Pirate Theme Party

You should definitely consider replica pirate guns for your pirate birthday party. Guns were an essential part of the pirate’s armory, and they came in many shapes and sizes. There was the matchlock musket, which was a cheaply made rifle. The matchlock performed poorly for pirates because it was hard to use in wet weather. This did not bode well for sailors in that they were always around water. An improvement on this design, the flintlock musket, was usually a smooth bore weapon, and although it was more expensive than the matchlock, it performed much better in bad weather. Next was the musketoon, which was a shortened rifle so to speak. The musketoon could hold several rounds so that when it was shots, the bullets would spread out. It was mainly used in close combat. There was also the blunderbuss! This weapon could be compared to the modern day shotgun. It could use a host of materials as bullets, including metal scraps. It was an extremely short range weapon, but it was deadly effective. Finally, there was the pistol. The pistol was basically good for one shot because reloading it took precious time that pirates did not have during a frantic fight. Instead, they carried multiple pistols to make sure they had several shots. The famous Blackbeard was known for this. Be sure to include these weapons in your pirate birthday party.

It probably would be difficult to procure an authentic cannon for your pirate theme party, but it sure would make for a great prop. Caribbean pirates were very familiar with artillery. There were many naval battles during the 16th and 17th centuries, and these battles were fought out with large cannons. Cannons were a common sight on virtually all kinds of large vessels during that time. The advent of iron made cannons easy to produce and cheap to buy, and this led to a naval arms race of sorts that pitted pirates and profiteers against governments and the East India Trading Company. One invention for the cannon improved its reload time and accuracy significantly. It was the four wheeled truck. The cannon sat on top of the truck and was rolled into place before firing. The barrel of the cannon usually stuck out the side of the boat, so reloading it from that position was impossible without the use of the truck. After firing, the cannon was simply rolled back, loaded, and pushed back into position. Another type of cannon was the swivel cannon. These types were permanently mounted on the ship and allowed for deadly aim. Next up on pirate theme party …. the Guns!

When you try to come up with a pirate party idea, remember that pirates were well known for their fighting skills. Pirates had to be adept in the art of ballistics, marksmanship, and fencing. There weapons were long range, medium range and short range. Their long range weapons were cannons, and some ships carried as many as forty of them! These were mainly used for deterrence rather than actual fighting. The pirates were attempting to capture vessels, and not sink them. These cannons were able to shoot large cannon balls for great distances and could create absolute havoc! Their guns were their medium range weapons. If the ships were close enough, pirated could try to pick off one another with them in hopes of thinning out the crowd before final boarding. There were all kinds of guns including rifles, shotguns and muskets. I will cover more about these in future pirate party idea blogs. Finally, there were the swords! No pirate would be complete without one, and they had to be extremely skilled with these weapons. Many of the casualties in a pirate fight were victims of the sword, so proper handling and techniques were crucial. Next up, we’ll discuss the weapons in more detail.

Why not dig into a little history to get your next pirate birthday party idea.Long before there were any pirates, there were the Phoenicians. These were people who lived on a series of islands that spread out over an area that was thousands of miles long. They were the first known peoples to put into practice the art of ocean navigation. They used ingeniously designed vessels and were able to travel great distances. The most remarkable aspect about this civilization was that it existed about four thousand years ago! It is remarkable that a group of people so ancient could negotiate such a large swath of the Pacific Ocean! The technology used at that time was nothing like what we have available to us today. I am sure that any Phoenician would love to be able to use a sextant, mariners compass or a navigational chart. Today we use gyroscopic compasses, modern radar, the global positioning system, and loran. Loran, or Long Range Navigation, was developed around the period of World War II, and uses radio pulses between two separate stations to determine the position of any given ship. Make sure you have all the tools you need for your next pirate birthday party by checking out our ebook!

Navigation charts have long been one of the most important tools for any pirate sea captain. Imagine if Captain Jack Sparrow wanted to attend your pirate birthday party, but could not figure out how to get there. What would happen if he did not know how to read a navigation chart and ended up driving his ship into a sand bar? Then, not only would he not be able to make your pirate birthday party, he would have to abandoned his gold laden ship! Things would be different if he had the proper sea navigation charts because he would be able to see where the sand bars were. Sand bars tend to move location, so sea navigation charts have to be constantly kept up to date. The nautical charts also outline the coastal regions, and include ocean depths. They might also include topographical features and list different man made and natural location identifiers. These are critically important for any sea navigator because natural and man made landmarks are very hard to come by. The next time you plan your pirate theme party, be sure to give your fellow pirates an up to date nautical sea chart!

