WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.560 Welcome in, everyone. We're so thrilled to have 00:00:03.560 --> 00:00:05.919 you joining us today for this deep dive. Absolutely. 00:00:06.179 --> 00:00:08.199 Whether you are prepping for a big meeting, out 00:00:08.199 --> 00:00:10.820 for a walk, or just insanely curious about the 00:00:10.820 --> 00:00:13.439 world, you are in the right place. The exact 00:00:13.439 --> 00:00:16.859 right place. Today, it's a really special one. 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:19.800 It really is. Today's deep dive centers around 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:23.160 a single Wikipedia article, and it details the 00:00:23.160 --> 00:00:26.320 life of a 1670s Scottish Barbadian buccaneer 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:29.420 named Redlegs Greaves. And I mean, it is a wild 00:00:29.420 --> 00:00:32.060 narrative. It spans this massive spectrum of 00:00:32.060 --> 00:00:34.340 human experience. Oh, totally. We're going from 00:00:34.340 --> 00:00:38.799 colonial servitude right into high seas piracy 00:00:38.799 --> 00:00:41.079 and then into something just entirely unexpected. 00:00:41.320 --> 00:00:44.920 So the mission for our deep dive today is twofold. 00:00:45.500 --> 00:00:47.799 First, we are going to explore what is genuinely 00:00:47.799 --> 00:00:50.500 a cinematic tale of survival. Uteny's hidden 00:00:50.500 --> 00:00:52.880 treasure. Last minute escapes, all of it. But 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:54.719 then, we're going to pull back the curtain. We 00:00:54.719 --> 00:00:56.640 want to see what this specific story teaches 00:00:56.640 --> 00:00:58.920 us about the nature of history itself. Right, 00:00:58.960 --> 00:01:01.479 how the things we accept as fact actually get 00:01:01.479 --> 00:01:03.979 written down. Exactly. Okay, let's unpack this. 00:01:04.359 --> 00:01:07.000 To really understand the world this man navigated, 00:01:07.079 --> 00:01:09.120 we have to start with the historical context 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:12.140 of his birth. Which is rough. Very. According 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:14.840 to the accounts, Greaves was born around 1649 00:01:14.840 --> 00:01:19.159 in Barbados. But his family wasn't in the Caribbean 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:22.000 by choice. Right. His parents were supposedly 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.079 royalists and covenanters who had been tried 00:01:25.079 --> 00:01:27.560 for treason and basically sent into servitude. 00:01:27.620 --> 00:01:29.760 For those of you listening who might be a little 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:33.579 rusty on 17th century British history. What exactly 00:01:33.579 --> 00:01:37.540 does it mean to be a royalist and a covenanter 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:40.400 back then? Well, the mid -1600s in the British 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:42.739 Isles were totally defined by the wars of the 00:01:42.739 --> 00:01:45.019 three kingdoms. Just brutal civil conflicts. 00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:47.780 Exactly. Involving England, Scotland, and Ireland. 00:01:48.280 --> 00:01:51.340 The covenanters were a powerful Scottish Presbyterian 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:53.939 movement. And depending on the year, you know, 00:01:53.939 --> 00:01:56.040 shifting alliances. As they always do. Right. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:57.599 They sometimes fought against the king, sometimes 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:00.379 for him. And being on the losing side of these 00:02:00.379 --> 00:02:03.260 incredibly bloody wars. had consequences severe 00:02:03.260 --> 00:02:05.959 consequences yeah forced exile and servitude 00:02:05.959 --> 00:02:07.819 in the new caribbean colonies was a very common 00:02:07.819 --> 00:02:10.199 punishment so his parents are stripped of their 00:02:10.199 --> 00:02:13.379 life shipped across the atlantic and forced into 00:02:13.379 --> 00:02:16.740 hard labor and the sources