ysabetwordsmith (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2024-12-22 01:47 pm
ysabetwordsmith) wrote2024-12-22 01:47 pm
Entry tags:
Poem: "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean"
This poem came out of the July 2, 2024 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from siliconshaman and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Spirit Island" square in my 7-1-24 card for the Games and Entertainment Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations.
"The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean"
[1600s]
Not long after the Europeans
arrived in the New World,
the pirates followed them.
In the 1500s, pirate havens
began to spring up all around
the islands of the Caribbean Sea.
San Juan, Puerto Rico was
among the first, and key in
smuggling throughout the area.
Portsmouth, Dominica became
a major port of call for the Spanish
and the English, which also made
the town into a prime hub for piracy.
By the 1600s, more had emerged.
Santa Isabel Village located on
Isla de Provedencia was one.
Some even appeared on
the Spanish Main, including
Xcalak and Portobelo.
In 1636, the Caribs drove
the European invaders
from their island Matinino.
After that, they preferred
to trade with the pirates.
Port Morgan, Île-à-Vache
near Hispaniola as well as
Tap House on St. Thomas
began to gain more traffic.
To the north, two towns in
Rhode Island grew popular with
pirates, Providence and Newport.
Tortuga Village on Tortuga Island,
part of the larger Hispaniola, was
the most famous for many years,
despite all of the giant turtles.
It was a golden age for pirates.
Then something interesting happened.
The Religious Society of Friends, who
were pacifists of all rare things, started
reaching out to the pirates in ports.
A few even started to take ship,
speaking of peace, and because
they were skilled at negotiation,
the Friends were ... tolerated.
The founder, George Fox,
annoyed a lot of stuffy people.
Pirates found that amusing,
and the Friends entertaining,
if more than a bit perplexing.
In the 1650s, female Friends
connected with female pirates,
teaming up to advance the rights
of women on an even wider scale.
The female pirates started to provide
escape routes for abused women
in general, frustrating men in power.
Bermuda had been stewing for a while,
and unrest finally erupted into revolt
in 1656 that made it a free pirate island.
Another great pirate haven arose in
Port Royal, Jamaica as people built
taverns, whorehouses, trading posts,
and other maritime attractions.
George Fox began to express
his doubts about slavery.
The pirates listened with
half an ear, because on
the one hand, freedom was
vital to their way of life, but
on the other hand, they were
mostly motivated by money.
The Friends were always
getting into trouble, though,
and pirates appreciated that.
In 1660, female pirates rescued
Mary Dyer from intended execution
and hauled her to the Caribbean
to prevent her from returning
to danger in New England.
It took her well over a year
to forgive them for uprooting her.
More pirate havens emerged as
foreign ships harassed older ones,
like Petit Goâve on Saint Domingue.
The British attempted to take control
of the Cayman Islands in 1670, which
ended with their official establishment
as free pirate islands -- and a lot of
British sailors getting fed to the basks
of truly enormous crocodiles that swam
around the beaches and the rivers
of the islands named for them.
Several Friends, including
William Edmundson and
George Fox, visited Barbados.
When they argued for treating
slaves humanely, the owners
became outraged and drove
the Friends off the island.
The pirates just laughed;
teasing the rich never got old.
Later they found out that George
published his Barbados sermons
in a little book that again urged
people to treat their slaves better.
Someone got hold of a copy
and passed it around the taverns,
spawning all manner of jokes.
A few years after those incidents,
Friend Alice Curwen traveled to
Barbados and pestered one of
the locals, Friend Martha Tavernor,
to release the slaves she owned.
It wasn't quite the catfight that
the pirates typically bet on,
but they bet on it anyway.
Eventually Alice won,
and her allies collected
their bets, and nobody
thought too much of it yet.
In 1683, William Penn
created a new colony
called Pennsylvania,
aimed at fostering love
and a spirit of brotherhood.
He insisted that the settlers pay
Indians a fair price for native land,
treat natives with dignity, and
respect their various cultures.
William even tried to enact
legislation against slavery.
The pirates just chuckled
about it over their rum.
Well, this ought
to get ... interesting.
By the 1690s, some of
the pirates ventured out
on long-distance voyages
from the Americas to raid
East India Company targets
in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
The island of Bermuda shifted
its economy to maritime business
and incorporated many former slaves
as blacksmiths, masons, carpenters,
coopers, shipwrights, and sailors.
Then in 1692, disaster struck:
an earthquake and a great wave
severely damaged Port Royal.
Pirates and Friends alike
flocked to Jamaica and
rendered aid to survivors.
They quickly rebuilt the town
on safer ground, leaving only
the docks at sea level, and
renamed it Port Liberty.
Some pirates still shifted
their routes to Nassau on
New Providence Island in
the Bahamas, which was well
placed and hadn't been flattened.
On October 23, 1696 the Friends
in Philadelphia ruled against bringing
in any new slaves, and urged those
who still owned slaves to treat them
well and to take them to Meetings.
By this point the pirates were
used to it, because their crews
were mostly mixed and if you had
Friends then you also had Meetings,
because any two or three of them
would stick together like burrs.
The Delaware River had
long been favored for piracy
because of the heavy trade
that ran up and down it.
In 1699, the Friends and
the Pennsylvania Assembly
negotiated with the river pirates,
giving them Tinicum Island as
well as Tinicum Township, with
the understanding that they could
trade in the state and its towns
but could no longer raid in either.
However, the pirates remained free
to attack any enemies of Pennsylvania.
Everyone was very happy with this deal.
[1700s]
Pirate havens continued to emerge,
with Tylerton on Smith Island off
the shore of Virginia, and Eden on
Ocracoke Island off the shore
of North Carolina which had
a sympathetic governor.
In 1701, the War of
the Spanish Succession
broke out, with France and
Great Britain joining the fray.
This offered plentiful opportunities
for privateers to make a profit.
The Pennsylvania Assembly
passed an Act to prevent
the importation of slaves
in 1713, but they had
a hard time enforcing it.
That still marked a step
toward the end of slavery.
After the Spanish Succession
concluded in 1714, many of
the sailors and privateers
were left unemployed.
Some of these turned
to piracy in the Caribbean
and the eastern seaboard
of North America, others
to the Indian Ocean and
the West African coast.
It made for some unrest,
because they were new to
the area and didn't know
all the local customs yet.
