Pirate Theme Party

In today’s segment of the pirate theme party blog, I will continue the adventures of the Parrot Pirates. In the last chapter, Petey had something to tell Guy but wanted to fill his stomach first. Come back to the pirate theme party blog often to see more updates on the Parrot Pirates.

Petey’s tummy was full now and he needed to find a way to get Guy Burgess away from the rest of the pirates. He needed some type of diversion but he didn’t want to catch the attention of Captain Wellington because he was sure that he’d become suspicious. The rest of the pirates seemed pretty much oblivious. They had been drinking rum with their boar so they weren’t going to be a problem. Just as he was about to make his move, the ships navigator, Kim Philby, stood up and addressed the squad. “Here here!” “Everybody pay heed.” “Tonight our stomachs are full and the rum has gone down on an empty stomach, & it’s all because of Petey the Parrot!” “I say we cast our lot with this fellow & rename ourselves the Parrot Pirates!” The rest of the group cheered, even Captain Wellington. Petey was sullen. He had hoped he could escape these morons but now it looks like he was stuck with them.

In today’s pirate theme party blog, I will continue the adventures of Guy, Captain Wellington, Petey and the Parrot Pirates. In the last episode, Petey narrowly avoided a grisly fate by surprisingly stumbling across a boar.

When Petey woke up he was very groggy. He could here the sound of drunken singing in the background and the smell of roasted meat was everywhere. The food looked delicious, and although most birds were not meat eaters, Petey loved the taste of roasted meat. “I saved ya some meat!” Guy said excitedly. “Boy, if you hadn’t found that boar, I’d have been tempted to eat my shoe.” Petey looked at the meat, then back up to Guy. He needed to clue this idiot pirate in on what that treasure was really about, but was also famished. All that flying had siphoned off the last of his food for that day and was now beginning to dip into his fat tummy. He decided it could wait. Filling his stomach was his first priority. He started to dig into the pork when he realized that the crew must have a great cook. There was a limited amount of resources but somehow the cook had managed to make this a succulent feast. So much for the poor pig.

For more on Petey and the Parrot Pirates, come back to the pirate theme party blog.

In today’s pirate theme party blog, I will continue the frightening adventures of Captain Wellington, Guy, the Parrot Pirates, and of course Petey. The last time we saw Petey, he was searching for a boar. If he doesn’t find it, he’ll be roasted for dinner tonight! Check the pirate them party blog for more updates.

Petey was really starting to get worried now. He could hear Captain Wellington from below threatening that he was going to cook him for dinner. He was getting really tired of flying and knew he would have to land soon just to catch his breath. At that moment, he heard a loud “CRACK,” and then saw something buzz past his ear. From below, Captain Wellington said “Consider that a warning shot across the bow Petey! I’m a crack shot so you better find us that boar here real soon!” Petey couldn’t believe they were firing at him. He had to make a decision. He dove as fast as he could and made a break for it. He turned his head heard Captain Wellington and the Parrot Pirates screaming from behind and knew they were coming fast! When he turned around, he just realized he was flying right into a rock. He was sure this was the end of his fate. He hit the rock with stunning force and passed out. When he awoke, he was surrounded by pirate boots. “This is it,” he thought, “This is how I’m going to die.” Petey shut his eyes and awaited the bullet. They were taking forever. Were they just torturing him? “Come on!” Petey said. “Get it over with!” “What are you talking about Petey?” Guy asked. “We already shot the boar.” “Good job little guy!” Petey couldn’t believe what he was hearing. He got up and turned to see that behind the rock he had crashed into was a prize boar. It was enough for everyone to eat for days. Just then Petey passed out. For more on Petey, check the pirate theme party blog.

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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!

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!

Normally, you will host your pirate theme party at your home, regardless of its location, but wouldn’t it be nice to host a pirate theme party at an authentic pirate port of call? Pirates worked for no government and usually banded together at “friendly” locations. During the Golden Age of Piracy, those ports were usually located in the Caribbean. Today they constitute some major tourist havens, but some are politically unstable. Cuba forever changed its identity as a tourist location when Fidel Castro led a revolution and installed a communist government. Gone were the mafia run casinos and brothels. Haiti was a prime location for pirates during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, but today it is so unstable that it is dangerous to simply exist. The United States had to pull out its embassy because American lives were in serious jeopardy. Pirate ports of call have existed virtually since the invention of long sailing ships. During the reign of the Roman Empire, many Cilician pirates roamed the waters. They operated right under the nose of the mightiest empire the world had ever seen. Cilician pirates had strongholds on the coasts of Liguria and Illyria because the Roman Empire did not patrol those waters. Now that would be a great location for a pirate theme party. By the time the Cilician pirates came on the scene, Rome’s navy was not as powerful as it once had been. They only patrolled the waters of the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. In fact, the Romans regularly contracted out their shipping needs, giving a new meaning to the term “outsourcing.” During that time, ships were not outfitted like the classical pirate ships. Cannons had not been invented yet, and neither had guns, but they enjoyed success none the less. Who knows what riches they got their hands on!!!

