Calico Jack

Information about Calico Jack

John Rackham
December 21, 1682 - November 17, 1720

The flag of Calico Jack
Nickname:Calico Jack
Type:Pirate
Place of birth: Bristol, England
Place of death:Spanish Town, Jamaica
Allegiance:England
Rank:Captain
Base of Operations:West Indies
Commands:The Treasure


John Rackham (b. December 21, 1682 in London - died November 17, 1720 in Jamaica), also known as Calico Jack Rackham or Calico Jack, was an English pirate captain during the early 18th century. His nickname was derived from the colourful calico clothes he wore. John Rackham is remembered for employing two of the most notorious female pirates of his time – Anne Bonny and Mary Read – in his crew. John Rackham and most of his crew were executed in Jamaica.

Becoming Captain

In 1718 Rackham was quartermaster on a ship that belonged to Charles Vane. On November 23, the crew encountered a French warship. Vane decided to retreat rather than board the warship. The crew mutinied against him, left him on the shore of an unidentified beach and sailed away in a ship called "The Treasure". They made Rackham their new captain. He later successfully boarded and took over the French vessel.

Pirate career

The very same day he was made captain, he plundered several small vessels, earning him a good reputation with the crew. Once, while drinking in a local tavern, he met a woman named Anne Bonny. He decided to court her, and eventually asked if she would like to come along pirating with them. She agreed and dressed as a man so the crew would take little notice in her. One day, they raided a small merchant vessel near the West Indies. Most of the crew had been killed and they had one man cornered. They asked if the man would join their crew rather than be run through with a cutlass, an offer to which he agreed. Bonny befriended the young man, and became his constant companion, igniting Rackham's jealousy. He confronted the man, who admitted to being a woman in disguise. The new sailor was, in fact, Mary Read. Throughout the course of their pirate years, it is rumored that they had a three-way sexual relationship. However, this rumor has never been proven.

Capture and Death

Governor Woodes Rogers had learned Rackham had stolen an anchored ship in Nassau harbor. He sent two large ships with 45 men to find the thief.

In early October near Nigril Bay, Captain Johnathan Barnet caught up with the stolen ship. Rackham immediately set sail trying to escape. When the pursuers caught up with them, most of the pirates took cover below deck but Bonny and Read fought on. It was a hopeless fight and they were captured.

On November 16, Rackham and 11 members of his crew were sentenced to death by hanging in St. Jago de la Vega, Jamaica. Bonny and Read were both found to be pregnant and were thus jailed. Rackham was hanged the following day.

Bonny witnessed Rackham's death and had reportedly said "she was sorry to see him there, but if he had fought like a man, he need not have been hanged like a dog". Rackham was hung at Port Royal, His body was then put into a iron cage and hung from a gibbet on Dead man's Cay, a small island within sight of Port Royal which is today call Rackam's Cay.

In popular culture

  • Calico Jack is the title and subject of a song off Running Wild's album Port Royal.
  • Jack Rackham's famous flag of a skull with two crossed swords under it was featured in the movie as Hector Barbossa's flag and also in the movie Cutthroat Island as Morgan Adams' flag. It is also Captain Hook's flag in the 2006 movie Peter Pan.
  • Calico Jack's flag was also one of several taken from real-life accounts and used in .
  • Calico Jack is one of the pirates featured in the game Sid Meier's Pirates! (2004).
  • Calico Jack appears in George MacDonald Fraser's novel The Pyrates.
  • A chain of bar/restaurants are named "Calico Jack's Cantina", after the Pirate.
  • "Calico Jack's Boutique", also named after the Pirate, is a clothing store specializing in alternative fashion in Wellington, New Zealand.
  • A New Hampshire version of a popular rum named after Henry Morgan (Captain Morgan) is called Calico Jack Spiced Rum
  • Calico Jack Rackham may also have been the inspiration behind the similarly named pirate Red Rackham in the eponymous comic book by Belgian author Hergé
  • The Calico Jack flag is commonly used as a patch to identify Navy SEALs in combat and shipboarding parties.

