In Too Deep

based on the true story of pirate John Quelch

Looking out at the crowd I observe that their collective intrigue helps mask a certain sympathetic devotion. So I take a bow. This, after they’ve just heard me lament over the severe injustice that’s about to be done me.

I’m not guilty of hanging, I told them. I did what was asked of me. Sort of…

Commissioned to attack ships of two countries, we ended up plundering ships of another. How were we supposed to know Portugal was our ally at the time? Last we knew, they were still enemies of the Crown. Loyalty is a fickle thing, isn’t it?

And yes, our initial captain did tragically die, tasking me with extra responsibilities. But blaming me and my men for his death, calling it a mutiny and transition from privateering to piracy, is outright slander. Also, a convenient excuse for them, our backers, to keep their hands clean of the whole ordeal…

…though, of course, it isn’t necessary for their hands to be clean of anything. Because we did our jobs, insofar as they, our backers, became richer, for we provided them their share of our plunder when we got back. Should they really care where it came from?

And allow me to rail a bit more on the accusation regarding privateering to piracy:

While not a fan of Preacher Cotton Mather, believing him to be well-versed in the Word more for personal profit than for the salvation of souls, I do agree with him on one matter, which is the distinction between privateering and piracy being nothing but a blurred line.

Is this me admitting guilt? Or, at least an admission that when I accepted the commission I was also accepting that once out upon the great sea, the unpredictable might happen?

Uh, yes, the latter. Especially when your captain up and dies…

…unexpectedly of course.

But to say that we didn't perform a job that benefited those who commissioned us is a lie. And these accusations are downright disrespectful considering the added adversity we faced.

No, we did not perform the exact duty our backers sent us for… but, again, they did become richer, perhaps more so than had we gone with the original plan.

So why send us to the gallows? I of course know the technical answer to this question:

The Crown wants the colonies to crack down on piracy. The colonies, though increasingly unwilling subjects of the Crown, want to do just enough to please it so as to be left to their own devices. To be fair, the practice has gotten a little out of hand… due to the Crown’s love for privateering, which of course fronts their constant collusion with piracy. Hypocrites!

Again, it certainly doesn’t help our case that the prizes we attained came at the expense of a newly-formed ally of the Crown. But, again, how were we supposed to know? To be quite frank, on a different timeline, we’d be considered heroes. And yet our repayment is a hanging!

When we got back to Marblehead and provided our backers with their share, we went on our merry way. I thought for sure we’d gotten away with it—er, were good to go after a job well done.

But then things didn’t add up for folks, resulting in too many questions being asked. Some of my men, now dead to me of course, answered these questions. Some, I suspect, squealed from the start. Why do I say this? Because there are only six of us being hanged today. There were a lot more than six on our boat. Cowards!

What you’ve probably gathered, then, is that our backers, Preacher Mather, the Crown, and the rats aboard our great vessel have all benefited from an endeavor that’s brought the six most deserving of those benefits straight to the gallows.

You might say that the colonies are benefiting, too, because they’re showing their superiors a willingness to listen, one that they hope brings back a more blind eye. But the crowd looking up at us tells a different story.

I should mention that the Boston News-Letter has also made a name for itself as a result of our endeavor. They’re the reason the crowd is here, as our story and trial has spread far and wide. Kudos to them for taking advantage, presenting events in an entertaining way, I suppose…

…though they reek of the same stench Preacher Mather carries around.

Well, the noose is actively being place around my neck now, so it looks like I’m gonna have to cut this short.

You want to know more about my bow to the crowd?

Was it a smirk of admission—a gesture I allowed myself to give once I’d seen the secret admiration on their faces?

Somewhat.

Mostly, though, it’s a bow to the future, to what’s to come.

After death, I’ll be buried deep into the ground, making me one with a land anxious for sovereign opportunity, dirt trod upon by footsteps of increasing discontent. All because I became in too deep with the violent sea, where men take measures into their own hands once left to their own devices.