I saw an article about keelhauling and realized I don’t know much about pirates (those on the sea, not the internet) beyond what I’ve seen in movies. Tell me your most interesting pirate facts. Mythical or historical.

  • Balthazar@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    There was no one standard pirate flag. Different pirates used different flags, often with similar themes (black, skull, etc). The idea was to be intimidating: it was cheaper and easier if your target gave up without a fight.

  • EvilBit@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Most pirate careers were very short. Blackbeard was only active for about 2-3 years.

    Also, Stede Bonnet, the “Gentleman Pirate”, is a true story, heavily fictionalized by the HBO show Our Flag Means Death (recommended viewing), of a wealthy man who literally had a midlife crisis in which he left his wife and kids, bought a boat, and became a terrible (as in very bad at pirating) pirate but who ended up sailing with Blackbeard himself. A fun story that’s worth a read.

    https://www.worldhistory.org/Stede_Bonnet/

  • abbadon420@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    Not pirates specifically, but some say that the legend of mermaids comes from lonesome martine travelers seeing dugongs for the first time.

  • Call me Lenny/Leni@lemm.ee
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    3 months ago

    When a pirate crew captured a merchant or government vessel, it was common for the crew of the captured vessel to not give a care and even join the pirates, seeing the pirate life as preferable. For this reason, pirates did not automatically eliminate their captured people, as the threat of resistance in some form was unlikely.

  • spittingimage@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Buccaneers got their name by hunting game animals to extend their provisions and smoking the meat in a hide tent called a boucan.

  • leaky_shower_thought@feddit.nl
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    3 months ago

    pirates usually wear eye patches so one of their eyes are used to the dark while the other is used to the light.

    they switch patches to easily get accustomed to caves.

  • Mathazzar@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Pirates kind of had a workers compensation program as I’ve been told.

    Loss of certain body parts was payable with the amount varying by which part was affected.