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Jul 6 2010 - 4:50pm
Pirate Stede Bonnett flew this flag. Watch a slideshow about legendary pirates of the Golden Age.
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Jul 27 2010 - 5:59pm
Dampier is credited with helping to rescue Alexander Selkirk, the privateer who inspired the Robinson Crusoe story.
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Sep 28 2012 - 12:12pm
A longshoreman stands in front of a large pile of oyster shells on waterfront pier in Atlantic City in 1910. Back then, oysters were incredibly abundant. In the late 1800s, fishermen pulled in 10 million bushels of oysters each year but, by the mid-1900s, the catch had dropped to 1 or 2 million...
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Jun 6 2012 - 1:01pm
Today Ray Bradbury died. It might seem strange that I'm writing about Bradbury here on the Ocean Portal, as he's best known for his short stories about space exploration and strange aliens. But he also considered the unexplored realms of our own planet: the ocean.
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Feb 17 2011 - 1:20pm
This over 2,000-year-old shipwreck in Mazotas, Cyprus, was discovered in 2007. The ship was loaded with wine from Chios, one of the most expensive and sought-after Greek wines in antiquity. The University of Cyprus, in collaboration with the Department of Antiquities of Cyprus and the THETIS...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
When a new canoe is put in the water, elders bless it with lighted sage, song, and traditional dances. Some canoes also receive a name. More about raven spirit can be found in our Raven Spirit featured story.
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Sep 9 2011 - 3:33pm
The Arctic Studies Center's excavation site map of Hare Harbor maps some of the community's excavated structures that archeologists have unearthed. An Inuit house, blacksmith shop, and cookhouse are among some of the excavated buildings on site.
Learn more about what has been uncovered at Hare...
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Sep 9 2011 - 3:11pm
Excavations between 2002 through 2011 at Hare Harbor have shown that this site was a whaling and fishing station occupied by Basque and Inuit assistants ca. 1680-1730. Archaeologists have uncovered a cookhouse, a blacksmith shop, and the remains of several Inuit winter houses like the one seen here...
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Jul 7 2010 - 1:03pm
Roberts dressed in embroidered coats and hats with feathered plumes, like an elegant gentleman. One of the most successful pirates of all, he captured 400 vessels in just three years! Learn about more pirates of the golden age.
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:45am
Made from spruce wood and caribou teeth, this mask was worn in ceremonies of thanksgiving. It sits atop a decorative breastplate with images of whaling crews in skin boats called umiaks.
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Jul 7 2010 - 12:57pm
Yes, there were women pirates! And Bonny (left) and Read were among the most famous. Dressed in men’s clothes, they fought side-by-side with other pirates—many of whom believed the two women were men. In the Caribbean, Ann Bonny and Mary Read served with Captain “Calico” Jack Rackham. In 1720...
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Sep 12 2011 - 12:32pm
For over a decade, Smithsonian Arctic Archaeologist, William Fitzhugh, has been investigating an early European whaling site at Hare Harbor in Québec, Canada. The site and the artifacts recovered here have revealed information about the contact and trading relationships between Inuit peoples of...
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Sep 20 2011 - 5:08pm
Boats Connect Us to the Ocean
More than any other objects, boats symbolize human connection to the ocean. As you look through the center of the Ocean Hall, past the model right whale, you can see a magnificent carved canoe.
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Jul 13 2010 - 5:35pm
Dampier rescued Alexander Selkirk from Juan Fernandez island around 1708. Selkirk's story inspired Daniel Defoe to write Robinson Crusoe. Read a story by one of Selkirk's descendants in Smithsonian Magazine.
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Jul 7 2010 - 11:09am
This inscription was inscribed on a plaque in Dampier's honor.
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Jul 9 2010 - 1:41pm
The arrows show the direction of ocean currents recorded by William Dampier while crossing “La Grande Mer du Sud”—the Pacific Ocean. The map appeared in Dampier’s second book, Voyages and Descriptions, published in early 1699.
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Jul 26 2010 - 2:10pm
Pirate Captain Keitt was famous for capturing the ship known as the Sun of the East. He took the precious Ruby of Kishmoor, hid it from his shipmates and never told a soul where it was buried.
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Sep 9 2011 - 3:20pm
A 2011 excavation led by the Arctic Studies Center uncovered this fragment of decorated European stoneware called a bellarmine jug. Uncovering this fragment, that was likely manufactured in the 15th and 16th centuries, reveals information about European trade and influence in the Hare Harbor...
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Jan 26 2010 - 11:46am
This illustration shows whalers of the early 1800s with their highly profitable catch.
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Jul 26 2010 - 3:23pm
Pirates divide up the riches they plundered. Most pirates abided by their own codes of conduct, and life aboard pirate ships was more democratic than that on naval ships of the time. Watch a slide show about legendary pirates from the Golden Age of Pirates.
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Jul 7 2010 - 12:26pm
Blackbeard may have been the most notorious pirate of all. Fierce and ferocious-looking, he stood 6’4” tall and had wild eyes and an explosive temper. To add to the effect, he tucked slow-burning cannon fuses under his hat. See some Blackbeard relics.
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Jul 23 2010 - 4:15pm
The ocean was the world's highway, and ships brimming with precious cargoes plied the waters. These merchant ships were tempting targets for pirates, who prowled the seas' major trade routes in search of treasure. Ever since the first oceangoing ships set sail centuries ago, pirates have been...
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Oct 7 2009 - 4:08pm
Under a watchful raven’s eye, this handmade Tlingit canoe became a symbol of the ocean and of Alaska’s Native peoples.
Over the course of a year, Douglas Chilton skillfully chipped away at a cedar log with traditional tools used by his ancestors for generations. Chilton, a master carver and member...
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Jul 26 2010 - 10:21am
This portrait of William Dampier hangs in London’s National Gallery in recognition of his contribution to natural history. Learn more about Dampier, the pirate naturalist.
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