Captain Blood: His Odyssey

The narrator pauses the story to acknowledge that the source of their information is Jeremy Pitt’s log. The narrator criticizes a historian for attributing several of Captain Blood’s exploits, including the Maracaybo incident, to Captain Henry Morgan when Pitt’s “indefatigable pen” indicates Blood was the hero. Pitt says that Blood and the other convicts didn't intend to become buccaneers; however, once they concluded they were outlaws without homes or employment, they joined the so-called Brotherhood of the Coast. The crew persuaded Blood to be their leader, so he took command and renamed Don Diego’s ship Arabella. The narrator imagines Blood despaired he would never be worthy of Arabella Bishop, yet he is determined to live up to her standards and be the most humane pirate possible. He added men to his crew, ensuring they possessed integrity and self-discipline; he contracted them to obey him and his democratically elected officers without fail. Captain Blood’s exploits in subsequent months earned him notoriety. King James heard tales from the Spanish Ambassador and supported any action Spain would take to capture the outlaw. Blood chose to attack Spanish ships primarily, thus protecting English interests in that part of the world and collecting large profits.