So local pirates took to flying
a black flag with a white dove
if they had a Friend in the crew,
and they taught the newcomers
that you could haul alongside
such a ship and ask for help if
you needed a negotiator or doctor.
Ships with a Friend for a captain
flew a white flag with a white dove
on a red-and-black 8-pointed star,
with similar offers of assistance.
In 1715, another antislavery tract
made the rounds of the Caribbean,
this one with a long list of reasons
why it was such a terrible idea.
In Jamaica, the Maroon War
made it a free pirate island in 1730,
and people banned slavery there.
It became a haven, not just
for raiders of all sorts, but
also for freedmen and
for runaway slaves.
In 1733, a publisher in
Rhode Island released
a testimony on slavery, and
this one circulated widely as
one of the notable conjunctions
between Friends and pirates
on the topic of abolition.
The pirates, who had
been drifting more toward
freedom over money, grew
more convinced that slaving
wasn't any way to make a living.
On November 23 of the same year,
Saint John became a free pirate island.
From there the rebellion spread to
the rest of the Danish West Indies.
Saint Thomas followed suit in
1734. Fighting in Saint Croix,
the largest island, continued
until it broke free in late 1736.
In April 1756, a group of Friends
from Philadelphia established
the Friendly Association for
Regaining and Preserving
Peace with the Indians by
Pacific Measures. They
used trade and health care
to cement alliances with tribes.
Louisiana became more and
more friendly to pirates, with
Saint Malo in St. Bernard Parish
becoming a haven for them.
The Carib War made Saint Vincent
into a free pirate island in 1773.
Then slaves in Tobago revolted,
freeing it in 1770, followed by
Trinidad where a long bloody war
left it free in the summer of 1774.
On April 19, 1775, years of
rising discontent in the colonies
boiled over into open war with
the battles of Lexington and
Concord, Massachusetts.
These marked the start of
the American Revolutionary War.
The American Continental Congress
ratified the Declaration of Independence
on July 4, 1776 but only included some of
the antislavery passages from earlier drafts,
and quite a bit from the Custom of the Coast.
On July 15, 1776 the Congress struck a deal
with a large group of pirates and privateers,
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean.
They agreed to recognize each other
as nations and to work together as
allies against hostile European forces.
The Americans offered control
of Rhode Island to the Armada,
along with support of its claims
to various other locations, in
exchange for military support.
The Armada was happy to secure
Rhode Island and delighted to attack
every British vessel they could find.
A key feature of the Armada, however,
was that they based their identity on
ships as much as on pieces of land.
On July 8, 1777 the Vermont Republic
became the first state to outlaw slavery.
Then on March 1, 1780 Pennsylvania
passed an act for gradual abolition.
In 1781, the slave ship Zong ran
into trouble, and the crew debated
throwing its human cargo overboard.
Then the pirate ship Black Guillemot
discovered the slave ship and boarded
her, staging the Zong Rescue, in which
they freed all of the African captives.
Luke Collingwood and most of his crew
were either killed on board or thrown
overboard, by pirates or freed Africans.
A majority of the 132 Africans became pirates.
Due in large part to excellent alliances with
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean
and several Native American tribes,
the Revolutionary War came to
an end on September 3, 1781.
In January of 1791, the island of
Dominica became a free pirate island
and thus outlawed slavery there.
A few months later, Spirit Island,
between Dominica and Martinique,
was set aside for the Carib People.
Pirates being a superstitious bunch,
they just didn't want to mess with it.
Also the island of Hispaniola, previously
divided as French Saint-Domingue and
Spanish Santo Domingo, became
a free pirate island, took the name
of Haiti, and banned slavery.
On February 1, 1793 France
and Great Britain went to war.
Privateers all over the Caribbean
rushed to seek Letters of Marque.
By 1795, the society of pirates
had gained considerable momentum,
with smaller groups joining the Armada
and more islands throwing off overlords.
In that year alone, Grenada, Saint Lucia,
and Curaçao all became free pirate islands
and banned slavery in their holdings.
[1800s]
In 1800, it became
a disownable offense
for Friends to own slaves
anywhere, even down in
the southern slave states.
Friends in those states who
owned slaves were obligated
to move somewhere else that
emancipating slaves was legal.
Some simply took up with pirates,
who generally favored freedom
and whose ships and crews
included many former slaves.
Louisiana became more of
a pirate haven with places such
as Manila Village in Barataria Bay.
The Friends had some successes in
sustaining fair treatment of tribal people.
These alliances helped the growing nation
develop good practices and withstand
pressures from foreign countries.
In 1803, attempts to enslave
free passengers of color from
ships docking in Cuba sparked
a rebellion that ended with Cuba
becoming a free pirate island in 1804.
A population of Taino, who had previously
escaped European invaders and hidden
in the mountains or settled elsewhere,
reappeared and became more willing
to trade with the current residents of
Cuba and the pirates who visited there.
In April of 1816, Bussa's Rebellion
made Barbados a free pirate island,
and they banned slavery there.
Then in 1821, Marcos Xiorro
led a great slave revolt against
the sugar plantation owners and
the Spanish Colonial government.
As a result, Puerto Rico became
a free pirate island, outlawing slavery.
During the 1840s to 1850s, Friends
hired freedom seekers and free blacks
to work on their farms and build cabins.
They encouraged black families
to send their children to school
and participate in community life.
Many of these families prospered
and in time bought their own land.
One such cluster of cabins, which
developed on property owned
by Friend James E. Bonine,
turned into Ramptown.
Eventually that became
a key black owned and
operated town, including
Friends among its residents
as well as closest neighbors.
Ramptown sent out missionaries
to teach other people, particularly
in the Caribbean, how to get along
and establish a healthy municipality.
This improved life and society there.
On April 12, 1861 the American Civil War
broke out over slavery, state rights, and
a bunch of other arguments that people
just couldn't seem to work through.
Then on April 29, 1861 the Union
met with the Democratic Armada
of the Caribbean and made a deal.
They offered the Armada control
of Florida and Louisiana along
with some coastal islands such as
Smith Island off the coast of Virginia
and Ocracoke Island off the shore
of North Carolina, which the nations
had previously been sharing and
sometimes bickering about.
In exchange, the Armada
blockaded the Gulf of Mexico
so that neither merchant nor
military vessels could easily
aid the Confederate States.
