The Pirate House Charleston 9263
by Jack Schultz
Title
The Pirate House Charleston 9263
Artist
Jack Schultz
Medium
Photograph
Description
Sometimes it’s not the truth, but the story which makes for a historical attraction. A case-in-point: The Pirate House in Charleston, South Carolina.
People have strolled the cobblestones of the French Quarter and down Church Street, past this bermuda stone dwelling since 1704, but when it took on the disinction of the Pirate House is lost to time. Legend has it that the Pirate House was a boarding house, gambling den and place for local merchants to trade in contraband goods, provided by pirates during the colonial era. South Carolina was under the English Navigation law, which placed high taxes on all purchases imported by ship into the colonies. These tariffs made purchasing not only luxury items, but day-to-day items cost-prohibitive. In addition to price, selection was paltry, and smuggling provided a way to counteract the effects of the law on both. According to the story, the Pirate House was one of the spots where this trade went on. Further stories have it that a secret tunnel led into the stone archways in the basement of the house, but that during work on Charleston’s sewage system, this tunnel and others which provided access to trade during the days of smuggling were filled in. In the basement of the Dock Street Theatre, a couple blocks away, it’s still possible to see what is alleged to be the access to one of these tunnels.
Sandwiched between the Pirate House and the St. Phillips Church Cemetery, is a narrow passageway which takes you into Pirates Courtyard, a leafy space dominated on one side by a restored fountain. Which is nice, don’t get me wrong, but leaves you, like the house, scratching your head and wondering just what the connection with pirates actually is. It’s said that like the house itself, the courtyard was used for trading in smuggled goods. And it’s also intimidated that the house was known for “entertaining” pirates, or at least putting them up for the evening. Of course the most famous pirate rumored to have frequented the place is Blackbeard.
It’s hard to avoid references to Blackbeard in Charleston, and rightly so. Blackbeard’s most audacious act took place here, when he blockaded the harbor with his fleet and held the entire town hostage for a ransom of, oddly enough, medicine.
With a handful of ships under his command, Blackbeard had styled himself Commodore, and in May of 1718 he anchored off Charles Town bar, and proceeded to stop and plunder every ship which tried to sail past. Over the next week they succeeded in accosting nine vessels, and took a plethora of well-heeled prisoners, who they kept as hostages. Blackbeard’s orders were brief, fill a list of medications or all the prisoners would have their heads lobbed off and sent to the governor of South Carolina, and the ships put to the torch. Blackbeard sent a fellow by the name of Mr. Marks, accompanied by two of his crew to retrieve the small trunk of medicine. It’s thought that the medicine Blackbeard was wanting was for treatment of the clap, which might explain the Commodore’s urgency.
After three days there was no sign of Mr. Marks or the two pirates, and Blackbeard was fuming, threatening to put the entire town to the torch. A messenger arrived with word that Marks and the pirates had been capsized after leaving the ship, and had to walk to Charleston. Blackbeard extended his deadline, but to show he meant business, sailed his fleet into the harbor itself. Mr. Marks finally made it back with the medicine, explaining his further delay had been caused by an inability to find his pirate escorts, who had spent their time in Charleston drunk.
Uploaded
February 1st, 2020
Statistics
Viewed 159 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/13/2024 at 4:30 PM
Embed
Share
Sales Sheet
Comments
There are no comments for The Pirate House Charleston 9263. Click here to post the first comment.