September 24, 2006
Pirate factoids
Written by Shirley Karr in Jaunty PostIn honor of Pirate Week (Tuesday was National Talk Like A Pirate Day, and today was Portland’s Pirate Festival) I thought I’d share some pirate info. When I was researching for Kiss From A Rogue, I found a great deal more info available on pirates than smugglers.
Much of our modern perception of pirates can be traced directly to Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, Treasure Island, published in 1883. He introduced most of what are now clichés –treasure maps, buried plunder, parrots, wooden legs, eye patches, and “Fifteen men on a dead man’s chest.” J.M. Barrie introduced a few more with the play Peter Pan in 1904, especially the tricorn hats adorned with skull and crossbones symbols.
Hollywood, of course, has introduced a ton more myths. Douglas Fairbanks Sr., starring in The Black Pirate in 1926, was the first pirate to stick a knife in a sail and slide down to the deck on it. Orlando Bloom looked pretty good doing that this summer in Dead Man’s Chest, too. Real pirates were much more likely to subject prisoners to pistol target practice or other forms of torture than make them walk the plank. But what would Curse of the Black Pearl have been without Elizabeth Swann walking the plank (Keira Knightley did her own stunt) or Captain Jack diving from the plank after his effects?
We can’t blame all the clichés on Stevenson – novelists, poets and playwrights have been romanticizing nautical thieves and killers with questionable hygiene since at least 1684, when writer Alexander Exquemelin conducted research by living and working with his subjects — taking part in pirate raids — and wrote Buccaneers of America, which became a runaway bestseller.
Piracy has existed since man first started going to sea in dugout canoes, but most of what comes to mind when we think of pirates is from the Golden Age of Piracy, which only lasted 40 years, from 1690 to 1730. Most of the pirates the average person could name were active during just one decade, 1714-1724.
Fun facts:
Gold hoop earrings. These served a dual purpose. Up until early Victorian days many people, including doctors, believed piercing the ear could improve one’s eyesight, and being able to see land and potential prey as soon as possible was a good thing. Most sailors purposely did not know how to swim – they’d rather drown right away than be live food for sharks in the event of a disaster. If their body washed up on shore, the solid gold hoop earring was payment to assure they’d receive a decent burial.
Grog. British Admiral Edmond Vernon (1684-1757) wore a grogram cloak, giving rise to his nickname Old Grog. In 1740 he ordered his sailors’ twice-daily ration of rum to be diluted, supposedly after griping that most sailors had joined up mainly for the free rum. In an age and profession where fresh water was at a premium, sailors were generally issued one pound of hardtack and two rations of alcohol per day in addition to whatever the cook served up. Some navies used whiskey, while the British generally served rum.
Democracy. Those serving on board pirate ships lived in a true democratic society, possibly some of the earliest recorded. Everyone was entitled to a share of the plunder based on his rank and contribution. If the majority did not like the captain, he could be, ahem, voted out of office.
Honor among thieves. Anyone who’s watched either of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies has heard a reference to the Pirate’s Code, a set of rules for conduct. Hollywood isn’t making this up. Most pirate crews did draw up a set of rules, and one of those surviving was written by Bartholomew Roberts. Many other crews simply adapted his version rather than drafting their own. The rules were mostly to avoid disputes over the division of plunder and the behavior expected of crew members, but they often included provisions for compensating those injured in battle. Losing a limb was worth “800 pieces of eight from the common stock,” according to Roberts.
I’ll leave you with one of my favorite pics of my favorite pirate. I don’t know how authentic the beads, braids, dreads and eyeliner is, but the scarf is very authentic. Headcovering was vital, especially in the tropics. 
(Btw, most of the pistols in the two movies are props or replicas, but Captain Jack’s barker, shown here, is the real deal. His was made in the 18th century and bought by Disney from an antiques dealer.)
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Anne Mallory Says:
Very cool, Shirley! Arrrr!
Robyn DeHart Says:
Fascinating. Sometimes research is just cool. Love the pic of Johnny.
Rainy Says:
Interesting. I wouldn’t mind walking the plank with Johnny Depp!
Shana Says:
Wow! That’s really interesting. I knew the stuf about democracy and the pirate code, but I had no idea about the gold hoop earring.