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distant-rose · 7 years

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Ro’s Gigantic Masterpost of Pirate Information (That No One Asked For)

Notes: Hi folks! It’s me again! I should be writing shitty fan fiction but instead I’m trying to do you all a solid and share all the notes I’ve compiled on pirates and piracy over the course of outlining and writing Beth’s segment of my LP series. I won’t link you to it, but if you like OUAT, Captain Swan and semi-realistic original characters I suggest giving it a shot. Anyway, I’m a fucking nerd who does way more research that most people do for their dissertations on fan fiction of all things. However, along with being a nerd, I try to and constantly fail to be a good person and be transparent with my research so you can not only understand my thought process but use it yourselves. So, without further ado, I give you my master post on all the pirate information you need to possibly write pirate fanfiction.

PARTS OF A SHIP

Aft (or abaft) - At, in, toward, or close to the rear of the ship

Amidshop – the middle of aship

Ballast – Heavy material that is placed in the hold of a ship to enhance stability

Beam - A piece of timber perpendicular to the sides of a ship which supports the deck. Also used to identify objects in relation to objects perpendicular to the ship that are visible from the port or starboard side.

Bilge – 1) The lowest part inside the ship, within the hull itself which is the first place to show signs of leakage. The bilge is often dank and musty, and considered the most filthy, dead space of a ship. 2) Nonsense, or foolish talk.

Bilge water - Water inside the bilge, sometimes referred to as "bilge" itself.

Bittacle - A box on the deck of a ship holding the ship’s compass.

Boom - A horizontal pole along the bottom edge of a mast to which the mast is fastened.

Boom Chain - A chain or other obstacle strung between two points across a body of water to impede navigation, sometimes strung between a boat and shore.

Bow - The front of a ship.

Bowsprit - The slanted spar at a ship's prow jutting out in front of the ship. It is usually used as a lead connection for a small navigational sail.

Broadside - A general term for the vantage on another ship of absolute perpendicular to the direction it is going. To get along broadside a ship was to take it at a very vulnerable angle. This is of course, the largest dimension of a ship and is easiest to attack with larger arms. A "Broadside" has come to indicate a hit with a cannon or similar attack right in the main part of the ship.

Bulkhead - A partition or dividing wall within the hull of a ship.

Cablestore – Lowest storage section, often hidden and used for contraband

Crow’s Nest - A small platform, sometimes enclosed, near the top of a mast, where a lookout could have a better view when watching for sails or for land.

Focsle (Forecastle) – 1) The section of the upper deck of a ship located at the bow forward of the foremast. 2) A superstructure at the bow of a merchant ship where the crew is housed.

Gangplank - A board or ramp used as a removable footway between a ship and a pier.

Gangway - 1) A passage along either side of a ships upper deck. 2) A gangplank. 3) An interjection used to clear a passage through a crowded area.

Gunwale (gunnel, gunwall) - The elevated side edges of a boat which strengthen its structure and act as a railing around the gun deck. In warships the gunwale has openings where heavy arms or guns are positioned.

Helm - The steering wheel of a ship which controls the rudder.

Hold - A large area for storing cargo in the lower part of a ship.

Hull - The body of a ship.

Jacob’s Ladder - A rope ladder with wooden rungs used to access a ship from the side.

Keel - The underside of a ship which becomes covered in barnacles after sailing the seas.

Killick - A small anchor, especially one made of a stone in a wooden frame.

Lee - The side away from the direction from which the wind blows.

Mizzenmast - The largest and, perhaps, most important mast. It is the third mast or the mast aft of a mainmast on a ship having three or more masts.

Poop deck - The highest deck at the stern of a large ship, usually above the captains quarters.

Main - The longest mast located in the middle of a ship.

Port - The left side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow opposite of starboard).

Prow - The forwardmost area of the ship.

Quarterdeck - The after part of the upper deck of a ship.

Rigging - The system of ropes, chains, and tackle used to support and control the masts, sails, and yards of a sailing vessel.

Rudder - A flat piece of wood at the stern of a ship that dips into the water and is used for steering. The rudder is controlled at the helm.

Scuppers - Openings along the edges of a ship's deck that allow water on deck to drain back to the sea rather than collecting in the bilge.

Scuttle - 1) A small opening or hatch with a movable lid in the deck or hull of a ship. 2) To sink by means of a hole in a ships hull.

Stern - The rear part of a ship.

Starboard - The right side of the ship when you are facing toward her prow (opposite of port).

Sternpost - An upright beam at the stern bearing the rudder.

Tack - 1) The lower forward corner of a fore-and-aft sail. 2) The position of a vessel relative to the trim of its sails. 3) The act of repositioning a sail in order to change which side the wind catches it.

Transom - Any of several transverse beams affixed to the sternpost of a wooden ship and forming part of the stern.

Yardarm - 1) Either end of a yard of a square sail. 2) The main arm across the mast which holds up the sail. The yardarm is a vulnerable target in combat, and is also a favorite place from which to hang prisoners or enemies. Black Bart hung the governor of Martinique from his yardarm.

DIFFERENT TYPES OF SHIPS

Bark - Bark (or Barque) were light and fast ships with a shallow draft. Because of its small size and a specific design, the pirates favored and often used bark. It usually carried at least three masts. They were all rigged with the square sails, except on the mizzen-mast, which was rigged with the fore-and-aft sails. This type of ship was the most popular in the 19th century. An average capacity of a bark was 500 tons and she could carry up to 100 men. Barques were also designed with four or five masts, and those versions had much higher capacity. A bark was also mentioned as a general term for any small-sized ship.

Brigantine (Brigs)*** - The brigs were quite small ships, one of the smallest in a long period, with only 150 - 250 tons of capacity. Therefore, they were extremely fast. The other advantage was that brig had supreme maneuver abilities. Ship required a lot of skilled men to control it. It contained two masts, both square rigged. They were mostly used as the merchant ships, but sometimes even for a war purposes. The brigs were very similar to the snows and brigantines, but with some varieties. While brigantine's fore-mast was also square rigged, basic difference was that the main-mast carried fore-and-aft sails. This was the big advantage because a brigantine sailed fast in every possible wind condition. There was also a hermaphrodite brig (brig-schooner) which was almost identical to a brig, except the main-mast was lateen-rigged.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT IS THE SHIP TYPE OF THE JOLLY ROGER.

Caravel - Probably the most used ship of the 15th century, but also used in the 16th and 17th. The original, Mediterranean version, was lateen rigged (the sails shaped like triangle) on the two masts. Later, Spanish and Portuguese developed caravel into a three-masted shipwith the first two masts square rigged and lateen rigged on the mizzen-mast. Some caravels even had four masts. They were small sized ships (from 80 to 130 tons), about 75 feet long. They were also highly maneuverable. Because of a shallow hull, the caravels were mostly used for a long voyages and the exploration of the African coast. Sometimes they were mounted with the guns and used as a warship. A big weakness was a lack of cargo capacity and the small living quarters. Even Christopher Columbus used two caravels for his famous expedition in 1492. One of them was his famous flagship, the “Santa Maria”.