point out his nickname 00:02:16.740 --> 00:02:20.360 red legs where does that actually come from that's 00:02:20.360 --> 00:02:23.189 a very specific social marker The term red legs 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:25.889 was used historically for the class of poor whites 00:02:25.889 --> 00:02:28.270 living in colonial Barbados. Because it was highly 00:02:28.270 --> 00:02:31.110 stratified society. Extremely rigid, built on 00:02:31.110 --> 00:02:34.590 forced labor and massive wealth inequality. The 00:02:34.590 --> 00:02:37.310 nickname itself supposedly comes from the severe 00:02:37.310 --> 00:02:40.250 sunburns these European laborers would get working 00:02:40.250 --> 00:02:42.669 out in the tropical heat. Just a miserable existence. 00:02:43.169 --> 00:02:45.430 Yeah, it sets the stage for his early life. He 00:02:45.430 --> 00:02:48.629 is born into the absolute bottom rung of a ruthless 00:02:48.629 --> 00:02:51.379 colonial hierarchy. And the documentation. points 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:54.280 out that things go from bad to just unimaginably 00:02:54.280 --> 00:02:56.620 worse. Yeah, they really do. He's born right 00:02:56.620 --> 00:02:59.159 after his parents arrive. Initially, he serves 00:02:59.159 --> 00:03:02.120 a relatively kind master, but then tragedy just 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.060 strikes back to back. Both of his parents die. 00:03:04.219 --> 00:03:06.560 And then that first master dies shortly after. 00:03:06.699 --> 00:03:08.879 Leaving him completely orphaned. And totally 00:03:08.879 --> 00:03:10.500 vulnerable. You have to remember there was no 00:03:10.500 --> 00:03:13.180 social safety net back then. None at all. Indentured 00:03:13.180 --> 00:03:15.979 servants and their kids were essentially property. 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:19.360 They just got transferred. Which leads to him 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:22.759 being sold to a new master. And the sources emphasize 00:03:22.759 --> 00:03:26.360 this new guy was incredibly violent. Brutal. 00:03:26.479 --> 00:03:29.599 Greaves allegedly endorsed severe beatings throughout 00:03:29.599 --> 00:03:32.960 his entire teenage years. What options did a 00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:35.800 kid in his position even have? Virtually none. 00:03:36.169 --> 00:03:38.530 When a human being is pushed into a corner like 00:03:38.530 --> 00:03:41.729 that with zero legal or social recourse, survival 00:03:41.729 --> 00:03:44.110 instincts just take over. Because the courts 00:03:44.110 --> 00:03:46.110 aren't going to care about a poor orphan. Exactly. 00:03:46.150 --> 00:03:49.189 And running away was highly dangerous on an island. 00:03:49.349 --> 00:03:51.710 You could be hunted down easily, but, you know, 00:03:51.710 --> 00:03:53.729 the alternative is being beaten to death. So 00:03:53.729 --> 00:03:56.729 his survival instinct tells him to swim. The 00:03:56.729 --> 00:03:59.210 account says Greaves actually manages to escape 00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:01.590 by plunging into the water and swimming all the 00:04:01.590 --> 00:04:03.689 way across Carlisle Bay. That's a serious swim. 00:04:04.060 --> 00:04:06.620 Right. And he successfully stows away on a ship 00:04:06.620 --> 00:04:09.000 that's preparing to leave Barbados. Just think 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:11.099 about the sheer relief he must have felt. Oh, 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:13.500 absolutely. Thinking he's hiding on a merchant 00:04:13.500 --> 00:04:15.840 vessel, heading off to start a fresh life somewhere. 00:04:16.100 --> 00:04:18.600 But the reality waiting for him on that deck 00:04:18.600 --> 00:04:20.839 was just a cruel twist of fate. Yeah, it wasn't 00:04:20.839 --> 00:04:23.379 a merchant ship. Not even close. It was a pirate 00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:25.500 ship. And not just your run -of -the -mill privateer. 