Pirates and Aztecs at the Field
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
It was a perfect day to spend at the Field Museum checking out Pirates and Aztecs. I got to spend some time with my tour guide colleagues while we learned more about the two current exhibits happening at the Field Museum. There were about 38 of us who made the trip down to get the real scoop on the pirates and Aztecs.
The Real Pirate exhibition focused on the ship the Whydah which was discovered off the shores of Cape Cod. There was a pirate’s booty found on the sunken ship. The Whydah began as a slave ship in 1716 not part of the Royal African Company that was part of the empire but launched by independent backers.
It told the stories of those who turned to the pirate lifestyle and what the life of a pirate was like. Not as glamorous as one is led to believe. But there is no pirate’s treasure map or even walking the plank. If you got out of line, they just threw you over board.
When the Whydah sank off the shores of Cape Cod in 1717, Sam Bellamy, the captain who captured it and turned it into a pirate ship, had 150 on board. The Whydah was shattered along the coastline and had two survivors who were later captured and hanged. It wasn’t until 1730 when LaBusse, the last of the pirates was captured and the age of pirating was over.
As Barry Clifford, the diver discoverer of the Whydah, said “It’s not what you find, but what you find out”. All the reason to take the Field trip to see the Real Pirates.
The Aztec exhibit was very in depth on the way of life of the early Mesoamericans. Beginning in 1470 and continuing through to the fall of the Aztec empire in 1521, the exhibit showed the artisans and merchants, traders and farmers, rulers and religious deities that made up the culture that was absorbed by the invasion of the Spanish. The Spanish arrived in 1519 naturally met with resistance and finally blended the two cultures introducing Christianity to the area which over time gave birth to modern Mexico.
Again, take time and spend a day at the Field Museum to find out more about the lost cultures. It was a great day trip the whole family can enjoy. We had Aimee Willets and Megan Gray to thank for a great day of discovery.
