Ahoy, Matey

November’s winds blow cold, but the tales be burnin’ hot, me hearties. This week we climb the stone steps of Blackbeard’s own Caribbean watchtower, celebrate the birth of Treasure Island, witness the downfall of Calico Jack’s drunken crew, and board one of the greatest tall ships still afloat — the mighty Star of India.

Sharpen yer cutlass, steady yer sea legs, and follow me into waters where history, myth, and adventure sail side by side.

⚔️ This Week in Pirate History

📘 Friday, November 14, 1883 — Treasure Island Is Published

On this day in 1883, the world met the most iconic pirate ever to limp across a page: Long John Silver. Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island wasn’t just a book — it was the birth of the modern pirate mythos.

Before Stevenson, pirates didn’t “yo-ho-ho” or dream of buried treasure. They didn’t carry parrots on their shoulders or speak in sing-song sea slang. But when Treasure Island hit the shelves, it changed everything:

• The X marks the spot trope? Born here.

• The black spot of doom? Stevenson’s invention.

• The silver-tongued, cunning, charismatic villain-hero? Silver created the mold.

The novel took the raw history of piracy — men like Blackbeard, Vane, Bonnet, and Roberts — and distilled it into something mythic. So powerful, in fact, that real pirates today often feel like they lived in Silver’s shadow rather than the other way around.

On this day, the pirate legend as we know it unfurled its sails — and it’s still catching wind 141 years later.

⚔️ Saturday, November 15, 1720 — Jonathan Barnet Captures “Calico Jack” Rackham by Surprise

In the moon-washed waters near Jamaica, John “Calico Jack” Rackham lounged aboard his sloop Revenge, believing himself safe. With only a handful of men aboard — most drunk or asleep — he had no idea the king’s wrath was bearing down upon him.

Enter Captain Jonathan Barnet, a hard-edged privateer turned pirate hunter, who had one mission: bring Rackham to justice.

Barnet’s sloop crept through the dark like a shark, closing the distance with barely a whisper of sail. When he came within musket range, he unleashed a broadside and roared for Rackham to surrender.

What happened next became pirate legend:

• Rackham’s male crew fled below decks, too drunk to fight.

• Only the two women aboard — Anne Bonny and Mary Read — stood their ground, firing pistols and calling the men cowards.

• Rackham surrendered after barely lifting a sword.

Barnet hauled the entire crew in chains to Spanish Town. When Anne Bonny visited Rackham in his cell, her words passed into pirate lore:

On November 15, the Golden Age of Piracy dimmed one bright, reckless flame. Barnet’s ambush marked the end of Calico Jack — and the rise of Anne and Mary as legends in their own right.

⚓ Feature: Blackbeard’s Castle — The Devil’s Watchtower of St. Thomas

High above the turquoise harbor of Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas, rises a stone sentinel once feared by every merchant and privateer in the Caribbean — Blackbeard’s Castle.

Built in 1679 by the Danes as a lookout called Skytsborg Tower, it later earned a darker name after the world’s most infamous pirate, Edward Thatch — better known as Blackbeard, claimed it as his Caribbean perch. From this high vantage, the bearded devil was said to spy incoming ships, plot ambushes, and toast his conquests with rum as red as the sunset.

Legends whisper that secret tunnels snake beneath the hill, connecting the tower to the harbor — escape routes for smuggled plunder and, some say, the bones of those who crossed him. Others swear his ghost still prowls the battlements, pacing with the restlessness of a man who cheated death once too often.

But today, the old fortress stands reborn. The modern Blackbeard’s Castle estate is once again open to visitors, offering walking tours, panoramic views, and the Jolly Roger Restaurant & Pirate Bar, where you can raise a tankard in the shadow of history itself.

For those who dare, there’s the Rum Vault, carved deep within the stone foundations — a tribute to the drink that fueled the Golden Age of Piracy. And when dusk falls, as the trade winds carry the scent of salt and sugarcane through the palms, it’s easy to imagine a towering figure watching from the ramparts…
his black flag flying once more.