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:29.180 The captain was a man named Hawkins. What do 00:04:29.180 --> 00:04:31.689 the historical accounts say about him? Hawkins 00:04:31.689 --> 00:04:34.490 is depicted as this notoriously cruel figure 00:04:34.490 --> 00:04:37.170 operating in the Caribbean. I mean, the typical 00:04:37.170 --> 00:04:39.449 pirate captain of that era might be ruthless 00:04:39.449 --> 00:04:41.850 for business reasons, sure. Right, it's a violent 00:04:41.850 --> 00:04:44.110 industry. But Hawkins went out of his way to 00:04:44.110 --> 00:04:48.110 be brutal. He routinely tortured captives. The 00:04:48.110 --> 00:04:50.410 accounts specifically note his cruelty toward 00:04:50.410 --> 00:04:53.629 women. Wow. He rarely showed mercy to any crew 00:04:53.629 --> 00:04:56.910 he attacked. He's this quintessential, terrifying 00:04:56.910 --> 00:05:00.870 pirate captain. Feared by his own men? but kept 00:05:00.870 --> 00:05:03.230 in power because he brought in the gold. So this 00:05:03.230 --> 00:05:05.670 exhausted teenager is found hiding below deck 00:05:05.670 --> 00:05:08.410 and dragged out to face this monster, and the 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:10.689 phrasing from the sources detailing his initiation 00:05:10.689 --> 00:05:13.629 is incredible. It's very evocative. He's forced 00:05:13.629 --> 00:05:15.589 to join the crew, and the legend says he was 00:05:15.589 --> 00:05:17.709 offered the articles on a platter along with 00:05:17.709 --> 00:05:20.730 a pistol. That phrase perfectly encapsulates 00:05:20.730 --> 00:05:23.709 the psychological weight of it all. The articles 00:05:23.709 --> 00:05:26.569 are the ship's code. The pirate contrast. Exactly. 00:05:26.569 --> 00:05:29.410 The rules of the ship and how they divide the 00:05:29.410 --> 00:05:32.370 plunder and that pistol resting next to it. That's 00:05:32.370 --> 00:05:35.189 the alternative. Death. Death. No negotiation. 00:05:35.370 --> 00:05:38.610 He is violently coerced right into a criminal 00:05:38.610 --> 00:05:41.670 underworld. He escapes one brutal servitude just 00:05:41.670 --> 00:05:43.889 to be first into another one at gunpoint. Yeah. 00:05:43.930 --> 00:05:46.290 But to his credit, the lore suggests Greaves 00:05:46.290 --> 00:05:48.870 actually shows real promise. He's reluctant, 00:05:49.009 --> 00:05:51.069 obviously, but he quickly gains a reputation 00:05:51.069 --> 00:05:53.970 as a highly capable sailor. Competence is your 00:05:53.970 --> 00:05:55.949 only survival mechanism in that environment. 00:05:56.089 --> 00:05:58.110 Right. If you're forced into a lawless society, 00:05:58.449 --> 00:06:00.930 making yourself indispensable is your best shield 00:06:00.930 --> 00:06:03.930 against a cruel captain. But competence doesn't 00:06:03.930 --> 00:06:07.110 mean compliance. Inside, he is developing a profound 00:06:07.110 --> 00:06:09.910 resentment. Boiling over. The sources say he 00:06:09.910 --> 00:06:12.990 absolutely despises Captain Hawkins. He hates 00:06:12.990 --> 00:06:15.529 him for forcing him into piracy. But he also 00:06:15.529 --> 00:06:18.110 just has a real moral distaste for the sheer 00:06:18.110 --> 00:06:20.490 brutality Hawkins inflicts on innocent people. 00:06:20.689 --> 00:06:22.649 It's bound to hit a breaking point. And it does. 00:06:22.769 --> 00:06:25.529 It builds to a massive duel between Greaves and 00:06:25.529 --> 00:06:28.629 the captain. How does a mutiny like that actually 00:06:28.629 --> 00:06:31.389 unfold? Well, the accounts offer two main theories. 00:06:32.069 --> 00:06:34.129 Sons say it started directly over the torture 00:06:34.129 --> 00:06:36.430 of a prisoner. Which tracks perfectly with his 00:06:36.430 --> 00:06:39.290 developing moral compass. Exactly. Other versions 00:06:39.290 --> 00:06:42.069 say Hawkins simply attacked him for disobeying 00:06:42.069 --> 00:06:45.350 an order. But regardless of the spark, a pirate 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:47.470 duel isn't just a knife fight in the dark. It's 00:06:47.470 --> 00:06:49.449 a public challenge. A direct challenge to the 00:06:49.449 --> 00:06:51.819 power structure of the entire ship. And Greaves 00:06:51.819 --> 00:06:55.040 wins. He kills Captain Hawkins and the crew, 00:06:55.160 --> 00:06:58.420 who apparently feared the guy just as much, immediately 00:06:58.420 --> 00:07:00.939 elect Greaves to take command. Here's where it 00:07:00.939 --> 00:07:03.500 gets really interesting. He refuses to just take 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:06.300 the wheel and do piracy as usual. Yeah. He fundamentally 00:07:06.300 --> 00:07:08.879 overhauls the culture of the ship. The very first 00:07:08.879 --> 00:07:11.060 thing he does is rewrite those ship's articles. 