Carrack - It was most popular at the end of the 15th and in the 16th century. In the beginning carrack were used mostly as a merchant ship. However, in the 16th century, it was upgraded with all new equipment to prevent pirate's attacks. Carracks were first ships with the guns mounted low in the hull. Such powerful and well-armed ships were used as the warships. An example was King Henry VIII's “Mary Rose”. They were the largest ships in that period, usually over 1,000 tons. A carrack sometimes had two or four masts, but usually was three-masted, first two square-rigged and lateen rigged on the mizzen-mast. As a carrack developed, the topsails were added on the main-mast and the fore-mast. This ship also featured a high forecastle and stern which allowed big crew and large fighting tops. The carracks were mostly used by the Spanish and Portuguese and they were similar to the galleons and caravels.

Dutch Flute - Dutch flute was the most seen in European waters in the beginning of the 17th century. The ships were usually three-masted with first two square-rigged and lateen rigged on the mizzen-mast. With a very large capacity for its size, this ship was most common cargo carrier in that period. The other advantage that Dutch flute had over the other ships was a low expenses and big benefits. They were inexpensive to build and required a small crew. The pirates favored to attack this type of ship because it was lightly armed or even unarmed. Dutch flute's weight was around 300 ton, and they were generally 80 foot long.

Frigate - the first frigates appeared in the 17th Century. It was a medium-sized class of a warship with an average weight of 1,000 tons. They were three-masted ships with the square sails, raised forecastle and quarterdeck. Also there were 24 to 40 mounted guns on a two and a half gun decks. The advanced, two decked versions had up to 70 guns. There were many purposes for the frigates like escort, patrols, scouting, shore bombardment… They were also used to hunt and defend against the pirates and privateers. Inside a ship, there was a space usually for 50 to 200 crewmembers. A big advantage of those ships was speed and great maneuverable abilities for its size, but the frigates could not stand a chance in the engagements against the larger warships like a ship-of-the-line.

Galleon - The galleons were designed and developed by Spanish during the 15th to the 17th century. The galleons were used as a treasure and merchant ships as many others used in that period. However, many pirates were attracted by their large cargo, so they were armed well and sometimes they had been used as the warships. It was a large ship with an average capacity of 500 tons, and had a great speed for its size. Most galleons have three masts, two square rigged with a lateen sail on the stern-most mast. Two or more gun decks were also included with 70-100 guns. The poop deck was raised high and a crew counted 200-400 sailors. People say that galleon was the evolution of a caravel and was more maneuverable.

Galley - Galley had a long history, dating back to the ancient times. They were used widely by the pirates of the Barbary Coast in the Mediterranean in the 15th and the 16th century. They were usually long and lean, with one or more masts rigged with the lateen sails. However, the main source of speed didn't come from the masts. It came from the oars rowed by salves or convicts below the flush deck. A galley had a shallow draft and only one deck. There were only few guns mounted because the attacks were usually based on manpower. Therefore, 100 or more pirates were always ready to overpower the other crew. Perhaps the most famous one was the “Adventure Galley”. It was made in England for Captain William Kidd's privateering work in 1695.

Schooner - A schooner could reach up to 11 knots in the right conditions, carried up to 75 crewmen and had 8-12 guns. All those features enabled the pirates to navigate easily in shallow waters and shoals, allowing them quick escape or to attack suddenly. There were usually two-masted, but also there were versions which had three or four masts. All masts were fore-and-aft rigged. A disadvantage was that schooners had limited cruising range.

Ship of the Line - These gigantic overpowering warships were certainly the most powerful ships from the 16th to the 18th century. They were similar to frigate in design, but also very expensive and luxurious. Many skilled sailors were required to control that enormous ship. There were usually over 850 men aboard. More than 100 guns were mounted on two, three or even four decks. Their weight was around 1,000 tons. Like many other ships in that period, ship-of-the-line had 3 masts. The fore-mast and main-mast were always square-rigged and the mizzen-mast was sometimes rigged with fore-and-aft sails. The modern battleships have been associated with this type of ship.

Sloop - Despite it was a small ship, a sloop was certainly the most popular ship among the pirates. That's because they were fast (11 knots), highly maneuverable, and have a shallow hull. The sloops easily sailed over shoals. They were fast even without the wind because of a few pair of oars. That's why a sloop made a perfect fit for any quick pirates' action. It usually had only the main-mast which was fore-and-aft-rigged. Sloop was rarely two masted. There was also at least one jib before mast. A crew usually contains up to 75 men and 14 guns. Length was 60 feet and weight around 100 tons. The naval sloop was a bigger version which was upgraded with more guns for the military purposes.

Snow - A snow had been the largest two-masted ship for many centuries. His weight was around 1000 tons. As almost an identical ship to a brig, snow carried the square sails on both fore-mast and main-mast. A snow was also equipped with an additional trysail mast (used during storm to keep a ship from the wind) which was behind the main-mast. These ships were used for both, battle and merchant purposes. Usually around 80 seamen were boarded. A battle version (Naval Snow) was larger and better armed for the military purposes. Up to 10 cannons were mounted on only one gun deck. Mainly used by the British, this type of the ships was commonly employed by Royal Navy for a pirate hunting.

ATTACK TACTICS

Pirate ships usually carried far more crew than ordinary ships of a similar size. This meant they could easily outnumber their victims. Pirates altered their ships so that they could carry far more cannon than merchant ships of the same size. Stories about pirate brutality meant that many of the most famous pirates had a terrifying reputation, and they advertised this by flying various gruesome flags including the 'Jolly Roger' with its picture of skull and crossbones. All these things together meant that victims often surrendered very quickly. Sometimes there was no fighting at all. It's likely that most victims of pirates were just thrown overboard rather than being made to ‘walk the plank’.

NOTABLE POSITIONS ON A CREW

Captain - Unlike in the Royal Navy or merchant service, where the captain was a man with a great deal of experience and complete authority, a pirate captain was voted on by the crew and his authority was only absolute in the heat of battle or when giving chase. At other times, the captain's wishes could be dismissed by a simple majority vote of the crew. Pirates tended to like their captains to be not too aggressive and not too meek. A good captain had to know when a potential victim was too strong for them, without letting weaker quarry get away.

First Mate - The first mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship's cargo and deck crew. Mediator between Captain and Quartmaster. Nominated by the Captain. Often acts as the ship’s financial officer/purser

Cabin Boy - A boy (in the sense of low-ranking young male employee, not always a minor in the juridical sense) who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship,especially running errands for the captain.

Navigator - Officers in charge of navigation and piloting. It was a very hard job because charts in those days were usually inaccurate or nonexistent.

Quartermaster - Pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy elevated the rank of quartermaster to much higher powers and responsibilities than it had aboard any merchant or naval vessel. The quartermaster was often granted a veto power by a pirate ship's "Articles of Agreement", in order to create an officer who could counterbalance the powers of the pirate captain. Pirate quartermasters, like pirate captains, were usually elected by their crews.