At this time, the Armada
also voted to ban slavery
throughout their territory,
rather than individually on
some ships and islands.
Similarly, female pirates
insisted on certain rights
for women of all stations.
On September 22, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln
issued new legislation, and
the Emancipation Proclamation
took effect immediately, freeing
all slaves held within America.
During the American Civil War,
the Bahamas followed by the Turks
and Caicos Islands became members in
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean.
By this point, most of the islands had
shaken off European control and
taken charge of their own fate.
Despite having developed from
brigands and buccaneers, they
had learned enough skills from
the Friends to create societies
that were stable, comfortable
to live in, and most importantly
not based on enslaving anyone.
In May of 1863, the Civil War ended,
largely due to support from the Armada
which generally opposed slavery.
The Thirteenth Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States
was proposed on January 31, 1864.
It prohibited slavery and included
references to the penitentiary practices
by the Religious Society of Friends, so it
also forbade forced labor without pay.
Instead, prison wages must be saved
for payment upon release, giving
former inmates a temporary means
of support such that they could
secure a home and a legal job.
The Thirteenth Amendment was
ratified on December 6, 1864.
In the late 1800s, pirates
established a new haven
in Galveston town on
the island of Galveston
just off the Texas Shore.
The western states were
developing gradually, and
everyone wanted access
for trade or smuggling.
Texas just grumbled and
let them have it, lacking
the resources to dispute
possession so soon after
the South lost the Civil War.
Europe wasn't any happier,
but by then it was clear that
the pirates of the Caribbean
weren't going anywhere.
The Democratic Armada of
the Caribbean was just too
powerful and appealing for it
to fade away into the waves.
The United States and
the Armada enjoyed
a close if sometimes ...
peppery relationship.
At the turn of the century,
it looked like smooth sailing.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its map and content notes appear separately.
siliconshaman and see_also_friend. It also fills the "Spirit Island" square in my 7-1-24 card for the Games and Entertainment Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Peculiar Obligations."The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean"
[1600s]
Not long after the Europeans
arrived in the New World,
the pirates followed them.
In the 1500s, pirate havens
began to spring up all around
the islands of the Caribbean Sea.
San Juan, Puerto Rico was
among the first, and key in
smuggling throughout the area.
Portsmouth, Dominica became
a major port of call for the Spanish
and the English, which also made
the town into a prime hub for piracy.
By the 1600s, more had emerged.
Santa Isabel Village located on
Isla de Provedencia was one.
Some even appeared on
the Spanish Main, including
Xcalak and Portobelo.
In 1636, the Caribs drove
the European invaders
from their island Matinino.
After that, they preferred
to trade with the pirates.
Port Morgan, Île-à-Vache
near Hispaniola as well as
Tap House on St. Thomas
began to gain more traffic.
To the north, two towns in
Rhode Island grew popular with
pirates, Providence and Newport.
Tortuga Village on Tortuga Island,
part of the larger Hispaniola, was
the most famous for many years,
despite all of the giant turtles.
It was a golden age for pirates.
Then something interesting happened.
The Religious Society of Friends, who
were pacifists of all rare things, started
reaching out to the pirates in ports.
A few even started to take ship,
speaking of peace, and because
they were skilled at negotiation,
the Friends were ... tolerated.
The founder, George Fox,
annoyed a lot of stuffy people.
Pirates found that amusing,
and the Friends entertaining,
if more than a bit perplexing.
In the 1650s, female Friends
connected with female pirates,
teaming up to advance the rights
of women on an even wider scale.
The female pirates started to provide
escape routes for abused women
in general, frustrating men in power.
Bermuda had been stewing for a while,
and unrest finally erupted into revolt
in 1656 that made it a free pirate island.
Another great pirate haven arose in
Port Royal, Jamaica as people built
taverns, whorehouses, trading posts,
and other maritime attractions.
George Fox began to express
his doubts about slavery.
The pirates listened with
half an ear, because on
the one hand, freedom was
vital to their way of life, but
on the other hand, they were
mostly motivated by money.
The Friends were always
getting into trouble, though,
and pirates appreciated that.
In 1660, female pirates rescued
Mary Dyer from intended execution
and hauled her to the Caribbean
to prevent her from returning
to danger in New England.
It took her well over a year
to forgive them for uprooting her.
More pirate havens emerged as
foreign ships harassed older ones,
like Petit Goâve on Saint Domingue.
The British attempted to take control
of the Cayman Islands in 1670, which
ended with their official establishment
as free pirate islands -- and a lot of
British sailors getting fed to the basks
of truly enormous crocodiles that swam
around the beaches and the rivers
of the islands named for them.
Several Friends, including
William Edmundson and
George Fox, visited Barbados.
When they argued for treating
slaves humanely, the owners
became outraged and drove
the Friends off the island.
The pirates just laughed;
teasing the rich never got old.
Later they found out that George
published his Barbados sermons
in a little book that again urged
people to treat their slaves better.
Someone got hold of a copy
and passed it around the taverns,
spawning all manner of jokes.
A few years after those incidents,
Friend Alice Curwen traveled to
Barbados and pestered one of
the locals, Friend Martha Tavernor,
to release the slaves she owned.
It wasn't quite the catfight that
the pirates typically bet on,
but they bet on it anyway.
Eventually Alice won,
and her allies collected
their bets, and nobody
thought too much of it yet.
In 1683, William Penn
created a new colony
called Pennsylvania,
aimed at fostering love
and a spirit of brotherhood.
He insisted that the settlers pay
Indians a fair price for native land,
treat natives with dignity, and
respect their various cultures.
William even tried to enact
legislation against slavery.
The pirates just chuckled
about it over their rum.
Well, this ought
to get ... interesting.
By the 1690s, some of
the pirates ventured out
on long-distance voyages
from the Americas to raid
East India Company targets
in the Indian Ocean and Red Sea.
The island of Bermuda shifted
its economy to maritime business
and incorporated many former slaves
as blacksmiths, masons, carpenters,
coopers, shipwrights, and sailors.
Then in 1692, disaster struck:
an earthquake and a great wave
severely damaged Port Royal.
Pirates and Friends alike
flocked to Jamaica and
rendered aid to survivors.
