Pirates and Privateers: Swashbuckling Stories From the East Coast (Amazing Stories) - Softcover

Glasner, Joyce

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1554390133 ISBN 13: 9781554390137

Publisher: Amazing Stories, 2005

Synopsis

Murder, mutiny, and mayhem were the order of the day in the seas off the East Coast during the golden age of sailing. Pillagers and opportunists plied the seas in search of riches in the holds of American ships. And they invariably found what they were looking for...

About this title

About the Author:

JOYCE GLASNER lives in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Her Articles on gardening, travel, and the arts have appeared in a variety of publications. Her first book, The Halifax Explosion: Surviving the Blast that Shook a Nation, was published by Altitude in 2003.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.:

June 1780, Trepassey, Newfoundland It was the music that first caught their attention. As the sun rose over the jumble of shacks and wharves lining the harbour, the sound of blaring bugles and beating drums shattered the early morning stillness. The music drew cooks, fishermen, and fish-splitters to the wharves, where they strained to catch a glimpse of the large schooner drifting down the harbour. The spectacle of a vessel blasting out marching music at that hour of the morning was amusing at first. But as the schooner drew nearer, the roar of cannon fire began to punctuate the music, and the spectators grew nervous. Suddenly, a young boy catching sight of the black flag flying from her mast shouted "Pirates!" and a wave of anxiety washed over the crowd. Anxiety turned to terror when they realized the schooner was none other than the Royal Rover, flagship of the infamous Bartholomew Roberts, one of the most feared pirates of his time. With no blockhouse or battery to protect them, Trepassey's 1200 residents were virtually defenceless. When the Royal Rover was within firing range, she turned her guns on the dozens of fishing boats and merchant schooners crowding the harbour. Everyone ran for cover as she blasted one vessel after another out of the water. Once most of the schooners were destroyed, the Rover's boats were lowered into the water. A curtain of smoke hung over the harbour and smouldering debris drifted on the current as an army of cutthroats clamoured into the boats and rowed to shore. Most of the men of Trepassey knew better than to try to resist the pirates. Those who didn't were savagely beaten or shot. Many grabbed what valuables they could and scattered off into the barrens. Others stood by, watching helplessly as the marauders plundered the remaining vessels and looted the merchants' shops and warehouses. Like fiends, the pirates smashed open barrels and crates, destroying anything they didn't want, and taking what they did. Once Black Bart and his crew had thoroughly ransacked the village, they set fire to several shacks and stagings along the waterfront and then climbed back aboard the Royal Rover, sailing out of the harbour with trumpets blaring and black flag flying.

About this edition

• Publisher: Amazing Stories
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1554390133
• ISBN 13: 9781554390137
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144