HENRY AVERY (?–?)
British pirate Henry Avery is famous for a single spectacular — and brutal — raid. Cruising as admiral of a small pirate fleet in the Red Sea in 1695, he sighted the Indian treasure ship Gang-I-Sawai. After a fierce battle to capture the ship, Avery and his crew killed and mistreated many of the passengers. The pirates escaped with at least $460,000 worth of gold coins, jewels, and trinkets such as a diamond-encrusted saddle — more than a lifetime’s wages for each pirate. Despite a large reward, Avery was never caught.
BLACKBEARD (?–1718)
To terrify the crews of ships he attacked, English pirate Edward Teach braided smoking tapers into the long black beard which gave him his nickname. By 1717 Blackbeard’s strange appearance, quick temper, and random violence had made him the most feared pirate on America’s east coast. He was not the most successful, though, and captured more sugar and cocoa than gold and silver. He died in 1718 in a battle with an English naval expedition sent to capture him.
MARY READ (1690–1720) and ANNE BONNY (?–?)
Mary Read and Anne Bonny wore men’s clothes when they fought alongside the other pirates on “Calico” Jack Rackham’s ship. Whether or not their shipmates knew their true identity is still a mystery. Captured with the rest of the crew, Read and Bonny escaped execution by claiming to be pregnant.
JEAN LAFITTE (c.1780–c.1821)
Around 1810, glamorous American pirate Jean Lafitte built up a fleet of ten ships off the American coast near New Orleans. Lafitte’s gang plundered British, Spanish, and American ships while the United States government was distracted by the war of 1812. Later in the war, Lafitte’s pirates helped U.S. forces defend New Orleans against the British foe. To thank him, the president offered to forgive his crimes, but Lafitte rejected the pardon and continued as a small-time pirate until his death.
Piracy continues today, and those who live by it are as brutal as seventeenth-century buccaneers. Pirates operate in all the world’s oceans, but the seas of East Asia are by far the most dangerous — two-thirds of all pirate attacks take place there.
Today’s pirates either swoop quickly in fast boats, rob the crew of cash and small valuable items, and then flee, or occasionally they hijack ships to sell not only the cargo but the ship too. And they don’t let sympathy for the crew stand in their way. When pirates hijacked the Global Mars in the Malacca Straits in February 2000, they forced the crew to flee in an open boat — just as Captain Nick set Will adrift in Jake’s story.
ANCHOR A heavy weight which is lowered into the sea to stop the ship from moving.
ANCHORAGE A place for anchoring a ship.
BALLAST Rocks and small stones placed at the bottom of a ship. The ballast helps to keep the ship stable.
BOATS Ships like the Greyhound carried a number of rowing boats for making short journeys or for use in an emergency. These were usually stored on the upper deck.
CANVAS A rough, thick cloth used for sails and hammocks.
CAPSTAN A machine used for lowering or raising the anchor.
CARGO HATCH The large entrance to the cargo hold.
CHARLESTON A town (now a city) on the east coast of South Carolina.
CONTRABANDIST Someone who trades contraband.
CORDAGE Rope is called cordage on board a ship.
CURRENT Water flowing in a particular direction.
CUSTOMS SEARCHERS People in charge of collecting customs taxes.
CUSTOMS TAXES A payment of money people had to make to the crown for bringing goods in or taking them out of a country.
DESERTER A sailor or soldier who has run away from the navy or army. Captured deserters were punished very severely.
DOCK A place by the side of a river or coast where ships could unload their cargo.
GOVERNOR The ruler of a colony or state.
GUN CAPTAIN The leader of the gun crew.
GUNPORT A hole cut into the sides of a ship for a cannon to fire through.
HARBORMASTER An official in charge of a harbor.
HELM The tiller or wheel used to steer the ship.
HELMSMAN The sailor who steers the ship.
LEAGUE A measurement used at sea (1 league = 3.45 miles).
LOADER The sailor who loads the cannon.
