Captain Martel, Escaping the Scarborough, from the Pirates of the Spanish Main series (N19) for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes 1886 - 1891

"Captain Martel, Escaping the Scarborough" was created by Allen & Ginter as part of the Pirates of the Spanish Main series for Allen & Ginter Cigarettes. These cards, like so many objects in our culture, participated in the romanticization of pirates, an idealization that often obscured the violence and exploitation inherent in their actions. As a commercial product, the card catered to the prevailing attitudes of the time, feeding into a narrative of adventure and conquest, one which conveniently overlooked the disruption of trade, colonial violence and the human cost inflicted by these figures. The swashbuckling pirate and the plucky captain serve as a projection of power fantasies. How might one rewrite this history? What would it mean to center the stories of those who were impacted by piracy or colonialism? How might it alter our understanding of the history, if we shift the viewpoint?