00:07:11.339 --> 00:07:14.120 The same ones forced on him. Right. He institutes 00:07:14.120 --> 00:07:17.300 strict new rules. He explicitly prohibits the 00:07:17.300 --> 00:07:20.360 mistreatment of prisoners. He openly allows merchant 00:07:20.360 --> 00:07:23.040 captains to surrender peacefully during a battle 00:07:23.040 --> 00:07:25.500 without being slaughtered. He even refuses to 00:07:25.500 --> 00:07:28.819 participate in raiding poor, undefended coastal 00:07:28.819 --> 00:07:31.939 villages. He basically constructs this identity 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:35.000 of an anti -pirate pirate captain. It's fascinating. 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:39.220 During an era defined by extreme violence, he 00:07:39.220 --> 00:07:42.319 implements a strict code of humane conduct. This 00:07:42.319 --> 00:07:44.639 philosophy is what transforms him into a legend 00:07:44.639 --> 00:07:47.060 across the Caribbean. And nothing cements that 00:07:47.060 --> 00:07:49.500 legend quite like this massive operation he pulls 00:07:49.500 --> 00:07:53.079 off around 1675. Oh, the Margarita Island raid. 00:07:53.259 --> 00:07:56.279 Yes. The notes highlight this raid. What actually 00:07:56.279 --> 00:07:58.680 happened there? It's described as his crowning 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:01.579 tactical achievement. Greaves and his crew managed 00:08:01.579 --> 00:08:04.240 to capture a local Spanish fleet right off the 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.459 coast of Venezuela. Which is huge on its own. 00:08:06.779 --> 00:08:09.259 Taking on heavily armed vessels. Exactly. But 00:08:09.259 --> 00:08:11.459 then he takes their guns, turns them against 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:13.779 the coastal defenses of Margarita Island, and 00:08:13.779 --> 00:08:16.339 successfully storms the town. A surgical military 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:19.560 strike by a ragtag pirate crew. It requires immense 00:08:19.560 --> 00:08:22.319 discipline. And they secure a massive haul of 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:24.620 pearls and gold. But the part that stands out 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:26.439 isn't the treasure. It's what happens after. 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:28.879 Right. They simply leave. They take the gold, 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.759 the pearls, and they depart. No further looting. 00:08:32.029 --> 00:08:35.009 No burning the town down. No harming the inhabitants. 00:08:35.330 --> 00:08:38.190 If you contrast this with typical 17th century 00:08:38.190 --> 00:08:41.169 piracy, where towns were routinely burned and 00:08:41.169 --> 00:08:44.389 citizens tortured for weeks to find hidden valuables, 00:08:44.590 --> 00:08:47.409 Grieve's actions are astounding. It's a highly 00:08:47.409 --> 00:08:49.669 professional operation driven by that strict 00:08:49.669 --> 00:08:52.210 ethical code. Exactly. You'd think a hall of 00:08:52.210 --> 00:08:54.330 that size would be the perfect note to end on. 00:08:54.450 --> 00:08:56.690 And according to the narrative, he actually tries 00:08:56.690 --> 00:08:59.879 to ride off into the sunset. He leaves piracy 00:08:59.879 --> 00:09:02.620 and settles down to be a gentleman farmer on 00:09:02.620 --> 00:09:05.500 the island of Nevis. A peaceful retirement. That 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:08.139 does not last. Not at all. One day, he's recognized 00:09:08.139 --> 00:09:10.539 by a former victim who turns him in for the bounty 00:09:10.539 --> 00:09:13.279 on his head. And despite his reputation for being 00:09:13.279 --> 00:09:16.779 honorable, the courts show zero leniency. They 00:09:16.779 --> 00:09:19.539 don't care about his new rules. No. Greaves is 00:09:19.539 --> 00:09:22.019 tried, found guilty of piracy, and sentenced 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:24.399 to be hanged in chains. It's the ultimate betrayal 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.190 of his attempt to live a reformed life. He finds 00:09:27.190 --> 00:09:30.210 himself languishing in a dark stone dungeon, 00:09:30.350 --> 00:09:33.269 literally awaiting execution. And colonial dungeons 00:09:33.269 --> 00:09:36.350 were horrific. Heat, disease, total isolation. 