Pirate swords and weapons

Matt Splatt · 20th December 2007, 10:19 PM

Hello all, this is such a great subject I felt I had to throw in this little tidbit. I've had this for years and it used to have an old tag that read "Seized from Igbo pirate Niger delta, 1897". I'm very aware that this may just be a bit of fiction designed to sell a crusty old gun but I also think it might be representative of the modification of available arms to meet the requirements of pirating. The lock plate, stock and trigger look to be from a Brown Bess. The hammer is definatly not, it is rather crudely forged and bears the remnants of silver Koftgari. Perhaps it is Arab. The trigger guard and lanyard loop are rather roughly filed from aluminum. A short handy gun with a lanyard would be ideal for clambering from ship to ship with out your pistol going into the drink.

Jim McDougall · 20th December 2007, 11:35 PM

Hi Matt,
Thank you for adding this, another excellent contribution! Who wouldnt find such an intriguing label exciting! and it most probably is quite accurate. As previously noted, piracy was by no means confined to the colorfully imaged activities of those in the Caribbean and exotic isles, nor in the so called "Golden Age of Piracy" from c.1650 to c.1725. Piracy has existed perpetually with the movements of commerce and trade from long before that time, and still does. Certainly the profoundly trade occupied Niger delta had its share of such activity, and though 1897 sounds tremendously modern, early warfare still prevailed , and what might have been considered relatively ancient weapons would be put to good use in native hands.
I think your assessment is most likely quite accurate, though I'm not extremely familiar with guns, and without markings hard to say. It does look like the piece has been dramatically altered as you have described.
Nice addition to our topic Matt! thank you!
All the best,
Jim

spiral · 22nd December 2007, 12:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Splatt

. The trigger guard and lanyard loop are rather roughly filed from aluminum. .

Personly I think that implys later modification than 1897. Aluminium was about the price of 24c gold at that time I understand. So if used would be with rather more finesse I think?

Spiral

Gavin Nugent · 22nd December 2007, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spiral

Personly I think that implys later modification than 1897. Aluminium was about the price of 24c gold at that time I understand. So if used would be with rather more finesse I think?

Spiral

Interesting price comparison Spiral, I never knew.

As these rovers of the sea took what they did, not buy it, I would consider such a piece of aluminium to be period correct. It is well documented that pirates did destroy many fine pieces to equally share the weight of the booty , even coins where cut to pieces, with larger shares going to captains and others. This rough filed piece could well have been one of these pieces.

Gav

Matt Splatt · 22nd December 2007, 07:04 AM

Spiral, you are a bit off I'm afraid. In the mid 1800's aluminum was more expensive than gold but by 1880 it was about the price of silver. In 1886 the Hall-Heroult electrolysis method made it cheaply and in industrial quantities. By the mid 1890's it was so cheap it was used as a building material. It was a quite heavily used in the tropics because of its corrosion resistance. A prime example of this is the aluminum dome on the Chief Secretaries Building in Sydney Australia completed in 1895. So I don't think the aluminum is a problem with the date.

spiral · 22nd December 2007, 10:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Matt Splatt

Spiral, you are a bit off I'm afraid. In the mid 1800's aluminum was more expensive than gold but by 1880 it was about the price of silver. In 1886 the Hall-Heroult electrolysis method made it cheaply and in industrial quantities. By the mid 1890's it was so cheap it was used as a building material. It was a quite heavily used in the tropics because of its corrosion resistance. A prime example of this is the aluminum dome on the Chief Secretaries Building in Sydney Australia completed in 1895. So I don't think the aluminum is a problem with the date.

Thankyou Matt! Yes I was clearly mistaken on that dating. Apologies. Ill look at my sources again but it was probably just my memmory at fault!

Spiral

Berkley · 22nd December 2007, 07:17 PM

Among the relics recovered from Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne's Revenge are a brass blunderbuss barrel, a sideplate from a pistol, and a whetstone. Regrettably no edged weapons have been found. The sea is not kind to iron and steel

.

