You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16

Friday, August 16, 2013

“D” is for Captain Danziger,
a Dutch pirate also known as “Captain Devil”

A to Z blog hop at Patterings.
Battle at sea.
         (This post is part of an A to Z blog hop, and this week's letter is "D")

           Because my current work in progress is a historical novel that takes place in the NC Outer Banks in the 1790s, I’ve been researching pirates.
        It’s a fascinating study and has been great fun for me.
        Captain Simon Danziger (aka Zymen Danseker) was a Dutchman who served for France as a privateer, but later sailed with the Barbary corsairs, sailing against France.
        The Barbary pirates were Muslims based in the ports of Tunis, Tripoli, and Algiers that became known as the Barbary Coast, because of the Berber inhabitants. From the 1500s to the 1800s corsairs captured around 800,000 to over a million people as slaves.
        Captain Danziger captured many Christian ships for Muslims corsairs and taught them seafaring skills, but never converted to Islam. The corsairs gave him the nickname of “Captain Devil.”
       Captain Danziger had a wife and children in France, but was unable to return home until he negotiated a pardon from French King Henry IV. He received that pardon only after capturing a Spanish galleon and presenting the prize to the king.
        This made him an enemy of the leader of the corsairs, so much so that when he returned to Tunis in 1611 to negotiate the release of some captured French ships, the corsairs hanged him.
        
Another “D” word is “doubloons,” which were gold coins minted by Spain that were originally called escudos, the booty Captain Danziger may have stolen or the currency in which he was paid.


Susan F. Craft, is the author of The Chamomile, an inspirational Revolutionary War romantic suspense set in Charleston, SC.

12 comments:

  1. Susan, I went there a few years ago. Loved the musuem. Great place to set a book.
    Blessings,
    Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diana, my husband and I visited the Outer Banks and found a the Maritime Museum with a fantastic pirate exhibit. They still used the card catalog system too, so it was great fun that I remembered how to do that. :-)

      Delete
  2. It sounds like you have a wonderful work in progress, Susan. and you're really doing your homework! Thanks for sharing your hard work with us. What a time period that was!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Nancy. Thanks for stopping by. I ran across a "dictionary of pirate terms" and am enjoying reading that -- and it doesn't have "argh" in it. :-) It's very important to me to research for my novels and to present good, reliable historical data -- at least to the best of my ability. And, yes, those were exciting times.

      Delete
  3. I love writing about pirates too! In fact, if you want a fantastic book on pirate language then I suggest The Pirate Primer by George Choundas. Really spices up the dialogue.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Susan, what a great post! I enjoyed reading The Chamomile so much and look forward to reading further adventures about Lilyan and her family, particularly how they confront and deal with pirates!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Paula. I hope to have the last of the trilogy written by next month.

      Delete
  5. Hanged, huh? Yikes! Every book involves some amount of research, but I have a huge amount of respect for historical writers with the massive amount of research. Have a great weekend, Susan!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi,Dora. I guess it's fortunate that I'm a history nerd and love the research part. Sometimes too much, as I should be writing! My favorite place to do research is the SC Archives and History Department. They have original letters from the 1700s. No one writes letters any more. How will historical writers 100 years from now know our innermost thoughts?

    ReplyDelete
  7. I'll take the Doubloons and you can keep Captain Devil! Really such a horrible time in history for seafarers! I love reading your research. It's D-delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  8. I'd like a few of those doubloons too. You know, there are still modern day pirates who sail the Indian Ocean. I knew a missionary (can't recall her name right now, senior moment) who lived on the Seychelles island, and they were worried about pirates all the time.

    ReplyDelete