Boatswain - Junior officers. They were people who supervised all activities on a ship. Depending on the size of the ship and crew, they could have one or several duties. Duties ranged from anchoring to naval provisions. They reported to the Quartermaster or the Captain.

Cooper - Wooden barrels were very valuable, as they were the best way to store food, water and other necessities of life at sea. Every ship needed a cooper or a man skilled in making and maintaining barrels. Existing storage barrels had to be inspected regularly. Empty barrels were broken up to make space on small ships. The cooper would quickly put them back together if they stopped to take on food and water.

Carpenter - The carpenter was in charge of the ship’s structural integrity. He generally answered to the Boatswain and would fix holes after combat, keep the masts and yardarms sound, and functional and know when the ship needed to be beached for maintenance and repairs. Ship's carpenters had to make do with what was at hand, as pirates usually could not use official dry docks in ports. Many times they would have to make repairs on some deserted island or stretch of beach, using only what they could scavenge or cannibalize from other parts of the ship.

Surgeon - Those that had them probably pressed surgeons into service. From surgeons, crew expected, to help them with diseases and wounds. Without proper medicines, every wound could become a source of infection, so amputations were often necessary in order save patient's life.

Cook - In charge of meals and food storage. Most ships nominated a crew member to take of meal preparation rather than hire someone who specialized.

Gunner/Powder Monkey - In charge of those who operated on the artillery. They watched for the safety of their man and usually aimed the cannons themselves.

Rigger - Riggers were the sailors whose job it was to manage the rigging and perform duties such as furl and release the sails. This was one of the most dangerous pirate crew positions due to the danger of slipping and falling high above the deck.

Bard - Musicians were popular on board. Piracy was a tedious life, and a ship could spend weeks at sea waiting to find a suitable victim. Musicians helped to pass the time, and having some skill with a musical instrument brought with it certain privileges, such as playing while the others were working or even increased shares. Musicians were often taken off of the ships of their victims.

Justice/Codes/Terms of Agreement

The distribution of justice was a practice commonly adopted by pirates. Ships operated as limited democracies (for more details, see pirate code) and imposed their ideas of justice upon the crew of the ship that they captured. After capture, the crew would be questioned as to whether they had suffered cruel or unjust treatment from the commander of the ship. Any commanders "against whom Complaint was made" would be punished or even executed. This punishment was not indiscriminately given to all ship's commanders. An "honest Fellow that never abused any Sailors" would be rewarded, and sometimes freed. This distribution of justice was seen as of profound importance by pirates. Bartholomew Roberts' crew even designated a member of his crew, George Wilson, as their "Dispenser of Justice". Linebaugh and Rediker describe the early eighteenth-century pirate ship as "democratic in an undemocratic age" as well as "egalitarian in a hierarchical age, as pirates divided their plunder equally, leveling all the elaborate structure of pay ranks common to all other maritime employments."

Pirates during this time period "distributed justice, elected officers, divided loot equally, and establish a different discipline. They limited the authority of the captain, resisted many of the practices of the capitalists merchant shipping industry, and maintained a multicultural, multiracial, multinational social order."

Before a pirate ship left port all pirates collaborated and signed a document called the articles of agreement, also known as the pirate code. The pirate code was a group of rules that all pirates had to follow aboard a ship. Some of these included things like keeping ones weapons at ready at all times and not smoking near gunpowder. Others were curfews for drinking and partying below deck and efforts to curtail gambling which created internal conflicts. Overall, pirates were pretty democratic but the punishments for breaking the agreed upon articles was often severe.

The ships articles would determine what shares each pirate got along with regulations for inter-group fighting and discipline. They would also regulate what happened when things like loss of limb or eyes occurred. It was more or less an extension of the broader pirate governments that they all resided under.

While it may seem unfathomable today in the age of nations and superpowers, there was a very real possibility that existed in the 18th century during the Post Spanish Succession Period for the Flying Gang pirates to actually establish their own republic in the West Indies if they chose to, expounding on the fledgling Republic of Pirates that was started on Nassau.

In fact, this idea scared the ruling classes of the imperial powers so much it was the driving reason behind the extermination of their former soldiers and privateers. Branded as pirates by the world governments, these men were secretly loved by the community due to their pursuits against the tyranny and oppression of the time. It is also hard to imagine a pirate government as well, a complete libertarian society ruled by a much different and decentralized structure that stood in start contrast to the monarchy model that even persists today.

While pirates championed the ideas of freedom, liberty and the pursuit of happiness long before the founding fathers of America they also lived one of the most grueling and toughest lifestyles. Life aboard a wooden sailing ship was little better in the 18th century as it was in the 16th century and your home could one day become your tomb. Therefore while the pirate captain was elected by his crew there was also a level of strictness incorporated with life aboard the ship. This was necessary for survival and while the pirates surely enjoyed themselves in port they needed a code in order to survive on the high seas.

Pirate Code of Captain Charles Johnson and Bartholomew Roberts

Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have an equal title to the fresh provisions or strong liquors at any time seized, and shall use them at pleasure unless a scarcity may make it necessary for the common good that a retrenchment may be voted.

Every man shall be called fairly in turn by the list on board of prizes, because over and above their proper share, they are allowed a shift of clothes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even one dollar in plate, jewels or money, they shall be marooned. If any man rob another he shall have his nose and ears slit, and be put ashore where he shall be sure to encounter hardships.

None shall game for money either with dice or cards.

The lights and candles should be put out at eight at night, and if any of the crew desire to drink after that hour they shall sit upon the open deck without lights.

Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action.

He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.

None shall strike another on board the ship, but every man's quarrel shall be ended on shore by sword or pistol in this manner. At the word of command from the quartermaster, each man being previously placed back to back, shall turn and fire immediately. If any man do not, the quartermaster shall knock the piece out of his hand. If both miss their aim they shall take to their cutlasses, and he that draw the first blood shall be declared the victor.

No man shall talk of breaking up their way of living till each has a share of 1,000. Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in the service shall have 800 pieces of eight from the common stock and for lesser hurts proportionately.

The captain and the quartermaster shall each receive two shares of a prize, the master gunner and boatswain, one and one half shares, all other officers one and one quarter, and private gentlemen of fortune one share each.

The musicians shall have rest on the Sabbath Day only by right. On all other days by favor only

Examples of punishments commonly seen on pirate ships:

Being cast adrift for any rule breaking

Being shot for stealing

Getting 40 lashes for fighting onboard

Restricted food privileges for gambling onboard

LIFE ABOARD A PIRATE SHIP - A PIRATE’S LIFE FOR ME

A mariner’s life was anything but comfortable. He lived belowdecks in dim, cramped, and filthy quarters. Rats and cockroaches abounded in the bowels of the ship. Privacy was nonexistent, especially aboard a pirate ship where two hundred men might inhabit a world measuring one hundred twenty by forty feet. Within the pages of Five Naval Journals 1789-1817, an anonymous sailor said, “On the same deck with me…slept between five and six hundred men; and the ports being necessarily closed from evening to morning, the heat in this cavern of only six feet high, and so entirely filled with human bodies, was overpowering.”