They quickly rebuilt the town
on safer ground, leaving only
the docks at sea level, and
renamed it Port Liberty.
Some pirates still shifted
their routes to Nassau on
New Providence Island in
the Bahamas, which was well
placed and hadn't been flattened.
On October 23, 1696 the Friends
in Philadelphia ruled against bringing
in any new slaves, and urged those
who still owned slaves to treat them
well and to take them to Meetings.
By this point the pirates were
used to it, because their crews
were mostly mixed and if you had
Friends then you also had Meetings,
because any two or three of them
would stick together like burrs.
The Delaware River had
long been favored for piracy
because of the heavy trade
that ran up and down it.
In 1699, the Friends and
the Pennsylvania Assembly
negotiated with the river pirates,
giving them Tinicum Island as
well as Tinicum Township, with
the understanding that they could
trade in the state and its towns
but could no longer raid in either.
However, the pirates remained free
to attack any enemies of Pennsylvania.
Everyone was very happy with this deal.
[1700s]
Pirate havens continued to emerge,
with Tylerton on Smith Island off
the shore of Virginia, and Eden on
Ocracoke Island off the shore
of North Carolina which had
a sympathetic governor.
In 1701, the War of
the Spanish Succession
broke out, with France and
Great Britain joining the fray.
This offered plentiful opportunities
for privateers to make a profit.
The Pennsylvania Assembly
passed an Act to prevent
the importation of slaves
in 1713, but they had
a hard time enforcing it.
That still marked a step
toward the end of slavery.
After the Spanish Succession
concluded in 1714, many of
the sailors and privateers
were left unemployed.
Some of these turned
to piracy in the Caribbean
and the eastern seaboard
of North America, others
to the Indian Ocean and
the West African coast.
It made for some unrest,
because they were new to
the area and didn't know
all the local customs yet.
So local pirates took to flying
a black flag with a white dove
if they had a Friend in the crew,
and they taught the newcomers
that you could haul alongside
such a ship and ask for help if
you needed a negotiator or doctor.
Ships with a Friend for a captain
flew a white flag with a white dove
on a red-and-black 8-pointed star,
with similar offers of assistance.
In 1715, another antislavery tract
made the rounds of the Caribbean,
this one with a long list of reasons
why it was such a terrible idea.
In Jamaica, the Maroon War
made it a free pirate island in 1730,
and people banned slavery there.
It became a haven, not just
for raiders of all sorts, but
also for freedmen and
for runaway slaves.
In 1733, a publisher in
Rhode Island released
a testimony on slavery, and
this one circulated widely as
one of the notable conjunctions
between Friends and pirates
on the topic of abolition.
The pirates, who had
been drifting more toward
freedom over money, grew
more convinced that slaving
wasn't any way to make a living.
On November 23 of the same year,
Saint John became a free pirate island.
From there the rebellion spread to
the rest of the Danish West Indies.
Saint Thomas followed suit in
1734. Fighting in Saint Croix,
the largest island, continued
until it broke free in late 1736.
In April 1756, a group of Friends
from Philadelphia established
the Friendly Association for
Regaining and Preserving
Peace with the Indians by
Pacific Measures. They
used trade and health care
to cement alliances with tribes.
Louisiana became more and
more friendly to pirates, with
Saint Malo in St. Bernard Parish
becoming a haven for them.
The Carib War made Saint Vincent
into a free pirate island in 1773.
Then slaves in Tobago revolted,
freeing it in 1770, followed by
Trinidad where a long bloody war
left it free in the summer of 1774.
On April 19, 1775, years of
rising discontent in the colonies
boiled over into open war with
the battles of Lexington and
Concord, Massachusetts.
These marked the start of
the American Revolutionary War.
The American Continental Congress
ratified the Declaration of Independence
on July 4, 1776 but only included some of
the antislavery passages from earlier drafts,
and quite a bit from the Custom of the Coast.
On July 15, 1776 the Congress struck a deal
with a large group of pirates and privateers,
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean.
They agreed to recognize each other
as nations and to work together as
allies against hostile European forces.
The Americans offered control
of Rhode Island to the Armada,
along with support of its claims
to various other locations, in
exchange for military support.
The Armada was happy to secure
Rhode Island and delighted to attack
every British vessel they could find.
A key feature of the Armada, however,
was that they based their identity on
ships as much as on pieces of land.
On July 8, 1777 the Vermont Republic
became the first state to outlaw slavery.
Then on March 1, 1780 Pennsylvania
passed an act for gradual abolition.
In 1781, the slave ship Zong ran
into trouble, and the crew debated
throwing its human cargo overboard.
Then the pirate ship Black Guillemot
discovered the slave ship and boarded
her, staging the Zong Rescue, in which
they freed all of the African captives.
Luke Collingwood and most of his crew
were either killed on board or thrown
overboard, by pirates or freed Africans.
A majority of the 132 Africans became pirates.
Due in large part to excellent alliances with
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean
and several Native American tribes,
the Revolutionary War came to
an end on September 3, 1781.
In January of 1791, the island of
Dominica became a free pirate island
and thus outlawed slavery there.
A few months later, Spirit Island,
between Dominica and Martinique,
was set aside for the Carib People.
Pirates being a superstitious bunch,
they just didn't want to mess with it.
Also the island of Hispaniola, previously
divided as French Saint-Domingue and
Spanish Santo Domingo, became
a free pirate island, took the name
of Haiti, and banned slavery.
On February 1, 1793 France
and Great Britain went to war.
Privateers all over the Caribbean
rushed to seek Letters of Marque.
By 1795, the society of pirates
had gained considerable momentum,
with smaller groups joining the Armada
and more islands throwing off overlords.
In that year alone, Grenada, Saint Lucia,
and Curaçao all became free pirate islands
and banned slavery in their holdings.
[1800s]
In 1800, it became
a disownable offense
for Friends to own slaves
anywhere, even down in
the southern slave states.
Friends in those states who
owned slaves were obligated
to move somewhere else that
emancipating slaves was legal.
Some simply took up with pirates,
who generally favored freedom
and whose ships and crews
included many former slaves.
Louisiana became more of
a pirate haven with places such
as Manila Village in Barataria Bay.
The Friends had some successes in
sustaining fair treatment of tribal people.
These alliances helped the growing nation
develop good practices and withstand
pressures from foreign countries.
