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Here are a list of links that you may find useful.  If you use these links to make a contact (for commerce or information), do us a favor and tell them that you heard about them through Gentlemen of Fortune .com

members of the group PirateBrethren 

SPECIAL  RECOGNITION  SECTION
These links can be found in other places on my site but I want to highlight them because I really feel that these truly outstanding sites are a service to the world for their in depth information, attention to detail and professional design.
I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

In no particular order

Military Artifacts of Spanish Florida 1539-1821
This site is amazing!  Its design is clean and information thorough!  Hats off to all those involved

The Salacious Historians Lair
If you Google anything to do with 17th/18th Century, you will eventually find your way to Nicole's site.  Make sure you pack a lunch and put on a fresh pot of coffee cause you can get lost for DAYS in her outstanding site!

The Costumer's Manifesto  
While the site is not as polished as the ones above, nonetheless it should be your first stop for 18th Century clothing.  It is a repository for all costume information and links.

Back to the regular  links

Living History Groups of the 17th & 18th C

Pirate Brethren   (1690-1725) Presently, they have a minimalist website, but host a web forum that discusses all aspects of Piracy during the golden age and can be found at Ye Pirate Brethren. They also host a  Yahoo Group Pirate Brethren that is a great discussion board for the accurate portrayal of Golden Age Piracy.   This authentic band of cutthroats ply the waters of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States.  They are a fun bunch to pass the bottle o' grog around with. 

Merrick's Privateers  are a historical reenactment group portraying British privateers during Queen Anne's War (1710).

Pirates of Massacre Island  "Being a historical Study of Piracy along the upper Gulf of Mexico, with particular attention paid to the Alabama and Florida coasts, and an attempt to dispute Some persistent myths associated with ye notorious Sea robbers"

Fish-Broth Society We are a Living History group based out of Florida and Georgia, that strives for quality 18th century seamen's impressions. We provide Maritime Living History resources from 1650 to 1750 and beyond. 

The Colchester Historical Enactment Society Their aim is to be as authentic as possible in their representation of the costume and equipment of the "Golden Age" of pirates.  They do smugglers, pirates, and Navy and Merchant Marine.

BONAVENTURE if you like earlier pirate history, than check out BONAVENTURE.  They aim to portray all of the various aspects of nautical life to the most authentic standards possible.  They say they  are  willing (if not eager) to help new members reach our standards, and they have a stock of spare costumes etc to lend out to people until they get their own.

Lord Orkneys Regiment of Foote "Founded in 2001 to re-create the war of the Spanish Succession of 1701 - 1714 (called Queen Anne's War in America), the initial impetus was to equip and train a unit of soldiers to bridge a gap in this under-represented period of British History".  Interesting group... Lots of period info!

Benjamin Church's Company (Recreated) It is our intention to recreate the forces that served under Church, as well as the other New England men who served in these three wars. Our target will be the early part of King William’s War, with Church’s three raids and Phip’s attacks on Port Royal and Quebec, but with the flexibility to cover both King Philip’s and Queen Anne’s War. Weapons will be primarily English locks, doglocks, club butt fowlers and early French weapons of the late 17^th century.

The Society of 18th-Century Gentlemen "Was created in 2000 as a loosely-structured club primarily focused on recreating 18th-century fieldsports, food and gaming. We soon discovered that there was a great deal of interest in other aspects of 18th-century life and living as well, and In 2002 our quarterly journal, The Society of 18th-Century Gentlemen’s Magazine, was begun as a means to share ideas and information on a broad range of 18th-century topics."

Fop Fest "Fop Fest is a fun nickname for events held by a group of very serious people -- people who are serious about portraying the 18th century."

Costume Design and Research

English Country Dancing WOW!  if you are going to "attempt" to tackle this site, you better go fix a sandwich and drink, and take the phone off the hook.  There is so much information here that it boggles the mind.  Don't be fooled by the title, there is tons of information on the 18th Century at this well thought out site.  There is also very good links page for costume resources and suppliers.

L'Age d'Or  A site for information on things Baroque!  Some of the good bits maybe viewable only to members but check it out. The emphasis is on the 17th Century but the Baroque era ends during the Golden Age of Piracy so they cover our period in fashion as well.  Make sure you have plenty of time to check out all the nooks and crannies of this site because it is packed full of information.  It is geared toward the upper classes and their fashions and habits, but don't let that discourage you from having a look around! She has some good pirate info as well as her own crew of female pirates.

L'Age d'Lumieres A site for information on things Rococo and the 18th Century.  It is almost a companion site to the one above as L'Age d'Lumieres takes up where L'Age d'Or leaves off.   Again, allow yourself plenty of time to look at all the neat information.  The site has an emphasis on later 18th Century upper classes but well worth the look.

Dawn's Costume Guide  This site covers information on making costumes from lot of periods.  There is an extensive link page where you will find lots of free clothing pattern sites as well as general costume information.
 

Magazines and  Forums 

1700-1800 FORUM  Ask your questions or find out what others think!

Pyracy Pub Unique port in the internet storm to meet others who have a passion for all pirate periods.

