I would normally buy "pirates", because it's the best game ever, and all that. But it would make no sense for me. I already have a perfectly valid Amiga version, plus the recent PC remake.

So maybe the rational way to ease my frustration is to buy it for someone who doesn't have it. And who really wants it, because : pirates.

Let's try it like that. This should be no problem for piracy nerds. Others may have fun investigating and discovering aspects of this charming little world. In both cases, answering right shows a pirate motivation largely deserving Sid Meier's classic. If I get overwhelmed with right answers, I'll use the random.org thing, possibly weighted by the chronological order of the entries. It's my first giveaway thing, I'm experimenting on how to make it feel the most fair.

Anyway.

Associate TWO letters with EACH number.

1. Jean-David Nau.
2. Edward Teach.
3. Henry Morgan.
4. Montbars.
5. Oexmelin.
6. William Kidd.

A. Creative use of canon fuses.
B. Pen and scalpel.
C. Don Quixote meets Bartholomew de Las Casas.
D. Somewhere between Mola Ram and Dracula.
E. Randomly shooting your lieutenants beats long motivational speeches.
F. Possibly controversial conception of loot sharing.
G. Bucket of blood.
H. Cannibal fodder.
I. How do you say dalek in spanish ?
J. Sued by a pirate !
K. What ho what ho this fellow is dancing mad he hath been bitten by the tarantula.
L. Fighting piracy at Port Royale.

_____
Edited to stress that each number has to be associated with two and only two letters. Each letter is relevant to a number, none is left out.

Re-Edited to change François to the nowadays seemingly more commonly accepted Jean-David, as "François Nau" could tragically lead to a completely innocent unrelated 19th-20th century mathematician priest. As pointed out by Theespian.

Not entering, but +1 and thank you for the giveaway.

please don't enter me - thanks for your generosity +1 :)

Not in, but +1.

i would be in , but its.. difficult :p

I may have been into that for too long (with too many friends) to remember what is well known or obscure. But anyway, I think all is easily findable on the internet, and if not, it's even better : selecting the "highest score" winner may be easier than selecting between too many flawless answers...

+1 for the giveaway! Also, a little promotion to it:
http://www.gog.com/en/forum/general/how_does_one_make_a_gift_aka_gifting_on_gog_for_dummies/post150

How could you run a giveaway without linking there? Think of the poor pirate kittens;)

If I have time to resolve between boarding and looting, I will send you a message with the treasure map in a bottle, matey! ;)

Lugum answered everything right, and it was a tough work. So, I've send him the code. But.

Given that looking for the right answers was a bit more difficult than I expected, and that maybe some other people are currently trying, and that I don't have the heart to interrupt it, I'll keep the contest going until tomorrow. And put another copy at stake. However, be warned : my paypal account is really at zero (and my bank account isn't far), so it will take around three days of transaction process before I can pay another copy.

For the merely curious, I'll post the answers tomorrow in the thread. Congratulations to Lugum. And yay for anyone who's been interested enough in historical pirate trivia to investigate...

I've just PMed you "my work". I was "so busy" searching the answer that I haven't noticed this post above, so congrats to the winner.

Yes. It's because I suspect this may happen, that I decided to allow for a second round until tomorrow. I'll randomise a winner amongst the good answers I'll have recieved by then.

Also, you and Kasieczek have given anwers that have what I judged as one error, but you gave explanations that are actually convincing, so I'm forced to accept your answers as 100% valid (means there is an alternate way to place two "letters"). Lugum was (fortunately!) still the first to answer correctly, so it doesn't change anything so far. But I won't consider your answers as less correct than the ones I awaited (and that Lugum gave, and other people might).

So, for now, we have three good set of answers. Chronologically : Lugum, Kasieczek, Lexor.

---------------------------------------

I am now closing the contest. Only three sets of complete (correct) answers. One has recieved his code. It would make no sense to reward only one of the two others. So, Lexor and Kasieczek, you will both recieve the game's code near the end of the week (yes, the giveaway costed me 3 times what I expected, I am not very good at these).

For the curious, the expected answers were :

1:DH.
["Somewhere between Mola Ram and Dracula." + "Cannibal Fodder"]

Jean-David Nau, also known as François Nau, François L'Olonnais, or just L'Olonnais (as he came from Les Sables d'Olonne, on the french oceanic coast), was a freak. He is known for his psychotic brutality, has been seen licking his blade after decapitating some guy, or opening a prisoner's chest, pulling his heart out, ripping a piece of that heart with his teeth, and spitting it out. The legend says he ended devoured by anthropophagous natives.


2:AE
["Creative use of canon fuses." + "Randomly shooting your lieutenants beats long motivational speeches."]