Bathroom facilities were primitive. Rotting provisions, bilgewater, and unwashed bodies made the air rank. A storm meant days of dampness after it passed. Headroom between decks posed problems for taller men. Captain Rotheram of the HMS Bellerophon, whose gun deck headroom measured five feet eight inches, surveyed his crew and found they averaged five feet five inches in height.

According to a sailor named Barrow, “There are no men under the sun that fare harder and get their living more hard and that are so abused on all sides as we poor seamen…so I could wish no young man to betake himself to this calling unless he had good friends to put him in place or supply his wants, for he shall find a great deal more to his sorrow than I have writ.” For these reasons most sailors were in their mid-twenties, having gone to sea much earlier. Whether pirate or seaman, they had to have stamina and dexterity that older men no longer possessed. They also spent from three months to several years away from home.

Added to these problems were the dangers inherent in a sailor’s life. He might plummet to his death while working the sails high above the deck. He might fall overboard, in which case the ship rarely returned for him and few sailors knew how to swim. Plus there was the danger of sharks in tropical waters. Then there was the danger of fire or shipwreck. Also, the dull routine that was the norm between the sighting of sail and boarding a prize, numbed sailors’ minds. Accidents and natural disasters certainly claimed sailors’ lives, as did sea fights, but men were far more likely to succumb to disease than anything else. Scurvy, dysentery, tuberculosis, typhus, smallpox, malaria, and yellow fever killed half of all seamen. According to David Cordingly, “It has been calculated that during the wars against Revolutionary and Napoleonic France of 1793 to 1815 approximately 100,000 British seamen died. Of this number 1.5 per cent died in battle, 12 per cent died in shipwrecks or similar disasters, 20 per cent died from shipboard or dockside accidents, and no less than 65 per cent died from disease.”

Another aspect of life at sea involved sailors’ leisure time. Whether pirate or not, they enjoyed many of the same activities, only the amount differed, particularly where drink was concerned. While gambling did occur, it wasn’t conducive to harmony amongst the men, and even the pirates included it as an intolerable infraction in their articles of agreement. Chewing tobacco, scrimshaw, and embroidery were popular pastimes. They also spun yarns about fearsome ghosts and goblins. When pirates boarded a prize, musicians were among the most sought after sailors enlisted into the ranks of the pirates, whether they joined willingly or were forced, because pirates loved entertainment.

Why did sailors take the extra risk of going on the account? Piracy offered a number of advantages, not the least of which was freedom from the harsh discipline suffered in the Royal Navy or aboard a merchantman. Pirates rarely flogged their mates, and while marooning and death were severe forms of punishment, they never endured six hundred lashes, swallowing cockroaches or iron bolts to learn a lesson. Nor would a pirate captain dare to cut out an eye as happened to Richard Desbrough.9 Life on land was equally fraught with cruel punishments, for use of the thumbscrew, pillory, and branding iron were still in use. “Children as young as seven, both boys and girls, were hanged. …[I]n 1698, Parliament had passed a law that the theft of good, worth more than five shillings, rated the death penalty.”

When a sea captain refused to join his crew, one pirate said, “Damn ye, you are a sneaking puppy and so are all those who will submit to be governed by laws which rich men have made for their own security, for the cowardly whelps have not the courage otherwise to defend what they got by their knavery. But damn ye altogether. Damn them for a pack of craft rascals, and you, who serve them, for a parcel of hen-hearted numbskulls. They vilify us, the scoundrels do, then there is only this difference, they rob the poor under the cover of law, forsooth, and we plunder the rich under the protection of our own courage; had ye not better make one of use, than sneak after the arses of those villains for employment?”

Aside from freedom, the financial rewards were far greater as a pirate than as a legitimate sailor, especially since pirates shared their plunder more equitably than privateers or the navy did. Gold, silver, silks, spices, timber, and a variety of other commodities made lucrative prizes. A privateer in the early seventeenth century might receive £10, the wages of most sailors for one year. A pirate, on the other hand, had the potential of earning up to £4,000 in a year, although he rarely held onto his ill-gotten gains for long. In 1695, Captain Avery and his men captured the Gunsway, and netted about £1,000 each. In 1721, pirates under John Taylor and Oliver la Buze netted £875,000 after seizing a Portuguese East Indiaman.

FOOD

The first couple of weeks at sea was full of meat, cheese, fresh veggies, eggs, and you name it. After that the food slowly but surely started to spoil, rot, mold and go rancid. That's why most of the food in storage was either dry beans, pickled food or salted food like salted meat. The quality and variety of the food was certainly found lacking after a few months at sea. Chickens were kept for the eggs until they were eaten or died. Cows were kept for the milk until the food supply for the cow had depleted. When the cow no longer had food to live, it was then time to eat the cow.

In the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic period, seamen ate a rather bland and routine diet. On Mondays they ate cheese and duff (flour pudding), Tuesdays and Saturdays boiled beef, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays dried peas and duff. On Sundays they were served dried pork and Figgy Dowdy or a similar treat. Supper consisted of leftovers from dinner, a biscuit, and a pint of grog. In contrast, on 14 August 1781, a rear-admiral served twelve dinners one meal that included: boiled ducks smothered with onions, roast goose, tarts, beaten butter, potatoes, French beans, whipped cream, fruit fritters, bacon, apple pie, boiled fowl, carrots and turnips, albacore, Spanish fritters, boiled beef, and roast mutton.

The meat was frequently rotten and it was very common to see maggots. The bread was full of weevils, even the hardtack sea biscuits which usually lasted for up to 12 months if kept dry. To restock their provisions, pirates stole from the ships they seized. They also supplemented their diets with dolphins, albacore tuna, and other varieties of fish. One particular food was the green turtle. They “are extremely good to eat--the flesh very sweet and the fat green and delicious. This fat is so penetrating that when you have eaten nothing but turtle flesh for three or four weeks, your shirt becomes so greasy from sweat you can squeeze the oil out and your limbs are weighed down with it.”8 They enjoyed salamagundi, which resembled a chef’s salad. Marinated bits of fish, turtle, and meat were combined with herbs, palm hearts, spiced wine, and oil, then served with hard-boiled eggs, pickled onions, cabbage, grapes, and olives. Pirates also ate yams, plantains, pineapples, papayas, and other fruits and vegetables indigenous to the tropics.

Pirates were known to catch a sea turtle here and there which was a welcomed meal. Bones from everything was kept to make Pirate Bone Soup for when the going got rough.

