Archaic word of the day: avaunt – begone; go away (15th century; from Late Latin 'ab ante' via Middle French) #englishlanguage #history

How Medieval Navies Recruited Sailors Who Didn’t Want to Sail www.medievalists.net/2025/02/medi... #history

French ship of the line Foudroyant by Auguste Mayer. Early 18th century ships may have been cumbersome, un-weatherly and struggled to operate in winter, but they did look magnificent. #FrenchNavy #LouisXIV #Ageofsail

Archaic word of the day: aught - anything at all; at all; in any respect (Middle English from before 1000AD) #englishlanguage #history

Thomas Tew was one of the most well-known Red Sea pirates active in the 1690s. He was killed in a failed attack on a Mughal ship, possibly being disembowelled by a cannon ball. More at waynesavage.com/thomas-tew/ #piratehistory #pirates #history #maritimehistory

#OTD On Feb 17, 1783, the British frigate HMS Fox defeated the Spanish frigate Santa Catalina off Jamaica in a four-hour battle. Fox’s carronades dismasted the enemy, causing 35 Spanish casualties compared to 5 on Fox. Santa Catalina was subsequently scrapped. #history #navalhistory #navalwarfare

Archaic word of the day: athwart - broadside to the wind; across; in opposition to; sideways (dates back to the 15th century) #englishlanguage #history

Before persecuting pirates, Woodes Rogers was himself a privateer against the Spanish from 1707 to 1711. #piratehistory #historybookchat #maritimehistory #history

OTD in 1778, the sloop-of-war Ranger commanded by John Paul Jones exchanged salutes with French warships in Quiberon Bay. This was the first time the Stars and Stripes was saluted by a foreign power. #McMullen2025 #NavalHistory

Archaic word of the day: asunder - apart or widely separated; into separate parts; in or into pieces, e.g. Lightning split the old oak tree asunder. (first recorded in 1000; from Old English 'on sundrum' meaning apart) #englishlanguage #history

HMS Warrior by David Bell She was an Alfred-class 74-gun ship of the line, launched in 1781 at Portsmouth #RoyalNavy #NapoleonicWars #Ageofsail

Archaic word of the day: aroint – begone, e.g. Aroint thee, varlet! (first recorded in 1595) #englishlanguage #history

10 Feb 1678 (O.S.) // 4-gun sloop HMS Chatham was lost in a slave uprising. She was lying at Tangier with her captain ashore when a number of slaves who were to be taken in her to Cadiz overcame the crew, took over the ship, and deliberately ran her aground and wrecked her. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

On our Main Deck gallery, set up as a mirror image of the ship, you can see the carpenter's cabin as it would have been in 1545. Well, minus the walls - they would make it much harder to see all his stuff inside!

Archaic word of the day: apricity - a warm sun on a cold winter day (first recorded in 1623) #englishlanguage #history

An interesting look at the development of the laws concerning pirates and privateers. #piratehistory #history #historybookchat #maritimehistory

As for the Mediterranean: "There was a clear distinction between pirates and privateers. The former acted illegally: they decided for themselves which ships to capture, what booty to take, and how to use it.The latter, who performed the same acts, were commissioned by states." 1/3 #maritimehistory

‘A huge stone cannon ball, sir,’ reported Taylor returning from the bow. ‘It hit one of the anchors and shattered. The forecastle looks like Deal beach, and poor Mr Hutchinson is quite covered in dust.’ Clay and the Sublime Porte – coming soon #AmReading #AlexanderClay #RoyalNavy

Archaic word of the day: appetency—a longing or desire (first recorded in 1620) #englishlanguage #history

The term sea rover denotes one that roves the sea. Its first known use was in 1548. A sea rover is a person who sails the seas with a focus on exploration, adventure, piracy, or privateering. #maritimehistory #history #AgeOfSail

The original sin city.

Archaic word of the day: anon - at once; immediately (from before the year 1000; Old English on āne) #englishlanguage #history

Marooner was a name given to pirates from the beginning of the 1700s who used the practice of marooning as a punishment. The word is attested in 1699, and is derived from the term maroon, a word for a fugitive slave. #piratehistory #pirates #history #maritimehistory

On this day in 1759, 267 years ago, the radical abolitionist Benjamin Lay passed away at age 77. A hundred years before William Lloyd Garrison, Lay called for the immediate and complete abolition of slavery worldwide, with no payments to enslavers. Let us remember him. Art by Marco Lorenzetti.

