The original Banyan was inspired by a passage from Angus Konstam's biography of Blackbeard:
[While off Ocracoke Island in September 1718 (after ditching the Queen Anne’s Revenge along with a good number of his crew), Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and his remaining crew] “spotted a sloop approaching from the south, then watched as she altered course toward Ocracoke Inlet. Unlike the usual small trading vessels bound for Bath Town, this sloop was well armed. She turned out to be a pirate ship – none other than the Ranger, commanded by Charles Vane. Blackbeard would have already prepared the Adventure [his remaining ship] for action, but stood his men down when the Ranger heaved to under Blackbeard’s guns. The presences of two pirate bands in the same waters called for a celebration.
The nautical term for what followed is a “banyan”, an impromptu beach picnic involving drinking and merrymaking. It originally derived from a Hindu term that referred to the open-air markets held by Indian merchants beneath the trees of the same name. By the late seventeenth century it had been adopted by the buccaneers to refer to any open-air gathering on the seashore. Pirates were never known for their moderation, and both Vane and Blackbeard would have made sure that the rum flowed like water, and everyone ate their fill. This party lasted about a week, which was presumably when the rum ran out”.
-Angus Konstam – Blackbeard, America’s Most Notorious Pirate
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[While off Ocracoke Island in September 1718 (after ditching the Queen Anne’s Revenge along with a good number of his crew), Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and his remaining crew] “spotted a sloop approaching from the south, then watched as she altered course toward Ocracoke Inlet. Unlike the usual small trading vessels bound for Bath Town, this sloop was well armed. She turned out to be a pirate ship – none other than the Ranger, commanded by Charles Vane. Blackbeard would have already prepared the Adventure [his remaining ship] for action, but stood his men down when the Ranger heaved to under Blackbeard’s guns. The presences of two pirate bands in the same waters called for a celebration.
The nautical term for what followed is a “banyan”, an impromptu beach picnic involving drinking and merrymaking. It originally derived from a Hindu term that referred to the open-air markets held by Indian merchants beneath the trees of the same name. By the late seventeenth century it had been adopted by the buccaneers to refer to any open-air gathering on the seashore. Pirates were never known for their moderation, and both Vane and Blackbeard would have made sure that the rum flowed like water, and everyone ate their fill. This party lasted about a week, which was presumably when the rum ran out”.
-Angus Konstam – Blackbeard, America’s Most Notorious Pirate
Return to the Banyan page
Return to the Home page