In 1803, attempts to enslave
free passengers of color from
ships docking in Cuba sparked
a rebellion that ended with Cuba
becoming a free pirate island in 1804.
A population of Taino, who had previously
escaped European invaders and hidden
in the mountains or settled elsewhere,
reappeared and became more willing
to trade with the current residents of
Cuba and the pirates who visited there.
In April of 1816, Bussa's Rebellion
made Barbados a free pirate island,
and they banned slavery there.
Then in 1821, Marcos Xiorro
led a great slave revolt against
the sugar plantation owners and
the Spanish Colonial government.
As a result, Puerto Rico became
a free pirate island, outlawing slavery.
During the 1840s to 1850s, Friends
hired freedom seekers and free blacks
to work on their farms and build cabins.
They encouraged black families
to send their children to school
and participate in community life.
Many of these families prospered
and in time bought their own land.
One such cluster of cabins, which
developed on property owned
by Friend James E. Bonine,
turned into Ramptown.
Eventually that became
a key black owned and
operated town, including
Friends among its residents
as well as closest neighbors.
Ramptown sent out missionaries
to teach other people, particularly
in the Caribbean, how to get along
and establish a healthy municipality.
This improved life and society there.
On April 12, 1861 the American Civil War
broke out over slavery, state rights, and
a bunch of other arguments that people
just couldn't seem to work through.
Then on April 29, 1861 the Union
met with the Democratic Armada
of the Caribbean and made a deal.
They offered the Armada control
of Florida and Louisiana along
with some coastal islands such as
Smith Island off the coast of Virginia
and Ocracoke Island off the shore
of North Carolina, which the nations
had previously been sharing and
sometimes bickering about.
In exchange, the Armada
blockaded the Gulf of Mexico
so that neither merchant nor
military vessels could easily
aid the Confederate States.
At this time, the Armada
also voted to ban slavery
throughout their territory,
rather than individually on
some ships and islands.
Similarly, female pirates
insisted on certain rights
for women of all stations.
On September 22, 1862
President Abraham Lincoln
issued new legislation, and
the Emancipation Proclamation
took effect immediately, freeing
all slaves held within America.
During the American Civil War,
the Bahamas followed by the Turks
and Caicos Islands became members in
the Democratic Armada of the Caribbean.
By this point, most of the islands had
shaken off European control and
taken charge of their own fate.
Despite having developed from
brigands and buccaneers, they
had learned enough skills from
the Friends to create societies
that were stable, comfortable
to live in, and most importantly
not based on enslaving anyone.
In May of 1863, the Civil War ended,
largely due to support from the Armada
which generally opposed slavery.
The Thirteenth Amendment to
the Constitution of the United States
was proposed on January 31, 1864.
It prohibited slavery and included
references to the penitentiary practices
by the Religious Society of Friends, so it
also forbade forced labor without pay.
Instead, prison wages must be saved
for payment upon release, giving
former inmates a temporary means
of support such that they could
secure a home and a legal job.
The Thirteenth Amendment was
ratified on December 6, 1864.
In the late 1800s, pirates
established a new haven
in Galveston town on
the island of Galveston
just off the Texas Shore.
The western states were
developing gradually, and
everyone wanted access
for trade or smuggling.
Texas just grumbled and
let them have it, lacking
the resources to dispute
possession so soon after
the South lost the Civil War.
Europe wasn't any happier,
but by then it was clear that
the pirates of the Caribbean
weren't going anywhere.
The Democratic Armada of
the Caribbean was just too
powerful and appealing for it
to fade away into the waves.
The United States and
the Armada enjoyed
a close if sometimes ...
peppery relationship.
At the turn of the century,
it looked like smooth sailing.
* * *
Notes:
This poem is long, so its map and content notes appear separately.
no subject
It's very good to know this particular bit of history, because what most Americans know about pirates is extremely incorrect.
Hmm ...
So, did the Quaker know that most pirates couldn't swim?
In P-Earth, the Quakers think it's kind of crazy to live near and work on the water if you can't swim, so it's one of the things they teach.
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We need more Quakers.
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But there are biases in the perception of what 'counts.' If you look at the Mary Dyer poem, that presents an example of pirate-Friends backstopping someone who is doing something that today would generally be considered passively self-violent but at the time was considered heroic.
(And even today, the behavior might be framed asa mental health issue, rather than a violence issue, though both can be true at the same time.)
Even in modern times stuff like activist burnout is a problem for a lot of otherwise- compassionate people.
I find it /really/ interesting that on P-Earth, Quakers backstop allies from being overly aggressive to other people while the pirate-Friends backstop the Quakers from some risky-to-self behaviors.
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A lot of heroism comes out of low self-worth.
>> (And even today, the behavior might be framed asa mental health issue, rather than a violence issue, though both can be true at the same time.) <<
I'd say both.
>>I find it /really/ interesting that on P-Earth, Quakers backstop allies from being overly aggressive to other people while the pirate-Friends backstop the Quakers from some risky-to-self behaviors.<<
That's part of what makes it such a strong symbiosis. It's challenging to bridge that gap, but the two groups really have a complementary set of strengths and weaknesses. They buffer each other toward a more stable medium.
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On L-Earth, I dunno. My first aid training is something I picked up myself, but there's multiple reasons to learn that in addition to religious-cultural reasons.
I do remember a story about an activist stunt where "If the security guard has a heart attack after we barricade the door, do we unblock the door (and give up on the activism stunt)?" was considered during planning. The group might not have been entirely Quaker, but probbably would have included a few - I think the story was in Philadelphia?
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That's what I thought. Besides, Friends like helping people in general, so first aid is good for that.
>> I do remember a story about an activist stunt where "If the security guard has a heart attack after we barricade the door, do we unblock the door (and give up on the activism stunt)?" was considered during planning. The group might not have been entirely Quaker, but probbably would have included a few - I think the story was in Philadelphia?<<
Well, it depends first on the activists. If they are pacifists who care a great deal about preserving human life, then the guard's life is more important than a stunt ... also more newsworthy. But if they're muckrakers or other troublemakers, then the guard is not their responsibility.
Of course, there's a simpler solution. If you don't have a definite need to see out into that area, just don't look. What you don't know is not your ethical responsibility, unless it's something you should know because you have charge of it.
