Tortuga Island
Tortuga was originally settled by Spanish colonists, Christopher Columbus named the island in 1492, though the 17th century it frequently changed hands between the Spanish and the French and English. All countries continued to build and add on to the small island in an attempt to colonize the land. Like all other islands of the time, it held a harbor with a small town, plantations, and soon a fort. The French and English allowed the island to be used as a base of operations for buccaneers in the mid 17th century and even imported over 1500 prostitutes to keep the scallywags happy. But by 1654 the Spaniards had enough with the cut-throats and they captured the island once again; though it was taken back by the English and French once more and slowly the buccaneers began to repopulate the island. A Governor of Tortuga was appoint, a Frenchman, and it was then that England's control over the island ended and it was strictly under French law. In 1680 an Acts of Parliament forbade sailing under foreign flags and this is what caused pirates to rebel against the government in a violent riot. Numerous French officers were killed, including the Governor whose body was hanged before a crowd of angry pirates, while others fled for their lives. The pirates took control of the island and continued to use it as a base of operations and it soon became their home. The fort and buildings constructed by the militaries over the years were kept and maintained as the pirate population settled and flourished. The port town of Tortuga was dubbed the Pirate Haven, sometimes shortened to Haven, and became a place where pirates could retire and keep their families safe. The pirates have held this island stronghold for thirty years.
Captains Payne and Duffy
Jarvis Summers, later known as Jarvis Payne, was born in 1640 to an English military family; his father was a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy when he was born. He spent his childhood in grammar school during the day and in the evening he apprenticed with various shopkeeps around town. When his father was home, he taught the boy to fish and use a sword. Once Jarvis was twelve he was taken on the ship as a cabin boy and served under the same captain as his father. When he was fifteen he joined a crew of privateers and was able to buy his own sloop at age twenty. With the increasing pirate activity in the Caribbean, he sailed across the Atlantic and continued privateering on behalf of the Royal Navy. He'd been sailing fairly content for years, splitting the plunder as per the marque until late 1662 when the contract for his vessel changed and Britain demanded a larger cut of the plunder and Jarvis refused to renew the contract and became a pirate, taking on the name Jarvis Payne. Operating around Cuba and the Bahamas he and his crew gained a good amount of wealth from the trade ships in the area and decided to operate from Tortuga. He and his men participated in the various military struggles with navies trying to dominate the city. In the 1680 riot, his crew and many others teamed up with Duffy's to attack the fort. While Duffy's men slaughtered the officers, Payne and a handful of his men sought out the Governor hiding within. After a brief battle the Governor was captured alive and dragged into town where he was beaten and then hanged. During the celebrations, Payne took advantage of the distraction and moved himself into the sugarcane plantation; which had previously been occupied by a Spanish officer. He and his wife, a former whore, lived there with their children and even some of his crewman were offered rooms as he continued to sail the seas. Refusing to retire, Payne died in a naval battle with the Spanish Armada in 1698; he was 58.
