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April 2023 - The Dread Pirate Roberts
Design notes from the artist: Chris Mackey
While I had heard of the fantastical pirate years ago in the movie The Princess Bride and again, years later, in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, I never imagined the real life Black Bart Roberts was an even more fantastical figure in actual history.
Bartholomew Roberts was a Welsh pirate who basically set the bar for all piratical practice in the Golden Age of Piracy. He raided and seized more than 400 ships in only a few short years and established a legacy that would last forever. His infamous daring earned him the name Black Bart (Barti Ddu) and The Great Pyrate. He would go on to establish the infamous "Pirate Code" which would be sworn upon a bible in late 1719.
While he never intended to become a pirate, the ship he served on was seized by pirates off the Gold Coast of West Africa and he was forced to join their cause. His keen sense of navigation quickly earned him advancement in the ranks enjoying his newfound power and liberty and was quoted as saying "A merry life and a short one shall be my motto."
Within only six short weeks of joining the pirate crew, his captain was struck dead in a kidnapping attempt and Roberts was immediately elected as the new captain. He immediately sought revenge for the death of his captain and followed it up with quickly seizing several vessels and striking out as a small pirate fleet. For the next few years he would lead the most daring and quickest seizures of vessels and fortunes ever attained.
He fancied himself a gentleman and would attire himself in rich clothing, a red feather in his hat and a gold chain about his neck supporting the diamond encrusted crucifix stolen from the king of Portugal. He cut a dashing figure during his numerous raids and both his men and his enemies believed he might actually be bulletproof as it seemed no exploit was too outrageous to deter him. Like all overconfident men, he attracted the attention of the Grim Reaper and in a most inglorious fashion was struck down almost randomly by a scattering of grape shot during his final battle. As per his often stated wish, his body was weighed down with a great pile of his wealth and weapons before being thrown overboard, never to be found.
The Dread Pirate Roberts was the pirate king of the sea during his short and dashing life, but as his motto stated... A merry life and a short one... and Old Grim waits on no man.
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