I love the story of how Jack Rackham earned his pirate name.
Jack had been a common sailor, then a common pirate. He worked his way up to
the position of Quartermaster under the notoriously violent Charles Vane.
At the time when he lived, there was a place for everyone
and everyone was supposed to stay in their place. For poor people, this meant
remaining poor. The goal of society was not for people to rise to a higher
status or level of society, but to be happy where they were.
To this end, there were strict, on-the-books laws concerning
where people could live, what they could wear.
The rich and titled wanted to separate themselves from those
“beneath” them. So, even if you could afford fine clothing, you couldn’t wear
it. And in the 18th century, brightly colored, exotic clothing was becoming affordable.
Fine cotton cloth, printed with beautiful patterns, was
being imported from India. And it was so inexpensive that even working class
people could afford it. But the “rules” restricted its use, both because of its
beauty and because it was imported.
“Calico” Jack Rackham had an entire suit made from the
stuff.
It was, of course, about doing something he wasn’t supposed
to. But it was also about saying he was as good as anyone, that a working-class
guy should have just as many rights as someone from a noble family.
When pirates did these things, they upset the “natural order”
in a way that terrified the powers that be. The sight of these people, dressed
however they liked, doing at they pleased, was proof that a “locked” social
order was not natural.
At the time when Rackham was hanged for piracy, England was
under a set of laws later referred to as the “Bloody Code,” under which 200
crimes were punishable by death, including Grand Larceny (described at the time
as any theft of cash or goods worth more than 12 pence - about $7 in today's money) and the fact that piracy
was a hanging crime is not surprising. But nearly 300 years later, in 1997,
piracy was still a hanging crime, the last one, besides High Treason, in
British Law. The Powers still didn’t like pirates.
Calico Jack Rackham won himself a memorable name, and had as
pirates say, a merry life but a short one, being hanged in 1720, at age 37. He sailed with the most
famous female pirates in history, and is also remembered for his pirate flag, a
skull with crossed swords, ever popular with novice pirates and made famous by
a recent movie pirate.
Oh, and a LOT of bars, saloons and taverns named in his
honor, especially in the Bahamas. Jack left a history of having a good time.
Oof
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