Do you want to be a Buccaneer for your next pirate theme party? Ever wonder where the term Buccaneer came from? Buccaneers were originally French settlers on the Caribbean islands. They traveled the islands and poached all kinds of meat, including pigs, chickens and cattle. The roasted the meat over wood planks, a process that was called Barbioca. The learned this method from the locals on the island, and the English pronounced the word Buccaneer. Thus, these people were Buccaneers, or those that barbioca. Barbioca is strangely similar to the modern term, barbecue, and in fact, the word barbecue comes directly from the term barbioca. The next time you’re grilling some meet at your pirate theme party, you can officially consider yourself a Buccaneer. When the Buccaneers were driven from the island by the Spaniards, they turned to piracy. They became quite a notorious bunch, and were a constant thorn in the Spaniards side. They raided island after island, looting and taking what they needed. They never let go of the cooking methods they learned from the locals. When the Spaniards referred to them as Buccaneers, they meant the men that barbecue! So quite literally, the men who pirated were also the men who always barbecued!

Chicken is an ingredient in all kinds of recipes, including the pirate recipe. I found this one in a dusty, old pirate recipe book. This is called “Pirate Chicken and Rice.”
1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) broiler-fryer chicken, cut up
2 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups water
1 (16 ounce) can stewed tomatoes (with liquid)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 cup uncooked regular rice
1 (10 ounce) package frozen green peas
1 medium green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup cubed fully cooked smoked ham (about 2 ounces)
1/3 cup pitted small green olives
1 tablespoon capers
Grated Parmesan cheese
Place chicken in 12-inch skillet or Dutch oven. Sprinkle with salt, oregano, coriander and pepper. Add water, tomatoes, onion and garlic. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 30 minutes.
Stir rice into liquid. Cover and simmer until thickest pieces of chicken are done, about 20 minutes. Rinse frozen peas under running cold water to separate; drain. Add peas, green pepper, ham, olives, capers and 1 tablespoon caper liquid to chicken. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
Serve with Parmesan cheese.
Yields 8 servings.

Ever wonder what it would have been like to enjoy a good pirate meal? Other than rum, there were other pirate recipes used during the Golden Age of Piracy. Here are some more ideas for some pirate recipes.
Caribbean Honey-Spiced Chicken with Mango recipe
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons freshly grated lemon peel
1 ripe mango, peeled and diced
1 small onion, peeled and quartered
2 fresh jalapeño peppers, halved and seeded
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt.
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
½ teaspoon ground allspice
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
In a small bowl, combine honey, lemon juice and lemon peel; whisk until well-blended. Remove 1/4 cup of mixture to food processor container; set aside. Add mango to honey lemon mixture in bowl; toss to coat. Store in refrigerator.
Add onion, jalapenos, paprika, oil, garlic salt, cinnamon, pepper and allspice to honey-lemon mixture in food processor container. Process until very finely chopped, scrape down sides when necessary. Spread mixture evenly over both sides of chicken breasts. Spread oil in 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Arrange chicken breasts in pan. Bake at 375 degrees F for 25 to 30 minutes or until cooked through. Remove chicken to serving platter; top with reserved mango.
Yields 4 servings.

Not all pirate recipes are from the seafood category. You can find many great dishes that are served that include beef, chicken, and even pork! Pork is prevalent in many pirate recipes, so we wanted to offer this tasty morsel for your hungry sailors!

Pork Chops with Bananas and Bacon
Ingredients:

-beer (optional)
2 large bananas
Juice of 1 lemon
6 strips of bacon
4 pork chops 1″ thick
3/4 tablespoon of cumin
-salt & pepper to taste
2 tablespoons of butter,
-softened

Directions:

Combine butter, salt & pepper with the
cumin. rub into both sides of the meat
and saute the meat briefly, until some
of the fat has rendered.

Now remove and drain. Peel the banana’s
then cut it into 1 1/4 chunks. Place on
a dish and sprinkle with lemon juice.

Next slice bacon into strips long enough
to wrap around each of the banana slice.
put on skewers, threading through bacon.

Place the pork chops on a hot grill, for
15 minutes, turning once. Turn the grill
down to medium.

Add bacon along with the banana’s, grill
for another 10 minutes, turning both the
meat and banana’s. Also good basted with
beer, while the meat cooks.

Makes 4 servings.

A pirate recipe can be hard to come by. I have had the good fortune of actually seeing flying fish! During many trips into the Pacific, South China, and Indian Oceans, I have witnessed these amazing creatures fly with ease. The fish can jump out of the water by many feet, and then fly with ease until they land back in the water. If you are lucky, one of them may fly right into the boat. Try this delicious pirate recipe!

FLYING FISH (Fried)
INGREDIENTS:
1 egg beaten
-salt to taste
-seasoned flour
-oil for frying
-hot pepper to taste
-fine dry bread crumbs
3 cloves of garlic minced
1 teaspoon of parsley, minced
1 packet filleted flying fish
1 teaspoon of onion powder
-chive and thyme minced
METHOD:
First soak the fish into water with the
lime juice then Rinse and drain it well.
Next season the fish with garlic, onion,
chive, thyme, parsley, salt & pepper and
Place the seasoning between the seams.
Now mix the beaten egg with a little bit
of water. Coat the fish in the seasoned
flour and dip right in the egg mixture,
finally coat with dry crumbs.
Fry in the hot oil for 5 minutes on each
side turning 1 time until it is browned.
Drain on paper towels and serve with the
hops.