The Trial

The Whydah went down April 26, 1717. Nine survivors were marched to Boston. This really happened, and the record survives: The Trials of Eight Persons, printed in Boston, 1718. Today we sit that court again, and this time YOU weigh the evidence.

Rules of this court: verdicts need evidence. Anyone can be made to say why. And nobody hangs today, we are here to judge the JUDGING.

A court runs on sworn testimony, and we have the real thing: depositions taken days after the wreck, from the survivors themselves. Raid the record. Bring back three pieces of evidence and where each came from.

First pair to three sourced pieces calls the first case in the Verdict round.

Four real men. For each one: hear the case, then walk to your wall, GUILTY or FORCED MAN. Defend your side if called. Then the facilitator reads what the court actually did in 1717. Match the court, or find out you would have hanged a man it freed.

Then the ninth man. John Julian, the Miskito pilot, got no verdict to vote on. No trial. No record of a defense. He was sold. Eight men got a trial. One man got a receipt.

The 1717 court wrote the ending for all nine men in a few October days, and for one of them it never even opened the file. Your Showcase project is the appeal. The retrial. You pick one person from this story and you tell it with the evidence the first court never weighed.

1. ONE person. Circle it on your tracker. Davis. South. Hoof. Julian. John King. Ashton. Mather. Somebody nobody has named yet.
2. ONE format. The one you test today. Twelve on the menu.
3. Your opening statement, written now: "I am making a ___ about ___, because the record ___." One sentence. Write it badly. Fix it before you leave.

Tomorrow is Pitch Day: you hand in a signed commitment form with your person, format, opening statement, and supply list. Supplies are bought from it once. Torn between two formats? Test the harder one today.

One sheet, folded like a book. Cover: your name, "Day 15: The Trial," the date. Then:

Every appeal needs an exhibit. Not the whole project: one small real piece of it, and it must carry at least one piece of evidence you raided. That is what makes it an exhibit and not a decoration.

Format fought you the whole block? Good, the trial run did its job. Switch to your other format NOW. Today is the last free switch.

Tools down. Exhibit on your desk, opening statement face up. Now the jury inspects, and juries do not chat.

1. Visit at least three exhibits that are not near you.
2. Leave two slips on two different exhibits. One says STEAL THIS: the thing worth copying. One says IT NEEDS: the thing they forgot. Sign your slips.
3. Back at your desk: read your slips. Anything true goes on THE LIST.

Best slip in the room gets read aloud at the ring.

You built the exhibit, so now you know what the full appeal needs. Write it exact, boring, complete. Then price it.

1. Every item, with a number. Board size. Marker count. Which pictures, named. Glue. String. Tape. "Art stuff" buys nothing.
2. Guess each price. Add it up. Budget: $15 solo, $25 partners. Over? Cut something, or write one sentence telling the facilitator why it is worth it. Every one gets read.
3. All digital? Write ALL DIGITAL big, then what you still need from the facilitator: a printed map, a practice slot, a machine held for you.

1. Partner who is NOT your project partner. 30 seconds: your opening statement, your person, one piece of raided evidence. Timed.
2. Swap partners. Again, faster. It gets better every time you say it, which is the point.
3. Three volunteers address the court. The room times it and rules: did that land?

Nail it in under 30 seconds tomorrow and the Captain's Check is a formality.

Around the ring, one sentence each: "I tested ___ and learned ___." Second lap, fast: the one supply you cannot build without.

Can you finish your appeal in two build days?

After today you actually know. Answer honestly at the door. Tomorrow you sign your name to it.

Run the Chokepoints 60 second leaderboard, or take a voyage in First Sail. Beat somebody's score and say so.