Real pirates looked liked common sailors because they actually were.they were seagoing bandits, smugglers, and for many countries in times of war (certainly for England and the United states), they were a ragtag private navy.Most of the time, pirates were plain simple sailors. A fortunate pirate might swashbuckle just a few hours each month. The rest of his time was taken up with the work of sailing a ship, pumping water out of the ship, repairing the ship, patching the ship's sails, painting things on the ship, and pulling the ship's ropes. Ships had to be sailed from one pirating job to the next, through brutal tropical heat and wicked cold. Sailors climbed into the rigging to manage the sails at noon, at night, in rain squalls and even hurricanes.The work was hard, monotonous, dirty, and dangerous. Some pirates died from drowning or in accidents. Most died from disease, especially in the tropics. Pirates who died in battles were rare, but not as rare as old pirates.
If you met a real pirate, the first thing that would impress you would probably be how shabby and dirty he was. The second thing would be his smell. Pirates didn't take baths. Fresh water was hard to come by aboard a ship, and saltwater doesn't clean people or clothes well. They were a stinky lot.
If you met a real pirate, the first thing that would impress you would probably be how shabby and dirty he was. The second thing would be his smell. Pirates didn't take baths. Fresh water was hard to come by aboard a ship, and saltwater doesn't clean people or clothes well. They were a stinky lot.
Pirates were sea robbers. They stole from other ships or used a pirate ship to steal from seaside towns. But you'd never walk the dock and ask for a pirate! They were very touchy about that name.
Most pirates had letters of marque (say mark). Letters of marque were fancy documents from Country A, authorizing a pirate ship to steal from Country B if they gave half of the booty to Country A. With these papers, a pirate ship became a "private warship," or privateer. Pirates were hanged, but privateers were official. From their share of the booty anything they stole privateers paid for their own ships, sails, paint, guns, and supplies, and they paid their own men. Giving pirates letters of marque was a cheap way for a country to build up its navy.
Most pirates had letters of marque (say mark). Letters of marque were fancy documents from Country A, authorizing a pirate ship to steal from Country B if they gave half of the booty to Country A. With these papers, a pirate ship became a "private warship," or privateer. Pirates were hanged, but privateers were official. From their share of the booty anything they stole privateers paid for their own ships, sails, paint, guns, and supplies, and they paid their own men. Giving pirates letters of marque was a cheap way for a country to build up its navy.
Being a pirate was a strange way to make a living, but it was better than being in England's Royal Navy. Navy sailors worked very hard, weren't allowed to talk on deck, ate awful food, and were often not paid or allowed to go ashore for years. Because England needed a large navy, it was legal to "press" new sailors, to kidnap men walking down the street or sitting in a tavern. These press men might never see their homes or families again. If sailors disobeyed in the smallest way, they were usually flogged, tied up and beaten. Many sailors who ran away from the Royal Navy became pirates.
Flogging was the Royal Navy punishment for anything from talking out loud on deck to taking too much time to climb the mast.
The offending sailor was tied up and whipped with the cat 0' nine tails. This type of whip had nine hard cords, and each cord had three hard knots. Ouch! Each ship kept its cat in a special red cloth bag. This is where we get our phrase "the cat is out of the bag," meaning that something grim is about to happen.
The offending sailor was tied up and whipped with the cat 0' nine tails. This type of whip had nine hard cords, and each cord had three hard knots. Ouch! Each ship kept its cat in a special red cloth bag. This is where we get our phrase "the cat is out of the bag," meaning that something grim is about to happen.
Being a pirate was, in some ways, better than most jobs. Between 1500 and 1750, a pirate or privateer ship was the only real democracy. The entire crew voted on important questions. A pirate captain was elected by his own men, and they could fire him.
On shore, pirates might be wild, but at sea there were strict rules. Each crew member made his mark. sometimes in blood on a written contract. By signing, he promised to obey the rules: no gambling, drunkenness, fighting, stealing (from one another), or sleeping on duty. Everyone shared equally, although those with special skills like a gunner or carpenter got a little extra. And no women were allowed on board. Piracy was pretty much a guy thing. Of the thousands of pirates we know about, only a few were women.