Archaic word of the day: animalcule - a minute or microscopic animal, nearly or quite invisible to the naked eye (first recorded in 1590) #englishlanguage #history

Corsairs were active in the Mediterranean from the late 14th to the early 19th century; Muslim privateers who targeted Christian vessels & coasts in search of slaves and booty. They operated out of north African cities such as Tripoli, Tunis, Algiers, Rabat, and Salé. #piratehistory #history

6 Feb 1709 (O.S.) // Sloop HMS Burchett, reconnoitring the French coast, was chased by a French privateer off Calais and, with too few men to serve her guns adequately, surrendered after a short engagement. #RoyalNavy #NavalHistory

5 Feb 1807 // HMS Blenheim, 74, and HMS Java, 32, were last seen on this date in the Indian Ocean east of Mauritius. They were with sloop HMS Harrier when they ran into a violent storm. The Harrier came through safely, but neither the Blenheim nor the Java were seen again. [1/3]

With apologies to Rob and Alan, for today's #BirdOfTheDay, I’m going to go against theme and post a beautiful Scarlet Macaw I was fortunate enough to see in Costa Rica a couple of days ago. #birds 🪶 #BirdPhotography #photography #EastCoastKin

The Ij by 20th century Dutch painter Peter J. Sterkenburg The Ij is the name of the bay that once served as an anchorage for Amsterdam. #DutchNavy #DutchEastIndiaCompany #Tallships

Archaic word of the day: anent - about; concerning; in regard to; alongside (recorded before the year 900) #englishlanguage #history

Buccaneer is a word used to refer to both pirates and privateers, and is specific to the Caribbean and the Pacific coast of Central America between 1655 and 1700. #piratehistory #pirates #history

4 Feb 1805 // 18-gun sloop HMS Arrow and 8-gun bomb vessel HMS Acheron were lost off Cape Pallas in the Western Mediterranean while defending their convoy (England-bound from Malta) from two much larger French vessels, the frigates Hortense, 40 guns, and Incorruptible, 38 guns. [1/4]

Archaic word of the day: ambuscade - an ambush (from Middle French circa 1575-85) #englishlanguage #history

Privateers played a crucial role in naval warfare, disrupting enemy supply lines and damaging their economy. They were granted letters of marque or commissions, which gave them the authority to seize enemy ships and cargo, mostly in times of war, or to even hunt pirates. #history #maritimehistory

Dutch & Spanish ships fighting it out on the Haarlemmermeer, w/ besieged city in distance. Painted by Hendrick Cornelisz Vroom. It’s his day today.

Pirates were often out-of-work privateers or dissatisfied seamen, who elected their captain democratically. Most pirates preferred to view themselves as privateers and patriots, especially when confronted by the law. #piratehistory #pirates #history #maritimehistory

Archaic word of the day: amain - to a high degree; with full force; at full speed (first recorded in 1530) #englishlanguage #history

The terms pirate and privateer are unclear to many people, but there was a clear distinction which was made between the two in the past, even if a shadowy grey area did exist for many people. During the Age of Sail, one man’s privateer was another man’s pirate. #piratehistory #pirates #history

Even pirates need to plan.

Fight of the Wagram by Auguste Mayer Wagram was a French first rate built in 1810. The picture shows a clash between French ships and the British Mediterranean Fleet in 1813 during which she helped her out-numbered squadron escape destruction. #FrenchNavy #NapoleonicWar #RoyalNavy

Archaic word of the day: alow - below decks; on a square-rigged sailing ship: in the lower rigging, below the lower yards (first recorded 1350-1400) #englishlanguage #history

31 Jan 1828 // 40-gun 5th-rate HMS Cambrian was run into by HMS Isis while taking part in an operation against pirates at Gramvousa Island, north-west of Crete. The collision caused the Cambrian to miss stays and run aground. She then rolled over onto her port side and began to flood. [1/2]

Sagacious Pigs were an 18th century sensation. Performing at taverns, side shows and fairs, they would do arithmetic, spell out names and read minds. Hear the story in our Strange Animal Stories Podcast: tinyurl.com/2mcp4ww5 #history #animals #pigs

Archaic word of the day: aliment—food; nourishment (first recorded between 1470-80; from Latin alimentum) #englishlanguage #history

This interesting book traces in detail Kidd’s voyages in the 1690s from his home near Wall Street to Whitehall Palace in London, from the ports of the Caribbean to a secret pirate haven off Madagascar. #piratehistory #pirates #history #historybookchat

30th of January 1894, and the Adelaide-bound Loch Shiel attempted to take shelter in Milford Haven, jiggered it up, and sank with 7,000 bottles of whisky (according to the manifest) or absolutely no bottles at all, never seen 'em, if you looked official and asked the inevitably inebriated locals...

Late 18th century painting of the 3 primary fisheries #Herring, #Cod, and #Whales of Great Britain flanked by ships of Royal Navy. The power of cannon & sail allowed fishing, whaling ships to pass around the globe. Aiding in the development of navigation, rigging & sail. #coastalhistory #tcdtceh

279 years ago, on the 31st of January, the first venereal diseases clinic opened at London Lock Hospital? It is mentioned by name in the song 'The Unfortunate Lad' (lyrics in thread). It was establish in a period where, due to the decline of leprosy, lazar hospitals fell out of use. #otd #history 🗃️

Archaic word of the day: alee - on or toward the lee side of a vessel; away from the wind (first recorded between 1350 and 1400) #englishlanguage #history