THE SEA BEGGARS

- Book Extract Three -

Nathan could see that the Sea Beggars were dressed in a variety of curious clothes which they had obviously ‘liberated’ from Spanish ships. Visser was wearing all black - most notably a pair of loose fitting breeches called galligaskins, much favoured by the Spanish - with a battered ruff of white and a tall black hat. He looked not unlike a portrait Nathan had seen of Philip of Spain, were it not for the fact that his hair was so wild and he had an extravagant gold earring in one ear. The man following him wore a hat that had seen better days but still carried three brightly coloured plumes on the side. He also wore long breeches and elaborate cross garters round his knees. Judging by the shine of the satin garters, they had been newly ‘liberated.’ The last man, much to Nathan’s amusement, was wearing half of a priest’s cassock as a shirt, torn hose and a pair of fine but scuffed boots. Drake’s men were fearsome-looking but, to Nathan, these Dutch Sea Beggars looked more like true pirates - shabby, scruffy and desperate.