History - On November 13, 1809, the pirate base at Ra's al Khayma, on the Persian gulf, was destroyed by a British taskforce. Piracy was soon under threat around the world.
Pirate Bio - Grainne Ni Mhaille, or grainne Mhaol, was known to the English as Grace O'Malley. This Irish noblewoman, born in about 1530, became a skilled seafarer. She had a large fleet of galleys based in Clew Bay, on Ireland's west coast/ Her pirates raided the Irish coast and attacked Atlantic shipping from the 1560s. She negotiated a royal pardon in 1593 and retired.
Ship Fact - Square rigged ships could carry up to 21,500 square feet of sails, which allowed them to reach high speeds. Sails were made of very tough canvas called "sailcloth," woven from hemp, cotton, or linen. They often had to stand up to gales and hurricanes, so extra sections of sailcloth were stitched on to make the sails tougher.
Term of the week - "Red Sea Rover" - A term used to describe a pirate vessel used to sail the pirate round, the area of the red sea and the Indian ocean, and the route leading around the Cape of good hope and past Madagascar.
Word of the week - "Castellano" - A gold Spanish coin worth approximately 4/5th of an escudo or 1/10th of a dubloon, just a bit more valuable than the Spanish Ducat.
Drink of the week - "Hollands" - A dutch gin made of fermented barley malt and redistilled with juniper berries or juniper berry oil, and having a sweet robust flavor.
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Punishment/torture of the week: - "Carbonado" - A form of torture wherein the victim's body is treated as a piece of meat for broiling, scored or cut across then placed over flames. A prisoner given over to carbonado was not going to be a prisoner long, or alive for that matter.
