Excerpt
Introduction
A pirate is someone who robs ships at sea. That’s the simple definition, but there’s a lot more to it. When people hear the word “pirate,” they often think of a man with a wooden leg, an eye patch, and a parrot on his shoulder. Maybe he talks in a gruff voice and says things like “Arrr!” and “Shiver me timbers!” That kind of pirate is fun to imagine, but the real ones were quite different.
Pirates were outlaws, but they weren’t all the same. Some were ruthless criminals who attacked anyone they could. Others saw themselves as rebels, fighting against unfair rulers or harsh laws. Some pirates followed strict codes of conduct, while others betrayed their own crews for gold. A pirate’s life could be exciting, but it was also dangerous.
Many pirates weren’t out at sea by choice. Some were forced into piracy after being captured by other pirates. Others were sailors who had been treated so badly by their captains that they decided to take their chances living outside the law. Some pirates were once navy officers or privateers—people who had been hired by a government to attack enemy ships. When peace was declared, many of them found themselves out of work and turned to piracy to survive.
Unlike what some movies show, pirates didn’t just attack any ship they saw. They had to be smart about it. Some ships were too well-armed, making them too risky to rob. Others weren’t carrying anything valuable. A good pirate knew how to pick the right target and when to strike. They often relied on speed, trickery, and intimidation instead of fighting. The sight of a pirate flag alone was sometimes enough to make a ship surrender without a single shot being fired.
But what happened when pirates did attack? If a ship didn’t surrender right away, pirates would board it, using ropes, hooks, or even small boats to get on deck. They fought with cutlasses, pistols, and sometimes just their fists. Once they took control, they had to decide what to do with the people on board. Some pirates took prisoners and demanded ransom. Others let the crew go but took everything of value. And yes, there were some who were far crueler.
Pirates weren’t just found in the Caribbean. There were pirates in Europe, Africa, and Asia too. Chinese pirates controlled entire fleets of ships, and some had thousands of followers. In the Mediterranean, Barbary pirates raided towns and took captives to sell as slaves. In the Arctic, even the icy waters didn’t stop some daring pirates from attacking ships.
Despite their reputation as lawless criminals, many pirates followed their own rules. Pirate ships often ran like small democracies, where the crew had a say in important decisions. Captains weren’t kings—they could be voted out if the crew thought they weren’t doing a good job. Some pirate crews even had rules about how stolen treasure was shared. The idea that the captain took everything for himself wasn’t true for most pirates.
The myths vs. the reality of pirate life
Pirates are everywhere—in books, movies, TV shows, and even theme park rides. They always seem to have treasure maps, secret hideouts, and fancy hats with giant feathers. Some are shown as villains, while others are heroes. They swing from ropes, battle enemies with swords, and always seem to have just the right thing to say at the right time.
That version of piracy is exciting, but real pirate life was a lot different. Some parts of the legend have a little truth to them, but many things people think they know about pirates were either exaggerated or completely made up.
One of the biggest myths is that pirates buried their treasure. Stories about hidden chests filled with gold and jewels have been around for centuries, but there’s little proof that real pirates actually buried their loot. Most pirates didn’t steal gold coins or precious gems in the first place. Ships were more likely to be carrying things like cloth, spices, food, and weapons—items that could be sold or traded quickly. Pirates didn’t want to hide their earnings and come back years later; they wanted to spend what they stole as soon as possible. A pirate’s idea of treasure was often a barrel of rum, a set of fine clothes, or a good meal after months at sea.
Another common myth is that pirates made people walk the plank. It sounds dramatic—forcing someone to step off a wooden board and fall into the ocean below—but there’s almost no historical evidence that real pirates did this. That idea mostly comes from books and plays written long after the Golden Age of Piracy. When pirates wanted to get rid of someone, they had faster and more effective methods. Sometimes, they just threw prisoners overboard. Other times, they abandoned people on remote islands, which was known as marooning.