Bone Soup was eaten thick or drank thin by sea pirates. Life at Sea was difficult so "Pirate Bone Soup" was made from anything and everything from animal bones, fish bones to even bone and flesh from rats that were living aboard the ships when rations were low. In the Caribbean, they also caught turtle for fresh meat which was sometimes added to soups. Bone Soup has always had a history of being healing and helpful to the body but in the case of Pirate Bone Soup, it was cooked with the idea to simply stay alive during long sea voyages. Pirate Bone Soup may of carried alot of calcium value from all the stewing bones but there would of been a lot of unhealthy things in the soup as well. such as: diseased rats, close to rottening meat, maggots, weevils, etc.

Galley cooks were known to use a lot of herbs and spices to cover up the taste of spoiled ingredients. Vegetables and meat were usually pickled or salted to preserve the food. Ships on long voyages relied on biscuits, dried beans and salted beef to live. Without proper food, many sailors got sick and died of scurvy.

Popular/common foods:

Sauerkraut

Bombo

Hard tack

Oats

Salamagundi

Salted meats

Turtle meat

Fish

Dehydrated vegetables like peas

Bone Soup

Vinegar

Pickled fruits

Pickled limes and lemons

MORE GENERAL/STANDARD ALLOATION OF FOOD OVER A WEEK FOR SHORT TRIPS (2 WEEKS/1 MONTH):

4 pounds of salted beef

2 pounds of salted pork

2 pint of peas

3 pints of oats

6 ounces of butter

12 ounces of cheese

1 pound of bread per day

1 gallon of beer/ale/alcoholic beverage per day

ALSO NOTE: FOOD STORAGE ISSUES AND STARVATION WERE COMMON: When their provisions ran scarce, pirates did resort to extreme measures. Charlotte de Berry’s crew purportedly ate two slaves and her husband. In 1670, Sir Henry Morgan’s crew ate their leather satchels. According to written accounts, they cut the leather into strips. After soaking these, they beat and rubbed the leather with stones to tenderize them. They scraped off the hair, then roasted or grilled the strips before cutting them into bite-size pieces.

FASHION

Pirate clothing would have been made out of materials such as linen, wool, silk, hemp or fustian. These materials were readily available in the Caribbean at the time and would have also incorporated some tanned leather for armor.

A big hoop earring on a sailor meant that he had sailed around the world or had crossed the equator. Superstitious sailors wore gold hoop earrings because they believed it brought good fortune. Some believed that the gold possessed magic healing powers or that it served as a protective talisman that would prevent the wearer from drowning. As strange as it may seem, some pirates believed that wearing earrings helped protect their hearing. They had good reason to want to protect it since they were often firing huge cannons and found themselves near extremely loud noises. The dangling wax from the earrings was used to plug their ears when shots were fired. Gold earrings were often sold post-mortem to pay for funeral costs. Some pirates even got the name of their home port engraved on their earrings in the hopes that a kind soul would send their body home (by bearing the expenses through the sale of their earrings, of course).

Eye patches were worn but not to cover a missing eye. The purpose of the eyepatch wasn’t to hide a missing eye as much as it was to help improve night vision. This was required for their job. During a raid, they had to run between, over, and under the deck. The eyepatch let them see clearly in both the bright light on the deck and in the darkness underneath.

Tattoos were also seen as lucky. Seafarers would usually tattoo a nautical star on their bodies as the North Star represented a signal that they were nearing home.

Cutting ones hair, nail trimming, and being clean shaven were seen as big no-nos.

NOTE: Sewing was a valuable skill at sea. Most sailors knew how to sew or would make a profit by fixing the clothes of crewmates.

VIEWS ON SEXUALITY

The truth may be more interesting than the fiction. Pirates rejected puritan society and were socially very liberal. They openly welcomed homosexuality and even had their own form of gay marriage. Matelotage was a civil partnership between two male pirates. Matelotage partners openly had sex with each other. The men shared their property, had the other as their named inheritor, and lived together.

It just wasn’t always a strictly monogamous enterprise. Just as today, sexuality is a spectrum, and the relationships were sometimes bisexual. When the French sent hundreds of prostitutes into Tortuga in the mid-1600s, they were trying to counter matelotage. The result was not what they expected. The fluid sexuality of the pirate community welcomed the prostitutes and many engaged in threesomes with the women.

PIRATES AND WOMEN

While piracy was predominantly a male occupation throughout history, a minority of pirates were female. Female pirates, like other women in crime, faced gender and discrimination issues in both practicing this occupation and being punished for it. Pirates did not allow women onto their ships very often. Additionally, women were often regarded as bad luck among pirates. It was feared that the male members of the crew would argue and fight over the women. On many ships, women (as well as young boys) were prohibited by the ship's contract, which all crew members were required to sign

Because of the resistance to allowing women on board, many female pirates did not identify themselves as such. Anne Bonny, for example, dressed and acted as a man while on Captain Calico Jack's ship. She and Mary Read, another female pirate, are often identified as being unique in this regard. However, it is possible many women dressed as men during the Golden Age of Piracy, in an effort to take advantage of the many rights, privileges, and freedoms that were exclusive to men.

Some women chose to marry pirates. These men were often very wealthy, but their wives tended not to gain wealth as a result of their marriages, as it was difficult for pirates to send home wages and booty earned overseas. These women's houses and establishments were often used as safe havens for pirates, who were considered enemies of all nations.

During the Golden Age of Piracy, many men had to leave home to find employment or set sail for economic reasons. This left women with the responsibilities of taking on traditionally male roles and filling the jobs that were left behind. The need for women to fill these roles led them to be granted rights that had historically been exclusive to men. Women were allowed to trade, own ships, and work as retailers. Often they were innkeepers or ran alehouses. In some seaside towns, laws were even written to allow widows to keep their husbands' responsibilities and property. This was important to local economies, as alehouses and other such establishments were centers of commerce, where pirates would congregate and trade with each other and with the people onshore.

As heads of these establishments, women had a considerable amount of freedom in business. They boarded and fed pirates, bought illegally pirated goods, acted as pawnbrokers for pirates, and even gave out loans - something many men, let alone women, viewed with great caution in that time period. At times, female business owners would even hide their clients when authorities came looking to arrest them for piracy.

Women noted as pirates in history

Viking Age and medieval pirates

Rusila (Norwegian) - Fought against her brother Thrond for the thrones of both Denmark and Norway. Possibly fictional. Recorded in Saxo Grammaticus' Gesta Danorum (History of the Danes). Johannes Steenstrup linked her to the Ingean Ruadh (Red Maid) of Irish folklore.

Stilka (Norwegian) - Sister of Rusila: Became a pirate to avoid marriage. Recorded in the Gesta Danorum

Princess Sela (Norwegian) - Sister of Koller, king of Norway. Horwendil (later to be father of Amleth/Hamlet) was King of Jutland but gave up the throne to become a pirate. Koller "deemed it would be a handsome deed" to kill the pirate and sailed to find the pirate fleet. Horwendil killed Koller but had to later kill Sela, who was a skilled warrior and experienced pirate, to end the war. Recorded in the Gesta Danorum.

Alvid (Norwegian) - Leader of a group of male and female pirates. Also recorded in the Gesta Danorum.

