The Book of Pirates

by Jamaica Rose

  Since then, there have been many efforts to find out what is at the bottom of the Money Pit. There has been failure after failure, though many interesting discoveries have been made along the way. More flood tunnels were discovered later by other fortune-hunting teams. Millions of dollars have been spent trying to find what is in the Money Pit.

  Why so much effort? Will it be worth it when someone finally gets to the bottom of all this? Who could have built such a structure? And why? Very few clues have been found: some links of chain, a pair of scissors, a stone with the date 1704, a whistle carved of bone, and a scrap of parchment.

  In 1971, a group of treasure hunters made drill holes down more than 200 feet deep. At 230 feet, the shaft opened up into a cavity in the bedrock. They lowered an underwater camera into it. The treasure hunters watched the camera’s image on a fuzzy television screen. At the depth of about 235 feet, they saw what looked like three sea chests guarded by a severed human hand!

  Researchers have estimated the complex structure of the pit took about fifty men working for a year to finish. Some people think Captain William Kidd buried his treasure on Oak Island. But he and his crew didn’t have enough time to dig this pit. Others think Blackbeard is the mysterious builder of the pit. Mysterious lights and fires were seen on the island in 1763, but that would have been too late for Kidd or Blackbeard. There are many other possible explanations for what is buried on Oak Island and who put it there. The mystery is still unsolved.

  The real puzzle of the flood traps is how the builders planned to get their buried treasure back.

  Excavation accidents have killed six men to date. There is a legend that the secret of the Money Pit will be found when seven fortune hunters have given their lives and all the oaks are gone from the island. Let’s hope the legend is wrong and the elusive treasure can be found with no more loss of life.

  Pastimes for Scurvy Dogs

  Invite Yer Crew

  For your next party, rather than sending a simple announcement in an envelope, make the invitations something special with a hint of the adventure to come. You might wish to print your own invitations, using parchment paper, perhaps fashioned as a treasure map with directions to your house. Follow the techniques above to make your invitations look really old. You could even burn the edges of the paper (ask a parent for help on this). You can print onto the parchment paper with your computer or draw your invitations by hand. (If you plan to print onto the plain paper with your printer, do this BEFORE you put the paper through the “antiquing” process. Wrinkled-up paper will not easily go through your printer.)

  Fancy Scroll Invitations

  Roll up the invitations scroll-fashion and tie them up with a red, gold, or black ribbon. You might even seal them with wax. Wax and sealers are available at fancy stationery stores and some craft stores. You can get a seal with a skull-and-crossbones design or one with your initials, or use whatever design you like. Light the wax candle to drip a puddle of wax onto the edge of the rolled-up scroll, right where the ribbon crosses it. Before the wax cools too much, squish the metal seal into the wax puddle and let it sit for 10 seconds or so. When you pull the seal out of the wax, it will leave the design in the wax. (Have mom or dad help you with this part.)

  Delivering the Scrolls

  You can hand-deliver the scrolls or send them in mailing tubes. Better yet, send your invitations as messages in a bottle (see chapter 5).

  Pastimes for Scurvy Dogs

  Open the Treasure Chest

  For this activity, you need a “real” treasure chest with a working lock. Get several copies of the key made. Also, collect several old keys. You will need at least one for every guest. Put the keys together in a tankard or mug. Let each of your guests pick a key. Then they get a shot at opening the chest. Some pirates get a key that works, others get a key that doesn’t work. Inside the chest can be treasure to pick from (items from the dollar store or Oriental Trading Company). Give an eye patch or some other consolation prize to those whose keys did not work.

  Gold!

  I am rich Potosí

  Treasure of the world

  The king of all mountains

  And the envy of all kings.

  —Translation of the motto of the city of Potosí

  The Spanish and other Europeans valued gold and silver above almost all other things. When they came to the Americas, one of the first things they asked the natives was, “Is there any gold around here?” Well, actually, they would have spoken Spanish, not English. And the natives probably didn’t understand Spanish. They probably communicated with sign language, with the eager-for-riches Spanish showing the natives some gold coins or a golden cross and trying to find out if the natives had seen any of the glittery stuff.

