Guess It's time to talk about pirates, the "romantic" kind. That means the pirates of the 16th and 17th centuries as presented by Hollywood, who mostly plied the Caribbean in tight pants, white silk shirts open at the neck, bucket boots, red bandanas, and gold looped earrings. Gripping daggers in their teeth and holding swashbucklers' swords that glinted in the sun, they boarded Spanish treasure ships and made off with booty and sometimes the ship itself. Perhaps the unfortunate crew of the Spanish galleons were made to walk the plank. A popular subject for children's books, these pirates are also popular with adults who read those same books when they were young. Truth be told, the real pirates were just as fascinating as the Hollywood variety. We all love the PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN films with Captain Jack Sparrow and his crew of characters, and we are all looking forward to their next adventures in DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES to be filmed along the coast of Australia. To prepare for the next installment you might want to read PIRATES, the book by John Matthews that will tell you everything you ever wanted to know about pirates and give you access to pirate memorabilia such as a guide to grisly pirate flags like the Jolly Roger, a book of pirate slang, and, of course, a treasure map.
| 
|
RSS Feed