I came across the unusual punishment of the bilboes in an article in Early American Life magazine, which was described as frequently used on ships to restrain sailors. Looking for more information I found this link which says:

The Bilboe was a form of shackle used from the 16th Century onward till at least the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. ( Read more... )

Crime Broadsides collected by the Harvard Law School Library

More than 500 broadsides have been scanned in and can be seached by date under the Category Search.

Someone on the 18cWoman Yahoo Group pointed out this article, which I thought you might find interesting ( Read more... )

Dear all

Molly Joyful’s List Of Useful Resources has been updated! Many new links for you, on all aspects of life in the 18th century. Some very interesting links this time: figure heads, the history of toilet paper, Nelson in a jar, Nelson in a barrel, actresses in the 18th century, how to avoid hanging by being pregnant, Royal Navy ghostbusters ( Read more... )

COSTUME

Katherine's Dress Site
Has fashion plates, photographs and lots of examples as to how she made her 18th c and beyond things...
http://www.koshka-the-cat.com/index.html

Hazelstaff Graphics Homepage
Features historical examples of stays and useful advice
http://members.localnet.com/~barnwood/index.htm

18th Century Apparel/First Hand Accounts
http:// ( Read more... )

Does anybody know of any resources, book or electronic, about dueling specifically in the Navy? It seems like Navy politics and chain of command would complicate the matter. Could a captain, for instance, ever call an admiral out?

I read the description of hanging in London in 1700: Scenes from London Life, and wondered if Jack was comparing/contrasting his experience in Port Royal with this.

( excerpts )

I'm fascinated by what might have happened to Norrington as a consequence of letting Jack walk away. Courts-martial do indeed pop up occasionally in POTC fic, so I thought I'd share with you a resource I've been using for what I'm writing. It's a book published in 1851, but given how conservative the Navy seems to have been (in my limited reading ( Read more... )

The history of judicial hanging in Britain 1735 - 1964

This site covers the "short drop," "long drop," people who survived the gallows, and even includes a gallows gallery.