  The native peoples of America did not value gold, other than as pretty stuff to make jewelry and other things out of. They usually showed the Spanish where to find gold and silver, but often were not treated very well in return. In fact, there was a LOT of silver (and some gold) in the New World.

  Pirates in the Movies: Silver Mule Train

  You can see the capture of a silver mule train in The Sea Hawk (1940, Errol Flynn). This capture is loosely based on the silver mule train capture made by Sir Francis Drake in 1573.

  The Spanish really hit the jackpot in 1545. That is the year when they discovered Cerro de Potosí (also called Cerro Rico, “Rich Mountain”). In the Andean Mountains of Peru (in what is now Bolivia), they found a huge mountain with massive amounts of silver. It stood 15,381 feet high (almost a 1,000 feet taller than Mt. Whitney in California).

  In just a few years, a maze of mine shafts riddled Potosí. The natives were forced to work in the mines and refining factory. Eventually thousands of natives died from mining accidents, from being worked so hard, and from the mercury used in processing the ore.

  Pack trains of llamas carried the raw silver ore to the town at the foot of the mountain where the ore was processed. The silver was then loaded onto mule trains. The mules took the long, long journey over the mountain passes, then through the jungle trails to Cartagena (Colombia) and Portobelo (Panama). In those ports, the silver was loaded onto the Spanish galleons heading for Spain.

  The Spanish authorities tried to time the arrival of the silver mule trains to the expected arrival of the Spanish galleons from Spain. These ships were sent out, usually once a year, to collect the riches of the New World and bring them back to Spain. Weather, politics, and other factors often caused them to be late. The treasure was stored in warehouses until the fleet arrived. Pirates often tried to sack these cities when the warehouses were filled with treasure. If the pirates had the wrong information and they hit the town at the wrong time, they just found empty warehouses.

  Just a year after the discovery of Potosí, a small group of soldiers and priests made friends with some of the natives in the desert northwest of Mexico City. The Spanish gave gifts of trinkets to the natives. In return, the delighted Spanish were given lumps of silver ore. They found the origin of the silver, and the famous mines of Zacatecas began. More rich deposits were found in Guanajuato and other locations in New Spain (Mexico). The silver from these mines was collected in Mexico City. Then it was carried to the port of Veracruz on the east coast of New Spain to be loaded on the treasure galleons.

  At first, gold and silver were sent in the form of bricks and bars. The large bricks were called bullion. The slender bars of silver or gold were called ingots. The Spanish ships carrying the prized metals were the targets of other nations and, above all, pirates.

  Soon the Spanish government set up mints to convert the precious metals to coins before shipping to Spain.

  Bullion and Silver Bars:

  Ores of gold and silver in bulk amounts is called bullion. These were usually found in the form of bricks and bars of various weights. An average silver bar weighed 70 pounds.

  Small thin bars of gold were also called finger bars because of their size.

  A lot of gold and silve
r was smuggled aboard ships to avoid the heavy taxes and tariffs that Spain demanded. Small finger bars were perfect to slip down into a boot cuff, so they were popular for this purpose.

  Silver and gold bars are very important to archeologists studying shipwrecks. Besides their actual value in dollars, these treasures can help indicate a wreck’s date of loss.

  Mint:

  A place where gold and silver are turned into coins.

  The gold and silver in the galleons came in several forms: coins, bars, ingots, works of art, religious objects, and jewelry. The pirates preferred the coins because they were in small in size, and they knew the exact value of the coins. They were the easiest to divvy up with the crew.

  Before the discovery of the New World, silver was worth about 1/6 to 1/12 the value of gold. But with a flood of silver coming into Europe, the value of silver steadily decreased, until in modern times, the value of silver is about 1/70 the value of gold. The silver the Spanish were bringing to Europe was worth less and less.

