#john rackham

[kamwashere]

i’m sorry but HOW did calico jack pull these baddies

[devolympian]

All my concept art for Calico Jack

[pulpsandcomics2]

Mermaids

[ltwilliammowett]

John Rackham - Calico Jack

Measured by his hauls and compared to many other pirates of his time, John Rackham also known as Calico Jack (his nickname was derived from the calico clothing that he wore, while Jack is a nickname for John) was not a prominent figure - rather a "small fish" with a spatially limited sphere of activity, his female companions were much better known.

Anne Bonny and Calico Jack, portrayed by Clara Paget and Toby Schmitz (x)

Therefore, not much is known about his earlier life, except that he was probably born in England in 1682 and then moved to the Caribbean. Until the end of November 1718, he sailed as quartermaster on the brigantine of the pirate Charles Vane. When Vane refused to attack a French warship with superior armament, Rackham stood up to him and demanded that he board the enemy. Vane initially prevailed and the pirates escaped the warship, but the next day a majority of the crew declared Vane a coward, deposed him and elected Rackham captain. Vane and his few followers were left with a small captured sloop, complete with provisions and ammunition.

John Rackham in "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates", published 1725 (x)

Rackham subsequently plundered a number of ships; he initially turned down the royal amnesty that Woodes Rogers had brought with him to New Providence in July 1718. In the spring of 1719, after a few more captures, he overhauled his brigantine in the Bahamas. There Rackham met a married woman named Anne Bonny, who became his mistress and was soon pregnant. Rackham is said to have bought her off her husband James Bonny for a considerable sum.

After a sloop sent out by Rogers drove him off and took two pinches back from him, Rackham settled in Cuba for a time. He lived there with "a sort of little family" until he ran out of money and food; this apparently refers to Anne Bonny and their child together. In between, he now also submitted to the royal amnesty and sailed as a privateer for Woodes Rogers. Part of this crew was Mary Read, who was later arrested with him.  According to legend, Anne and Mary Read fell in love with each other after they had to show up on board disguised as men. In drawings, the two women are often depicted as a couple, though neither Anne nor Mary seemed to live monogamously. "They don't need each other. They want each other," says Amanda Cotton, a British artist, about her sculpture of Bonny and Read, which the British government, however, refused to install.  Historian Susan Baker also suggested that there was a lesbian relationship between the two, expressed in love and concern for each other. Whether they were purely lesbian is quite speculative, but more likely they were bisexual, considering that Anne and Mary had sexual relationships to men as well. 

Anne Bonny and Mary Read in "A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates", published 1725 (x)

Rackham and his crew quickly relapsed as pirates, however, and eventually the Bahamas dispatched a heavily armed sloop under Jonathan Barnet, a privateer, to seize them. Barnet surprised the pirates off Cape Negril in western Jamaica during a drinking bout and overpowered them with little resistance. Only the two female pirates are said to have put up a determined fight.

Proclamation from Woodes Rogers naming Jack Rackham and crew as pirates, 1720 (x) 

Rackham and his men were tried in Santiago de la Vega in Jamaica on 16 November 1720, found guilty and hanged the following day. The two women escaped the gallows by claiming to be pregnant. Read is said to have died in prison. There is only speculation about Bonny's further fate. She is said to have been freed through the influence of her father and returned to Charles Town, where she is said to have spent the rest of her life married and with children. Others say she simply disappeared, but it is known that she was not hanged.

[theoutcastrogue]

Britain's Outlaws: Highwaymen, Pirates and Rogues

Episode 2: Pirates

"BBC documentary series. Dr Sam Willis takes to the high seas in search of the swashbuckling pirates of the golden age of piracy during the early 18th century. Following in the wake of the infamous Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Calico Jack and others, Sam charts the devastating impact these pirates had during an era of colonial expansion and how, by plundering the vast network of seaborne trade, they became the most-wanted outlaws in the world."

[originalleftist]

Model of the pirate sloop William, commanded by Captain Rackham, who sailed with Ann Bonny and Mary Read.

A copy is apparently on display in the South Carolina State Museum.

(Source: modelshipmaster.com)

The model is surprisingly accurate to the description of the William in the Woodes Rogers letter, (albeit with some artistic licence on details like colour, the vessel's name displayed on the stern, and the fictionalized design of the flag):

(Source: goldenageofpiracy.org)

Someone evidently did their research for the model- though the accompanying biographical information on its crew is most definitely riddled with errors/myths.

I do note the lack of oars- we know that Rackham's sloop had them, at least during his final battle, as they were used by the pirates while attempting to escape, per their trial record.

(Source: The Tryals Of John Rackham and Other Pirates, Internet Archive.)

[a-story-is-true]

a story is true, a story is untrue

[on youtube with subtitles]

[manabombs]

text free + close ups ✨

[diioonysus]

women in art: titania

[devolympian]

(Fanservant) 3* Rider: John Rackham.

[pulpsandcomics2]

John Rackham

Gulliver's Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World by Jonathan Swift

[knightofmordred]

some black sails bts because im in a silly goofy mood

[brotherconstant]

Black Sails • XXXVIII We should speak. The three of us.

[originalleftist]

"Calico Jack"'s appearance in Our Flag Means Death should have been Charles Vane instead (Spoilers).

I am aware that OFMD doesn't even pretend to be historically accurate. And this is a good thing, as the real history was much darker, and the real Stede and Blackbeard much less likeable figures (to be clear, one reason I would argue OFMD works so well is that it is obviously and deliberately absurd and fantastical, rather than distorting history while trying to pass it off as accurate or realistic like a lot of media does).

But they usually do draw some interesting details from history. Except... their "Calico Jack" has basically nothing to do with the actual John Rackham, or even the mythologized version of him, beyond the name, being a contemporary of Blackbeard, and being a mediocre pirate. He serves his role in the show, of being a duplicitous asshole ex of Ed's who tries to tempt him back to his old ways. But he really has nothing to do with Rackham, who is basically know to the general public for three things (all of them historically dubious or made-up): wearing calico, flying the famous skull and crossed swords flag, and sailing with Ann Bonny and Mary Read/being romantically involved with Ann. Whereas OFMD's Jack is basically just a fratboy in the trappings of a cowboy, and dropped into the Golden Age of Piracy.

I would contend that Charles Vane would have filled the role they wanted much more naturally, while also having a fair amount of name recognition now due to Assassins' Creed IV and Black Sails. Vane was:

A contemporary of Blackbeard's, even more so than Rackham. They even met up a few weeks before Blackbeard's death.

Known to be a violent asshole even by pirate standards.

A die-hard pirate who refused to accept a pardon. He might not have sold another pirate out to the British, as he did in the show, but he would fit the role of someone tempting Blackbeard back to their old life perfectly.

He has no distinctive costume, whereas calling the character "Calico Jack" and then not having him wear Calico is just weird, like if they had Blackbeard without the beard for the entire show.

Vane actually was deposed by his crew in a mutiny, whereas to my knowledge Rackham never was.

Vane just fits the role of Jack in the show so much better, in my opinion, and the writers reference enough that they clearly know a fair bit about the history of piracy, so I can only conclude that they picked Rackham mainly for his greater name recognition.

[theartofangirling]

black sails XIII / XXVI / XXX / XXXI / XXXVII / XXXVIII

[flintmcgraw]

Portraiture practice! (Click for higher quality)