There is no getting around it. The Golden Age of Piracy was driven by a market that was …… shall we say …… a bit on the dark side. Before you consider your next pirate theme party, you should know the economics that financed the real pirate adventures of the 1700’s. Europe, at that time, controlled the world. The birth of a nation was at hand. America was a new player on the scene, but make no mistake about it, Spain, Portugal and England were the real world powers. The East India Trading Company was the first of its kind, and it ruled with an iron fist! The biggest market at the time …… slaves. Human cargo. What a horrible time to live. Lives were being bargained for dollars. At that time, a man’s wealth was judged by the number of slaves that he held. In America, contrary to popular belief, there were relatively few slaves as compared to Brazil and the Caribbean, yet history has shown the impact of the American slave trade. To this day, there are racial tensions that remain due to the business of slave trading of the eighteenth century. In fact, the first and only successful slave rebellion occurred on the island of Haiti. Today, Haiti is considered one of the most dangerous places to live in the world. When you consider your next pirate theme party, you should also take into the account the lives that drove the pirate economy. That economy ultimately was driven by sugar. Spices & sugar were considered rare commodities in Europe in the eighteenth century. When the New Word was “discovered,” it was soon learned that the islands of the Caribbean were the perfect place to grow sugar canes. The sugar cane industry was a brutal business, and people were needed to grow and harvest the crop. Many poor souls were lost in the sugar cane fields of the Caribbean, and most of them were slaves that were brought in, without their consent, from the countries of Africa. Warm bodies were needed to harvest the crop. New methods were created to make cheap alcohol through the use of sugar. That alcohol was rum ….. it was the drink that drove the pirate economy. The large sugar crops enabled the alcohol market to flourish and many profiteers took advantage of this opportunity. It was no pirate theme party. The life of a slave working in the sugar cane fields of the Caribbean and South America was short. The work was so brutal that a person’s life expectancy was cut in half. This fact was not lost on the slaves that serviced this economy, and there were many rebellions that took place because of the horrible working conditions. The modern state of Haiti was established on a slave revolt that took place in the eighteenth century. When you consider your next pirate theme party, you should remember this. The economy of that time was driven by a threefold process. First, there was the demand for sugar in Europe. Sugar was grown only in the areas of the southern United States, the Caribbean, and South America, and slaves were needed to grow and harvest those fields. The need for workers made the world powers look for cheap manpower in the area of Africa. The rulers of Africa were more than willing to sell their own people into slavery, and this completed the second part of the transaction. Finally, the sugar was eventually turned into rum. It was a cheap way to make alcohol, and there was a huge demand for a good drink in Europe, so the three fold process was complete. Europe demanded sugar and alcohol, slaves were necessary to process the business demands, and every white person benefited. Once again ….. what a horrible time to live. Just remember, the next time you plan your next pirate theme party, there were people who sacrificed everything to gain success during that time period. Any pirate theme party you plan in the future should take this history into consideration. Good bye for now. Arrrgggghhh. Later Mateys!!!!

Ahh, good ole King Neptune! I still remember the day when I became a shellback back in April of 1989. The Shellback Initiation Ceremony makes for a great pirate theme party idea. The tradition has lasted for centuries, and takes place onboard all U.S. Navy ships that cross the equator. Shellbacks are sailors who have previously been tested by the trials during a Shellback Initiation Ceremony. The other sailors, also known as slimy pollywogs, must endure a days worth of torture and humiliation. The pirate theme party includes the usual cast of characters, including scallywags like King Neptune and his trusted trident, Davey Jones, and the Pollywog Queen. During the ceremony, the ship even flies the famed Jolly Rogers skull and crossbones flag! Arrgggg. The Shellbacks all dress up as pirates and carry with them their famed “shellayle,” which is a piece of cut up fire hose used to discipline any slimy pollywog that has gotten out of line. The best part about the ceremony is that there is no concept of rank. Just like the pirates of old, the ship is run on a pure democracy. It doesn’t matter if you are brand new to the fleet or a salty dog of the seas, if you have never crossed the equator, you must undergo the rigor and horror of Shellback Initiation! The slimy pollywogs must pass through a gauntlet of shellbacks and make it out alive at the other end. For the entire day, the only way they can get around is on their hands and knees. Their clothes mark them as pollywogs and display whatever shellback owns the poor soul. The obstacle course is grueling, and includes tunnels of trash, a pool of dirty water, and even a stockade for the worst offenders. If properly navigated, the slimy pollywog is magically transformed into a trusted shellback, and becomes a member of the famed Sons of Neptune! This might be a bit rash for a run of the mill pirate theme party, but for those salty sailors out there, it is the law of the seven seas!

You can not consider a pirate theme party without considering ole Davey Jones. Davey Jones’s name has been thrown about for centuries, but has recently come up on the scene again with the success of the Disney trilogy, “Pirates of the Caribbean.” The character of Davey Jones has been around a lot longer than that, having been mentioned in several books from the 1700’s, including Herman Melville’s famed “Moby Dick.” The actual man never existed, and it is believed that the term Davey Jones was a reference to a boogie man of the sea. Davey Jones was supposed to be the devil of the sea, and sailors claimed to have seen him in all sorts of forms and shapes. This history would not be to far fetched. During that time, sailors were often at sea for long periods of time in tropical weather. They had notoriously bad diets that consisted of grains and meat that had been dried and salted. In these types of conditions, the human will respond adversely and that could quite possibly lead to hallucinations. The spirit of Davey Jones continues to live on at another pirate theme party. The United States Navy celebrates a ceremony called “shellback initiation” whenever their ships pass over the equator. The initiation is quite fun and covers many facets that I will write about later, but one of the main characters of the ceremony is none other than Davey Jones himself. The specter of Davey Jones at your pirate theme party seems quite spooky, but you could make it work. The second film from the Pirates of the Caribbean film featured Davey Jones as a hideously looking pirate. I am sure that it would be difficult to replicate this costume, but you may be able to find something a little less authentic, but perhaps a lot cheaper.