Historic Replicas

Pirates were fearsome brigands that dominated seas around the world for centuries, and still exist today but in more conventional terms.  The pirates of legend who sailed the waters of the Caribbean carried a number of tools to assist them with plundering, fighting, and all of their illicit behaviors.  Pirate swords, often called cutlasses, were crafted with an Arabic design featuring a curved blade with a wide flat surface and a pointed tip.  These blades were ideal for slashing and the unabashed swashbuckling techniques pioneered by pirates.  Pirates also often carried a pistol, with one, two, or even three barrels.  In the heat of battle, a pirate could not reload their gun, thus it was often used as a last resort or method to initiate a quick kill.

Pirates have been long celebrated for their brazen attitudes and unique style of apparel and accessories.  A common Halloween costume, the apparel of pirates is still widely recognized today.  

There are hundreds of legends surrounding the Vikings of old; legends of Gods, powerful heroes, and terrible beasts.  One legend surrounding Vikings of Nordic and Scandinavian heritage is that of the berserker.  Myths and controversy surround the name given to the most powerful warriors of the Viking army.  It is said that these warriors were so terrifying, so fearsome, that before each battle they would work themselves into a screaming frenzy, and then unleash their fury upon their foes.  Berserkers felt no fear, no pain, and were unstoppable unless killed.  Adorned with their Viking helmet, spears and swords, a unit of berserkers could turn the tide of a battle. 

It’s been long disputed in the academic that these terrible warriors were built up as possessing fearsome, even supernatural powers, but truly they were just the most skilled and experienced veterans of an army.  Whether it’s true or not, the lore behind berserkers has been long celebrated in fantasy. 

Happy Inauguration Day everyone! 

Regardless of one’s political beliefs, January 20th was a chance to reflect on the wonder of our democracy and the evolution of politics and human society. It is a symbol of representative government and an important reminder that unlike the kings and emperors of old, our leaders are chosen by the people, and govern only by popular consent.  Every presidential inauguration has been important, marked at once with both solemnity and celebration.  A few, however, are particularly memorable.  George Washington, a hero of the American Revolution, was inaugurated in two different cities, first in New York and then in Philadelphia.  Washington, D.C. had been designated as the new capital, but was still under construction.  On his second inauguration in 1793, he delivered the shortest-ever inaugural address, a remarkable 135 words!  It cemented his reputation as a man of action, rather than words. Abraham Lincoln was first inaugurated in 1861, only a few months before soldiers took up their Civil War rifles, and the mood in Washington was tense to say the least.  He entered the city in secret along an unannounced route, but once there, he paraded confidently down Pennsylvania Avenue in an open carriage.  Woodrow Wilson lead our nation through a storm of troubled times, an era commemorated by the World War I replicas on our site.  Women marched in the inaugural parade for the first time, and in a time-honored American tradition, they protested passionately for their right to vote.  Today’s inauguration will no doubt be memorable for its own reasons, so enjoy this special time.

Often referred to as the cradle of western civilization, the birthplace of democracy, also
known as Ancient Greece was predominately a peaceful, progressive, and highly intellectual society for the majority of its existence. This peace saw the advent of modern democracy, the brilliance and grandeur of many philosophers, such as Aristotle, Socrates, and Plato, as well as the appreciation for a set standard of superior athleticism displayed through the first Olympic games. This period of Greek history lasted from approximately 1100 BC  until the Roman invasion of Corinth in 146 BC.
 Many influential figures emerged throughout Ancient Greece’s many city-states, which
consisted primarily of  Athens, Sparta, Delphi, and Corinth. These independent, yet closely nitted city-states proved pivotal in Alexander the Great’s legendary defeat of the Persian empire, and in the foundation of the Greek culture that spreaded virtually to all parts of the known world.

 In addition to great philosophers, Greece gave us strategic warefare and gladiators.  To wield a Greek sword or Roman shield was a sign of great power.  Power that soon conquered most of the world.

Athens was really the unofficial capital of Ancient Greece, in that it was the centre for the arts, learning and philosophy, home of Plato’s academy, Aristotle’s Lyceum, the Parthenon, and the Agora. The centerpoint of many other prominent philosophers, writers and politicians of the ancient world starkly contrasted with the very warlike Spartan city-state, who trained every male citizen for battle at the youngest age possible with Greek swords. This warlike nature payed its due dividends in not only defending Ancient Greece from the powerful Persian Empire, but also overthrowing said Empire.
 Imagine being able to own your very own replica of Socrates’ toga, an outfit akin to
one of Sparta’s infamous 300 soldiers, led by King Leonidas in their valiant efforts of defending Greece from the Persians. Imagine owning a Greek costume, taking you back to the graudeur of what is affectionately known as the cradle of western civilization. Be a philosopher, an olympian, a Spartan soldier, a politician like Pericles, or even Alexander the Great!

By the time slavery was abolished in 1865, there were an estimated four million slaves living in America, an astonishing one third of the population!  Slaves had built the southern economy from the ground up, and were an integral part of the American labor force.  So how did our forefathers finally abandon this terrible institution?  The answer is a testament to the power of public protest and the right to free speech.  Slavery was legal everywhere during America’s early years, and largely unchallenged, but there were always a handful of courageous citizens who saw slavery for the evil it was, and raised their voices in a cry for change. Historic weapons would eventually turn the tide in the Civil War guns, but the early crusaders fought with words and reason.  The anti-slavery movement, or abolitionism, began with the Quakers, a religious group that originated in Britain and built colonies throughout the Northeast.  The Quakers, who believed fervently in the equality of all human beings, rejected distinctions of wealth and nobility, an extremely radical concept in colonial America.  They were so far ahead of their time that four Pennsylvania Quakers signed an anti-slavery document in 1688, almost 200 years before slavery was finally outlawed!  They were the first group to ban slavery and formed the first abolitionist society in 1775 in Philadelphia.  They worked tirelessly to advance the cause of liberty, and by 1792, other abolitionists had created societies from Massachusetts to Virginia.  Change, however, was slow to come.

