Dented Mug Pyratical Almanack #1
Dented Mug Pyratical Almanack
(v. 1, no. 1)
“Imagine (as though readest) that thou hearest the cannon playing.” ~ John Button, “Algiers Voyage” (1621)
Lusty Sails
This isn’t just history—it’s the world Arabella Murdock was born into. A world of broken oaths, vanished cities, and men who live by the cutlass and die by the noose. And get drunk in bars.
She’s the daughter of Black Jack Davey, a pirate legend, betrayed and crucified by his own crew. Or was he? Now she sails to find the truth—and the men who left him to die. Or did they?
You won’t find heroes here. Only those who take what they can and pay what they must. Okay, well, that's not technically true. It depends on how you define your terminology, taxonomy-wise! Also talking shrunken heads, sunken treasure fleets, the Pirate Round, villains, heroes*, maps & legends, Black Spots (keep reading), and in short, this is a keyhole thru the Looking Glass to Another World: a world faraway and alien to us, but really not such much: people fell in love back then, and got in trouble, and were bastards, many of them, and here we enjoy them.
Opening Broadside:
Pirates were terrible people. Everybody knows that. So why the cognitive dissonance?
Why do we cheer for them in stories, hang Jolly Rogers like badges of honor, or daydream about life beyond the law? It’s not because we admire murderers—it’s because pirates have come to represent something more: rebellion. A life unchained, beholden to no king, no nation, no rules but their own.
And yet—strip away the romance, and what’s left? Thieves. Killers. Terror at sea. The so-called “freedom” of piracy was brutal, short-lived, and paid for in blood—not just theirs, but anyone unlucky enough to cross their path. They weren’t noble outlaws—they were opportunists, carving a cruel living from the chaos of empire.
Yeah, I don't care. I mean, I get it – but that sort of analog approach misses the point. Which is what?
That piracy, like any great myth, survives because it speaks to something deeper than facts? That it’s not about what they did—it’s about what they refused: obedience, drudgery, the slow death of civility? We know they were bastards. But they were free bastards. And that, frankly, is hard to resist. Right?
Contrariwise, it's one thing to read Treasure Island and another to dig in just a little and see the history. There are more personal accounts and memoirs by pirates and victims of pirates and wives of pirates than you could read in three years. So maybe that's the confluence: So much it seems far too incredible to be real, but it was. It was!
Anyway welcome to the newsletter. My email is at the bottom.
This Month's Recommendations, by Haze Johnson, Ed.
Gold & Gunpowder is a captivating YouTube channel that delves into the Golden Age of Piracy, offering meticulously researched content on pirate history, ship types, weaponry, and notable figures. It's really good. In fact, if it weren't for that podcast, I wouldn't be writing this newsletter. I had been messing around with Lusty Sails for a little while – though the idea is ooold – then I stumbled over this podcast and it floore
d me. The channel is the brainchild of Willem Redbeard, who brings a personal touch to each episode, combining scholarly insight with a genuine passion for pirate lore. He emphasizes a commitment to authenticity, producing content without the use of AI, and often incorporates music and sound effects reminiscent of the Pirates of the Caribbean: New Horizons mod, enhancing the immersive experience. Plus he's funny as hell and constantly throws light on the Golden Age Whereof We Speak Here.
Notable features of the channel include:
Mini-Documentaries: In-depth explorations of various aspects of pirate life and history.
The Pyratical Podcast: Interviews with historians and experts on piracy-related topics.
Community Engagement: An active Discord community for fans and history enthusiasts.
You can explore more here:
YouTube Channel: YouTube
Patreon Support Page: Patreon
Discord Community: Join the Discord
Where Was Blackbeard Born?
Baylus C. Brooks: Making the Case for Jamaican Roots
In Blackbeard Reconsidered: Mist's Piracy, Thache's Genealogy, Baylus C. Brooks digs into Jamaican and Church of England records, tracing Blackbeard’s background. He finds baptism records showing that Edward Thache Sr., a well-known resident of Spanish Town, Jamaica, had a son named Edward Thache Jr.—who many believe was Blackbeard himself. This points to the idea that Blackbeard may have been born or raised in Jamaica, rather than in England like most people think.
Book Link
Kevin Duffus: Highlighting North Carolina Ties
On the flip side, Kevin Duffus, in The Last Days of Black Beard the Pirate, focuses on Blackbeard’s life and connections in North Carolina. While he doesn’t pin down exactly where Blackbeard was born, Duffus shows that Blackbeard had deep roots in places like Bath and Ocracoke, and that in fact when he headed back to the Carolinas at the end, he was basically headed home. He argues that Blackbeard’s strong ties to North Carolina often get overlooked thanks to the myths and stories that have built up over time.
