Pirate Kilts?

[macwilkin]

it's well kent that John Paul Jones wuz a pirate afore helpin found the US Navy...

of course he wuz a la'llan'er sae he probably didnae wear a kilt...

Hmmm...I've never read of JPJ being a "pirate" before joining the Americans. He did serve on a number of merchant ships and even a few slavers.

T.

[Kilted KT]

aye- here's yin!

AAAARRRRGGGGGGGG!

why am I not suprised that P1M would be the first to have a kilted pirate picture?

Oh, as for the oil cloth, it is also what cowboys ( on most continents) made their dusters out of. Oiled sail cloth - extremely durable and very water resistant. I won't say waterproof, as My duster has leaked once or twice, but I was in a hurricane.

[davedove]

Hmmm...I've never read of JPJ being a "pirate" before joining the Americans. He did serve on a number of merchant ships and even a few slavers.

T.

Well, throughout history many merchants did supplement their cargoes with a bit of piracy. Maybe he was a pirate in British eyes. And of course the difference between a pirate and a privateer is whose court you happen to be in.

Interesting point of trivia, the United States is one of the few major nations that did NOT sign the Declaration of Paris, April 16, 1856 which abolished privateering.

[macwilkin]

Well, throughout history many merchants did supplement their cargoes with a bit of piracy. Maybe he was a pirate in British eyes. And of course the difference between a pirate and a privateer is whose court you happen to be in.

But we're talking BEFORE the Revolution, Dave -- not during. Jones fled to America in 1773 after killing a "mutinous" crewman aboard his ship "Betsy" -- he also added the name "Jones" then as well.

I'll have to see what Evan Thomas's biography of JPJ has to say about piracy. It's considered to be the best work on JPJ at present.

T.

[Woodsheal]

I've read Thomas' JPJ bio, amongst other related works. Jones was never a pirate before the Rev. War....

[Ruanaidh]

I just received a copy of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." On the cover is a well-dressed Victorian Pirate King, circa 1885.

[Woodsheal]

Totally fanciful garb - note the skull and crossbones on his 19th C. hat!

The "kilt" is probably a misinterpretation of petticoat breeches. These were very full cut, and in some depictions it's hard to see the "bifurcation" in a garment that actually did have two "legs"....

[MacWage]

I just received a copy of Gilbert & Sullivan's "The Pirates of Penzance." On the cover is a well-dressed Victorian Pirate King, circa 1885.

Note the folds behind his left leg (right side of book), which mean overknee leggings. It is probably an "artistic interpretation" of those baggy shorts/breeches or the afore mentioned "canvas apron."

Great pic though, I might have to "pirate" it :rolleyes: .

[Ruanaidh]

I just came upon the Arms of Penzance


Note the "pirate" with the overknee leggings and the kilt and/or apron. Also the Cross of St. Andrew and the Keys of St. Peter.

[Kirkwood]

From "Under the Black Flag" by David Cordingly "...one of Maynard's men being a Highlander, engaged Teach with his broad sword, who gave Teach a cut on the neck, Teach saying well done lad; the Highlander replied, If it be not well done, I'll do it better. With that he gave him a second stroke, which cut off his head, laying it flat on his shoulder."

For those who don't know, Teach was better known as the pirate Blackbeard.