Bébinn O'Neal, later known as Duffy, was the daughter of a wealthy Irish landowner and arranged to marry a man twice her age. At twelve she ran away from home to avoid the marriage, though her father believed she was kidnapped. While Bébinn was making her way through the small towns of Ireland her father was actively seeking her and her 'captors.' A year later she found a poster with her face on it offering a reward for anyone with information or her whereabouts. Afraid of returning home simply to marry a stranger she decided to remain on the run though that poster came in handy when a group of pirates found her. She was taken aboard their vessel and given an sentinel; though that didn't save her from assault. When she was fifteen she fled the crew of pirates and met a man that would change her life; he was twenty and first mate of a pirate sloop. This man, Fox Hunt, gave her a warm meal and offered her a place on the crew to learn her way around a ship, though she needed to disguise herself as a man. It was then that she went by Duffy and began learning the ways of a pirate. For years she and Fox worked on the small sloop plundering merchant vessels and coastal towns in Europe. When Duffy was eighteen her crew discovered that she was a women and Fox suffered a harsh flogging that nearly killed him and Duffy was thrown to the crew for their pleasures. A few days later Duffy told Fox about her wealthy father and the two struck a deal with one another. They abandoned the crew at the next port and made contact with her father, Fox was paid a large sum of money for Duffy's return but later she fled from the home and rendezvoused with Fox. After buying a sloop they fled to the Caribbean where they recruited a crew and continued their life of pirating with Fox as captain and Duffy as first mate; they wed two years later. With the liberties granted to pirates in Tortuga, the two frequented the city in between sails and it became somewhat of a home for them. Duffy and Fox participated in 1680 rebellion against the French and helped supply many pirates with cutlasses and flintlocks for free; using their own money to purchase the weapons. They used their own crew to slip into the Fort and slaughter the officers while others went after the Governor. Once the fight was over, the couple and their crew took refuge in the cotton plantation and came to own it. It is here that they began their family, still setting sail for six months out of the year to participate in pirating activities. Bébinn Hunt (Duffy) still lives in the plantation, currently 55 years old, with her seven children and multiple slaves. Fox died when raiding a merchant vessel in 1692, he was 42.
(Below is a picture of Payne and Duffy in their prime.)
Bébinn O'Neal, later known as Duffy, was the daughter of a wealthy Irish landowner and arranged to marry a man twice her age. At twelve she ran away from home to avoid the marriage, though her father believed she was kidnapped. While Bébinn was making her way through the small towns of Ireland her father was actively seeking her and her 'captors.' A year later she found a poster with her face on it offering a reward for anyone with information or her whereabouts. Afraid of returning home simply to marry a stranger she decided to remain on the run though that poster came in handy when a group of pirates found her. She was taken aboard their vessel and given an sentinel; though that didn't save her from assault. When she was fifteen she fled the crew of pirates and met a man that would change her life; he was twenty and first mate of a pirate sloop. This man, Fox Hunt, gave her a warm meal and offered her a place on the crew to learn her way around a ship, though she needed to disguise herself as a man. It was then that she went by Duffy and began learning the ways of a pirate. For years she and Fox worked on the small sloop plundering merchant vessels and coastal towns in Europe. When Duffy was eighteen her crew discovered that she was a women and Fox suffered a harsh flogging that nearly killed him and Duffy was thrown to the crew for their pleasures. A few days later Duffy told Fox about her wealthy father and the two struck a deal with one another. They abandoned the crew at the next port and made contact with her father, Fox was paid a large sum of money for Duffy's return but later she fled from the home and rendezvoused with Fox. After buying a sloop they fled to the Caribbean where they recruited a crew and continued their life of pirating with Fox as captain and Duffy as first mate; they wed two years later. With the liberties granted to pirates in Tortuga, the two frequented the city in between sails and it became somewhat of a home for them. Duffy and Fox participated in 1680 rebellion against the French and helped supply many pirates with cutlasses and flintlocks for free; using their own money to purchase the weapons. They used their own crew to slip into the Fort and slaughter the officers while others went after the Governor. Once the fight was over, the couple and their crew took refuge in the cotton plantation and came to own it. It is here that they began their family, still setting sail for six months out of the year to participate in pirating activities. Bébinn Hunt (Duffy) still lives in the plantation, currently 55 years old, with her seven children and multiple slaves. Fox died when raiding a merchant vessel in 1692, he was 42.
(Below is a picture of Payne and Duffy in their prime.)
Offspring of Pirates Payne and Duffy may be played but, like all characters, must be approved by the moderator.
