Listen Now: Oh What A Time...

Summary

American History Tellers - Episode: "Oh What A Time..."

Release Date: May 13, 2025
Host/Authors: Eris James, Tom Crane, Chris Scull
Podcast Description:
American History Tellers delves into pivotal moments, characters, and events that have shaped the United States. Hosted by Lindsay Graham (not the Senator), the podcast explores how history influences our daily lives, offering rich narratives that connect the past with the present.

Episode Overview: "Oh What A Time..."

In this engaging episode of American History Tellers, titled "Oh What A Time...", hosts Eris James, Tom Crane, and Chris Scull embark on a riveting exploration of life at sea. The episode intertwines personal anecdotes, historical accounts, and vivid storytelling to answer the compelling question: Was the past as horrific as it seems?

Introduction to Life at Sea

The episode kicks off with Chris Scull setting a dramatic scene aboard a ship:

"At this height, 130ft up in a wind blowing 70 miles an hour, the noise was an unearthly scream..." (09:53)
This immersive introduction transports listeners to the harsh realities of maritime life, highlighting the constant battle against nature and the overwhelming sense of insignificance sailors felt.

Personal Reflections and Anecdotes

Eris James shares a heartfelt personal story:

"At no point, if that was my day, would I not be thinking, I've made a terrible mistake. I should have gone into data entry. A nice, really safe office job." (02:22)
This candid admission underscores the immense challenges and fears associated with life at sea, making the historical accounts relatable to the modern audience.

Tom Crane delves into his family's maritime history:

"My grandfather, who was the captain for the merchant navy in World War II, was torpedoed in World War II and went down." (03:03)
He reflects on the tragic loss and the misconceptions surrounding his grandfather's fate, adding a personal dimension to the historical narrative.

The Perils and Realities of Maritime Life

The hosts discuss the grim realities faced by sailors, including the fear of drowning and the lack of rescue efforts:

"If everyone on that boat over there currently sitting away from me could put themselves in my position... I've got to be honest, I'm frightened now and I'm cold." (05:01)
This segment emphasizes the isolation and desperation experienced by those stranded at sea, drawing parallels to the unforgiving environment sailors navigated daily.

Focus on Welsh Pirates

Eris James transitions the conversation to the fascinating world of Welsh pirates:

"Wales is very good at producing some world-class wingers... but pirates. So three of the characters from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure Island were based on Welsh pirates." (05:49)
She highlights the significant contribution of Welsh pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy (1650s-1730s), focusing on notable figures like John Roberts, known as Black Bart.

Black Bart: A Paradoxical Pirate

Eris delves into the intriguing persona of Black Bart:

"He was quite a curious bloke because he only drank tea. He was an abstainer. He was a Sabbatarian. So he didn't like stuff to happen on a Sunday." (07:01)
This portrayal challenges the stereotypical image of pirates, showcasing a man of principles and personal codes of conduct.

Chris Scull adds humor while discussing the contradictory nature of pirates' rules:

"Pirates should have no rules, but Black Bart enforced strict regulations..." (08:16)
The conversation touches on the stringent rules aboard Black Bart’s ships, such as the prohibition of women, gambling, and the duty for musicians to perform at any hour.

Humorous Interlude: Pirates and Modern Technology

The hosts infuse humor into the discussion by likening pirate rules to modern-day technologies:

"It's like early Spotify. Apart from Sundays when Spotify was turned off." (08:45)
This analogy makes historical content more accessible and entertaining for the audience.

Visualizing Pirate Life

Tom Crane vividly describes Black Bart’s appearance:

"He had a rich damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his cap, a gold chain around his neck with a large diamond cross dangling from it..." (09:14)
This detailed description paints a colorful picture of the pirate's flamboyant and authoritative presence aboard his ship.

Conclusion: The Duality of Maritime Life

The episode concludes by reflecting on the duality of life at sea—its inherent dangers juxtaposed with the allure and adventure it promised. The hosts effectively blend personal stories with historical facts, offering listeners a nuanced understanding of maritime history and its impact on those who lived it.

Notable Quotes

• Eris James:

  "If everyone on that boat over there currently sitting away from me could put themselves in my position... I've got to be honest, I'm frightened now and I'm cold." (05:01)

• Chris Scull:

  "I actually think that [worst things happen at sea] is the most accurate expression ever said." (01:13)

• Tom Crane:

  "I love looking at the sea. But I also have an unbelievable fear of the sea." (03:03)

Timecodes Reference

• 00:00 – Episode Introduction
• 02:22 – Eris James on Personal Fears
• 03:03 – Tom Crane’s Ancestry and Fear of the Sea
• 05:01 – Discussion on Survival and Empathy at Sea
• 05:31 – Comparison with Outer Space
• 05:49 – Transition to Welsh Pirates
• 07:01 – Black Bart's Personal Code
• 08:16 – Pirates’ Rules
• 08:45 – Pirates and Music Analogy
• 09:14 – Black Bart’s Appearance

Final Thoughts

This episode of American History Tellers masterfully blends humor, personal anecdotes, and historical analysis to provide a comprehensive look at life at sea and the enigmatic world of Welsh pirates. Through engaging storytelling and insightful discussions, listeners gain a deeper appreciation for the complexities and human elements of maritime history.