MASTHEAD The top of a mast.
OARSMAN A sailor who rows one of the ship’s boats.
PIECES OF EIGHT The pirates’ name for old Spanish coins called pesos. Each peso was worth eight reals (another type of Spanish coin). Pieces of eight were made of silver and therefore very valuable.
PIRATE FLAG Each pirate captain had his own flag. Common flag symbols included skulls, swords, and an hourglass (to show victims their time was running out).
PRIZE A captured ship.
QUARTERDECK The highest deck at the rear of a ship. The ship’s officers would stand here.
SANDBAR A long sandbank.
SEAMS The lines where planks joined on the outside of a ship. The seams were stuffed with old rope or cloth and covered in tar to stop water leaking in.
SECOND MATE A ship’s officer under the captain and first mate.
SHIP’S LOG A book that was used to record where and how far a ship had traveled.
SHORTENING SAIL Reducing the amount of sail hanging from the yards.
SLAVER A person who trades slaves.
STOCKADE A barrier made of wooden stakes.
TILLER A pole, attached to the rudder, for steering a ship.
TOPMAN A seaman in charge of the topsails.
WAIST The middle part of the ship.
WINDLASS A machine used for lowering or raising heavy objects into the hold.
Writers and illustrators owe a debt of gratitude to the authors and artists whose works inspire them. Richard Platt and Chris Riddell are especially grateful, because they searched in more than forty books for details that would make the text and illustrations of Pirate Diary authentic. There isn’t room here to list them all, but the following were among the more useful books.
Bayliss, A. E. M.: Dampier’s Voyages
Botting, Douglas: The Pirates
Chapelle, Howard I.: The History of American Sailing Ships
Cordingly, David: Life Among the Pirates
Cordingly, David (ed.): Pirates
Cordingly, David & Falconer, John: Pirates, Fact and Fiction
Esquemeling, John: Buccaneers of America
Hall, Daniel Weston: Arctic Rovings, or the Adventures of a New Bedford Boy on Sea and Land
Johnson, Charles: Lives of the Most Notorious Pirates
Kemp, Peter (ed.): Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea
Mitchell, David: Pirates
Rodger, N. A. M.: The Wooden World
Stone, William T. & Hays, Ann M.: A Cruising Guide to the Caribbean
Willoughby, Captain R. M.: Square Rig Seamanship
Inspiration also came from Howard Pyle, whose outstanding pirate illustrations helped fire the imaginations of countless people.
Thanks are due to all of the people who helped and advised the author, illustrator, and publisher on this project; in particular: David D. Moore at the North Carolina Maritime Museum, in Beaufort, North Carolina; the staff of The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London, England; Alison Toplis; David Cordingly; David and Kristina Torr; and Ken Kinkor and Barry Clifford of Expedition Whydah.
Text copyright © 2001 by Richard Platt
Illustrations copyright © 2001 by Chris Riddell
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.
First U.S. electronic edition 2015
The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:
Platt, Richard.
Pirate diary : the journal of Jake Carpenter / Richard Platt ; illustrated by Chris Riddell. — 1s
t U.S. ed.
p. cm.
Summary: The fictional diary of a ten-year-old boy who, in 1716, sets off from North Carolina to become a sailor, but ends up a pirate instead.
ISBN 978-0-7636-0848-4 (hardcover)
[1. Seafaring life — Fiction. 2. Pirates — Fiction. 3. Ships — Fiction. 4. Diaries — Fiction.]
I. Riddell, Chris, ill. II. Title.
PZ7.P71295 Pi 2001
[Fic] — dc21 00-065198
ISBN 978-0-7636-2169-8 (first small-format paperback edition)
ISBN 978-0-7636-2865-9 (large-format paperback edition)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7361-1 (second small-format paperback edition)
ISBN 978-0-7636-7850-0 (electronic edition)
The illustrations were done in watercolor and ink.
Candlewick Press
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