royal. Rumor had it the dock was still untouched by the slowly encroaching imperialism, but no one knew for sure. Pirates too stubborn to give up their claim to the Island of Tortuga were easily picked off. The rest of us were forced to find our nitches as simple men. Blacksmiths and woodshapers. Innkeeps and masons.
But we never forgot our place on the high seas and we never forgave the bastards that took it from us.
-Rodger "The Codger" Vane
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