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Transcript

[Eris James]

Hello, history fans. I'm Eris James.

[Tom Crane]

I'm Tom Crane.

[Chris Scull]

And I'm Chris Scull.

[Eris James]

And we're the hosts of oh, what a Time, the history podcast, which tries to answer the question, was the past as horrific as it seems?

[Chris Scull]

Each week we tackle a brand new subject. From life in Nelson's Navy to death.

[Tom Crane]

In ancient Rome, from maniacal monarchs to Soviet spies to the history of milk.

[Chris Scull]

Yes, this is oh, what a Time, the podcast the Times newspaper described as the very funny, if less scholarly than its rivals, probably fair. And we've got a real treat for you right now. You're going to hear one of our favorite episodes. It's Life at Sea.

[Tom Crane]

Yes, today I'm going to be talking about life on a Viking longboat. Pretty tough, to be honest.

[Eris James]

I'm going to be talking about the history of Welsh pirates. West Waleanian pirates were world class pirates, but it's hundreds of years ago, so we can have a laugh about it.

[Chris Scull]

And no Life at Sea episode would be complete without Mr. Christian SA a mutiny on the Bounty. So I'll be taking you back there just to see how bad it got.

[Eris James]

That's all. What a Time. Available every Monday and Tuesday on Wondry, with two bonus episodes every month on Wondry.

[Tom Crane]

Plus, here comes a life at sea. Enjoy.

[Chris Scull]

At this height, 130ft up in a wind blowing 70 miles an hour, the noise was an unearthly scream. The high whistle of the wind through the halyards, and above all, the pale blue, illimitable sky, cold and serene, made me deeply afraid and conscious of my insignificance. As time passed, the ship possessed us completely. Our lives were given over to it. A hundred times a day, each one of us looked aloft at the towering pyramids of canvas, the beautiful deep curves of the leeches of the sails and the straining sheets of the great courses. Listen to the deep hum of the wind up the height of the rigging, the thud and judder and of the steering gear as the ship surged along. Heard the helmsman striking the bells, signaling a change of watch or a meal time, establishing a routine so strong that the outside world seemed unreal. Yes, this week we're talking about life at sea. And I would like to begin with. You know that expression, worst things happen at sea? I actually think that is the most accurate expression ever said.

[Eris James]

At no point, if that was my day, would I not be thinking, I've made a terrible mistake. I should have gone into data entry. A nice, really safe office job.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah, absolutely.

[Chris Scull]

You know what Dolly Parton Sang nine to five and I almost bemoaning it. What a luxurious existence compared to a life at sea. I think the sea is possibly the most overrated destination on earth. Whenever I'm on holiday and there's a choice between beach or pool, I never pick beach. It. The. When you get close to the sea and the seaweed and the stench and then you get out there. The jellyfish. I can't. I hate the sea.

[Tom Crane]

I love looking at the sea. But I also have an unbelievable fear of the sea. Now, there's a couple of things sort of ground me in this. First of all, my grandfather, who was a. The captain for the merchant navy in World War II, was torpedoed in World War II and went down. He died. Bit of confusion in primary school in that I used to go around telling everyone he'd been harpooned. Quite a different story. My mum was always coming to correct me. No, no, no. So today's episode, we're talking about this. A life at sea. That's what we're talking about. It feels early doors like we might not be the people that are best.

[Chris Scull]

Suited to this, but I think we are because. Because of my hatred for the sea, I've always been fascinated by terrible stories of stuff that happened at sea.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah.

[Chris Scull]

And I've always. I once went on. I got the ferry to Santander once on a holiday and I. And it was really rainy on the deck and I was running around chasing my brother and I slipped and I just. And I hit the edge of the boat. Like I was never close to going overboard. But in that moment, like, it really struck me, I. That was 300 years ago and I went overboard. You've got no chance, of course, absolutely zero chance of pulling through that.

[Eris James]

No.

[Chris Scull]

Yeah.

[Eris James]

You'd land in the sea and you'd think to yourself, someone needs to invent the coarse guard now.

[Tom Crane]

It'd be annoying that you. You came up with the idea as you hit. You go, why did I come up with this earlier?

