Pirate swords and weapons

[Jim McDougall]

Recently the discovery of Captain Kidd's ship, the "Quedah Merchant" near what is now the Dominican Republic, has revisited my interest in the weapons used by 'pirates'. Naturally, all the standard cliche' images come to mind, from "Treasure Island "to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" immersed pop culture.
Trying to research the weapons actually used by varied groups that fall into this genre over different time periods, and quite literally over the 'seven Seas', reveals pathetic amatuer treatises on the weapons used, especially the swords.

I think the diffusion of various forms of ethnographic weapons was in many cases greatly enhanced by not only trade routes, but by these maritime franchises of either criminals or often 'licensed predators' carrying letters of marque, constantly moving between continents and oceans.

I began the thread on early makers marks in hopes of investigating, discussing and comprehensively grouping these inscriptions, stamps and marks that typically occur on European blades and those intended for trade. This of course addresses diffusion of weapons via commercial means into ethnographic regions, however the admittedly more restricted scope of such movement via this interesting maritime phenomenon may produce some colorful and fascinating results.

For example, pirates were of course not just the now cliche' Treasure Island characters of the American east coast and the Caribbean, and plundering the merchant ships of India, France, Spain and other powers...but the corsairs of the Meditteranean, Barbary Pirates, the pirates of the South China Sea, those of the Philippine and Indonesian archipelagos.
Even India had thier own nautical renegades, such as those from the west coast in the Maratha pirates, who preyed on East India Company ships among others.

With this geographic and cultural diversity, I am hoping that all members of the forum, in all factions of interest, might find interest in this topic, as weapons from all these cultures are in fact the true weapons used on so called 'pirate' vessels.

It would not be surprising to find that among the composite armories on these ships, would be the acquired weapons from the prey they had taken. In the Indian Ocean, naturally along with the English hangers (not necessarily 'cutlasses') that were on the English/American pirate ships, could also have included tulwars, firangi, shamshirs (the literary 'scimitar' which is a writers term not an actual weapon) and others.

I would like to discuss not only the more commonly associated cutlasses, hangers, rapiers, broadswords etc. but perhaps discover references seen in narratives of Philippines, China, India, Madagascar, Africa and others of piracy and perhaps references to the weapons.

I think one of most comprehensive and accurate studies on the truly wide range of piracy and the weapons used was in a brilliant exhibition that was in Haifa, and the catalog produced was magnificent. I hope Oriental Arms might read this and help me recall the title and year as it is not at hand at this time.

Best regards,
Jim