Seadogs and Their Parrots: The Reality of Pretty Polly

Summary

            Public imagination was long ago ensnared by images of swashbuckling pirates and their winged sidekicks.  Exotic plumes illustrated by Howard Pyle and famous parrots such as Captain Flint have led to many misconceptions about the reality of avian pets on ships and their greater role in the seafaring community.  The transportation of parrots from exotic locales into western culture provides a unique opportunity to study the seamen involved in this exchange and lends insight into how this group fit into the larger social paradigm of European and American culture.  Focusing on the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, this analysis draws evidence from primary accounts, newspapers, legal documents, artwork, and archaeology to identify the social functions of bird ownership among sailors.   While parrots such as Captain Flint will always hold sway over popular conceptions, this analysis opens up a new understanding of sailors and their "Pretty Pollys."

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• "Totus mundus agit histrionem": Global and Trans-National Historical Archaeologies   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2015

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 239