Freddy · 22nd December 2007, 08:31 PM

I'm not really into guns, but sometimes one finds something interesting so I buy it

(just can't help it).
I liked the pistol Matt displayed and I want to add this one to the arsenal of pirates.

It's a blunderbuss I bought some time ago. According to the former owner, it came from North Africa, although anywhere along the Westcoast of Africa could also be correct.

It's about 48 cm long and has a bore of 4,5 cm !

This type of weapon was used aboard ships to repel boarders and mutineers.

It's crudely made and resembles a bit Matt's pistol.

20th December 2007, 10:19 PM	#1
Matt Splatt Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 31	Hello all, this is such a great subject I felt I had to throw in this little tidbit. I've had this for years and it used to have an old tag that read "Seized from Igbo pirate Niger delta, 1897". I'm very aware that this may just be a bit of fiction designed to sell a crusty old gun but I also think it might be representative of the modification of available arms to meet the requirements of pirating. The lock plate, stock and trigger look to be from a Brown Bess. The hammer is definatly not, it is rather crudely forged and bears the remnants of silver Koftgari. Perhaps it is Arab. The trigger guard and lanyard loop are rather roughly filed from aluminum. A short handy gun with a lanyard would be ideal for clambering from ship to ship with out your pistol going into the drink. Attached Images

22nd December 2007, 07:04 AM	#5
Matt Splatt Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 31	Spiral, you are a bit off I'm afraid. In the mid 1800's aluminum was more expensive than gold but by 1880 it was about the price of silver. In 1886 the Hall-Heroult electrolysis method made it cheaply and in industrial quantities. By the mid 1890's it was so cheap it was used as a building material. It was a quite heavily used in the tropics because of its corrosion resistance. A prime example of this is the aluminum dome on the Chief Secretaries Building in Sydney Australia completed in 1895. So I don't think the aluminum is a problem with the date. Last edited by Matt Splatt; 22nd December 2007 at 07:22 AM.

22nd December 2007, 07:17 PM	#7
Berkley Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Austin, Texas USA Posts: 257	Queen Anne's Revenge Among the relics recovered from Blackbeard's flagship Queen Anne's Revenge are a brass blunderbuss barrel, a sideplate from a pistol, and a whetstone. Regrettably no edged weapons have been found. The sea is not kind to iron and steel .

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20th December 2007, 11:35 PM	#2
Jim McDougall Arms Historian Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Route 66 Posts: 10,189	Hi Matt, Thank you for adding this, another excellent contribution! Who wouldnt find such an intriguing label exciting! and it most probably is quite accurate. As previously noted, piracy was by no means confined to the colorfully imaged activities of those in the Caribbean and exotic isles, nor in the so called "Golden Age of Piracy" from c.1650 to c.1725. Piracy has existed perpetually with the movements of commerce and trade from long before that time, and still does. Certainly the profoundly trade occupied Niger delta had its share of such activity, and though 1897 sounds tremendously modern, early warfare still prevailed , and what might have been considered relatively ancient weapons would be put to good use in native hands. I think your assessment is most likely quite accurate, though I'm not extremely familiar with guns, and without markings hard to say. It does look like the piece has been dramatically altered as you have described. Nice addition to our topic Matt! thank you! All the best, Jim

22nd December 2007, 08:31 PM	#8
Freddy Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Sint-Amandsberg (near Ghent, Belgium) Posts: 830	I'm not really into guns, but sometimes one finds something interesting so I buy it (just can't help it). I liked the pistol Matt displayed and I want to add this one to the arsenal of pirates. It's a blunderbuss I bought some time ago. According to the former owner, it came from North Africa, although anywhere along the Westcoast of Africa could also be correct. It's about 48 cm long and has a bore of 4,5 cm ! This type of weapon was used aboard ships to repel boarders and mutineers. It's crudely made and resembles a bit Matt's pistol.