Book Link
So, Where Was He Really From?
Both Brooks and Duffus agree—there’s still no solid proof of where Blackbeard was born. But what their research shows is that Blackbeard’s story is bigger and more interesting than just one place. Whether he was Jamaican-born or tied closely to North Carolina, both views give us a richer picture of who he really was.
Of Cornelius Birdlip, it must be said, that Nature, when she wove together the Tangle of his Faculties, did so with an eye more towards Amusement than Utility. A self-proclaim’d Natural Philosopher of the Sea, and sometime Corsair of dubious Fortune, Mr. Birdlip hath wander’d the known World—and portions unknown—espousing sundry Theories, contriv’d from equal Parts Fancy, Folly, and Overheated Brainpan. His Birth, as he relates, occur’d under a curious Conjunction of the Moon and lesser Planets, which some believe accounteth for the strange Inclinations of his Mind. Claiming a Lineage traceable to forgotten Sages (and rejected Apprentices), he hath ever sought Recognition among the Learned, though his Notions—such as the Propulsion of Ships by Geese in Harness, or the Detection of Gold by Magnetic Smells—have largely prov’d calamitous. His Petition for Admission to the Royal Society was met with a certain civil Silence, follow’d by the Letter hereunto attach’d, wherein their polite Refusal doth shine like a Beacon of Reason in the Fog of his Ambition.
A Letter from the Royal Society, Concerning the Application of Mr. Cornelius Birdlip
Dated this 14th Day of October, in the Year of our Lord 1711
To Mr. Cornelius Birdlip, Esquire, reputed Mechanician of Santa Mira, & sometime Correspondent to the Marsh-Dredging Sub-Committee of Minor Inventions (Retired),
Sir,
We do acknowledge receipt of your several Parcels, Crates, Loose Folios, and Annotated Shard-Casings which together comprise your Application for Fellowship in the Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, and we tender our Appreciation for your Enthusiastic Pursuit of Scientific Advancement, as well as the Enthusiastic Odours which did accompany said Post.
It is not every Day the Society is presented with a Device purporting to navigate via Aquatic Thermo-Magnetic Sympathy, nor indeed with a Rationale for such predicated upon the migratory habits of one “electro-sensitive toad.” Your drawings—though executed in a style we may charitably call “fevered”—do evince a certain commitment to Ink, and your footnotes (some exceeding the length of Scripture) display a commendable indifference to punctuation. Also the Toad.
We likewise thank you for your included Demonstration of the “Automated Cider Fermentation Vest,” which did, in its brief activation, provide our Clerk Mr. Higby with the singular experience of simultaneous refreshment and near drowning. He continues to recover, and his hair has resumed its accustomed posture.
Regrettably, the Society is not at present in a position to extend to you the Fellowship you seek.
Please understand that this decision reflects not solely upon your Person (which we trust is as upright as your portrait suggests, despite the unsettling proportions of the eyes), nor upon your Intent (which is clearly visionary, though perhaps in the clinical sense), but rather upon the Nature of your Work, which we may best describe as “epistemologically non-consensual.”
The Fellows did unanimously agree that your experiments occupy a realm of such rare and intimate speculation as to defy ordinary classification—being neither Chemistry nor Alchemy, neither Physics nor Phantasmagoria, but some liminal Conglomeration thereof, pursued with admirable gusto and only occasional regard for Public Safety.
We wish you continued exploration in your remote island Laboratory (preferably with the door latched from without), and we entreat you to restrain from further attempts to communicate with Charles Darwin, who—despite what your letters insist—has not yet been born.
In humble service to Science, and with all due respect to your combustive gifts,
Yr. Obedient & Distant Servant,
Sir Theophilus Grigsby
Sec’y pro tem, The Royal Society
Gresham College, London
P.S. The mechanical monkey has been confiscated by the Tower Guard and is now under theological review
Crow’s Nest Lookout — What’s Coming Next
I think this is too long for an email, oops, but I couldn't decide which piece to use, so both.
I will send this out monthly with any/all new news re: Lusty Sails. In the meanwhile, if you want to see more, go to
LUSTY SAILS | "The Golden Age of Piracy Still Thrives!" | Patreon
"The Golden Age of Piracy Still Thrives!"
or
Lusty Sails
Lusty Sails. 1 talking about this. Lusty Sails is pirate media, the home page of Captain Arabella Murdock and Black Jack Davey and their adventures in the Golden Age of Piracy!
Thanks!
Haze Johnson