Wigbiorg, Hatha and Wisna (Norwegian) - All three are listed in the Gesta Danorum as sea captains. Wigbiorg died in battle, Hetha became queen of Zealand, and Wisna lost a hand in a duel.

Alfhild (Swedish) - Existence is disputed. Often wrongly dated to the 5th century.

Ladgerda (Norwegian) - Ladgerda is the inspiration for Hermintrude in Shakespeare's Hamlet.

Aethelflaed aka The Lady of the Mercians (English) - Eldest daughter of Alfred the Great of England. Became the military leader of the Anglo-Saxons after her husband's death in battle against the Danes in 911. Took command of the fleets to rid the seas of the Viking raiders.

Jeanne de Clisson aka Lioness of Brittany (Breton) - A Breton woman who became a pirate to avenge the execution of her husband. Attacked only French vessels.

Elise Eskilsdottir (Norwegian) - A Norwegian noble who became a pirate to avenge the execution of her husband. She operated outside the sea of the city of Bergen.

16th Century pirates

Gráinne Ní Mháille (Irish) - Gráinne Ní Mháille was Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the Ó Máille clan and a pirate in 16th century Ireland. She is an important figure in Irish folklore, and a historical figure in 16th century Irish history, and is sometimes known as "The Sea Queen Of Connaught". Biographies of her have been written primarily in the 20th and 21st centuries by the historian Anne Chambers.

Sayyida al Hurra (Moroccan) - Allied with the Turkish corsair Barbaros of Algiers. al Hurra controlled the western Mediterranean Sea while Barbaros controlled the eastern. Also prefect of Tétouan. In 1515 she became the last person in Islamic history to legitimately hold the title of "al Hurra" or Queen following the death of her husband who ruled Tétouan. She later married the King of Morocco, Ahmed al-Wattasi, but refused to leave Tétouan to do so. This marriage is the only time in Moroccan history a King has married away from the capital Fez.

Lady Mary Killigrew (English) - Mary was the daughter of a former Suffolk pirate. Mary's husband Sir Henry Killigrew, a former pirate himself, was made a Vice-Admiral by Queen Elizabeth I and tasked with suppressing piracy. Whenever her husband went to sea, Mary engaged in piracy using the staff of her castle (Arwenack Castle in Cornwall) as crew and possibly with the Queen's knowledge. In 1570, she captured a German merchant ship off Falmouth and her crew sailed it to Ireland to sell. However, the owner of this ship was a friend of Queen Elizabeth, who then had Lady Mary arrested and brought to trial at the Launceston assizes. Some sources say she was sentenced to death and then pardoned by the Queen, but this is due to confusion with another family member. According to sources, her family either bribed the jurors and she was acquitted, or Queen Elizabeth arranged a short jail sentence. Whatever transpired, she gave up piracy and took up fencing stolen goods until she died several years later.

Lady Elizabeth Killgrew (English) - Elizabeth and her husband Sir John lived in Pendennis Castle in Falmouth Harbour. In early 1581 a Spanish ship, the Marie of San Sebastian was blown down Channel by a storm and was forced, dismasted, to take refuge in Falmouth harbour. Lady Elizabeth led an attack on the ship and then fenced the proceeds. Lady Elizabeth was later arrested and sentenced to death but pardoned. Her husband Sir John was ordered by the Privy Council to restore the vessel and goods to their owners but went into hiding along with the ship which resulted in several warrants for his arrest being issued for acts of piracy committed over the next eight years.

17th Century Pirates

Elizabetha Patrickson (English)

Jacquotte Delahaye (French Haitian) - Caribbean pirate. Also known as "Back from the Dead Red" due to her red hair and return to piracy after faking her own death and hiding dressed as a man for several years.

Christian Anna Skytte (Swedish) - She actively participated in the secret piracy conducted by her brother and spouse in the Baltic sea.

Anne Dieu-le-Veut (French) - Caribbean pirate and later based in Mississippi after Tortuga was closed down. Dieu-Le-Veut was a nickname meaning "God wills it" and given to her as it seemed anything she wanted God gave her. Married to a pirate, Anne challenged pirate Laurens de Graaf to a duel after he killed her husband in 1683. He refused and she became his common law wife, fighting by his side and sharing command.

18th Century Pirates

Maria Lindsey or Maria Cobham (English) - The wife of Captain Eric Cobham and possibly fictional. Pirate operating on the Canadian east coast.

Ingela Gathenhielm (Swedish) - Often listed separately in lists of pirates but is likely to be Maria Lindsey (see above)

Anne Bonny (Irish) - Caribbean pirate. Married to pirate James Bonny, had an affair with pirate John "Calico Jack" Rackham, and later joined his crew. Discovered another crew member Mark Read was secretly a woman (Mary Read) and the two became very close. This of course is Wikipedia-speak for “Harold, they’re lesbians.”

Mary Read aka Mark Read (English) - Caribbean pirate. As a man, Mary went to sea and later joined the British army, fighting in the War Of The Spanish Succession. Mary married and settled down as a woman but returned to male dress following the death of her husband, later boarding a ship bound for the West Indies. Captured by "Calico" Jack Rackham, Mary joined his crew. In 1721, she died in prison.

Mary Farley, alias Mary Harvey (Irish) - In 1725, Mary Harvey and her husband Thomas were transported to the Province of Carolina as felons. In 1726, Mary and three men were tried for piracy. Two of the men were hanged (their leader John Vidal was convicted and later pardoned) but Mary was released. Her husband Thomas was never caught.

Mary Crickett (English) - In 1728, Mary Crickett and Edmund Williams were transported to the colony of Virginia together as felons. In 1729, along with four other men, both were convicted of piracy and hanged.

Flora Burn (English) - Operated on the East Coast of North America.

Rachel Well (American) - Married George Wall, a former privateer who served in the Revolutionary War, when she was sixteen years old. Operated on the New England Coast. Thought to be the first American female pirate. In 1782, George and the rest of his crew were drowned in a storm. She was accused of robbery in 1789 and confessed to being a pirate. She was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.

Charlotte de Berry (English) - Possibly fictional.

19th Century Pirates

Ching Shih (Chinese) - She was a prostitute who married a pirate and rose to prominence after his death. Regarded as one of the most powerful pirates in human history, she commanded her husband's fleet after his death. While the fleet she inherited was already large, she further increased the number of ships and crew. At its height, her fleet was composed of more than 1,500 ships and 80,000 sailors. She controlled much of the waters of the South China Sea. After years of piracy during which British, Chinese and Portuguese navies could not defeat her, China offered her peace in 1810 and she was able to retire and married the second in command,

Charlotte Badger and Catherine Hagerty (English) - Widely considered to be the first Australian female pirate. The ship Venus, due to a shortage of man-power, took on convicts including Badger and Hagerty as crew while in Australia. After docking at Port Dalrymple, Tasmania, the Captain went ashore and the crew seized the ship, sailing for New Zealand. Hagerty along with two other convicts, a woman named Charlotte Edgar and a child were put ashore at the Bay of Islands with a supply of stores. Hagerty died shortly thereafter. The two men were arrested for piracy and Edgar remained to become one of the first settlers in New Zealand. Badger was never seen again.