Ed Teach, more famously known as Blackbeard, had a black beard. He was a master of image control, carefully crafting his terrifying persona. He was said to plug canon fuses or matches under his hat and/or in his beard to surround his face with flames and fire during attacks. He also took care of staying feared by his own crew. He's known to have prepared his guns under the table during a card play aboard, and to have out of the blue shot down one of his men in front of others, for the sole purpose of reminding them what kind of person he was. Needless to say, his authority was seldom questionned aboard.

3: FL
["Possibly controversial conception of loot sharing." + "Fighting piracy at Port Royale."]

Sir Henry Morgan is a pirate success story. He respectably ended his life as a governor of Jamaica, in Port Royale, using his expertise to protect the colony from other pirates. Not only he had been one of the most important ones himself, he is said to have been dishonnest to his own men : after the plunder of Panama, most members of his army of pirates have been surprised by the small size of their share, and have accused him and his closest friends to have split the loot unevenly, favorising his core crew and english fellowmen. As an answer, he left with those, and left behind him the frustrated bulk of his army (including Oexemelin). There is still an ongoing debate on whether he had been truly dishonnest, or if the Panama loot had actually got divided into laughable shares given the unique size of the army Morgan has rised for this attack.

4:CI
["Don Quixote meets Bartholomew de Las Casas." + "How do you say dalek in spanish ?"]

Daniel Montbars was called the Exterminator. At that time, the amerindian genocide was already a public issue, and debates were raging about the legitimacy and morality of the conquista, more precisely, about the treatment of natives. Bartholomew de Las Casas had written one of the most important pamphlets and testimonies on colonial cruelty towards indians. Montbars had read it, and had decided that, as a pirate, he would ex-ter-mi-nate all the spaniards he'd meet, in order to avenge the natives. An interesting case of self-righteous rationalisation if ever, no doubt that vengeful crusade made him feel better about his crimes. Still, regarless of the level of hypocrisy on this, you had better not be spanish if you ever were to fall in his hands.

5.BJ
["Pen and scalpel." + "Sued by a pirate !"]

Alexandre Olivier Exmelin, Oexemelin, Esquemelin, etc, was not really really a pirate, or at least not a pirate captain. He was a naval surgeon, but a naval surgeon aboard a pirate ship. He has served under the command of famous captains, including L'Olonnais and Morgan. This is no coincidence : the most famous pirates are famous because they are the ones about whom we have the most writings and testimonies. And one of the main sources of knowledge on XVIIth century piracy is precisely Oexmelin's memoirs, that he published in England after his journeys. They include quite a few chapters about sir Henry Morgan, who was quite unhappy to see the publication of a book denouncing his ex-life of piracy while he was trying to esbablish himself as a respectable politician and noble servant of the crown. So he filed a lawsuit against this book.

6:GK
["Bucket of blood." + "What ho what ho this fellow is dancing mad he hath been bitten by the tarantula."]

William Kidd is a strange case for many reasons. His story was widely publicised, and his trial had been quite mediatic. He was often depicted as having become a pirate against his will (oh life is tough), as having hidden somewhere a still unfound treasure, and as a romantic figure generally speaking (see related [urlhttp://davidkidd.net/Captain_Kidd_Lyrics.html=]folk songs[/url]). However he is also known for having killed a crew member during an anger crisis, by hitting his head with a bucket. It is also said that he has been haunted all the rest of his life by the memory of this dead man, who kept reappearing to him with bloody bucket. Also, William Kidd's treasure is central to one of my favorite Edgar Poe stories, The Gold-Bug. Which starts with these very striking and cryptic words : [i]What ho! what ho! this fellow is dancing mad!
He hath been bitten by the Tarantula.[/i]

Now, the last two winners came up with an alternate solution. I quote Lexor : LASTLY, I have been asked some bibliographical references. I had been collecting piracy non-fiction for many years, but mostly in french, and I haven't kept much uptodate since. However, the works I judge most important amongst those available in english are :

- Oexmelin's account. Found in many languages, under various titles, and his name itself has varied a lot with the publications. You may find it in english under the title "The Buccaneers of America".

- The captain Charles Johnson, aka Daniel Defoe under a pseudonym, has written a huge anthology of piracy, "A general history of the pirates". This collection of famous pirates biographies is still considered as one of the most important sources today.

- Walter Adophe Roberts wrote a very rich and interesting biography of Henry Morgan, quite opposed to Oexemelin's own descriptions, that he accuses to be biased and bitter (mostly because of the Panama loot crisis). This has been published as "Sir Henry Morgan, buccaneer and governor".

- Philip Gosse's "The Pirate's who's who" is very very often referenced, although I haven't found a copy yet. The text is available online, though.

- And Alfred Sternbeck's "Filibusters and buccaneers" is a great general book on piracy.

And of course, the game manual of Sid Meier's "Pirates". Because Microprose was really serious about documentations. So, at least, that one will be available to Lexor and Kasieczek in a couple of days. Enjoy.