00:09:36.669 --> 00:09:38.450 So he's sitting there waiting for the noose and 00:09:38.450 --> 00:09:42.129 then an extraordinary event occurs. A massive 00:09:42.129 --> 00:09:45.029 earthquake strikes. An act of God. Literally. 00:09:45.350 --> 00:09:48.029 The tremors are so violent the town is entirely 00:09:48.029 --> 00:09:51.350 submerged. Yet miraculously, Greaves survives 00:09:51.350 --> 00:09:55.720 and is rescued by a passing whaling ship. I mean, 00:09:55.720 --> 00:09:58.240 how do you even survive a submerged dungeon? 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:02.059 Well, as incredible as that sounds, this is the 00:10:02.059 --> 00:10:04.480 exact moment where, as an analyst, I have to 00:10:04.480 --> 00:10:07.120 step in and point out some fascinating inconsistencies. 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.399 The cracks in the story. Right. When historians 00:10:09.399 --> 00:10:12.419 look closely at this miraculous escape, the timelines 00:10:12.419 --> 00:10:15.289 get very blurry. Some versions claim this was 00:10:15.289 --> 00:10:18.350 the famous 1692 earthquake that destroyed Port 00:10:18.350 --> 00:10:20.669 Royal, Jamaica. Where half the city literally 00:10:20.669 --> 00:10:23.730 sank into the sea. That's a real documented event. 00:10:24.110 --> 00:10:26.529 Exactly. But other accounts insist he was imprisoned 00:10:26.529 --> 00:10:28.789 on Nevis. Right. Totally different island. And 00:10:28.789 --> 00:10:31.269 while Nevis did suffer its own catastrophic earthquake 00:10:31.269 --> 00:10:34.350 and tidal wave, geological records place that 00:10:34.350 --> 00:10:37.570 in either 1680 or 1690. So the dates and coordinates 00:10:37.570 --> 00:10:39.889 are constantly shifting. Which is a massive red 00:10:39.889 --> 00:10:41.549 flag when you're trying to pin down a historical 00:10:41.549 --> 00:10:44.200 record. Still, regardless of the coordinates, 00:10:44.460 --> 00:10:47.039 the narrative gives him a phenomenal third act. 00:10:47.279 --> 00:10:50.059 In gratitude for being saved, he joins the whaling 00:10:50.059 --> 00:10:52.899 ship crew, works his way up, and transitions 00:10:52.899 --> 00:10:55.720 from pirate to pirate hunter. Which sounds crazy, 00:10:55.779 --> 00:10:58.399 right? Yeah. Did the authorities really just 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:01.799 trust a former convicted pirate to hunt his own 00:11:01.799 --> 00:11:03.779 kind? Was that common? It happened occasionally. 00:11:04.570 --> 00:11:06.610 British authorities were desperate for capable 00:11:06.610 --> 00:11:09.909 captains who knew buccaneer tactics. You know, 00:11:09.909 --> 00:11:12.190 the poacher becomes the gamekeeper. And he uses 00:11:12.190 --> 00:11:14.570 all that insider knowledge. He eventually captures 00:11:14.570 --> 00:11:17.070 a pirate ship that was aggressively raiding local 00:11:17.070 --> 00:11:20.309 fleets. His success is so undeniable he earns 00:11:20.309 --> 00:11:23.490 a royal pardon. A full legal exoneration from 00:11:23.490 --> 00:11:26.539 the crown. Incredible. He retires for a second 00:11:26.539 --> 00:11:29.580 time, buys a plantation, and the story concludes 00:11:29.580 --> 00:11:31.759 with him spending his later years as a wealthy, 00:11:31.940 --> 00:11:34.899 highly respected philanthropist. Donating huge 00:11:34.899 --> 00:11:38.039 portions of his wealth to island charities. Dying 00:11:38.039 --> 00:11:40.820 of natural causes. It is this perfectly structured, 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.759 incredibly satisfying conclusion to a wildlife. 