Margaret Croke (Canadian) - Following a dispute with investors over his schooner The Three Sisters, Edward Jordan was on his way to Halifax to sort it out. Wrongly assuming his family was being sent to debtors' prison, he killed two crewman then threw the Captain overboard before commandeering the vessel with the help of the remaining crewman. The marooned Captain survived and testified against Jordan claiming Margaret, who was aboard with her son and three young daughters, was also involved. Margaret admitted hitting the Captain after he had hit her husband during an argument in her cabin before he decided to commandeer the vessel; the other crew member testified she was actually in fear for her life from her violent husband and had attempted to escape. Both Margaret and Edward were hanged for piracy.

Johanna Hard (Swedish) - Sweden's last pirate; in 1823, recently widowed Hård, a farm owner on Vrångö Island, was arrested along with her farmhand Anders Andersson, farmer Christen Andersson, and one of Christen's farmhands Carl Börjesson and boatman Johan Andersson Flatås of Göteborg for piracy after the Danish ship Frau Mette was found beached and plundered with a murdered crew. Evidence was presented that the five had followed the Frau Mette on Flatås fishing vessel the Styrsö and requested water. After boarding her they killed the crew. Johan Andersson Flatås, Anders Andersson, and Christen Andersson were sentenced to death and beheaded. Carl Börjesson was imprisoned in Karlstens fortress where he died 1853. The evidence against Johanna Hård was insufficient and she was released and subsequently disappeared.

Sadie the Goat (American) - Possibly fictional. Operated around the state of New York as a member of the Charlton Street Gang. Named for her habit of headbutting her victims before taking their money.

20th Century Pirates

Lo Hon-ho (Chinese) - Took command of 64 ships after her husband’s death in 1921. Youthful and reported to be pretty, she gained the reputation of being the most ruthless of all China's pirates. Lo Hon-cho's fleet attacked villages and fishing fleets in the seas around Beihai taking young women as prisoners and later selling them into slavery. In 1922 a Chinese warship intercepted the fleet destroying 40 vessels. Despite escaping, Lo Hon-cho was later handed to authorities by the remaining pirates in exchange for clemency.

Lai Sho Sz’en, Lai Choi San (Chinese) - Operated in the South China Sea. Commanded 12 ships.

P’en Ch’ih Ch’iko, Ki Ming (Chinese) – possibly fictional

Huang P’ei-mei (Chinese) – Led 50,000 pirates

Cheng Chu Ping aka Sister Ping (Chinese) - Operated in the South China Sea smuggling thousands of Chinese immigrants to the U.S. and Europe. Was convicted in the U.S. and sentenced to 35 years in prison. Died in 2014.

PIRATES AND THE SLAVE TRADE

Pirate crews and piracy were one of the most unique and democratic organizations on the planet at the time. While the rest of the world was ruled by absolute tyrants and monarchs, pirates were the early patriots. Raiding and looting with plunder, they died in infamy. Another unique facet of pirate crews including women in piracy is slavery in piracy. While the rest of the world sought to buy and sell humans like cargo, the pragmatic pirates often liberated these men and recruited them into their ranks.

Most pirates had once been a part of the slave trade and realized how poor the conditions were, given they were often mistreated sailors themselves in the Royal Merchant Navy. While pirates were occasionally known to take, sell and kill slaves it was often out of economic necessity rather than racial prejudice. Most pirate crews were known to have at least a good percentage of freed slaves.

One of the most famous and lasting of all the pirates was a freed slave named Black Caesar and after his own prolific career joined the crew of Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach aboard his ship the Queen Annes Revenge as his lieutenant. Another famous freed slave pirate was named John Julian who became the pilot of the Whydah captained by Samuel Bellamy.

It is known that Edward 'Blackbeard' Teach had at least 40% freed slaves on his ship and that nearly 21 members of Bartholomew Roberts were put back into slavery after he was killed and the crew captured. Pirates would describe themselves as Maroons, using the same name as the escaped Jamaican slave gangs. In fact, the freed black slaves were considered as much of the crew as anyone else and was to receive the same shares, rewards, compensation and experiences as their white counterparts under the pirate code.

As one story goes, a slave ship captain once found himself back in command of his ship after pirates had freed all the slaves onboard and given them weapons. This was pirate justice on the high seas. As much as pirates were the victim of a massive PR smear campaign by the Imperial powers at the time, pirates were probably the most democratic and egalitarian groups on the planet at the time.

In fact, the reason why so many freed slaves chose to join the pirates was because it was probably the best economic opportunity that they would have for at least two hundred years. Pirates were considered equal members of the crew, and the economic toll that this vicious cycle was taking on the royal empires was staggering. Not only were they losing cargo and thus direct compensation, but each slave released added another pirate to their ranks. This created more pirates and thus exacerbated the problem. Thus the pirates had to be stopped at all costs.

This is when the Royal empires began dispatching pirate hunters and offering the 1718 Kings Pardon to any pirate that wished to stop. Those that did faced a speedy trial and the hangman's noose. Black slaves were often hung or put back into slavery to help mitigate the economic losses caused by the halting of the slave trade in the region.

PIRATES AND HEALTH

Sickness and diseases such as, dysentery, malaria, smallpox, and yellow fever created problems among ships and "could be fatal." Pirates, like privateers, were a little better off than those who worked on merchant or naval ships as "food was superior," "pay was higher," "shifts were shorter," and the crew's powers of "decision making was greater." Epidemics and scurvy led some to desert "naval vessels for pirates." In the event of disabilities occurring while in service to the ship, some pirates set up a "common wealth" plan to be paid to any man in the event of injury. Medical artifacts recovered from the wreck site of Blackbeard's Queen Anne Revenge include; a urethral syringe used to treat syphilis, pump clysters to pump fluid into the rectum, a porringer which may have been used in bloodletting treatments, and a cast brass mortar and pestle used in preparing medicine.

There were doctors and surgeons present on some pirate vessels. Any surgeon or doctor who sailed with pirates, according to Rediker, was considered by their peers "to be insane." Surgeons/doctors were paid more shares, between "one and a quarter" and "one and a half," than other men on pirate ships. However, doctors and surgeons weren't always trusted as they were not allowed to vote with the crew "because their class background (or forced status)."

Pirate crew often practiced a policy of health insurance similar to today’s world. Even when there wasn’t much advancement made in medicine, pirates made sure that if a member of their fleet was injured, he would receive benefits. For instance, 600 Spanish dollars (a kind of currency prevalent at that time) would be paid out for the loss of a limb. The loss of an eye would be compensated with 200 Spanish dollars and complete blindness would be compensated with 2,000 Spanish dollars; this is equal to almost $153,000 today. Crew members were given the option of accepting their compensation.