External links





Pirates and privateers
Pirates • Privateers
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Barbary pirates • Wokou
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Places:
Piracy in the Caribbean
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Port Royal • Tortuga • Saint-Malo
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Famous Pirates and Privateers:
Sir Francis Drake • Sir Henry Morgan
Bartholomew Roberts • Grace O'Malley
Blackbeard • Redbeard
Anne Bonny • Mary Read
Robert Surcouf • Ren Duguay-Trouin
Stede Bonnet • Jean Bart
Franois l'Ollonais • William Kidd
Calico Jack Rackham • Henry Every
Jean Lafitte
List of pirates*List of female pirates
Naval officers:
Robert Maynard • Captain Ogle
William Rhett
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Bristol
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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
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No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Spanish Town is the former Spanish and English capital of Jamaica. It held the status of capital city from the 16th to the 19th century. The city is home to certain memorials, the national archives, a small population, and one of the oldest Anglican churches outside of England (the
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"Jamaica, Land We Love"
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Motto
"Out of many, one people"
Anthem
"Jamaica, Land We Love"
Royal anthem
"God Save the Queen"

Capital
(and largest city) Kingston

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Motto
Dieu et mon droit   (French)
"God and my right"
Anthem
No official anthem specific to England — the anthem of the United Kingdom is "God Save the Queen".
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Piracy is a robbery committed at sea, or sometimes on the shore, by an agent without a commission from a sovereign nation. Seaborne piracy against transport vessels remains a significant issue (with estimated worldwide losses of US $13 to $16 billion per year [1] ),
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Main article: Seafarer's professions and ranks
Captain
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The 18th Century lasted from 1701 through 1800 in the Gregorian calendar.

Historians sometimes specifically define the 18th Century otherwise for the purposes of their work.
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Calico is a plain-woven textile. In the UK, "calico" refers to fabric made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may contain unseparated husk parts, for example.
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Anne Bonny (c. Born on 1700-1705 Died? on April 25, 1782(uncertain)) was an Irish pirate who plied her trade in the Caribbean.

Early life

Much of what is known about Anne Bonny is based on Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Mary Read (c.1690 – 1721) was an English pirate.

Early life

Mary Read was born in London to the widow of a sea captain. When Mary's older brother, the legitimate child in the family, died, Mary's mother began to disguise her as a boy, so as not to lose the financial
..... Click the link for more information.
Motto
"Out of many, one people"
Anthem
"Jamaica, Land We Love"
Royal anthem
"God Save the Queen"

Capital
(and largest city) Kingston

..... Click the link for more information.
Quartermaster refers to two different military occupations. In land armies, it is a term referring to a military individual, or unit, who specializes in supplying and provisioning troops. In naval usage it means a navigator on a ship.
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Charles Vane (born c.1680 - died March 29, 1720) an English pirate who preyed upon English and French shipping. His pirate career lasted from 1716 - 20. His flagship was a brigantine named the Ranger. His death was by hanging at Gallows Point, Port Royal, Jamaica.
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warship is a ship that is built and primarily intended for combat . Warships are usually built in a completely different way than merchant ships. As well as being armed, warships are designed to withstand damage and are usually faster and more maneuverable than merchant ships.
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For other uses, see Mutiny (disambiguation).


Mutiny is the act of conspiring to disobey an order that a group of similarly-situated individuals (typically members of the military; or the crew of any ship, even if they are civilians) are legally
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Looting (Origin: 1780–90; Hindi lūṭ, akin to Sanskrit luṇṭhati (he) steals), to rob[1], sacking, plundering, or pillaging
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Anne Bonny (c. Born on 1700-1705 Died? on April 25, 1782(uncertain)) was an Irish pirate who plied her trade in the Caribbean.

Early life

Much of what is known about Anne Bonny is based on Captain Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates.
..... Click the link for more information.
Caribbean (Dutch: Cariben or Caraïben, or more commonly Antillen; French: Caraïbe or more commonly Antilles; Spanish: Caribe
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cutlass is a short, thick sabre or slashing sword, with a straight or slightly curved blade sharpened on the cutting edge, and a hilt often featuring a solid cupped or basket-shaped guard.
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Mary Read (c.1690 – 1721) was an English pirate.

Early life

Mary Read was born in London to the widow of a sea captain. When Mary's older brother, the legitimate child in the family, died, Mary's mother began to disguise her as a boy, so as not to lose the financial
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threesome is the term which describes a sexual act involving three people, also referred to as a ménage à trois. To clarify the roles, a threesome does not have to mean that all three people are engaging in sexual activity specifically with all people in the threesome, but can be
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Woodes Rogers (ca. 1679 Bristol – July 16, 1732, Nassau, Bahamas), was an English privateer and later the first royal governor of the Bahamas.

While at Cabo San Lucas in Baja California Sur, Mexico, between November 1709 and January 1710, he succeeded in capturing the
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Nassau may mean the following:

Place names:

  • Nassau, Germany: a town in Rhineland-Palatinate founded in 915 AD, after which all the following are named, directly or indirectly:

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