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- "A frigate came from Glasgow to Redmond recently. It was supposed to be the new flagship for the Redmond fleet. They had the idea there in London that trouble might start in the colonies..."
- ―Ewan Glover to Nathaniel Hawk
A Man-of-war (or manowar) was a type of heavy warship used in the Caribbean in the 1600's. Such ships were the largest and most powerfully-armed in the archipelago, and were exceptionally rare to encounter.
The English captain Nathaniel Hawk battled the manowar Belette, the flagship of Redmond governor Sir Robert Christopher Silehard, by the shores of Khael Roa in the 1630s.
History
Historically, the term man-of-war was used to describe any armed naval vessel in the British Royal Navy, such as ships of the line, frigates, corvettes, and brigs. These ships were run very strictly, with sailors often flogged for various offenses and forbidden from most kinds of alcohol. Many of them were press-ganged into service, resulting in mutiny being common. The first legitimate Man-of-War was invented by Sir John Hawkins around the mid-1500's.[citation needed]
In the 17th century South Caribbean archipelago, the term manowar was used to describe only the largest and most heavily-armed vessels. These ships carried 100 cannons. The English man-of-war Belette, delivered from Glasgow to serve as a flagship of the English Royal Navy, was the only known ship of its class to sail the archipelago. She was used by Redmond Governor Robert Silehard in search of ancient treasure in Khael Roa, but was sunk or commandeered in an encounter with the rogue Captain Nathaniel Hawk before dropping anchor there.[citation needed]
Bartholomew Roberts was attacked by a British Royal Navy man-of-war off Cape Lopez while careening his boat. His crew, too drunk to respond quickly, barely got the ship under way before she was rocked by a broadside from the man-of-war. Roberts was killed by the first volley of shots and his crew, seeing their captain was dead, surrendered to the British.[1]
Notable men-of-war
Behind the scenes
Man-of-wars were first mentioned in the souvenir book for Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean.[1]
In the video game Pirates of the Caribbean, the Man-of-War is designated as Manowar, and is the second strongest ship in the game, after the Black Pearl. The Manowar carries 100 cannon and is manned by around 950 crew. The Manowar is the only ship class in the game, aside from the Black Pearl, that cannot be encountered normally by the player.[citation needed]
The Manowar seems to have been based on a first-rate ship of the line, but the size of the ship has been greatly exaggerated, presumably for artistic purposes.[citation needed]
Appearances
- Pirates of the Caribbean (2003 video game) (First appearance)
- Jack Sparrow: The Age of Bronze
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Isles of War
- Pirates of the Caribbean: Tides of War
Sources
- Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: The Story of the Robust Adventure in Disneyland and Walt Disney World (First mentioned) (First identified as man-of-war)