00:11:44.159 --> 00:11:46.679 What's fascinating here is there is a massive 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:48.940 catch to everything we've just discussed over 00:11:48.940 --> 00:11:51.100 the last 15 minutes. The rug pull. The ultimate 00:11:51.100 --> 00:11:53.200 rug pull. When modern historians actually go 00:11:53.200 --> 00:11:54.970 looking through the archives for red... legs, 00:11:54.970 --> 00:11:57.529 Greaves, they find absolutely nothing. Wait. 00:11:57.649 --> 00:11:59.950 Zero historical records of his existence. How 00:11:59.950 --> 00:12:02.129 is that even possible? We just walked through 00:12:02.129 --> 00:12:05.230 his parents' exile, the duels, a specific military 00:12:05.230 --> 00:12:08.009 raid on Margarita Island, a royal pardon. And 00:12:08.009 --> 00:12:10.570 none of it exists in the historical record. No 00:12:10.570 --> 00:12:13.049 period accounts of the Margarita raid involving 00:12:13.049 --> 00:12:16.769 a Captain Greaves. No trial documents from Nevis 00:12:16.769 --> 00:12:20.379 or Jamaica. Wow. No records of his. Pardon his 00:12:20.379 --> 00:12:23.179 philanthropy or his birth, he is almost certainly 00:12:23.179 --> 00:12:26.159 a completely fictional character. That is mind 00:12:26.159 --> 00:12:28.940 -blowing. How does an encyclopedic level of detail 00:12:28.940 --> 00:12:31.480 just get made up and then passed off as actual 00:12:31.480 --> 00:12:33.779 history for decades? Where did it come from? 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:36.600 To find the source, historians had to fast forward 00:12:36.600 --> 00:12:39.059 a couple of centuries. The story actually first 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:41.799 appears in print in a 1923 book by an author 00:12:41.799 --> 00:12:44.539 named A. Hyatt Verrill. The book was called In 00:12:44.539 --> 00:12:46.460 the Wake of the Buccaneers. I am going to assume 00:12:46.460 --> 00:12:48.799 Verrill did not provide any rigorous historical... 00:12:48.809 --> 00:12:51.169 citations for this amazing tale. Not a single 00:12:51.169 --> 00:12:54.470 one. Now, he did travel widely in the West Indies. 00:12:54.570 --> 00:12:56.769 He might have heard a local folk tale in a tavern 00:12:56.769 --> 00:12:59.539 and just wrote it down. But Verrill also had 00:12:59.539 --> 00:13:02.539 a very well -documented reputation as a sensationalist. 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:04.899 Ah, there it is. He frequently fictionalized 00:13:04.899 --> 00:13:07.539 his travelogues and outright invented material 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:11.080 to make his books more exciting. But a 1923 travelogue 00:13:11.080 --> 00:13:13.100 by a known sensationalist doesn't usually make 00:13:13.100 --> 00:13:15.940 it into history books. How does a tall tale jump 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:19.100 into modern encyclopedias? Because of a massive 00:13:19.100 --> 00:13:21.559 failure of the historiographical process the 00:13:21.559 --> 00:13:25.389 very next year. In 1924, a man named Philip Goss 00:13:25.389 --> 00:13:28.350 published a highly influential book called The 00:13:28.350 --> 00:13:31.509 Pirates Who's Who. And let me guess. Goss simply 00:13:31.509 --> 00:13:33.970 lifted the story of Greaves directly from Verl's 00:13:33.970 --> 00:13:36.830 book and presented it as hard historical fact. 00:13:36.990 --> 00:13:40.289 Wow. Once a story is packaged in a formal alphabetical 00:13:40.289 --> 00:13:43.009 reference format, it gains this powerful veneer 00:13:43.009 --> 00:13:46.190 of legitimacy. Later, writers looked at Goss's 00:13:46.190 --> 00:13:48.710 encyclopedia, assumed he did the archival research, 00:13:48.990 --> 00:13:51.480 and cited him. A historical game of telephone? 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.460 Exactly. The myths just kept replicating. Why 00:13:54.460 --> 00:13:56.919 did this specific story catch on so hard in the 00:13:56.919 --> 00:13:59.580 1920s, though? Were people just particularly 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:02.460 billable to pirate myths back then? The cultural 00:14:02.460 --> 00:14:05.399 context of the 1920s is the smoking gun here. 00:14:05.539 --> 00:14:07.980 Both of those books hit the shelves just a year 00:14:07.980 --> 00:14:10.179 or two after a massive pop culture phenomenon. 