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You might need to know how to sew a button back onto your coat. Or how to change a flat tire. I agree with Robert Heinlein's "A competent human ought to be able to do the following things:" It includes delivering a baby, cooking a tasty meal, and many other things. I tried to learn all of them, but it also includes shoot at a target and hit it, and I'm a terrible shot because I've been nearsighted all my life.
I taught myself various forms of first aid (there have been case where a toddler delivered their own baby sibling when Mom passed out, with some coaching from the 911 operator on the phone. The kid had been taught to dial 911 in any kind of emergency.
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For what it's worth, if I were going to shove a shouty person in a pool or lake, I'd probbably want to check if they could swim, and possibly ask about valuables (such as cell phones). I suspect that asking about either of those things would probably be unexpecter/distracting enough to derail the shoutiness a bit...
Re: swimming and sailors, I thought the no swimming thing was deliberate, so people wouldn't linger a long time if there was no hope of rescue.
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That might work.
>> For what it's worth, if I were going to shove a shouty person in a pool or lake, I'd probbably want to check if they could swim, and possibly ask about valuables (such as cell phones). I suspect that asking about either of those things would probably be unexpecter/distracting enough to derail the shoutiness a bit...<<
LOL yes.
I think it depends on how a given Friend chooses to interpret nonviolence. Some are absolute pacifists, others are not. And then in P-Earth we've got our rams, who would rather not use violence but will defend themselves or innocents if necessary.
>> Re: swimming and sailors, I thought the no swimming thing was deliberate, so people wouldn't linger a long time if there was no hope of rescue.<<
Huh, I'd never heard that explanation.
Re: Hmm ...
1) They can and do choose to spend time in violent areas and with violent people, often in the violent folks own home ground. Sometimes this does mean enabling violence (as with a combat medic).
They'd probably have some ethical standard for involvement, too. The pirate slaver who is in it for the money will have trouble getting a willing medic, while someone who has a mixed-gender crew and anti-rape rules in their shipboard constitution might* be able to find one by networking.
*Depending on a few temporal and statistical quirks - finding willing medics will be easier later on as the numbers increase and the customs get better at facilitating mixed groups.
2) They are willing to use force (including physical force) to prevent violence and harm. But force is different from violence.
For this I'm drawing on a record from a mental hospital during WWII, where the pacifist orderlies would sometimes have to restrain violent patients and felt a bit weird/guilty about it. Except, the patient would often come up and thank them the day after, because a) the restraints kept them from doing stuff they'd regret while they weren't in control of themselves, and b) they could tell the restraining was compassionate, not cruel or patronizing.
>>Huh, I'd never heard that explanation.<<
I dont remember where I'd picked it up, beyond the fact that I probably read it somewhere.
Now I'm wondering how likely people were to know how to swim in history - and also where the enlistees for ships came from. If they were inlanders, it makes sense they couldn't swim!
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no subject
If taken literally, that one's not very peaceful either.
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If using it for a ram-Quaker, I'd suggest not using a literal gun though. Physically moving, restraining, or tackling, or tossing someone overboard might work, depending on the level of problem the Quaker is trying to solve.
I'd suggest saving tacking for something like trying to separate the person from a friend or patient/kids/persons-in-their-care, especially in a dangerous solution.
Physically moving might come up in more relaxed situations though - like an armed buddy trying to prevent you from treating prisoners, when you don't have time for a long discussion. (Think Elizabeth Fry and the prison guard, if they'd been buddies and he'd thought to push the issue 'for her own good'.)
...and I /could see trying to combine a restraint/Cooldown Hug, /if/ someone is having some sort of freakout. (With the usual note about needing consent, unless someone is in immediate danger.)
Also, re: tossing people overboard... when were the first flotation devices invented? Flotation devices made of animal organs would likely be cheapest/safest, but glass or wood might also be options. Admittedly more expensive, and also a bad idea if someone gets conked on the head...but floating wooden panels that can be manually loosened from a a sinking ship might be helpful. And there's probably a way to make clothing designed to be used as a flotation device, though until the invention of lifejackets, folks would still need to be conscious and briefly able to float to use those.
Also, tangentially related, I finally figured out what the new guy in the most recent poem was up to, ettiquite-wise.
:)
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At this time, the Armada
also voted to ban slavery
throughout their territory,
rather individually on
some ships and islands.
...should be...
At this time, the Armada
also voted to ban slavery
throughout their territory,
rather *than* individually on
some ships and islands.
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Which is why I recommended military or police sources for quality, and I expect gun owners to behave responsibly so they should know how to use ALL their equipment properly. Not everyone does, but far more people kill each other because they're careless with their car. That happens every day and America has zero interest in reducing car use even though it would save tens of thousands of lives.
>>...but how would a trained cop or soldier respond to someone trying to grab their gun /even if the gun is secure/?<<
Today, they often kill the attacker. In a war zone, that's often the most suitable response. For police, I don't think it is and there are better options. But America's police are glorified slavecatchers, so that explains a lot.
>>I heard that suggested once in L Earth, but I do not think it is something people are seriously considering here.<<
Plenty of people love the idea of a weapon that can't be used against them (other than maybe a club) but it's hard to do with current tech. However, biometric locks for other things are ubiquitous, so you can put one on your gun safe if you wish. I think biometrics are a terrible idea, but that's an extreme minority opinion nowadays, when most people want to unlock their phone with a fingerprint or face recognition, and don't realize that biometrics are just passwords that you can never change. >_<
>>Some people would think that putting stuff in high places or similar would be inaccessible, but with a gun I would be reluctant to do that outside of a very brief emergency storage. (Not that I expect to be handling a gun anytime soon...)<<
If it doesn't lock or at least latch (e.g. holsters, truck racks) then it is not secure.
>>The most convincing argument I ever heard for expanding gun access was that men will commonly insist women are crazy...and women often get killed by male partners-exes.<<
Exactly. Paperwork won't protect you at all. Moving won't if someone blabs, and America loves abusers a lot more than women. A gun has stopping power. Abuse is a leading reason why people, especially women, develop a sudden interest in guns.
>> That said, if needing to consistently carry a weapon, everyone in the house should have some basic safety training. You don΄t need to know how to shoot the thing, but you do need to know that they are dangerous, what the three Gun Safety rules are, and how to handle the gun without setting it off.<<
Agreed.