  Toward the end of the 1700s, the Spanish Empire weakened and began falling apart. It was too weak to hold onto its colonies. One by one the colonies freed themselves from the Empire. In 1825, Simon Bolivar, the great liberator of much of South America, led Peru to its independence. He proclaimed Peru’s freedom from the mountaintop of Potosí. The loss of the silver mines of Potosí was a major blow to Spain.

  What became of Potosí? The mountain is still there, now in the country of Bolivia (it split off from Peru). The silver is mostly gone now. When the price of silver is high enough, people still dig and bring out a little silver. But the mountain’s glory days are in the past. According to official records, more than 45,000 TONS of pure silver was mined from Potosí between 1556 and 1783. That was a LOT of silver.

  Pastimes for Scurvy Dogs

  Treasure Hunt

  To create a treasure hunt for you and your friends, write cryptic clues and hide them throughout your yard or in a park. If near water, put some clues in bottles dangling out in the water, tied to something on land so they won’t drift away. Hang clues from trees, under rocks, in nooks and crannies. Have one clue lead to the next. Divide everyone into teams. Let them start when the ship’s bell is rung. First team to solve all the clues and make it back to ring the bell wins a treasure chest of goodies.

  Coins for a Pirate

  You’ve heard wondrous tales of “Pyrate Treasure”—cargo holds piled high with all manner of gold, silver, and precious jewels just waiting to be taken! But did you ever wonder what that treasure was really like? What sort of treasures would the pirates have found in the New World? Well, we’ll tell you about it . . .

  When Spanish explorers started finding gold and silver in the Americas, sometimes in huge deposits, it started an out-and-out “gold rush.” However, it was actually more like a “silver rush.” Gold was much more rare. There was twenty times as much silver as gold in the New World.

  Spain quickly set up numerous colonies and started mining the silver and gold. The Spanish conquistadors also started looting all the native empires. They loaded all of this treasure onto Spanish galleons and shipped it back to Spain.

  Originally, the silver and gold was melted down and cast into bars and crude bricks before shipping. Then in 1536, the Spanish set up the first silver mint of the Americas in Mexico City. Other mints soon followed it, but only for silver coins. Gold coins were not minted in the New World until 1622.

  All this wealth went back to Spain on large Spanish galleons, often lightly protected—just ripe for the picking by an ambitious pirate crew.

  All European countries with colonies in the New World (France, Holland, England, etc.) used Spanish coinage as their main currency since Spanish coins were accepted all over the world. A good example is the vessel Slot ter Hooge of the Dutch East India Company. She left the Netherlands for Batavia (Indonesia) in the Dutch East Indies. Her cargo contained three tons of silver ingots and four chests of both Dutch coins and Spanish silver coins. She sank in 1724 in the Madeira Islands.

  Real Pirate History to Visit: Treasure to See and Touch

  http://www.melfisher.org

  In 1622, the Spanish galleons Nuestra Señora de Atocha and Santa Margarita sank in a hurricane off the Dry Tortugas (off the tip of the Florida Keys). After many determined years of searching, Mel Fisher and his crew found the wreck of the Santa Margarita in 1980, and then the Atocha in 1985. His search for these wrecks is quite an adventure in itself.

  Mel Fisher set up a museum in Key West, Florida, so he could display the treasures and artifacts they recovered from under the sea. There you can see lots and lots of gold and silver (coins, bars, bricks, jewelry, and other items).

  Cap’n Michael says:

  That Mel Fisher Museum is heaven for a pirate. Lots of treasure. There is even a bar of GOLD that you can pick up. They just don’t let you take it—DRAT! Believe me, I tried.

  The Piece of Eight Really Was Made of Eight Pieces

  The fabled “piece of eight” commonly heard in pirate lore was a silver coin. Its proper Spanish name was peso de a ocho (meaning “weight of eight”). It was a coin worth eight reales (pronounced “ray-yal-lace”). This was the main silver coin of the Spanish empire. It was originally modeled on the German taler, from which is derived the English word “dollar.”

