DECATUR JUST DESTROYED PHILADELPHIA

Decatur promoted to Captain Preble was able to get to work on the

blockade without fear Not any easy job several factors worked

against himHarsh weatherDifficulty with suppliesMen quitting due to conditionsPaperwork

He was not a patient man and decided upon action

Borrowed small gun boats from the King of Naples Along with 100 men

His plan to attack Tripoli Aggressive or desperate move?

Fragile wooden ships against well defended stone fortresses

Aim not to destroy Tripoli Simply to force the Pasha to

count the cost of war and lower demands for peace

Once again Stephen Decatur was to play a major role

He was given command of the small gun boats

His duty to attack pirate ships in the harbor

As the bombardment form the large ships gave cover

He led his men in and managed to destroy several ships

Eventually he captured one Began towing it out as a useful prize Told that his brother had been mortally wounded Decatur abandoned the ship headed back to the battle Eventually killing the pirate captain that had

killed his brother

As autumn arrived Preble continued the attack He tried one last attempt to force a negotiation Filled the captured ship with explosive Now a 7 ton grenade Sent it to blow up in harbor Exploded just before entering the harbor

Despite setback Preble continued blockade But ended the attack

Short time after Samuel Barron his successor arrived

But Preble had left his mark and set the standard of behavior

Unrelenting in determination Courageous Leader Good leader and teacher of men Most of his subordinate became

major players in War of 1812

Samuel Baron arrived to take control of a fleet that had survived on the back of Preblerun down and worn out

Baron inspired the men and pushed them to continue the blockade

The winter weather was vicious and the ships and men began to deteriorate further

People on board and back in congress were not sure what to do

After Preble’s return to America he

Remained in the Navy

Was treated as a war hero

Offered the position of Secretary of War Declined due to ill

health Died 1807

Navy and congress wanted to continue but,

Thought the threat of blockade would compel the Pasha to negotiateThey were wrong

Thought a small force could blockade the portThey were wrong

Thought a blockade alone would workThey were wrong

Piracy still rampant and American shipping still being attacked

America was learning how to fight a naval battle from distant

It was a slow learning curve

Gradually the weather improved

But Baron’s health weakened

He moved to land and left Captain John Rodgers in command

Rodger’s leader in the Preble mode Active, brave, a good leader, and careful

with his crew

Each evening under the cover of dark he headed out in a small boat

Getting close enough to hear sentries talking

All the while taking depth sounding and charting the region

BEFORE BARRON RETURNED TO ACTIVE CONTROL RODGERS WAS APPROACHED BY TWO MEN

WILLIAM EATON AND JAMES L. CATHCART

Cathcart and Eaton men who had led interesting lives

Cathcart amongst first Americans to be taken captive by Arab pirates

Along with others paraded through the streets of Algiers to the courtiers

One expressed surprise that they looked a lot like Englishmen

After being given his flea infested clothing he was sent to work in the gardens of the Dey

Shortly thereafter sent to the harbor put in chains to be worked on defense construction

Gradually as slaves began to die or were exchanged he advanced his position

learned Arabic became a coffee-brewer then clerk to the harbor And finally to clerk of the bagnio galeria

The slave prison

As Clerk of the prison area allowed to open a tavern and keep ½ profits opened more taverns with the profits

After a while business acumen brought him to the attention of the Dey

Appointed chief secretary to the Dey And to better living conditions

As chief Secretary responsible for ransom negotiation Including his own

Finally sent to America by the Dey to arrange the final payment travelled in a boat he himself owned

William Eaton joined continental army at 15Set to washing dishes and doing

chores Quit and went home Attended college Taught for a while, tried politics, then

re-entered army After an argument with superior offices

Just avoided court-martial He was appointed American Consul to

Tripoli

Not a good choice Had “noting but contempt for

the rulers of the Barbary states”

From arrival he plotted and planned

1st plan Capture the Admiral of Tripoli Use him to entice Pasha on board

and….. No takers

2nd Plan 3,000 troops and a few cannon landed behind

Tripoli could take the city President nor Congress had desire to raise a

force of 3000 and send them overseas to fight 3rd Plan revolved around one man The Pasha’s older brother Hamet Who had fled Tripoli to Tunis when he

suspected an assassination plot

Eaton paid Hamet an allowance and began to get to work

His plan Get rid of Yusef

current Pasha

replace him with Hamet who would be friendly to America

Pasha found out offered his brother the Governorship of a city called

Derna and sent a body of 40 men

With pressure Eaton was able to persuade Hamet that his brother planned to kill him

But could not entice him to retaliate

Eaton became ill and left Tunis Hamet, in the absence of Eaton,

took up his brothers offer Eaton recovered returned to find

both Hamet and himself expelled from Tunis

Not deterred he suggested kidnapping Hamet on the sea journey to Derna

But, the captains “old women” as effective as “quaker meeting houses” could not be persuaded

Eaton and Cathcart headed of to Washington to gather support

Had to persuade Congress, President, and Secretary of

State James Madison that it was OK to use one brother

against anotherParticularly when one supported

America Madison, author of the bill of rights,

was finally convinced

“although it does not accord with the general sentiments of views of the United states, to intermeddle in the domestic contests of other countries, it cannot be unfair, in the prosecution of a just war, or the accomplishment of a reasonable peace, to turn their advantage, the enmity and pretensions of others against a common foe”

Other vocal supporter of plan was Preble eventually Eaton

returned to the Mediterranean.