No Quarter Given   This is a home page for the Re-enactor Magazine No Quarter Given.  Hard to believe that there is a magazine for the pirate re-enactor, but lo and behold, here it is.   If you have any interest in Piracy or Pirate Re-enacting at all, you should click your way over to NQG and order yourself a subscription to the magazine.  The site is based in California, on the West Coast of the United States, but they strive to cover as much of the Pirate World as possible.  Their site has a Links page that is worth the visit alone.

FrontierFolk.net This is another 18th century web forum that has an emphasis on trekking.  Worth a look, and check out the classified ads too!

Pirates! Fact&Legend A good site that has a forum as well as good information on Golden Age Piracy

Historical Trekking As the name implies, the emphasis again is on trekking, but the message boards and the "virtual round robin" always contain useful gems.

The Pine Tree Shilling Newspaper/Journal-- The Pine Tree Shilling offers an historical perspective on daily life in the American Colonies during the 17th Century and 18th Century – our focus, 1650-1780.

The Pioneer Times This is a pretty neat re-enactor oriented site.  A lot of it is land oriented F&I and Rev War, but interesting nonetheless.

The Bitter End  is an excellent site that list Maritime Festivals with an emphasis on Sea Music

Pirate Websites

Pirate Mythtory "Mythtory" is Ed Foxe's take on the sometimes not so fine line between Myth and History.  He does a great job of dispelling a lot of the Myths that have become "known facts" to those that do not care to do their own research.  He covers flags, pirate life, and has a great repository of period images.

Pirates Cove Pretty intense with graphics so I hope you have a broadband connections but has a lot of good information on pirates with mostly a archeological leaning.

Pirates of the Spanish Main This is a clearing house for links and other pirate information.  They sell a cool Blackbeard T-shirt too!

The Pirate's Life Another good source of General Pirate information.  Check out the famous pirate bios and pirate flags sections. (Nov 13-2006)

Pirates of the Caribbean  Not to be confused with the recent movie, this site claims to be one of the oldest for pirate info on the net.  Recently updated and chocked full of good pirate info.

Privateer Dragons of the Caribbean Hmmm... interesting site.  Its hard to put my finger on what it is.  It maintains a list of "faires and festivals" that may be of interest to a pirate living historian, but the main GEM of the website is the Pirate History and Reference section which is a comprehensive A-Z listing of historical Pirates... hats off to them for a great job.

List of Pirates A quick and simple site that organizes known pirates by their period and date.
 

General 17th/18th Century Info

Knots on the Web If want to know everything about knots and knot tying... look no further that this site.

Colonial Occupations From ALMONER (Giver of charity) to a WHITEWING (Street sweeper) its here!

General 18th Century Resources for the Re-enactor  This is a collection of websites that will assist the 18th Century Re-enactor research this period in history and assist in creating a living history persona. Information will assist both the military and civilian re-enactor.

The Cooper General information on Barrel making

18th Century Names and Nicknames Trying to come up with a realistic name?

Outlaws and Highwaymen This site was set up in 2001 to accompany the publication of the book Outlaws and Highwaymen, a social and cultural history of the English highway robber. You will find here many of the sources that are cited in the text and notes.

SILKS - LINEN - WOOL - HEMP
-DISCLAIMER-
Some of these companies may not be in the same country as you are! But please don't let that dissuade you from taking a look!

Wm. Booth Draper US Wow!  What a refreshing site!  I wish that all textile and accessory vendors would follow their model for design and content.   They have linen (checks and stripes), wool broadcloths, Hemps, Lindsey-woolsey, and lots of other things for your authentic impression.  What I find extremely useful is that they provide historical reference for just about all of their items.  Here is an example under the blue linen shirting material

            "In The Virginia Gazette of 1751, ”RAN away…an Irish Convict Servant Man…He carried with him   two blue linen Shirts”.  

The only drawback (if any) is that the site targets F&I and American Revolution re-enactors.  So all there references are aimed at the 1750-1790 time frame, even though some of the items are found in our period (1680-1720) as well. 
Definitely worth look (don't forget to check out their small shoe buckles... they have a great selection of early 18th C shoe buckles (1" or less for latch).

Henry Bertrand   UK (100% silks) Specialize in silk fabrics for Theatrical, Opera and Film. We have a large stock and offer immediate worldwide delivery. Henry Bertrand offer all these services in addition.

Bevilacqua  IT (100% silk velvet brocades) The main boast of the company is that range of fabrics still hand-produced on original eighteenth/nineteenth-century looms. Now as then, all the phases of manufacture are manual - from the creation of the perforated cartoons that reproduce the exclusive fabric designs, to the preparation of the weft and the organisation of the individual threads

E-Luxus Fabrics FR (100% silk) This French company sells authentic 16th-20th Century silk.  Check out the early 18th Century Bizarre pattern!