>> And if you have anyone in the house who is at high risk for gun violence (like, say depression) it would not hurt to brush up on that in an age-appropriate and spoon budgeting way. For a little kid it might be having a backup safe adult to call, for an adult, perhaps actual mental health training.<<
Sensible.
>>Also, I believe other non male genders may have similar problems, both in regards to cisgender bigots-terrorists and with cops.<<
True.
>> Context is important. Most likely, familiarity with the person, knowledge of their temperament, my headspace at the time, current social context, and miscellaneous other factors would play into it.<<
Agreed.
>> I am not enough of a stickler to refuse to associate with someone only due to their politics, hobbies, or past professions. I would consider if I feel safe with that specific person, and a big part of that is if we could have a respectful talk about my concerns, if need be.<<
Well, it depends on the expanse. A person who keeps a gun in a locked safe and doesn't talk about it is largely indistinguishable from a non-owner. Someone who uses a rifle a few months of the year to hunt food may talk about it then ("Hey, does anyone like venison? We tagged out this weekend and have extra." "I can use everything but the bleat.") but rarely in the off-season. Whereas someone who doesn't even own a gun but loves gun culture may talk about it obsessively and not be fun for people who aren't into that.
>> Also, my comfort level might change depending on the group I am in. I would be more concerned about certain types of bigotry if traveling with someone who has a different set of privilege than I do... <<
Yeah, it's good to keep an eye on other folks if you're adept at reading that.
>>I know what answers are right for me, and I agree that they are not the right answers for everyone. If people are respectful-polite-whatever about it, that's good enough for me.<<
That puts you ahead of most folks.
>>Also, I prefer polite discussion to arguments. Less stressful, and I might learn something! <<
Exactly. I try to keep this space conducive to that. It mostly works.
no subject
Thank you!
Thoughts
I like the firetruck idea.
>> If using it for a ram-Quaker, I'd suggest not using a literal gun though. Physically moving, restraining, or tackling, or tossing someone overboard might work, depending on the level of problem the Quaker is trying to solve. <<
I love the quote, and it's supposed to come from a (presumably atypical) Quaker, so what kind would work if not a ram?
>> Also, re: tossing people overboard... when were the first flotation devices invented? <<
Probably around the time that Homo evolved to where people could swim well enough that falling in water wasn't the death sentence it is for apes. Once they started avoiding water and starting trying to learn how to navigate it, someone would quickly notice that some things float, other things sink, and holding onto a big enough float will keep your head above water. You can cross a river by holding onto a log. Tying a few pieces of wood to you isn't that much of a stretch.
Throwing a log to a drowning person is also not hard to figure out, once you know that wood floats. The real leap is when someone thinks of fastening a thong or rope to the log before throwing it, and then, keeping such devices near a body of water in case they are needed.
From local-Earth:
870 A.D. – The earliest recorded flotation devices were inflated animal skins used by an Assyrian army to cross a moat.
1800s – Norwegian sailors developed a life vest made out of wood and cork. The British Royal Navy was slow to adopt them because they were in the habit of kidnapping sailors and forcing them onto boats; flotation devices were tempting escape methods and prohibited on ships.
1920s – Cork vests were bulky and very uncomfortable which led to the adoption of kapok, a buoyant, vegetable fiber. Though lighter and more comfy, kapok was also flammable and lost its buoyancy if squished or sat on so quickly went out of use.
I would bet that folks in the Caribbean would soon figure out flotation devices, especially since the Quakers won't like having people drown when it's preventable. Small barrels work great, and that's a useful way of upcycling them. Think 1-5 gallons. Animal bladders are certainly an option. Kapok is native to the area and works well if you put it inside a case that is firm enough to minimize compaction. Cork comes from southwest Europe and northern Africa, but could grow in the American southwest. Alternatively, you could save corks from wine bottles and make them into a vest.
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I think the spirit of it fits.
I'm just stuck on the idea of using a gun as a lethal weapon - and shooting at someone is /always/ potentially lethal.
And, while pacifists can and do sometimes kill in the real world, well... I've mentioned it before, but there's a tendency to... dunno, fetishize? cultures or groups that are marked as different. So then it's not a different, diverse, context-filled culture with sincere values, its a funny group of caricature people with quirks for people to gawk at.
And then some of those stories try to create drama by breaking the values, and while it probably /can/ be done respectfully, people usually don't have that level of skill or care. And the whole 'drama' thing feels kind of disrespectful. That whole 'its only funny if everyone is laughing together' thing.
Dunno how well I'm explaining this... I hope I am making sense.
Re: Thoughts
True.
*ponder* What about a bow and arrow, or crossbow? Not everyone used guns at that time period. And with those weapons, you'd have the option of using a blunt point if you wished. A lead ball could still break bone, but wouldn't be as horrific as a bullet.
Another consideration is the level of threat. One might not touch a gun in defense of one's own life, but defense of a dozen cowering children might be a very different matter.
>>And, while pacifists can and do sometimes kill in the real world, well... I've mentioned it before, but there's a tendency to... dunno, fetishize? cultures or groups that are marked as different. So then it's not a different, diverse, context-filled culture with sincere values, its a funny group of caricature people with quirks for people to gawk at.<<
True.
I'm doing my best to present a range of different Friends, from historic figures to fictional ones, across a wide timespan and in diverse contexts.
*ponder* We really don't have a "city Quaker" yet, the ones with more money and a fancier dress mode. Could sure use a banker! I mean somebody has to think up the money laundering as a nonviolent organized crime.
>> And then some of those stories try to create drama by breaking the values, and while it probably /can/ be done respectfully, people usually don't have that level of skill or care. And the whole 'drama' thing feels kind of disrespectful. That whole 'its only funny if everyone is laughing together' thing.<<
Point. I do tend to lay out the parameters and then actively search for exceptions to the rules.
We're going to have to deal with the pacifism issue and how different Friends interpret it, just because this setting mixes Quakers with organized crime (original prompt) and pirates (where it's trending). That means looking at the underlying principles, how individuals or Meetings interpret them, and the effects of context.
To me, those variations are fascinating. The quote hooked me, because it makes me wonder what context would drive a Friend to that extreme? Was he on the less-pacifist side to begin with? In a truly dire situation? Some combination of both? How well would it work? And then afterwards, how would he feel about whatever he did, and how would other Friends respond if they knew about it? Because that story is getting around.