The way pirates dressed is another place where myths and reality don’t always match. Many movies show pirates wearing long coats, giant hats, and polished boots. Some even have gold-trimmed jackets or frilly shirts. While some pirate captains dressed in fine clothes—especially if they had stolen them—most pirates wore whatever they could find. They often wore the same clothes for weeks at a time, and those clothes got torn, dirty, and soaked with seawater. A pirate’s wardrobe wasn’t about looking good; it was about surviving life at sea.
Pirate speech is another thing that has been turned into legend. The way pirates talk in movies—with their “arrrs” and “mateys”—comes from a mix of fiction and one particular actor. In 1950, a film version of Treasure Island came out, and the actor playing Long John Silver gave the character a thick, rolling accent. That way of talking became so popular that people started thinking all pirates spoke like that. But real pirates came from many different countries, and they spoke in all kinds of different ways. Some were English, some were French or Spanish, and some were former slaves or sailors from Africa and the Caribbean. Their accents depended on where they were from, not some made-up pirate language.
Another popular idea is that pirate ships had giant steering wheels that the captain always controlled. While ships did have wooden wheels, they weren’t as fancy as the ones shown in movies. And most of the time, it wasn’t the captain standing at the wheel—it was a regular crew member called the helmsman. The captain was usually giving orders, but he wasn’t doing all the work himself. A pirate ship needed a whole team to keep it moving, and every crew member had a job to do.
The idea that all pirates were men is another big myth. While most pirates were men, there were also women who became successful pirates. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two of the most famous, and they fought just as fiercely as any of their male crewmates. Some women disguised themselves as men to join pirate crews, while others sailed openly as pirates without hiding their identity.
There’s also the belief that pirates were all wild and disorderly, doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. In reality, many pirate crews had strict rules. Some ships had written codes that set out punishments for breaking the rules. These codes covered everything from stealing from fellow pirates to fighting with crewmates. Pirates who broke the rules could be fined, whipped, or even kicked off the ship. Despite their reputation for lawlessness, pirates often had more say in how they were treated than regular sailors in the navy.
A pirate is someone who robs ships at sea. That’s the simple definition, but there’s a lot more to it. When people hear the word “pirate,” they often think of a man with a wooden leg, an eye patch, and a parrot on his shoulder. Maybe he talks in a gruff voice and says things like “Arrr!” and “Shiver me timbers!” That kind of pirate is fun to imagine, but the real ones were quite different.
Pirates were outlaws, but they weren’t all the same. Some were ruthless criminals who attacked anyone they could. Others saw themselves as rebels, fighting against unfair rulers or harsh laws. Some pirates followed strict codes of conduct, while others betrayed their own crews for gold. A pirate’s life could be exciting, but it was also dangerous.
Many pirates weren’t out at sea by choice. Some were forced into piracy after being captured by other pirates. Others were sailors who had been treated so badly by their captains that they decided to take their chances living outside the law. Some pirates were once navy officers or privateers—people who had been hired by a government to attack enemy ships. When peace was declared, many of them found themselves out of work and turned to piracy to survive.
Unlike what some movies show, pirates didn’t just attack any ship they saw. They had to be smart about it. Some ships were too well-armed, making them too risky to rob. Others weren’t carrying anything valuable. A good pirate knew how to pick the right target and when to strike. They often relied on speed, trickery, and intimidation instead of fighting. The sight of a pirate flag alone was sometimes enough to make a ship surrender without a single shot being fired.
But what happened when pirates did attack? If a ship didn’t surrender right away, pirates would board it, using ropes, hooks, or even small boats to get on deck. They fought with cutlasses, pistols, and sometimes just their fists. Once they took control, they had to decide what to do with the people on board. Some pirates took prisoners and demanded ransom. Others let the crew go but took everything of value. And yes, there were some who were far crueler.
Pirates weren’t just found in the Caribbean. There were pirates in Europe, Africa, and Asia too. Chinese pirates controlled entire fleets of ships, and some had thousands of followers. In the Mediterranean, Barbary pirates raided towns and took captives to sell as slaves. In the Arctic, even the icy waters didn’t stop some daring pirates from attacking ships.
