Did Pirates Bury Their Treasure? – Lecture

Did Pirates Bury Their Treasure? with Dr Richard Blakemore has now finished. Thank you to everyone who attended.

We all know what a pirate is, the way they dressed, how they spoke – or do we? In this talk we will delve into the popular and enduring stories that surround the history of piracy: pirate codes and buried treasure, talking parrots and walking planks. We will explore how those stories originated and whether any of these things really happened. Looking at some the most famous pirates of the 17th and 18th centuries, including Blackbeard, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, and ‘Black Bart’ Roberts, and paying close attention to surviving historical evidence, we will examine how stories about pirates, as much as the actions of pirates themselves, defined ideas about piracy in that period and continue to shape our understanding of piracy in the present day.

Dr Richard Blakemore is Associate Professor in Social and Maritime History at the University of Reading. His research focuses on seafarers during the 17th and 18th centuries, and he has published books and articles on the British civil wars at sea, Atlantic piracy, trade and violence in West Africa, wages and economics in shipping, and maritime law.

Tickets

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Lecture Series

Did Pirates Bury Their Treasure? is part of National Maritime Museum Cornwall’s 2023 lecture series. Other lectures in this series include:

• Red Sails & Pilchards with Matt Johnson, Thursday 25 May. Creating an illustrated book about Cornwall’s fishing history.
• Forward and Courageous with Dr Elaine Murphy, Thursday 14 September. Female pirates and the experiences of women at sea.
• The Lamentable Cries of at Least 1500 Christians with Dr Jo Esra, Thursday 12 October. North African pirates and west country captives in the 17th century.