00:14:11.039 --> 00:14:14.120 Raphael Sabatini's wildly popular 1922 novel 00:14:14.120 --> 00:14:17.259 Captain Blood. Oh, the fictional pirate who is 00:14:17.259 --> 00:14:19.620 actually a wrongly accused gentleman. who has 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.559 a strict moral code, and treats his enemies humanely. 00:14:22.639 --> 00:14:24.700 Precisely. The plot of Captain Blood parallels 00:14:24.700 --> 00:14:27.659 the description of Redlegs. Greaves almost beat 00:14:27.659 --> 00:14:30.240 for beat. The reading public in the 1920s was 00:14:30.240 --> 00:14:32.340 incredibly hungry for tales of noble pirates. 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:35.320 Because of Sabatini's novel. Right. Verrill and 00:14:35.320 --> 00:14:37.559 Goss basically provided a real -life historical 00:14:37.559 --> 00:14:39.980 equivalent to satisfy that massive market demand. 00:14:40.200 --> 00:14:42.909 And Greaves isn't alone. Really? There's a whole 00:14:42.909 --> 00:14:45.289 list of likely fictional pirates names like William 00:14:45.289 --> 00:14:48.029 Lewis, John Cornelius, who suddenly pop up in 00:14:48.029 --> 00:14:50.730 these 1920s texts with absolutely no prior historical 00:14:50.730 --> 00:14:53.370 footprint. It is wild to think about a pop culture 00:14:53.370 --> 00:14:56.909 trend literally rewriting reference books. But 00:14:56.909 --> 00:14:58.809 our source material points out this isn't just 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:02.250 an old 1920s problem. This fiction has actually 00:15:02.250 --> 00:15:04.450 bled into modern writing and political discussions, 00:15:04.570 --> 00:15:07.629 too. It absolutely has. The sources give a modern 00:15:07.629 --> 00:15:10.409 example, a book by Sean O 'Callaghan called. 00:15:10.940 --> 00:15:13.980 To Hell or Barbados. Okay. O 'Callaghan includes 00:15:13.980 --> 00:15:17.100 the accounts of Greaves, presenting him as a 00:15:17.100 --> 00:15:19.740 factual part of the history of Scottish and Irish 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:22.480 prisoners exiled to the Caribbean. And to be 00:15:22.480 --> 00:15:24.419 clear for you listening, our sources explicitly 00:15:24.419 --> 00:15:26.580 note that O 'Callaghan's book has been heavily 00:15:26.580 --> 00:15:29.259 criticized by historians and outlets like New 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:31.759 York Times. Yes. The critiques argue the book 00:15:31.759 --> 00:15:34.100 is historically inaccurate and perpetuates what 00:15:34.100 --> 00:15:37.580 historians called the Irish slave myth. Now, 00:15:37.600 --> 00:15:39.200 we aren't taking a side on that political debate 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:41.100 today. No, not at all. We're simply bringing 00:15:41.100 --> 00:15:43.580 it up as an incredibly fascinating case study. 00:15:43.720 --> 00:15:46.399 It shows exactly how a character invented to 00:15:46.399 --> 00:15:49.679 sell 1920s adventure books can accidentally get 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:52.279 woven into modern historical and political texts 00:15:52.279 --> 00:15:54.960 almost a century later. It perfectly illustrates 00:15:54.960 --> 00:15:58.139 how easily fiction camouflages itself as fact, 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:00.779 especially when it fits the narrative a later 00:16:00.779 --> 00:16:03.490 writer is building. If we connect this to the 00:16:03.490 --> 00:16:06.029 bigger picture, it explains why the trope of 00:16:06.029 --> 00:16:08.190 the noble pirate is so enduring. Why we're so 00:16:08.190 --> 00:16:10.870 eager to believe these myths. Exactly. People 00:16:10.870 --> 00:16:13.490 in the 1920s, modern authors, and even us today, 00:16:13.610 --> 00:16:16.750 we are fundamentally drawn to this specific idea. 00:16:17.090 --> 00:16:19.269 We want to believe that even in the darkest, 00:16:19.389 --> 00:16:22.610 most lawless environments imaginable, a person 00:16:22.610 --> 00:16:25.649 can still choose to be good. The ocean during 00:16:25.649 --> 00:16:27.789 the golden age of piracy represents ultimate 00:16:27.789 --> 00:16:31.200 chaos and corruption. If a man like Greaves can 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:34.419 exist there, a man who refuses to torture, spares 00:16:34.419 --> 00:16:36.899 the innocent, literally rewrites the rules of 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:39.879 engagement. It gives us hope about human nature. 