The Golden Age of Piracy

Eighty years of piracy when no-one was safe from buccaneers, pirates and privateers – the English, French and  Dutch attacked Spanish colonies and shipping in the Eastern Pacific, the East India Company was a regular target on its world voyages and Anglo-American privateers turned en-masse to piracy in the Caribbean. This talk charts the history of the ‘exciting’ golden age of robbery on the high seas.

Pirate Treasure

X marks the spot on treasure maps where gold bullion and jewellery were buried in treasure chests by swashbuckling pirates. But is that fact or intriguing fiction? In this talk I will identify the treasure, who stole it and what happened to their ill-gotten goods!

Pirate, Privateer or Naval Admiral – Any Difference?

We all have an image of pirates from fictional characters like Long John Silver and CaptainJack Sparrow– they’re swashbuckling heroes with a twinkle in their eye! But the real pirates were Calico Jack, Blackbeard, Henry Morgan and Admiral Sir John Hawkins among many others. Find out who was successful and what happened to the rest!

Life of a Pirate

What was life really like on a pirate ship? Who were the men (and women) who worked the ships? What did they eat and drink?Did they really have peg-legs, eye patches and parrots? We’ll uncover the reality of life on board and bury the myths.

Women in Piracy.

Women on board ship were regarded as bad luck, so how did a female pirate become Queen? Some women pirates were as notorious as the worst of the men and one in particular was extremely clever. In this talk I will discuss the challenging lives of women pirates, the wives of pirates left at home and ‘friends’ of pirates …one in every port!