Pirates of Antigua: History

The Black Swan pirate ship was originally the sailing schooner, "Rana" and was built in 1919 as a lightship to protect shipping off the Danish coast. She is built of oak on oak and is 89 feet long. She originally carried 313 square metres of canvas under sail. She was originally named Motorlightship IV. In 1970 she was sold and given the name "Rana".

In 1974, the owner had her towed from Copenhagen Harbour to Thisted where a used 1957 Hundested motor was installed. On the trip back, Rana stranded on Anholt. The ship was salvaged and brought back to Grena where she lay for a few years. In 1976 she was bought by a group of young people and towed to Hadsund where she was restored and approved for sport fishing and chartered out of Skagen.

In 1979 she was rigged out as a sailing vessel and sailed with tourists to the Faroe Islands, among other places. She is one of the few older Danish wooden sailing vessels that is approved by the "Ship's Inspection" to sail the entire world. She has sailed the world's oceans for about 20 years both under the tropical sun, with 11 cruises to the Caribbean and a trip up the Amazon in Brazil, as well as the polar climes in Greenland. She was until recently used to help rehabilitate errant Danish teenagers. She sailed all the way through the Bay of Biscay and across the Atlantic to Antigua where she was transformed to her new role as one of Antigua's prime tourist attractions the "Black Swan" pirate ship.

The difference between a pirate and a privateer was that privateers were authorized by the government of their country and did not attack ships from their own country. Pirates harassed and robbed anyone passing by. Pirates elected their Captain through a vote. If the Captain fell into disfavour, the crew was just as quick to maroon their captain. This meant that he would be abandoned on an island somewhere. Pirate Captains didn't really command by an iron fist, they commanded through talent, guts, and the ability of amassing booty. Choosing the right ship and the right cargo to pillage, was a crucial part of any pirate ship captain's duty, if he wished to avoid mutiny. But failing to attack a promising ship, could also bring about mutiny, since most of his crew were sailing, for a share in the plundered goods. The Cutlass was the pirates sword of choice. A cutlass was a short bladed singled edged sword. The blade as usually slightly curved and only sharpened on the outer blade.

The pirate Black Beard was an imposing sight. He stood well over six feet tall and was as strong as an ox. It is said that the pirate Black Beard shot his own first mate, just so that people would remember how ferocious he could be. Of the many legends about Black Beard, the most notable is his missing treasure which has never been found.

"Calico" Jack Rackham was a pirate captain during the early 18th century. He earned his name from the colorful Calico clothes he wore. The pirate "Calico" Jack Rackham is famous for having the two most famous female pirates in his crew, Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Maybe he was really Antiguan!!

Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, was one of the most successful and menacing pirates in the Golden Age of piracy. In his brief career he captured a total of more than 400 ships.

Woodes Rogers, the "Pirate Hunter", was an English privateer and governor of the Bahamas who helped suppress piracy in the Caribbean.