Visit blackbeardscastle.com to plan yer pilgrimage — and perhaps share a ghost of rum with the man himself.

🎪 Event Spotlight – Free Boarding of the Star of India (Nov 14)

San Diego, CA – A Chance to Walk the Decks of a Legend

She’s no pirate ship — but she’s outlived nearly every pirate vessel that ever cut across the seven seas.

The Star of India, moored proudly at the Maritime Museum of San Diego, is the oldest active sailing ship in the world. And on Friday, November 14th, she’ll open her gangplank for free boarding, giving every landlubber and sea-dog a chance to step onto a living piece of maritime history.

⚓ A Bit o’ Her Story

Launched in 1863 as the Euterpe, she was built of iron when most ships still groaned with wooden bones. She survived:

• A mutiny on her second voyage

• A cyclone in the Bay of Bengal

• Collision, storms, and a near-fatal dereliction

• Decades of hauling emigrants between England, India, Australia, and New Zealand

Later renamed Star of India, she circled the globe countless times, rounding Cape Horn more often than Blackbeard rounded his rum ration.

She’s 161 years old and still sailing — a miracle of rivets, iron plating, and stubborn soul.

🏴‍☠️ Did She Ever Face Pirates?

Not truly — though she sailed through waters where piracy simmered.

• During her India and Pacific routes in the late 19th century, Asian piracy was present, but no recorded attacks struck the Star of India.

• The closest she came was the mutiny of 1875, when crewmen tried to take her for themselves — piracy in spirit, if not in flag.

So while she never traded cannon fire with corsairs, she lived a life every pirate captain would respect: dangerous, globe-spanning, and full of narrow escapes.

🌊 Why She Matters to Pirates at Heart

Every plank, rivet, and mast whispers of an age when wind was king and the world still had edges worth sailing off. Standing on her decks is like stepping into the breath of the 19th-century sea itself.

And for one free day only — you can do exactly that.

💰 Plunder Pick of the Week – Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Before pirates had parrots, rum songs, buried treasure maps, or the dreaded “X marks the spot,” there was only one tale carving those symbols into history: Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.

This is the book that forged the DNA of modern pirate lore. Long John Silver — sly, charismatic, treacherous — is the blueprint for every silver-tongued buccaneer who followed. The black spot, the mutiny, Blind Pew, the sea chest, the Hispaniola — it all started here.

Whether ye’ve read it once or a dozen times, Treasure Island is a voyage worth repeating. Its pages smell of rum, sea-spray, danger, and ambition — and every man, woman, or cabin boy who fancies themselves a pirate at heart needs this on their shelf.

⚓ Claim yer copy and relive the legend:

👉Find it here at the Amazon

Do so quick, me heartie — this treasure won’t stay buried long.

Another tide fades astern, but the legends only grow louder. From Blackbeard’s Caribbean tower to the world’s oldest iron lady still afloat, piracy’s spirit keeps findin’ new waves to ride.

Until next voyage, keep yer compass true, yer rum ration generous, and yer bookshelves heavy with treasure.

Fair winds, Captain Blackquill —

🗣️ Share the Spoils, Matey!

Know a landlubber who’d love tales of treasure, ghost ships, and real pirate history? Don’t keep the gold to yerself—send ‘em our way!

📜 Sign up here → https://www.piratefanclub.com/weeklynewsletter-thepiraterepublic

Fair winds and full inboxes!

Sail with us across the digital seas:
📜 TikTok: @thepiraterepublic
▶️ YouTube: The Pirate Republic

🎖️ Thanks for Embarkin’ on the Voyage

We set sail every Friday, storm or shine. Keep yer spyglass pointed at the horizon...
and may yer week be full o’ plunder, parlay, and just the right amount o’ mutiny.

Share this letter with yer crewmates, an if ye find treasure or tales worth tell’n, send them to [email protected].

 Disclosure: Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, which means we may earn doubloons (aka a small commission) if you make a purchase—at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting The Pirate Republic, ya savvy sea dog!