Dharma Trading Company US (Hemp, Silk & other Fabrics)  Since 1969, Dharma has been providing textile crafts supplies and clothing blanks to artists, crafts persons & industry with fast, friendly service at fair prices

Hemp Basics US (Hemp Canvas, Rope, Twine) is distributor of quality hemp products, including fabrics, twine, yarn, rope and many finished products

Hemp Traders US (Hemp) Suppliers of Hemp Fabrics, Rope and Twine

Kiyo Design US (lawn linen) We offer the finest fabrics, threads, heirloom laces, trims, ribbons, and notions from around the world

Theo Brejaart NL (Lawn linen and lace making materials) Company from the Netherlands

Needlepoint Joint    US (Cambric & Lawn Linen)  We have been in business for 30 years and have amassed a vast array of threads, yarns, tools and fabrics--not only common items, but strange and hard to find things

Carolina Calicoes  US offers a vast selection of 18th and 19th century calicoes (calicos), chintz, brocades, wools, cottons, linens and linsey-woolsey.

Abimelech Hainsworth UK Abimelech Hainsworth's supplies wool products used by re-enactors for various historical periods: - Roman / Medieval / Napoleonic / Civil Wars / WWII, to the present day

Class Act Fabrics US Fabric for couture sewing, re-enactor clothing, period appropriate garb, doll fashions and just nice clothes

Sewing Accessories
(thread, buttons, lace, trim, etc)

Hedgehog Handworks   US Hedgehog Handworks takes pride in offering the finest supplies for needle workers and costumers of all interests and levels of expertise, working in any time period. We carry an extensive selection of reference materials related to costuming, needlework, period re-enactment and historical culture. We specialize in locating hard-to-find items.

Martha Pullen  US Period lace and trimming

Suppliers of  17th/18th Century Goods

Tuckahoe Trading Company  US Is where to go for some of the most authentic sailor accessories for 17th-19th Century. 

 G Gedney Godwin   US Carries mostly Rev war and F&I stuff.  Some will work for GAoP, but I would check with your group leader before purchasing anything to make sure you get the right stuff.

Najecki's Reproductions   US  Items of use to Revolutionary War period Reenactors

Atocha Treasure Company US Sells a variety of original and expensive coins and treasures from salvaged wrecks. For example: Each coin listed here is from the 1715 Fleet Spanish Treasure Flotilla which was lost in a terrible hurricane of July 31, 1715 off the coast of Florida.  

Practical Goose US They makes knitted goods like hats and stockings. They do not have a website but you can e-mail them at leigh@dandy.net and be sure to mention that you heard about them here at Gentlemen of Fortune!

Blue Heron Mercantile The carry an assortment of goods and provisions for the GAoP period.

Bandoliers for Musketeers (UK) Also carries knit hats and stockings.  This company is extremely responsive to e-mails and answers all your questions in a prompt and friendly manner (which is getting rare these days).  I am in the process of ordering one of their Monmouth hats and will review it here.

Jas. Townsend and Son, Inc A collection of 18th Century goods (mostly for F&I and Rev War) with some appropriate for GAoP

Deborah's Pantry Neat site with period style food and spices.  Neat stuff like cone sugar, beverages, recipes and other goodies.

Glassware - Ceramics -Cooking Implements

Julia Smith Historic Pottery (US)This site has the gamut of ceramic ware for 17th and 18th Centuries (and more).

Period Bottle Info  Exactly what it says.  Everything from Mallets to Onion Bottles.

Jamestown Glasshouse Bottles that would be good for our period... I wish they were a little darker in color.

J Henderson Artifacts Specializes is historic replica stoneware for 17th and 18th Century.  Jugs, mugs, plates etc.

Goosebay Workshop Goose Bay Workshops is a family run business, created 15 years ago. Peter, a master coppersmith, makes every copper, tin and brass piece by hand. Both Peter & Debra research all the historic items, and both design all the folk art and modern pieces.

Westmore Poettery Westmoore Pottery has an interest in preserving a piece of our past. Our ware is made in the old traditions, with the look and feel of pottery of the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, up to around 1850. A special interest of ours is pottery which was used in the early days of North Carolina; this includes pottery made in England, Germany, New England, Pennsylvania, and of course pottery made in the central area of North Carolina.

Ramshorn Studios This site has some great infor on brass, copper, and iron cooking ware as well as info on early lighting tools.

TOBACCO and PIPES

Tobacco Early Colonial Cultivation Methods.

Ramshorn Studios More great info on Pipes and Pipe Smoking

Broseley Clay Tobacco Pipes "A clay tobacco pipe enthusiast, having researched, excavated, collected and lectured on tobacco pipes for more than 20 years. Broseley's clay tobacco heritage stretches back just over 400 years, a tobacco pipemaker being recorded in the town in 1590"

Return the Favor!
Unfortunately, Google sometimes doesn't care how good your content is, only how many folks have linked their site to yours.  I appreciate those who have found enough useful information to link to my site, so this is where I will return the favor.  If I have been lazy and missed your site, please e-mail me and let me know.

 Brethren of the Coast is a non-profit site which was created solely for those interested in 'Piracy of Old' on the high seas

http://www.crimeculture.com/earlyunderworlds/Index.html

http://www.bejo.co.uk/costumebands/living.htm

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BELOW ARE QUICK LINKS TO THE "MOST SEARCHED FOR" PIRATE RELATED TOPICS

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