And thanks to all those who gave a bit of time, trying to participate to this. Seriously, guys. Pirates were REAL. I find this completely mindboggling, but there are stuff like that, such as Pirates and Dinosaurs, where reality resembles fiction, and is worth being investigated in itself. If you people are thrilled by this crazy aspect of human history, I strongly recommend to dive into historical sources. This strange mix of romantism, insanity, and historical reality, is absolutely thrilling.

- About the G) hint, "Bucket of blood": I was hesitating between William Kidd and Jean-David Nau because this sentence in the Wikipedia:
"A party of Spanish soldiers attacked l'Olonnais and his crew, killing almost the entire party. L'Olonnais himself survived by covering himself in the blood of others and hiding amongst the dead."

- About the F) "Possibly controversial conception of loot sharing", Wikipedia again (Beaufort Inlet section):
"The author Robert Lee surmised that Edward Teach and Israel Hands intentionally ran the ships aground to reduce the fleet's crew complement, increasing their share of the spoils.

- About the E) "Randomly shooting your lieutenants beats long motivational speeches", this sentence misguided me:
"Contrary to the modern-day picture of the traditional tyrannical pirate, Edward Teach commanded his vessels with the permission of their crews"

I must say in my defense I only had time to investigate 3 of the characters. It might have been able to resolve conflicts have been able to continue the investigation, but had to launch my own giveaway.

Too bad, because I would have loved to enjoy this game, and I can't ask in the gifting thread because they have greatly helped by donating games for my giveaway.

But maybe I can win it in the other contest on pirates (the draw not yet made​​).

Meanwhile, congratulations to all the winners and especially thank you very much, Telika, for your generous nature, for the fun piratical contest and for the bibliography in English!

This was generally the case. Pirates were organised in opposition to the extremely strict traditionnal naval way of life and military discipline. This is one reason why people from captured ships would join their crew. A lot of pirate rituals were mockeries of serious rituals in official maritime life. It was actually a counter-culture on that, very opposed to discipline. During naval campaigns and assaults, pirates were disciplined because they recognised the expertise and the courage of their captain, and the need for swift coordinated action (especially as they usually assaulted much larger ships) but the captain had no say anymore between campaigns, on the land. And even, if a captain had been judged incompetent or cowardly, he could be marooned. So, Ed Teach was no exception on that. Like all pirate captains, he depended on the respect and awe of his crew.

However he was a psycho. And this respect was earned through brutal behaviour and a bigger-than-life persona. He was a gang leader, in a band of cutthroats, and as such, he had to play the big man. All pirate captains had to perpetually prove their worth in battle, being on the frontline, seeking the opposing captain. All had to secure respect by showing a strong character. I think the Teach way was particularly cynical. He was a showman. And knew (as Machiavel would theorise), that a few obvious acts of ruthless injustice helped people to fear you and and show paradoxal respect. In a way, he was deliberately constructing an image of absolute badass, and required it precisely because it was the only thing that would maintain him at the head of the crew, in a context devoid of any institutional coercision and any imposed-from-above legitimacy.

One thing that amazes me in these descriptions of pirate societies is the parallel with amerindian tribes, where war chiefs could order people around during war campaigns, but held no authority in times of peace, in a society without hierarchical coercision. In addition, their authority was obtained and maintained only through acts of bravery and through rhetorical prowess (being a real great speaker, being able to keep convincing people that they were fit for that role). The same fragility of status, and need to perpetually prove their legitimacy, are described when it comes to pirate captains.

Anyway, that's what I know of pirate organisation. I've also heard that some recent researches start to nuance this "democratic" aspect of pirate societies, but I haven't checked them yet. Still, most pirates organised themselves in conscious deliberate oposition to the models they had left, and it would not be surprising that they ended up forming systems that were closer to amerindian "headless states". Also, it is worth saying that this counter-cultural reorganisation had lead to some weird avant-garde social progress, such as actual welfare for invalid ex-pirates, and a strict chart of compensation for wounds. A sense of social justice that clash with the fact that their main activity was the most unjust one can think of.

As for the contest, sorry for timing (well, you had told me that it was okay to end the contest now, but I would have given more time if you wanted). But, on the good side : if you had given your (correct) answers, I would have had a total of 4 winners. I think I would have drawed the line there, and only rewarded one of the last 3, randomly chosen. But because I had only 3 in total, I decided to reward both of the last 2. So... in a way the community won.

Thanks for the wonderful explanation!
Don't worry, I have my hands full with the competition and haven't internet access at home, so it's difficult to conduct thorough research.

As for the gifts, glad not to participate have been better off for more people than expected, although I'm sorry for your wallet. ;)

I'll go offline in a while, have a nice day/night!

First, thank you Telika :)

Second, about Morgan and Kidd - I've found this reference about "head and bucket" so it was one of options for me, but it was not exact "bucket of blood" - and I've found this hint later as the name of tavern in Port Royale. Also sharing pirate's loot with the Crown seemed too odd for me. ;)