Richard and Jeremiah

Read my latest article about more of the pirates of the Whydah Galley!

Richard and Jeremiah: Two Pirates Who would be Pardoned 

 

Where and what is Salturtuda?

I had quite a time trying to locate an island called Salturtuda for my most recent article about Jeremiah Higgins and Richard Caverley. 

Along the way, I found a web site and a reference and thought I would share those with you here.

“Tavern” by the Saltpan: New England Seafarers and the Politics of Punch on La Tortuga Island, Venezuela, 1682–1781

New England seafarers from small merchant ships visited the natural saltpans of the Venezuelan island of La Tortuga from the late seventeenth century up until 1781. The liminal space of the island set the stage for the creation of an improvised “tavern” where the communalism of shipboard life was suddenly changed to more markedly vertical relations. Drawing from archaeological excavations and original documentary sources it is argued that, while on land, captains no longer worked alongside their crews who now labored extracting salt. With leisure time available to them, punch drinking offered captains a means of discursive practice through the manipulation of fashionable material culture and an opportunity to negotiate their social position among peers. When given to the crew, punch served as a labor incentive and a way of obfuscating the sudden change in customary captain-crew relations while on the island.

There is also this article about excavations of La Tortuga:

Historical archaeology of the Dutch salt enterprise on La Tortuga Island Venezuela, 1624-38 

 

Christmas Carols in 1700

I thought it would be interesting this year to put together a list of Christmas Carols that existed around the early 1700's. These might have been sung by ship's crews as part of a Christmas celebration. At the end is a You Tube video of a boy's choir singing A Coventry Carol.

Enjoy!

"While Shepherds Watched" dates back to 1703. The words for While shepherds watched were written by Nahum Tate, who was the Poet Laureate in the reign of Queen Anne, and Nicholas Brady. Only the Psalms of David were sung in the Anglican Church prior to that time. Tate and Brady were the first to paraphrase the psalms for singing in rhyme which then became distinctive of their work. The familiar melody used for While Shepherds Watched was taken from "Siroe," an opera by George Frederick Handel. On a lighter note children love to parody the words “While shepherds watched their flocks by night” and replacing them with “While Shepherds wash their socks by night!” 

From : 10 Christmas Carols of The 18th Century

Written by Rick Brainard

Parent Category: 18th Century History Articles

Category: Society and Culture

The Origin of Christmas Carols & Music

Carols are banned but bounce back
Christmas carols were banned between 1649 and 1660 in England by Oliver Cromwell who thought that Christmas should be a solemn day. (Cromwell also abolished the monarchy.) When Protestants, inspired by Martin Luther, took to the joy of Christmas carols, many had to flee Europe under pressure from the Catholic Church. They took the Christmas carols with them to their new homes across the world. In 1649, John de Brebeur wrote the first American Christmas carol, called Jesus is Born.
Fortunately, in Europe, when carols couldn't be sung in Churches, they found a stage elsewhere. The world's most famous religious play, the Passion Play, was staged in Oberammergau, Germany in 1634 (and has been performed every 10 years since). In the 1700s, the music by Mendelssohn and Händel was adapted and used as Christmas carols.

SOURCE: http://www.didyouknow.cd/xmas/xmascarols.htm

Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful) - 1700's: The text to the Carol O Come All Ye Faithful was originally written in Latin (Adeste Fideles) and was intended to be a hymn, it is attributed to John Wade, an Englishman. The music to O Come All Ye Faithful was composed by fellow Englishman John Reading in the early 1700s. The tune was first published in a collection known as "Cantus Diversi" in 1751. In 1841 Rev. Frederick Oakley is reputed to have worked on the familiar translation of O Come All Ye Faithful which replaced the older Latin lyrics "Adeste Fideles". (SOURCE: http://www.carols.org.uk/o_come_all_ye_faithful.htm)

Coventry Carol - 1534: The words and lyrics of the' Coventry Carol' were written by Robert Croo in 1534 for the traditional Coventry Plays and included in the Pageant of the Shearman and Tailors Guild which depicted Herod's slaughter of the innocents. The composer of the music is unknown but is also believed to date back to the 1500's. Henry Ramsden Bramley (1833-1917) and John Stainer (1840-1901) were the first to attribute the Coventry Carol which they included in 'Christmas Carols New and Old' in 1878.

I Saw Three Ships - 1666: Words: Traditional; First Publication Date: John Forbes' Cantus, 2nd. ed. (1666), Music: Traditional English.

Pat-A-Pan - 1700's: Words and Music: Guillô, Pran Ton Tamborin, Bernard de la Monnoye, c. 1700 (1641-1728)

From: http://www.digitalgothic.net/Sanctuary/carols.htm

Listen to A Coventry Carol: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIvH5GdY4JE

 

Last Will & Testament of Mary Hallett

"Last Will & Testament of Mary Hallett" Barnstable County Probate Records Vol.8. April 19, 1734. In the Name of God Amen, this 19th day of April A. Dom. 1734.

Cape Cod legend has it that this woman may have been Samu­el Bel­lam­y's lover prior to his turn­ing pi­rate. She died in 1751.

          I, Mary Hallet of Yarmouth in the County of Barnstable New Eng­land Spin­ster being sound in Mind but sick in body ther­efore Calling to mind my Mortallity do make this my last Will and Testa­ment. First of all I Give and Com­mend my Soul into the hands of God who Gave it and my body to the Earth to be buried in Decent Mannner at ye Direc­tion of my Exec. hereafter Named not Doubting but at the Resurrec­tion I shall Receive the Same again by the Al­mighty Power of God & as to my Worldly Estate I dispose of it in the following Manner Vizt. in the first place I Give and bequeath to my Sister _____ Griffith my Wearing Appearell Including my two Gold Rings but not my Gold Bead­s, also I Give to my said Sis­ter my two Silver Spoons also One half of what Re­mains of my _____ Estate.

The other half of my Estate I Give to be Equally Divided among my Brethren and the Children of my Deceasd. Brother and Sister that is to Say one Sixth part of said Half to my Bro­ther Andrew Hallet one Sixth part to John Hallet one sixth part to the Surviving Children of Joseph Hallet one sixth part thereof to the Sur­viving Children of Samll Hallet Both my Deceased Breth­ren, one sixth part to Seth Hal­let and one sixth part to the Sur­viving Children of my Deceased Sister Thankfull Basset. Fi­nally I do consti­tute and Appoint my two Broth­ers Andrew Hallet and John Hal­let Exec. to this my last will and Testa­ment.  In Witness whereof I have here unto set my hand and seal the day and year above written.

Signed, Sealed, Published and De­clared by the Said Mary Hal­let to be her last will and Testamt. in presence of

Mary Ha­llet

Thomas Hallett

Jonathan Hallett

Jonathan Hallett Jr.