About being a Pirate in the Past

Being a Pirate
The Crew of a Pirate Ship
Published 4 April 2005
Pirates required a ship to practice their trade.  While they dispensed with many of the traditional seafaring hierarchies, they understood the need to have some members lead them in battle.  They elected their officers, and certain pirates had a greater value than others because of their skills.  Who were the officers aboard a pirate ship and what were their duties?  Whose skills were most prized?  What happened if pirates disagreed with the captain?

Friends and Enemies
Published 5 May 2005 and 9 July 2005
Pirates didn’t live or work in a vacuum.  They required others to fence the stolen booty or to prey upon.  The outrages they committed stirred merchants, ministers, and governments to see that justice was done.  The pirates also visited safe havens where women and spirits awaited them.  The outrages pirates committed stirred merchants, ministers, and governments to see that justice was done.  Informants shared their knowledge.  Governors authorized hunting expeditions.  Hunters tracked down their quarry.  Victims testified at trials.  Once caught, most pirates met a similar fate -- dancing the hempen jig.  Come and meet the friends and enemies of the pirates.

Making Your Mark
Published 1 June 2000
Pirates were notorious for their lawlessness and brutality.  Yet they adhered to the ideals of the French Revolution-liberty, equality, and brotherhood-a century before that country's monarchy fell.  Their Articles of Agreement set them apart from other naval and governmental institutions of the time because they incorporated principles of democracy.

A Most Unwelcome Death
Published 1 June 2001
Hollywood’s depiction of a castaway on a deserted island is a far cry from the reality of a pirate sentenced by his fellow mates to be marooned.  In most cases it was a death sentence.

Oh to be a Pirate
Published 1 July and 1 August 2001
Sand sifting through an hourglass symbolizes the swiftness with which time passes.  For pirates, it meant life was fleeting so they played with the same ferocity as they preyed.  Yet the dangers they faced were not so different from those of others who sailed during the Age of Sail.  The beauty of the sea belied the danger it possessed, for in the blink of an eye a ship became a wreck or a storm swept the ablest of seamen from the deck.  If by chance they survived those perils, they might fall victim to disease. If life at sea was so dangerous, why did men become pirates?  Was it the lure of treasure or were there other reasons for making a choice that might lead to death by hanging if caught?

Pirate Lingo
Published 1 September 2005
Ten years ago, John Baur and Mark Summers created a new holiday.  It didn’t amount to much until Dave Barry wrote a column in 2002 that introduced readers to International Talk Like a Pirate Day!  To help pirates everywhere celebrate this special day, this article explores words associated with pirates.

Punishing Their Own and Hunting Prey
Published 1 May 2003
Although often seen as lawless, pirates sailed under agreements that included methods of punishment should they disregard the oaths they signed.  They also inflicted various forms of punishment and torture on their victims.  Some of these accounts appear brutal in the extreme, but people of the past lived in a harsh and violent world. Torturing and maiming people to extract information was a common practice, perhaps best illustrated by the Spanish Inquisition. Men and women who refused to enter a plea in English courts found themselves stretched on their backs in Newgate Prison’s Press Yard where the jailer placed weights on their chests until they acquiesced. If they didn’t, they were crushed to death. (WARNING: This article contains graphic accounts of violence.)

To Capture Prey and Plunder It
Published 1 October  2002
Once pirates had a ship, they sailed the High Seas in search of prey.  How did they capture another ship?  How did they defend themselves?  What did they search for once they boarded that ship?

History
Punishing the Pirates
Published 1 June 2003
Pirates didn't fear death. Rather they expected it. Many died from disease or in battle, while others faced an executioner. A gruesome death (dancing the hempen jig) awaited condemned pirates. They often joked about hanging, but only until they stood on the gallows.

Women and the Jolly Roger
Published 1 March - 1 April 2004
David Cordingly, author of Women Sailors and Sailors’ Women wrote, “We will never know how many women went to sea as men because the only cases we have any evidence of are those in which the woman’s sex was revealed and publicized in some way, or those cases where a woman left the sea and had her story published….  What is striking about the genuine cases of female sailors is how they were able to fool the men on board for weeks, months, and in some cases, several years.” This article examines how female sailors who went on the account may have carried off their disguises and explores the lives of four lesser-known women pirates.

Piracy Around the World

Notorious Pirate Havens: Port Royal
Published 1 March 2002
My first introduction to Port Royal came when I saw Errol Flynn in Captain Blood.  That depiction of a bustling seaport was a far cry from reality.  For a time, Port Royal was a haven for pirates, who helped it gain a reputation of being one of the most vile and evil cities of the seventeenth century.

Notorious Pirate Havens: Tortuga and New Providence
Published 1 April 2002
Tortuga was one of the earliest safe harbors pirates used in the Caribbean.  New Providence was one of the last.  Together these two havens played host to some of the most infamous pirates to sail the High Seas.