ATTITUDE TOWARDS DEATH

On every voyage a sailor would face the risk of falling overboard and drowning, starvation, disease, abuse, accidents in the rigging, and attack. Once a sailor abandoned his law-abiding career to become a pirate he knowingly increased his chance of expediting his own death exponentially. Once convicted as a pirate, a sailor faced an almost certain demise of being hanged at the execution docks.

When on trial in Charleston, the pirate Job Bayley was asked why he had attacked several warships that were sent to capture him, he answered that "We thought it had been a pirate." At yet another trial in London the pirate John Bayley comically played dumb when the Judge asked what he would have done if the warship that apprehended him was nothing more than a merchant ship answering, "I don't know what I would have done." Both men knew that their fate was sealed the moment they were apprehended and both in turn hanged at the gallows.

The story of pirate William Fly, who was executed on July 12, 1726 in Boston, illustrates how arrogantly many pirates viewed death. He showed no anxiety over his imminent demise, but rather tied his own noose and lectured the hangman about the proper way to tie the knot. Right before he swung off to his death he delivered a warning to all ships captains and owners that in order to prevent their crews from mutinying and resorting to piracy, they would be wise to pay their crews on time and treat them humanly.

Some pirates preferred to control their own fate. Pairs of pirates would at times make oaths to one another that in order to insure that neither were captured they would shoot each other. The crew of Bartholomew Roberts preferred not to be taken alive and swore to blow themselves up rather than give the authorities the satisfaction of seeing them hanged. When Roberts and his men were finally found an attempt was made to blow the ship up rather than face capture, however it proved in vain due to an insufficient gunpowder. Edward Teach's (Blackbeard's) crew also failed to detonate their sloop when facing capture however, the pirate Joseph Cooper and his crew successfully blew themselves up and evaded capture by the authorities.

SUPERSTITIONS

NO BANANAS ON BOARD

Aside from their peels causing many comedians to trip and fall down, bananas have long been thought to bring bad luck, especially on ships. At the height of the trading empire between Spain and the Caribbean in the 1700's, most cases of disappearing ships happened to be carrying a cargo of bananas at the time.

Coincidence? Perhaps. Another theory suggests that because bananas spoiled so quickly, transporters had to get to their destination much quicker. Fisherman thus never caught anything while bananas were on board. Another danger caused by monkey's favourite fruit fermenting so quickly, was that in the heat of the storage hull, bananas would produce deadly toxic fumes.

A final theory on the perils of bananas at sea (though there are tons) is that a species of deadly spider would hide inside banana bunches. Their lethal bite caused crewman to die suddenly, heightening the fear that banana cargo was a bad omen.

WOMEN

Women were said to bring bad luck on board because they distracted the sailors from their sea duties. This kind of behaviour angered the intemperate seas that would take their revenge out on the ship. Funny enough, naked women on board were completely welcome. That's because naked women "calmed the sea". This is why ships' typically had a figure of a topless women perched on the bow of the ship. Her bare breasts "shamed the stormy seas into calm" and her open eyes guided the seamen to safety.

SON OF A GUN

Male children born on the ship were referred to as "son of a gun" because the most convenient place to give birth on deck (if you weren't too afraid of having a woman on board) was on the gun deck. Having a male child on board was a sign of good luck.

NO WHISTLING

Mariners have long held the belief that whistling or singing into the wind will "whistle up a storm"

LEXIS

At sea, some words must be strictly avoided to ensure the ship and crew's safe return. These include obvious ones like "drowned" and "goodbye". If someone says "good luck" to you, it is sure to bring about bad luck. The only way to reverse the curse is by drawing blood, so usually a good punch in the nose will do.

RED SKY

"Red sky at night, sailor's delight; red sky in the morning, sailors take warning" the old saying goes. A red sunset indicates a beautiful day to come, while a red sunrise indicates rain and bad weather.

SHARKS

Sharks = omens of death

DOLPHINS

Considered a good sign. Believed to scare away sharks.

NEVER SAIL ON…

Don't Sail On Thursdays, Fridays, the first Monday in April or the second Monday in August.

Fridays: Fridays have long been considered unlucky days, likely because Jesus Christ was crucified on a Friday.

Thursdays: Thursdays are bad sailing days because that is Thor's day, the god of thunders and storms.

First Monday in April: The first Monday in April is the day Cain slew Abel

Second Monday in August: The second Monday in August is the day the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed.

Superstitious sailors believe that the only good day to set sail is Sundays.

CHANGING SHIP NAMES

It's bad luck to change the name of the boat. Boats develop a life and mind of their own once they are named and Christened.

If you do rename the boat- you absolutely must have a de-naming ceremony.

This ceremony can be performed by writing the current ship name on a piece of paper, folding the paper and placing it in a wooden box then burning the box. After, scoop up the ashes and throw them into the sea at night and only during a new moon. In order to purify the ship, a virgin (often the cabin boy) would have to urinate across the bow.

PAY YOUR DUES

Seamen that hadn't paid their debts were blamed for storms and any other misfortunate events that would occur on the ship.

RED HAIR

Red heads were thought to bring bad luck to a ship if you happened to encounter one before boarding. However, if you speak to the redhead before they get the chance to speak to you, you're saved.

ALBATROSS

Seabirds were thought to carry the souls of dead sailors and it is considered bad luck to kill one. However, it is considered good luck if you see one.

SALT

Pirates would throw salt over their left shoulder. Throwing salt over your shoulder a way of keeping the devil at bay.

KNOCK ON WOOD

17th century sailors who would knock on the wood hull of their ships to listen for worm or rot, hearing a solid sound would imply that the hull was in "ship shape" When in a conversation a reference is made to 'Good luck' they would sometimes say 'Touch wood' and touch some part of their wooden vessel. The 'good luck' they were implying also referring to the luck they were having and hoping to have while their wooden hull held true and fast during their voyage at sea.

SPIT

It's good luck to spit in the ocean before you sail.

CATS

Cats were often kept on ships as mousers. There are a lot of superstitions around cats.

Cats brought luck. If a ship's cat came to a sailor, it meant good luck.

Sailors believed that if a cat licked its fur against the grain it meant a hailstorm was coming; if it sneezed, rain was on the way; and if it was frisky, the wind would soon blow.

Sailors believed cats could start storms with the magic stored in their tails so they always kept them well fed and contented

LEFT FOOT

Disaster will follow if you step onto a boat with your Left foot first.

WEAPONS

belaying pin - A short wooden rod to which a ship's rigging is secured. A common improvised weapon aboard a sailing ship, because they're everywhere, they're easily picked up, and they are the right size and weight to be used as clubs.

blunderbuss - A muzzle-loading gun with a distinctive, flared muzzle, common among pirates and privateers, and typically loaded with a number of small lead balls. The purpose of the flared muzzle was to spread out the shot, though experiments have shown no difference compared to guns with a non-flared muzzle.

buckle - A small, often rounded shield held in one’s fist to protect against an opponent’s sword. The buckle could also be used to strike a blow to an opponent’s face.

case shot - A collection of small projectiles put in cases to fire from a cannon; a canister-shot.