After a long struggle Eaton persuaded the ill Barron to support his plan

Promised the use of the Argus and a small group of Marines under the command of Lieutenant Presley O’ Bannon

Hamet by now had fled in to EgyptA country wracked by conflict

Eaton was delayed and detained on his attempt to contact Hamet

Eventually came into contact with

Eugene Leitensdorfer Deserter from three different

armies Leitensdorfer promised that

he could deliver Hamet for $50

Surprisingly he did just that

After a chaotic, confused march over the desert

With his makeshift army of 400 Greek artillery unit Mounted Arabian cavalry Moors Frenchman Bedouins Austrians Italians And small group of marines

Eventually arriving outside Derna Eaton sent a letter demanding surrender Governor replied ending the letter “My

head or yours”

After an equally chaotic and confused battle

They took Derna At this time the Pasha began to have

second thoughts Asked if Americans would be willing to

discuss peace terms Answer Yes No more raids on American Shipping Return of captives For $60,000

Once Eaton learned of the peace he was furious

Our aim, he informed Barron, was “to chastise a perfidious foe, rather than to sacrifice a credulous friend”

also realized he had been abandoned in a dangerous position

silently took all Christians and Hamet out of the town under cover of darkness

leaving the town’s people to face the wrath of the retuning Governor

The war was over The United states Navy

retained a presence in the region

Insurance rates dropped for shipping

Things would flare up again during the war of 1812

As British again tied up US Navy and blockaded Mediterranean

INTO THE 20TH CENTURY

I’ll collect papers later

Asia Early 20th C China

in turmoil entered a civil

war end with a shift to

a communist government

dominated by Mao Zedong

The chaos of war saw the rise of yet another warrior

The pirate Lai Cho

San

Lai Cho San another on the list of female pirates alongside the two we have already examinedAnne Bonny Mary Read

Unlike these two women Lai Cho San was born into crime and piracy

we also have a real image of her

Her father was a mixed industry criminal

Running numerous gambling houses on land

And during the early 1900s a fleet of seven armored Junks

By the time we get our knowledge of Lai Cho San

She had inherited her fathers business and increased size of fleet to 12

A lot of what we know of Lai Cho San comes from the pen of western Journalist

Aleko E Lilius Journalist born in Russia who grew up in

Finland World traveler

1920s and 1930s found Lilius roaming North Africa, Asia and Mexico

In Mexico photographer accompanying the linguist Rudolf Schuller investigating American-Indian languages and dialects

Morocco among the souks and bazaars In post war Tangiers with smugglers

But Lilius… Also had a little of the Captain Johnson in him

After a number of incidents of piracy were reported in China he headed off

To get a good story And a little excitement

Date Ship Incident

Oct 4th 1921 San On (steam launch)

Pirates smuggled guns on board in a clock and stole all the money and jewelery from the passengers.

Jan 13th 1925 S.S. Hong Wa Pirates came aboard disguised as passengers and took 53,360 in H.K. dollars

Nov 15th 1926 S.S. Sunning One of the most famous incidents. Pirates seized the ship having got on board disguised as passengers. The crew were overpowered but later regained the ship at the expense of several dead. The ship had to be abandoned when the pirates set it on fire.

A few mishaps Lilius able to secure a translator and a period of time upon Lai Cho San’s Junk

Lilus described her on shore in the following manner:

What a woman she was! Rather slender and short, her hair jet black, with jade pins gleaming in the knot at the neck, her ear-rings and bracelets of the same precious apple-green stone. She was exquisitely dressed in a white satin robe fastened with green jade buttons, and green silk slippers. She wore a few plain gold rings on her left hand; her right hand was unadorned.

She told Lilius a little of her life Her father was born penniless but was “a brave lad, and probably ruthless.

He got into the good graces of a brigand chief”

Eventually taking over when the chief died became a strong and powerful leader in the

region Eventually dominating the region to such

a degree that he was appointed “Inspector” of the seas

by the local authorities Charged with keeping out other raiders

State sponsored protection racket?

Her father later died in battle Lai Cho San inherited the fleet of

seven Junks and then "acquired" a few more, and that

to-day she actually owns twelve large armoured junks.’