Despite their reputation as lawless criminals, many pirates followed their own rules. Pirate ships often ran like small democracies, where the crew had a say in important decisions. Captains weren’t kings—they could be voted out if the crew thought they weren’t doing a good job. Some pirate crews even had rules about how stolen treasure was shared. The idea that the captain took everything for himself wasn’t true for most pirates.
The myths vs. the reality of pirate life
Pirates are everywhere—in books, movies, TV shows, and even theme park rides. They always seem to have treasure maps, secret hideouts, and fancy hats with giant feathers. Some are shown as villains, while others are heroes. They swing from ropes, battle enemies with swords, and always seem to have just the right thing to say at the right time.
That version of piracy is exciting, but real pirate life was a lot different. Some parts of the legend have a little truth to them, but many things people think they know about pirates were either exaggerated or completely made up.
One of the biggest myths is that pirates buried their treasure. Stories about hidden chests filled with gold and jewels have been around for centuries, but there’s little proof that real pirates actually buried their loot. Most pirates didn’t steal gold coins or precious gems in the first place. Ships were more likely to be carrying things like cloth, spices, food, and weapons—items that could be sold or traded quickly. Pirates didn’t want to hide their earnings and come back years later; they wanted to spend what they stole as soon as possible. A pirate’s idea of treasure was often a barrel of rum, a set of fine clothes, or a good meal after months at sea.
Another common myth is that pirates made people walk the plank. It sounds dramatic—forcing someone to step off a wooden board and fall into the ocean below—but there’s almost no historical evidence that real pirates did this. That idea mostly comes from books and plays written long after the Golden Age of Piracy. When pirates wanted to get rid of someone, they had faster and more effective methods. Sometimes, they just threw prisoners overboard. Other times, they abandoned people on remote islands, which was known as marooning.
The way pirates dressed is another place where myths and reality don’t always match. Many movies show pirates wearing long coats, giant hats, and polished boots. Some even have gold-trimmed jackets or frilly shirts. While some pirate captains dressed in fine clothes—especially if they had stolen them—most pirates wore whatever they could find. They often wore the same clothes for weeks at a time, and those clothes got torn, dirty, and soaked with seawater. A pirate’s wardrobe wasn’t about looking good; it was about surviving life at sea.
Pirate speech is another thing that has been turned into legend. The way pirates talk in movies—with their “arrrs” and “mateys”—comes from a mix of fiction and one particular actor. In 1950, a film version of Treasure Island came out, and the actor playing Long John Silver gave the character a thick, rolling accent. That way of talking became so popular that people started thinking all pirates spoke like that. But real pirates came from many different countries, and they spoke in all kinds of different ways. Some were English, some were French or Spanish, and some were former slaves or sailors from Africa and the Caribbean. Their accents depended on where they were from, not some made-up pirate language.
Another popular idea is that pirate ships had giant steering wheels that the captain always controlled. While ships did have wooden wheels, they weren’t as fancy as the ones shown in movies. And most of the time, it wasn’t the captain standing at the wheel—it was a regular crew member called the helmsman. The captain was usually giving orders, but he wasn’t doing all the work himself. A pirate ship needed a whole team to keep it moving, and every crew member had a job to do.
The idea that all pirates were men is another big myth. While most pirates were men, there were also women who became successful pirates. Anne Bonny and Mary Read are two of the most famous, and they fought just as fiercely as any of their male crewmates. Some women disguised themselves as men to join pirate crews, while others sailed openly as pirates without hiding their identity.
There’s also the belief that pirates were all wild and disorderly, doing whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. In reality, many pirate crews had strict rules. Some ships had written codes that set out punishments for breaking the rules. These codes covered everything from stealing from fellow pirates to fighting with crewmates. Pirates who broke the rules could be fined, whipped, or even kicked off the ship. Despite their reputation for lawlessness, pirates often had more say in how they were treated than regular sailors in the navy.