Black Sails and Treasure Island-Both Glitter and Gleam Like the Urca Treasure

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.
Fifteen men on a dead man's chest.
Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.
                       Treasure Island

We at GHPALS are great fans of the pirate show on Starz. Several of our members attended the showing of the first showing at Comic-Con three years ago and proudly show off the great bags they cherish with the beautiful ships on them.


Last season was fabulous. We cheered when the pirates demolished Charlestown, though we were momentarily chagrinned when one of our kids pointed out we were cheering the murder of innocent women and children. Then we came back to reality. It's a TV show!

Season Three has been terrific. It started with a horrific storm and ended with a great battle. We cheered again as the pirates demolished representations of the mighty British empire. Seeing those soldiers standing in a line on the beach while the pirates fought from barricades was like watching the Battle of Bunker Hill.

One of our members is a graduate student in history, doing his dissertation on the illicit trade between the American Colonies and Jamaica and Cuba. Not piracy mind you, but trading on the black market. Like the trading done by the merchants who buy the cargo shipped out of Nassau in Black Sails. He loved the scene where the pirate captain was told to repackage his goods because merchants in Boston didn't like to see barrels covered in blood. The buyers know where the cargo comes from, but they don't want their noses rubbed in it.

After last week's episode where (spoiler alert) a principle player was hung, for real, we mourned his passing even as we cheered his refusal of rescue and the visible defiance of the men who finished the job when his neck didn't break. We hope that blonde gets hers cause she deserves it, the B^%&**.

We've decided to reread Treasure Island since we're watching Long John Silver mature into the one-legged smarter-than-anyone-else-around-him character in the book.

We've now discussed the chapters up to the sailing of the Hispaniola. The Black Spot figures prominently in the Season Three finale like it did in the book. Striking terror with a piece of paper!

Treasure Island is a masterpiece. Long John Silver is one of the great characters in English literature. He's unforgettable. While you're reading the book you feel like you are right there in the midst of it all. 

If kids read Treasure Island in school they'd learn reading is fun, not a drag. And they'd all be singing Fifteen Men on a Deadman's Chest, making up their own verses, instead of that lame Disney pirate song.