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Calico Jack
John Rackham (d. 1720), also known as Jack Rackham or 'Calico Jack' for his preference for cotton clothing, was an English pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730). Rackham took over the pirate crew of Charles Vane (d. 1721), and...
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Battle of Issus
The Battle of Issus, on 5 November 333 BCE, was Alexander the Great's second battle against the Persian army and the first direct engagement with King Darius III, near the village of Issus in southern modern-day Turkey. It was a major victory...
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Weapons of the Conquistadors
The Iberian conquistadors ("conquerors") were the first military men to explore, attack, and conquer territories in the Americas and Asia that would then become a part of the Spanish or Portuguese Empire. Indigenous peoples could not match...
Article
Who's Who in a Pirate Crew
It was all very well pocketing other people’s valuables and roistering at rum parties, but life on a pirate ship involved a surprising amount of hard work. Pirates were first and foremost sailors and in the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1730...
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John Rackham ('Calico Jack')
An early 18th-century print of the English pirate John Rackham, otherwise known as 'Calico Jack' (d. 1720). The illustration appeared in an early edition of A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates by Captain...
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Jolly Roger of Calico Jack
The Jolly Roger of 'Calico Jack', aka John Rackham (d. 1720). The English captain, who was active in the Caribbean, had Anne Bonny and Mary Read amongst his crew.
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Statue of the Dying Cu Chulainn
A statue of the Irish-Celtic cultural hero Cú Chulainn, the chief character of the Ulster Cycle. By Oliver Sheppard, 1935 CE. (General Post Office, Dublin)
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Sioux War Chief Gall (Eastman's Biography)
Gall (Phizi, l. c. 1840-1894) was a Hunkpapa Lakota Sioux war chief best known for his participation in the Battle of the Little Bighorn in June 1876. He was a close associate of Red Cloud (l. 1822-1909), Sitting Bull (l. c. 1837-1890), and...
Definition
Anne Bonny
Anne Bonny (also Bonney) was an Irish-born pirate who briefly operated in the waters around the Bahamas before her capture by the Jamaican authorities in 1720. As partner to the English pirate John Rackham, aka ‘Calico Jack’, Bonny dressed...
Definition
Mary Read
Mary Read, sometimes spelt Reade (b. c. 1690), was an infamous pirate during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690-1720) active in the Bahamas until her capture by the Jamaican authorities in 1720. As a crew member of the English pirate John Rackham...