Post #508752 by JOHN-O on Wed, Feb 3, 2010 12:06 PM

On 2010-02-03 11:25, Limbo Lizard wrote:

"It wasn't long after the first taxes on alcoholic beverages that someone began to smuggle them . . . Pirates often made extra money running rum to heavily taxed colonies."
(emphasis added)

I think the point is that while all pirates might be smugglers not all smugglers are pirates.

If I'm interpreting the Bigbro's comments correctly it's acceptable to have Caribbean iconography as part of Tiki-style as long as it's trader/smuggler influenced and not specifically pirate. I'm guessing because pirates smell and have bad table manners.

We don't want that kind of riff-raff inside the Tiki bar !!

Also pirate iconography (at least from the Hollywood over-the-top standpoint) might tend to overpower the Tikis. I'm thinking of the kitschy elements like skull and crossbones, parrots, and Jolly Roger flags. At least the trader/smuggler stuff is a little more neutral from a nautical standpoint.

[ Edited by: JOHN-O 2010-02-03 13:17 ]