Pontius Tacklethorpe

This page is about the seafarer and explorer. For other uses see Pontius Tacklethorpe (disambiguation).

Pontius Tacklethorpe, known to his friends (who by his own account numbered approximately three and a half) as Bob, was a renowned seafarer during the latter half of the seventeenth century. He is best known for his extensive journals, thirteen (13) volumes in all, which chronicle his exploits during much of his adult life until 3 months prior to his disappearance and presumed death in 1708.

Early Life

Journals

Of British extraction, Tacklethorpe seems to have been less interested in accumulating wealth than he was in accumulating various appellations including, to name a very few: nautical vagabond, salty pigeon, rum nicker, piece o' seven, briney rogue, deck gentleman and Captain's son-in-law (for his penchant for captains' daughters). Oddly, the only title he ever seemed to actively disclaim (and with some vehemence) was pirate. In Volume 4 of his journals, he recounts an encounter with two Dutchmen, a Spanish rum runner and Camille Estrada, the proprietress of a famous Tortugan brothel, wherein he chastised them for implying that he was "a knowne[sic] rapscallion, layabout, and pirate", declaring "oh viscous and most perfidinous[sic] calumny! A man's reputation is his flask and I'll not have ye quaffin' from mine. Pirate? Nay! I have me principles if nothing else."

Tacklethorpe seems to have been as free with his vocabulary and spelling as he was with his sexual morals, cutlass, and business ethics. His journals are full of malapropisms, misspellings, portmanteaus and bastardized (or as he puts it, "sartorelished") words from a dozen various languages (all of which he spoke, poorly).

One of the most famous tales told in his Journals is found in Volume 3, wherein (among other things) he meets and attempts to seduce Esmeralda Dragao, the infamous Portuguese beauty and daughter of Commodore Bonifacio Dragao.

Scotland

Tacklethorpe is also credited as one of the earliest writers of fantastic fiction in the English language. In his copious journals, he described in great detail the mythical world of "Scotland," a volcanic plateau inhabited by trolls, pixies, and lemurs.

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