Lilius wrote that she was rich, probably rich beyond

comprehension. She owns a house in Macao which she occupies occasionally, but her home is in one of the villages on the West River.

after spending time with her

Lilius wrote of his experience

I sailed with Chinese Pirates

1st published by J.W. Arrowsmith in 1930

Reprinted Oxford University Press in 1991

A meeting with a mysterious woman pirate chief, Lai Choi San, with several thousand ruthless buccaneers under command, is described in the volume I Sailed With Chinese Pirates, which is published today by D. Appleton & Co. Aleko E. Lilius, English journalist, while traveling in the Orient, according to the publishers, succeeded in winning the confidence of this unusual woman, and he accompanied her and some of her desperadoes on one of their expeditions on a junk equipped with cannon. Mr. Lilius's publishers describe him as the only white man who has ever sailed with these pirates... New York Times Review 1931

Thought that Arthur Ransome Swallows and

Amazons Based Missee Lee

on book

Milton Caniff Author of Terry and the

Pirates popular comic strip of the

1930‘s used a glamorized

version of Lai Choi San, The Dragon Lady, as one of his main villains.

Interestingly we see social difference between the (alternative/sea) pirate life and the (normal/land) land life of Lao Cho San

In her dress and in her children a lilius writes what a different Lai Choi San ! Yesterday I had seen her in a white

satin robe, with green jade ornaments; to-day she was entirely transformed. Now she wore a jacket-like blouse and black trousers made of the strong, glossy material commonly used by coolies for garments. . .As soon as she stepped on board she kicked off her slippers, and for the rest of the voyage padded about bare-footed.

Without doubt clothing she now wore was more practical

It was also more piratical

She had shed the ‘normalcy’ and law abiding nature that she represented on land

You can also see the difference in the life she chose for her children (Land based)

‘One [the legitimate son of her first husband] was in Shanghai . . . [in] school. He was twenty now, and a fine boy. He was going to marry the only daughter of the richest man in Shekki. . . There would be a wonderful wedding with a dragon procession, and all the presents would be carried on lacquered trays along the streets of the city. There would be many, many dollars' worth of fire-crackers burned, too, and she would give him rich gifts of money, and her house in Macao to live in.

A second son – water based was going to be a sailor all

right. He was already in training on another of her junks. One day he was going to inherit all her ships and the "trade" He was a real little man, she explained, and a brave chap. He smoked like a man too. She did not want him to sail with her on her ship; it was better that he should stay away from his mother. But whenever the junks were in harbour at any of the islands she always had him brought over.

SON A Legitimate Land based Marriage to

daughter of land wealthy land dweller

Given a house in the city of Macau

SON B Illegitimate Sea based No talk of

marriage Hyper-

masculine – smoking, brave

Due to inherit the “trade”

Lao Cho San’s last reported battle December 1937 during Chinese-Japanese War Japan attacking China to gain land and sea

power Journalist described it thus On the one side were Japanese

Torpedo Boats of the modern sort. . . Each equipped with six cannon. On the other side were . . . Junks with strange sails . . . [By the next day] not only did the entire [pirate] fleet now lie on the ocean floor; but its captain had gone down with it

US Constitution

Article 1 Section 8 To define and punish Piracies and Felonies

committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water

October 11, 2001Washington, DC

Congressman Ron Paul

Presented Congress with the "Marque and Reprisal Act of 2001" legislation

designed to give President additional tool in the fight against terrorism

WWII

Supporting convoys in Atlantic

In December 1941 - first months of 1942 Goodyear blimp

Resolute operated as an anti-submarine privateer based out of Los

Angeles only US craft to operate under a Letter of Marque since the War

of 1812 armed with a rifle and flown by its civilian crew, patrolled the seas for

submarines

Pirate Radio 1950s

In the 1950's, music radio stations in Britain did not exist.

Literally no musical entertainment to be heard on the radio other than the BBC's 'Light Programme’

BBC's music shows mainly consisted of bland cover versions of popular hits played by the Northern Dance Orchestra.

Ronan O'Rahilley wealthy young

entrepreneur financed a record by Georgie Fame.

Attempts to obtain airplay for the record failed

decided to set up his own Radio Station

Set up Radio Caroline began transmitting on

Easter Sunday 1964

Broadcast from MV Frederica

located a few miles off the Essex coast.

Caroline immediately successful soon a whole fleet

of ships joined them.

Some even set up home on old sea forts in the Thames Estuary.

Marine Broadcasting Offences Act became law in August 1967

BBC launched it's national pop music station Radio One a month later.

Jump forward to 1990 Cologne, Germany First day of the Rhineland Carnival Luxurious old steam ship the City of Cologne

floats offshore

Used to take VIPs on tour of city A group of women suddenly appear on deck Dressed as pirates

Actions to condemn housing shortage

demand more rights for women in Cologne

After six days of negotiation Mayor hints that he may use force

to clear ship Pirates disappear Symbolism used to challenge for

equality

Founded 1999 by Rebecca Gomperts

to bring reproductive health services, particularly non-surgical abortion services, to women in countries with restrictive abortion laws.

Another group of women using the sea to defy land based laws are

Women on Waves