Sillyhistory is my blog for writing and discussing history. At the moment, I’m writing mostly on pirates, as I’m teaching a course at the Cambridge (Massachusetts) Center for Adult Education on that subject. I usually put up one post a week. Feel free to browse. The category index should show you what kinds of topics I’ve been covering on this blog.
The image at the top of the blog is a selection from the painting The Capture of Blackbeard, 1718, by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris (1863 – 1930). Ferris, who was named after a French painter and sculptor, was famous for a series of painting depicting episodes in American history. This one shows the real face-to-face battle between Blackbeard and the Royal Navy lieutenant sent out to destroy him, Robert Maynard, possibly the most dramatic event in the Golden Age of Piracy.
Who am I? I’m Brian Bixby. By the standards of our time, one is supposed to present one’s academic credentials when speaking on an intellectual subject, so here are mine. The most recent is a Ph.D. in History from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst (the flagship campus of the system) for my dissertation on Shakers and tourists. Before that, I earned an M.A. in Historical Studies and Sociology (because one field wasn’t enough) from the grandiloquently named New School for Social Research, an unusual university in New York City. And to start my progress in higher education, I acquired an A.B. (not a B.A., because the degree is official given in Latin!) in Philosophy from Harvard University.
In my spare time, I also write fiction over at sister blog Sillyverse. It often has a historical background, not all of which is real.
Sillyhistory 
Hello fellow alumni- SOM here. I miss that campus. I even miss the chilling wind smashing you in the face while walking past the library in February. Interesting topic you have here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve just revised this page to explain why so much on pirates: I’m currently teaching a course on same.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m waiting for you to create a category on random facts of silly history.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It may come to that. 😉
Your comment reminds me I haven’t updated this page, even though I’m currently teaching about Vikings. But personal circumstances have forced me to keep blogging to a minimum for the last two months. After next week, I hope things get back to normal, and I can make more regular posts here. And maybe a miscellaneous category is needed . . .
LikeLiked by 1 person
We need more Cowbell. Where is the/a/any new post!?
LikeLiked by 1 person
I admit there have been few of late. It’s frustrating for me, too. Since last August, I’ve been dealing an aging relative who needs a great deal of care. I’m hoping that situation stabilizes in June.
LikeLike
Here’s to the best possible outcome.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Brian, I saved this to read when I had time and I am happy I did. Thanks for posting it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad to have you stop by for a read, Maxine!
LikeLike
Hello Brian, nice to meet you. I have to pass your blog on to my husband, Klausbernd Vollmar. He is very much into pirates, especially female pirates.
Best regards from the North Norfolk coast,
Dina
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thank you, Dina. The blog’s been a bit inactive lately, because I’ve had a time-consuming family situation on my hands, but should have new entries by the beginning of 2018.
I myself have recently picked up a book on female pirates, “Pirate Women: The Princesses, Prostitutes,and Privateers Who Ruled the Seven Seas,” by Laura Sook Duncombe, but admit I haven’t read it yet. I did hear her speak, and she said her greatest frustration was the lack of English-language information on female Swedish pirates!
And I know another fellow blogger from Norfolk who often writes on local history. You might want to look at the following URL for an example: https://crimsonprose.wordpress.com/2017/10/02/wulfgyth-of-karletuna/
LikeLike
Hello, I am new to your blog and I am extremely lucky I have stumbled upon here. History has always been a favourite of mine and I can’t express how much I love pirates! After reading the Treasure Island, I have grown really fond of them but unfortunately, I could find very less about them in the blog. But now, I have found a treasure trove! Nice to meet you! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
The blog has been quiet for a long while now, as I had an aging parent to help care for. But I expect it will start up again this fall.
I loved pirates enough myself that the very first course I taught at a local adult education center was on pirates; hence the reason they feature so much on this blog.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Hello. Love your blog!
LikeLiked by 1 person