Pirates

Pirates
Piracy is a war like act only in smaller parties, especially robbery or criminal violence on the sea. The term has been used to refer to raids across land borders by non-state actors. Piracy should be distinguished from privateering, which was a legitimate form of war-like activity by non-state actors, authorized by their national authorities, until this form of commerce raiding was outlawed in the 19th century.

Life at sea
Its safe to assume that life at sea was one great bore for pirates. Sailing meant weeks of boredom while searching for prey, with only intermittent bursts of excitement as victims were sighted boarded and then attacked. Pirates would stock up on bottled beer before a long voyage, as water would soon become undrinkable, due to its salty taste. The pirates primarily ate hard tack (long-lasting biscuits); although for longer voyages limes would be provided as a source of vitamin c. If they were lucky, the pirates would have a few hens on board the ship, which would provide both fresh eggs and meat. The pirates found a seemingly unlimited supply of meat with the turtles that thrived in the Caribbean. As well as being delicious, these turtles were easy prey for the pirates.

Myths
~Pirates don’t say “arrrrggg”
~They don’t make people walk the plank the throw people over board though.
~Pirates pierced their ears, not to look cool, but because it was believed that piercing the ears with such precious metals as silver and gold, improved there eyesight. Even relatively respectable sea faring men indulged in the practice.
~“Davy Jones' Locker” is slang for the devil so when someone would say your going to Davy Jones' Locker it meant you were going to hell.
~No one has actually ever found a real pirate’s buried treasure map. Never too far from death, most pirates tried to enjoy their money quickly. At any rate, there aren’t any maps around today, unless some are still cleverly hidden.
~As early as 1611 there are written accounts describing a person who brings bad luck to a ship as a “Jonah”. If a man was marked as a Jonah, he was doomed to be thrown overboard. If the trouble persisted, the pirates suspected they’d thrown the wrong man overboard and would sometimes toss the original accuser overboard to appease the ghost of the innocent man!
~For example pirate hooks probably came from the movie "Peter Pan". Peg legs and parrots became famous from the classic “Treasure Island“.


The Pirate Code
1. Everyone shall obey orders.
2. Booty shall be shared as followed: 1 1/2 goes to the captain; 1 goes to ordinary sailors; and 1/4 shares goes to the gunner, boatswain, and master carpenter.
3. Anyone keeping a secret of attempting to desert will be marooned. He will be left with a flask of gunpowder, a bottle of water, and a gun with one bullet.
4. The punishment for hitting a man is 40 lashes on the bare back.
5. Anyone being lazy or failing to clean his weapons will lose his share of booty.
6. Everyone may vote on all important decisions.
7. Everyone may have a share of captured drink and fresh food.
8. Anyone found stealing from another member of the crew will have his ears and nose spilt open and be set ashore
9. Gambling with cards and money is forbidden.
10. The penalty for bringing a woman aboard in disguise is death.
11. No one may leave the crew until each man has made 1,100 pounds.
12. The compensation of losing a limb is 800 silver dollars.

Parts of the ship