>> Dunno how well I'm explaining this... I hope I am making sense. <<
You are. Maybe it'll work out, maybe not, but it's an interesting discussion and highly relative to this series, which is really about moral quandaries at the core.
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Good solution.
>>*ponder* We really don't have a "city Quaker" yet, the ones with more money and a fancier dress mode.>>
What about setting some stories in Philadelphia or London? Phili would be Quaker-dominant, and probably involve allied Native tribes, while 1600s London would be a more … prejudicial environment. But either would be a good place for a business or bank story in the 1600s.
<
Good solution.
>>*ponder* We really don't have a "city Quaker" yet, the ones with more money and a fancier dress mode.>>
What about setting some stories in Philadelphia or London? Phili would be Quaker-dominant, and probably involve allied Native tribes, while 1600s London would be a more … prejudicial environment. But either would be a good place for a business or bank story in the 1600s.
<<Could sure use a banker! I mean somebody has to think up the money laundering as a nonviolent organized crime.<<
Unfortunately, most of the prompts I can think of would be in the 1700s or 1800s, and I don’t think the timeline is shored up enough yet. Here’s a list of L-Earth businesses to glance at, though : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Quaker_businesses,_organizations_and_charities
>>Point. I do tend to lay out the parameters and then actively search for exceptions to the rules.<<
I think you do a good job – and if you did goof on something, you’d be willing to listen or even try to fix it. I’ve just seen it done badly so often that I’m extra cautious.
>>We're going to have to deal with the pacifism issue and how different Friends interpret it, just because this setting mixes Quakers with organized crime (original prompt) and pirates (where it's trending).<<
For some reason, I find the mixing of 1600s pirates and the slang term ‘trending’ in the same sentence to be hilarious.
>>That means looking at the underlying principles,…<<
A lot of times, outsiders don’t look into underlying values of different cultures. Probably because it’s a lot of work!
But when interacting with – or writing – an other-group character it really helps with understanding.
>>…how individuals or Meetings interpret them, and the effects of context.<<
Like all human societies, we can be really fractal about values, customs, etc. Good for storytelling purposes, though!
>> Dunno how well I'm explaining this... I hope I am making sense. <<
>>You are. Maybe it'll work out, maybe not, but it's an interesting discussion and highly relative to this series, which is really about moral quandaries at the core.<<
In that case, something else to keep in mind will be that (in activism spaces, with Quakers and with life in general) it is important to try and have an idea of your moral framework /before/ dealing with a moral quandary.
For Quakers specifically, that’s one of the reasons our decisions tend to take awhile – we’re considering all angles.
You can probably easily find some resources on the activist side of things.
Anyway, I suspect that aspect will be incorporated into the symbiosis culture. At minimum, it is useful for helping people sort out where they are best suited on the hawk/dove spectrum. It will also probably be useful for advance troubleshooting of risky situations.
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We can do that. I think some of the earlier poems are set in Pennsylvania, working with historic figures. A city Quaker should fit either in Philadelphia or London.
>>I think you do a good job – and if you did goof on something, you’d be willing to listen or even try to fix it. I’ve just seen it done badly so often that I’m extra cautious.<<
I do my best. I'm painfully aware that official, mainstream references can be wrong to the point of dangerous in comparison to the lived experience of trait-having people. It's happened with the Damask thread and with An Army of One. :/
>> For some reason, I find the mixing of 1600s pirates and the slang term ‘trending’ in the same sentence to be hilarious. <<
I meant trending in the statistical sense of "occurrences developing a pattern in this direction," not the modern misuse which actually refers to fads. A trend is a lasting pattern.
>> A lot of times, outsiders don’t look into underlying values of different cultures. Probably because it’s a lot of work! <<
That's true, but to me, it is the interesting part of other cultures -- what they do differently, better, or worse in comparison to each other. And if they have a great idea, I will happily replicate it.
I tend to write from the ground up, so examining social dynamics and how they influence behavior is part of that. Also I'm used to working with alien societies and analyzing what motivates them.
>>But when interacting with – or writing – an other-group character it really helps with understanding.<<
Also helps in real life, for which literature can be a good example.
When Ashar first opened, we scouted the place, bought a few things we recognized like fruit juices, and wrote down some new things that looked interesting. Then we looked up recipes. Then we went back and bought the supplies to make the recipes.
At one point, one of the staff -- who are all immigrants from Africa -- asked what we were doing with the honeybeans and dried shrimp. I explained that we were making adalu and listed the ingredients. "That's just how we make it!" "Well yeah, I got the recipe off the Nigerian TV website."
Also, I eventually figured out that if you un-substitute American kale, spinach, etc. from bean dishes and replace African greens -- I'm using dried moringa leaves -- the result is MUCH better. But to get there, you have to respect other cultures enough to realize they might actually have some good ideas.
>>Like all human societies, we can be really fractal about values, customs, etc. Good for storytelling purposes, though!<<
Sooth, and it's one of the things I love about Friends -- how diverse they are, the different ways they solve complex problems.
>> In that case, something else to keep in mind will be that (in activism spaces, with Quakers and with life in general) it is important to try and have an idea of your moral framework /before/ dealing with a moral quandary.<<
Absolutely. I think that's something the pirates and Quakers will figure out quickly -- that if they are going to mix together, both sides really need to think about their own values and how to handle someone having totally different ones. Because if they think it through, they'll realize that situational authority is super useful. The Quakers can step back to let the pirates handle a violent conflict, which is what pirates do well; and the pirates can step back to let the Quakers handle messy emotional issues, which they do well; rather than anyone trying to use a screwdriver to pound nails. If they can tolerate the differences, they just make a really fantastic balance together.
>> For Quakers specifically, that’s one of the reasons our decisions tend to take awhile – we’re considering all angles. <<
And listening in Silence in case God decides to offer advice.
>> You can probably easily find some resources on the activist side of things.<<
True.
>>Anyway, I suspect that aspect will be incorporated into the symbiosis culture. At minimum, it is useful for helping people sort out where they are best suited on the hawk/dove spectrum. <<
Agreed.
>>It will also probably be useful for advance troubleshooting of risky situations.<<
Do you have people with the skills to handle that situation fluently? If not, maybe you should try to find some or look for a way to avoid it.
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