Columbia City Paper

By Judit Trunkos

The South Carolina State Museum is famous for educational and entertaining exhibits. This summer the museum surprises visitors with a sneak peek into the real life of pirates in the South. Exhibiting real artifacts as well as reproductions from the 17^th and 18^th Centuries, the engaging show illustrates the lives and times of buccaneers during the golden ages of piracy.

Notorious pirates and their stories were mostly known to be originated in the Caribbean; however, colonial South Carolina could not escape the stealing and blockades of the pirates either. Blackbeard was possibly the most famous who operated in the colonial South, attacking ships. Blackbeard and his crew even successfully blockaded Charleston, demanding medicine and supplies for his crew.

American colonies were home to many of these famous pirates and their crews. South Carolina with its great harbors, many rivers, and well-established trade, especially drew pirates from all areas.  Preying on merchant, private, and sometimes military vessels, the South Carolina pirates built fierce reputations and made fortunes on stolen treasure. The biggest port targeted by pirates was Charleston. Charles Town (today Charleston) was a major port city in a state that only rarely had a governor who welcomed pirates or their trade, although it was known that men of that sort mingled with the locals during or after their career.

To better relive the frightening and romantic times of piracy, the exhibit displays pirate weapons such as swords, pistols and muskets, a pirate ship’s bell, rigging hook, cannon balls, pewter plates, buckles, ballast stones, cannon aprons and small vials of gold dust. A concretion tank features mineralized artifacts as they would have appeared when found on the ocean’s floor.  See three hundred year old money plundered by pirates, including silver “pieces of eight,” gold doubloons, and Spanish reals (pronounced ray-ahls). Reproduction cannons from pirate ships give guests the feel of being on the deck of a pirate ship.

“Pirates, Privateers and Buccaneers” can be seen though September 19^th.

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