00:16:40.039 --> 00:16:42.259 It really does. We want the myth to be real because 00:16:42.259 --> 00:16:44.679 it validates our own belief in morality. Let's 00:16:44.679 --> 00:16:46.379 recap this incredible journey for you really 00:16:46.379 --> 00:16:48.840 quick. We started by tracing the tragic tale 00:16:48.840 --> 00:16:51.320 of an abused colonial servant who swims for his 00:16:51.320 --> 00:16:54.159 life, only to accidentally stow away on a ruthless 00:16:54.159 --> 00:16:56.720 pirate ship. Out of the frying pan. Right into 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:59.679 the fire. We watched him rise up. kill his cruel 00:16:59.679 --> 00:17:02.059 captain in a duel, and become the honorable leader 00:17:02.059 --> 00:17:04.279 of a crew that captures Spanish fleets without 00:17:04.279 --> 00:17:06.759 shedding innocent blood. A true gentleman of 00:17:06.759 --> 00:17:09.259 fortune. We saw him betrayed, sentenced to hang, 00:17:09.460 --> 00:17:12.359 saved by a literal earthquake, and finally redeemed 00:17:12.359 --> 00:17:14.440 as a pirate hunter and a wealthy philanthropist. 00:17:14.579 --> 00:17:18.980 And then, the ultimate twist. He is a phantom. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:22.420 A literary invention. Inspired by 1920s pop culture, 00:17:22.660 --> 00:17:25.140 laundering itself through encyclopedias and past 00:17:25.140 --> 00:17:28.160 office history. So what does this all mean? It 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:30.200 means the truth of a story isn't always found 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:33.539 in its historical accuracy. Redlegs Greaves might 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:35.960 be a complete myth constructed by a sensationalist 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:38.960 writer. But the endurance of his story over the 00:17:38.960 --> 00:17:41.440 last century proves something very real about 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.640 all of us. It proves how deeply we value maintaining 00:17:44.640 --> 00:17:47.539 a strong moral compass. The idea that you can 00:17:47.539 --> 00:17:49.980 be surrounded by overwhelming corruption and 00:17:49.980 --> 00:17:52.279 still choose to rewrite the rules to protect 00:17:52.279 --> 00:17:54.859 the vulnerable. that is a deeply human aspiration. 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:57.619 It's the ultimate underdog story, not just of 00:17:57.619 --> 00:17:59.900 a person trying to survive, but of ethics trying 00:17:59.900 --> 00:18:02.440 to survive in a hostile world. This raises an 00:18:02.440 --> 00:18:04.980 important question. It really does. And we want 00:18:04.980 --> 00:18:07.140 to leave you with a final thought to ponder as 00:18:07.140 --> 00:18:09.940 you go about your day. Think about your own life, 00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:13.269 your career, the environments you navigate. Your 00:18:13.269 --> 00:18:16.490 own code. Exactly. If you were forced to write 00:18:16.490 --> 00:18:19.390 your own personal ship's articles today, a strict 00:18:19.390 --> 00:18:21.809 code of ethics to navigate a cutthroat industry 00:18:21.809 --> 00:18:24.309 or a really challenging environment, what would 00:18:24.309 --> 00:18:26.609 be the one rule you would absolutely never compromise 00:18:26.609 --> 00:18:29.750 on? A fantastic question to take away. Thank 00:18:29.750 --> 00:18:31.769 you all so much for joining us on this deep dive. 00:18:31.950 --> 00:18:34.109 Keep questioning the legends you encounter. Keep 00:18:34.109 --> 00:18:36.569 exploring the history behind the history. And 00:18:36.569 --> 00:18:38.809 we will catch you next time. Take care, everyone.