 “Walk the plank”? Not before all pirate personnel aboard the ship agree! Contrary to popular belief, the pirate captain of the ship doesn’t call all of the shots alone, and all members on the ship get a say in what happens aboard the ship. For example, every pirate gets to vote on where the ship is headed, and if a colonial ship was to be attacked. Once the ship was attacked, after the majority agrees? All pirates got equal share of the “booty,” or treasure. Of course, pirates have to keep some form of dignity: the captain gets double the pirate’s share, a portion is set aside for maintenance, and a select few other members get a higher percentage of treasure than the average pirate. After all treasure is doled out, the average sum for a pirate is more than four times what he would make as a naval man or a merchant, exemplifying the allure of the occupation.
 Before becoming a pirate, each hopeful signs an agreement called “the articles” that outlines how much they would be paid, acceptable behavior, and punishments for breaking rules. Not so different from our laws in civilization, are they? But beware! If a pirate broke any of the aforementioned “rules,” any number of pirate swords would be used on him, and he would be left to perish on a deserted island.
 Think the plundering of ships was just for treasure? Think again. Pirates would forage on ships for pieces of clothing, and some would wear odd pirate costumes because of this. All Pirates agreed, though; they would never be caught wearing “slops,” the striped shirt worn by British sailors.
 It’s strange to consider pirates as being a civilized type of people, but when it comes to the formation of democracy, they were definitely ahead of us “civilized” people!

A break from the slavery theme….

 The weapon of choice for Civil War frontlines? The smoothbore musket, a gun that was its most effective from a hundred yards or less. The popular image that comes to one’s mind when they think about Civil War frontlines is one where soldiers line up, far away from the opponent side, and then rush each other, entangling themselves with guns, legs, bayonets and pocketknives. However this is untrue, as the musket soldiers relied on, the newest Civil War gun of the time was only super effective close range, which means Civil War soldiers had to rely on stealth and guerilla warfare to damage the other side.
 When soldiers did have to rush, they ran elbow to elbow, as fast as they could, in an attempt to reach the other side before they shot off their one-round muskets, hoping for only a few deaths of their brigade in the process. Soldiers would keep their head down, hopefully deflecting as many bullets and weapons as possible using their Civil War helmets as shields.
 Soldiers today could learn a lot from Civil War soldiers. Though today’s M-16 machine gun is a powerful weapon, it is a good lesson to learn that stealth tactics and helmets are a good idea for avoiding an untimely demise.

Slavery in America has a long and tumultuous history.  From the arrival of the first slaves in 1619 to the firing of the last Civil War rifle and the passing of the 13th Amendment in 1865, it was the dominant American cultural institution for over 250 years.  And while slavery officially ended with that noble act, a nation and her people can’t simply sign a piece of paper and change their national character overnight. America’s age of oppression was over, but it had a lasting impact on race relations and African American life throughout the 20th century, and continues to affect our society. 

Africans arrived in the Americas via the Atlantic slave trade, which had been flourishing since the 1500’s.  All told, between 9 and 12 million Africans were kidnapped and forced into bondage.  It’s hard to imagine in a more enlightened time, but to European colonists, slavery was simply the natural order of things.  It was how nations built empires and strong men became rich.  Today, Americans see their nation as a beacon of freedom and democracy in a world that still bears witness to a great deal of cruelty and oppression.  Without slaves, though, the colonization of the Americas may not have even been possible.  There were no historical weapons were used to slave them, it was done through mental and emotional abuse.  For all the promise of adventure and glory, overseas colonies were basically about money, a quest for gold or a way to produce goods and resources that could be sold to other nations.  They were a risky proposition at best, fraught with danger and unlikely to turn a profit for several years. Who knows if the Europeans would have even attempted it without slaves to do the work for free?

Some of the more colorful and dramatic replica swords on our site originated in  Japan, one of the oldest surviving civilizations in human history.  The Japanese islands have been occupied since 30,000 BC, and the feudal society that we dominated Japan’s medieval history began to emerge as early as 300 BC.  Japanese swords, archery and advanced weaponry was most used at war, but at times at home as well.  Slavery had been around in Japan almost as long as human beings themselves, though Japan was isolated from other civilizations for long periods of its history and as a result, most of the slaves were Japanese themselves, born in bondage or captured in wars between feuding kingdoms.  Slaves in Japan, then, were not unlike those in other periods and places; they worked both in the fields and in the home, and were subject to their masters’ every whim and desire. One story, though, is particularly compelling. 

When most Americans think of slavery, they probably think of Africans, since almost every slave in American history was captured and exported from that vast continent.  The Japanese reacted a bit differently.  Popular sentiment had turned against slavery by the Sengoku period (1467-1615), when Catholic missionaries presented a black slave to Shogun Oda Nobunaga.  He freed the slave, named him Yasuke, and made him a samurai.  It was an incredible honor in Japanese society and one rarely bestowed on slaves, and it remains a remarkably curious occurrence in the history of an institution dominated by racial prejudice.