  A piece of eight was about the same size as an American silver dollar or the Eisenhower dollar coin, but you may not have seen one of those (the new dollar coins are a lot smaller). It was a little bigger than a U.S. Kennedy half-dollar. A piece of eight was worth roughly a dollar back then. But if you happen to have one, don’t go selling it for a dollar. They are worth a LOT more now because of their age and history, probably between $100 and $500 depending on their quality and where they are found.

  One major drawback of these coins was that a little silver could easily be shaved off the edges with a blade and no one would know unless they weighed the coin. A little silver shaved off of several coins would give enough silver to make a new coin. The cob-style pieces of eight were melted down and recast into nicely milled coins once they got to Spain (if they made it to Spain).

  The piece of eight was so common, it became the basic unit of trade for all the countries and colonies in the New World.

  Typical peso worth eight reales, called a piece of eight by the buccaneers. The Hapsburg shield, left, is on the front of the coin and the Crusader’s Cross, right, is on the back.

  A piece of eight with the Crusader’s Cross design on the front and the “pillars and waves” design on the back of the coin.

  Coins of the Spanish Empire

  Type of Coin Metal Value Notes

  Real or Real de Plata Silver Basic unit for Spanish silver coins. Means “royal.” Pronounced “ray-al,” not “reel” (plural = reales). Generally came in amounts of 1, 2, 4, and 8 reales.

  Peso (peso de a ocho) or “piece of eight” Silver = 8 reales The name means “a weight of 8,” but the English mangled this into “pieces of eight.” Varied from 22 to 27.5 grams of silver. It was often cut into eight pieces when change was needed.

  Escudo Gold = 2 pieces of eight = 16 reales Basic unit for Spanish gold coins. Escudo means “shield.” At first only minted in Spain. After 1622, it was also minted in Bogotá, New Granada (Colombia).

  Double escudo or “doubloon” or “pistole” Gold = 2 escudos = 4 pieces of eight = 32 reales This was called a “doubloon” by the English buccaneers because it was a “double” escudo. However, doubloon became a generic English term for all Spanish gold coins. The French called it a “pistole.”

  4 Escudo Gold = 8 pieces of eight =64 reales The buccaneers also called this a “double doubloon.” Not very common.

  8 Escudo Gold = 16 pieces of eight = 128 reales Largest Spanish gold coin. This coin was the same weight as the silver peso (piece of eight). Rare.

  Louis d’or “pistole” Gold = 2 escudos French version of the double escudo.

  Pastimes for Scurvy Dogs />
  Makin’ Yer Own Treasure Chest

  Start with a large cardboard box, roughly 2 feet wide by 1 foot deep, and about 2 feet high or more.

  Cut the sides of the box as shown in Figures 1 and 2.

  Figure 1.

  Figure 2.

  Carefully bend the back over to be the lid for the chest. Don’t let it get big creases; try to make lots of little creases as you bend.

  At this point, if you plan to paint the cardboard, do so.

  Add rope handles as shown in Figure 3.

  Figure 3.

  Cut a strip of cardboard, 6 inches by 1 inch. Bend strip into a U shape as shown in Figure 4. Paint it a metallic color or black.

  Figure 4.

  Cut two slots in the front of the chest, 1 inch high, and wide enough to slide your U-shaped piece of cardboard in. Tape it in place.

  Cut two strips of cardboard, 2 inches wide and long enough to go up over the lid, down the back of the chest, under the bottom, and up the front. Paint these a metallic color or black. When dry, glue these in place as shown in Figure 4.

  Cut a T-shaped crosspiece, 2 inches high and as wide as the chest is, with a 2-inch-long tab in the center as shown in Figure 4. Paint it the same metallic color or black. When dry, glue in place.

  Glue on silver cake-decorating candies for metal studs as shown in Figure 5.

  Figure 5.

  Two Bits, Four Bits, Six Bits, a Dollar

  The peso was often cut into eight pieces in order to make smaller change. Special coin shears (scissors) or a chisel and hammer were used to cut the coin. Each piece was called a “bit.” Half a coin was four bits, a quarter of a coin was two bits. “Two bits” is also a slang word for the U.S. 25-cent piece, as in the famous saying “Shave and a haircut, two bits.”