How Did Pirates Survive Being Marooned on a Deserted Island?
Beneath the Black Flag
6 views
Pirates had a punishment worse than a quick death. They left you on an island with one bottle of water, a little gunpowder, a small pistol and some shot. Then they sailed away and never came back.
So how would you survive? In this video, you get marooned with the pirate kit, side by side with a real castaway who had much less than you: Philip Ashton, a 19-year-old fisherman taken by the pirate Edward Low, who escaped on the island of Roatán and lived there alone for about sixteen months with no knife, no fire and no shoes.
Inside: the pirate rule that was sworn on a hatchet, why water decides everything, how to eat without a knife, the insects that were worse than the snakes, how a bottle of gunpowder can become fire, the stranger in the canoe who changed Ashton's life, Blackbeard's men left on a sandbar, the captain marooned for showing mercy, the Dutch soldier whose diary was found without him, and why a ship on the horizon was not always good news.
Two castaways, one island, one question. Find out who lasted longer, and what the island could never give back.
#Pirates #GoldenAgeOfPiracy #PirateHistory
SOURCES
John Phillips' pirate articles (sworn on a hatchet, the marooning rule) and Bartholomew Roberts' crew's marooning rule: Charles Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates (1724)
Philip Ashton's capture, escape, life on Roatán and rescue: Philip Ashton and John Barnard, Ashton's Memorial (Boston, 1725); New England Historical Society; History of Massachusetts Blog; Old North Church
Edward Low and his unknown fate: Johnson (1724)
Marooning and the word "maroon": Wikipedia, "Marooning"
Blackbeard's seventeen men on a sandbar (1718): Lindley S. Butler, Pirates, Privateers, and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast (2000)
Edward England marooned on Mauritius (1720): Johnson (1724)
Leendert Hasenbosch on Ascension Island (1724–1725): research by Michiel Koolbergen
Alexander Selkirk: Woodes Rogers, A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712)
Turning sea turtles: William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the World (1697)
The Baymen of Honduras: Wikipedia, "Baymen"
Disclaimer
Beneath the Black Flag is made for educational purposes. Some topics are simplified or told in a storytelling format. The survival tips in this video describe how people lived in the past and are not modern survival advice. Our sources, including Ashton's own account, trial records and Johnson's 1724 history, can be incomplete or biased, and historians don't always agree. Explore the sources above for deeper study.
How this was made
Researched from primary sources and historical studies, then written and edited by our team. Illustrations and narration were produced with the help of AI tools, under human editorial direction.
How Did Pirates Survive Being Marooned on a Deserted Island?
Beneath the Black Flag
6 views
Pirates had a punishment worse than a quick death. They left you on an island with one bottle of water, a little gunpowder, a small pistol and some shot. Then they sailed away and never came back.
So how would you survive? In this video, you get marooned with the pirate kit, side by side with a real castaway who had much less than you: Philip Ashton, a 19-year-old fisherman taken by the pirate Edward Low, who escaped on the island of Roatán and lived there alone for about sixteen months with no knife, no fire and no shoes.
Inside: the pirate rule that was sworn on a hatchet, why water decides everything, how to eat without a knife, the insects that were worse than the snakes, how a bottle of gunpowder can become fire, the stranger in the canoe who changed Ashton's life, Blackbeard's men left on a sandbar, the captain marooned for showing mercy, the Dutch soldier whose diary was found without him, and why a ship on the horizon was not always good news.
Two castaways, one island, one question. Find out who lasted longer, and what the island could never give back.
#Pirates #GoldenAgeOfPiracy #PirateHistory
SOURCES
John Phillips' pirate articles (sworn on a hatchet, the marooning rule) and Bartholomew Roberts' crew's marooning rule: Charles Johnson, A General History of the Pyrates (1724)
Philip Ashton's capture, escape, life on Roatán and rescue: Philip Ashton and John Barnard, Ashton's Memorial (Boston, 1725); New England Historical Society; History of Massachusetts Blog; Old North Church
Edward Low and his unknown fate: Johnson (1724)
Marooning and the word "maroon": Wikipedia, "Marooning"
Blackbeard's seventeen men on a sandbar (1718): Lindley S. Butler, Pirates, Privateers, and Rebel Raiders of the Carolina Coast (2000)
Edward England marooned on Mauritius (1720): Johnson (1724)
Leendert Hasenbosch on Ascension Island (1724–1725): research by Michiel Koolbergen
Alexander Selkirk: Woodes Rogers, A Cruising Voyage Round the World (1712)
Turning sea turtles: William Dampier, A New Voyage Round the World (1697)
The Baymen of Honduras: Wikipedia, "Baymen"
Disclaimer
Beneath the Black Flag is made for educational purposes. Some topics are simplified or told in a storytelling format. The survival tips in this video describe how people lived in the past and are not modern survival advice. Our sources, including Ashton's own account, trial records and Johnson's 1724 history, can be incomplete or biased, and historians don't always agree. Explore the sources above for deeper study.
How this was made
Researched from primary sources and historical studies, then written and edited by our team. Illustrations and narration were produced with the help of AI tools, under human editorial direction.