[Eris James]

As a matter of urgency. Someone needs to invent the thing. I've just. I've just imagined.

[Chris Scull]

But also the other astonishing thing is a lot of the time they didn't bother to go back and try and save you.

[Tom Crane]

Really?

[Eris James]

No, that. That I've got a real issue with that. I would be lying there in the water, floating as best as I could, treading water as best I could. Just think to myself, this shows a lack of empathy.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah.

[Eris James]

If everyone on that boat over there currently sitting away from me could put themselves in my position. I would really, really appreciate that because I've got to be honest, I'm frightened now and I'm cold.

[Chris Scull]

And I can only see the situation getting wor. Also, like, it's a bit like, I thought it's a bit like being sucked out into outer space. But the benefit there is you die instantly. Like your head explodes, whatever. In the sea you've got the ability.

[Tom Crane]

Just ahead so the helmet stops working when you're stuck.

[Chris Scull]

I haven't researched what happens in outer space, but in the sea you've got the ability to keep yourself alive for potentially days.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah, yeah. There's food swimming around you for a start.

[Chris Scull]

Yeah, Delicious.

[Tom Crane]

You're quicker.

[Chris Scull]

Delicious cod.

[Eris James]

Super delicious Code. And then some delicious batter and then a delicious fryer and then a delicious plate. Knife and fork. Salt, vinegar and tomato ketchup. We're looking at life at sea this week. So I thought I'd choose pirates and piracy because there's a slightly odd quirk about piracy in that a lot of very world class pirates happen to be from very near where I grew up. Yeah, Wales. Wales is very good at producing some world class wingers. Eurain Giggses, your Gareth Bales and pirates. So three of the characters from Robert Louis Stevenson's novel Treasure island were based on the Welsh pirates. Harry Morgan, who grew up in Llanrumi, Black Bart, Barty, the as known in, in, in Welsh. John Roberts who's from Pembrokeshire and Hall Davis who was also from Fish Guard which, which is also in Pembrokeshire.

[Tom Crane]

Do the, does the, do the films. Pirates of the Caribbean sort of bite a little bit. Should be Pirates of Pirates.

[Eris James]

I, I think there's room for Welsh actors. It annoys me that they went for the big Hollywood names. So the, the, the golden age of piracy is the 1650s, the 1730s. And yeah, we, we produced an awful lot of top pirates. And, and the interesting thing I think with pirates is that they came from all sections of society. So you might be a landowner's son, but if you weren't the firstborn and you didn't inherit your old man's fortune or if you were a farmhand, you just thought, well it's, it's probably better to be a pirate than to do this. This is, this is rubbish. So what I'm really interested in is a guy called John Roberts, Bartholomew Roberts, known as Bhatti the Black Bart. And he, I mean he was, he was a world class pirate who stole a lot of ships and stole a lot of stuff, but he's quite a curious Bloke because he only drank tea. He was an abstainer. He was a Sabbatarian. So he didn't like stuff to happen on a Sunday.

[Chris Scull]

It's the weird thing I was just thinking about pirates is like having rules because by your very loads of rules you are. You are lawless. There should be no rules.

[Eris James]

So to create rules, yeah, he allowed no women aboard a ships. Any man who brought a woman on board disguised as a man, that was. That was punishable by death. He allowed no gambling. He was a pirate who didn't like gambling. So you weren't allowed to gamble at cards or at dice.

[Tom Crane]

Right.

[Eris James]

That couldn't be played for money. He strongly disapproved of that. He had musicians on board and they were. They. So every pirate on his ship the right to demand a tune at any hour of the day or night.

[Tom Crane]

It's like early Spotify.

[Eris James]

Apart from Sundays when Spotify was turned off.

[Chris Scull]

That's probably more like Napster if he's pirating it. Yeah, there you go.

[Tom Crane]

Very nice.

[Eris James]

So.

[Tom Crane]

So what? So you could just go up to the. Go up to them and say, I want to hear. What would it be?

[Eris James]

Yeah. Murder on the Dance Floor by Sorghie.

[Chris Scull]

Ellis Webster, Get Lucky by Daft Punk.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah, yeah.

[Eris James]

And then they would. They'd have to get the violins out and approximate it as best as they could.

[Tom Crane]

Yeah.

[Eris James]

And he really looked the part as well when he was dressed for action. So he had. He was a tall, very dark, used to wear a rich damask waistcoat and breeches, a red feather in his cap, a gold chain around his neck with a large diamond cross dangling from it, a sword in his hand and he had two pairs of pistols hanging at the end of a silk. A sling that was flung over his shoulder. He kind of looked like a cartoon pirate, but he was a Welsh bloke who used to run chapel services on a Sunday. Follow oh, what a Time on the.

[Tom Crane]

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