Society of Tortuga
Some may think it's impossible for a population of pirates to live peacefully amongst themselves but they've managed well enough for three decades. For the most part, the city operates along similar lines of the Code. The pirates have appointed a single person to be responsible for the upkeep of the city (collecting taxes and using them to keep the buildings, roads, port and fort maintained) called the Publican. When taxes are collected (wages differ from crews to individual pirates) they are then use to pay contractors, sometimes pirates other times not, to fortify the buildings, port or fort or to construct additional buildings. There are two plantations on the island that grow a variety of essential crops and one cash crop each, one grows cotton and the other grows sugar cane, that have slaves for field work and the fortunate pirates that dwell in the lavish homes are two separate families (Payne and Duffy) that helped to build the city to its current state. Despite this, they were not equitable to nobility, they're merely well respected families who supply the town with goods and employment. Excess money these families make go to maintaining the fort and harbor. Pirates that have left the dangerous life of looting and turned to other occupations such as fishing, carpentry, smithing, or hunting usually sell their products in the town's market place or exchange goods with other pirates.
Town of Haven
The main entrance to the town is from the port, a medium sized port with several jutting docks that can hold over fifty ships, and with the market place so close its easy for incoming merchants and fishermen to do business; there is a portion of the market dedicated to the sale of slaves. With the market occupying the middle, the outer edges sit buildings that house various businesses including the blacksmith, tailor, brothel, and tavern. Past this is the town square where celebrations are held or news is spread through the town crier and the near by buildings include the hospice, church, and a school. Beyond this were homes of the pirates and then the fort which held a large training ground at its center where individuals could learn combat skills. Located on both sides of the fort is a plantation (cotton on the left and sugar cane on the right). Next to these plantations, partially behind other pirate homes, is a stretch of farmland where livestock is kept and wheat is grown. The original wall, constructed by the many militaries that previously owned the island, spans from the port and stretches around the town but ends before the forts, leaving the grounds of the plantation open; though wooden fences were built; the wall was later extended (See Recent Events).
Pirates came from many different social standings and several different countries and several of these unique individuals settled in Tortuga once it was an establish stronghold. The church had been built by previous owners and is used for religious ceremonies for many different religions. The Hospice was opened ten years ago by a Royal Navy surgeon turned pirate and though it is small it has several rooms available for emergency situations and offers medicine to the population. The school has been open for twenty years and very few individuals have the qualifications to teach language, reading, writing, arithmetic, and music to the population of children. The former pirates that act as teachers do charge a small fee for their time and knowledge but it is cheap enough for even the poorer pirate families to afford.
Pirates came from many different social standings and several different countries and several of these unique individuals settled in Tortuga once it was an establish stronghold. The church had been built by previous owners and is used for religious ceremonies for many different religions. The Hospice was opened ten years ago by a Royal Navy surgeon turned pirate and though it is small it has several rooms available for emergency situations and offers medicine to the population. The school has been open for twenty years and very few individuals have the qualifications to teach language, reading, writing, arithmetic, and music to the population of children. The former pirates that act as teachers do charge a small fee for their time and knowledge but it is cheap enough for even the poorer pirate families to afford.
Recent Events
In January of 1710 a fleet of Spanish ships lead by Captain Mingo assaulted the island and took the residents by surprise. Soldiers burst into the town and gathered the notorious pirates present, all of whom were round up and publically hung; many others died in the skirmish. A good portion of the population remained on the island as the Spaniards began to renovate the town once again, extending the wall around the city so that it encompassed the farm land and plantations. Captain Mingo struck a deal with the French to turned this island back over to them. The Ambassador, Hercule Bisset remained stationed in the fort and a platoon of soldiers.
In March of 1710 late at night there was a loud explosion, triggered by the little savage boy Orion, though no aside from Anne's crew knows it was him, that sparked a riot between the pirate population and the French soldiers present. A three hour long battle started between the two parties until tensions finally cooled but it was not the last riot in the city. Pirates are continuing to strike back against the French and slowly regain control of Haven.
In March of 1710 late at night there was a loud explosion, triggered by the little savage boy Orion, though no aside from Anne's crew knows it was him, that sparked a riot between the pirate population and the French soldiers present. A three hour long battle started between the two parties until tensions finally cooled but it was not the last riot in the city. Pirates are continuing to strike back against the French and slowly regain control of Haven.