Pirates have been a part of pop culture ever since they first occupied seas and oceans in search of fortune, fame and fortune. In the 17th and 18th centuries, stories of pirate adventures and adventures fascinated people of all genders and classes. Even 300 years later, thrilling stories of pirates such as John Silver, Captain Hook and Jack Sparrow are attracting more and more fans.
But which of these fictional adventures is based on historical data, and which is just romantic speculation?
Were there actually maps on which treasures were hidden under the X sign, as well as black flags with a skull and bones, frightening everyone who dared to go to sea?
Were there actually deadly duels between the captains of two warring ships?
It turns out that all of this is actually true. With a small caveat. Real stories are much more interesting and exciting than everything that was described in adventure novels and filmed.
Legendary pirate
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If there is one person who could inspire others by example and set in motion the so-called golden age of piracy, it is Captain Henry Avery. He was somewhat of a pop idol for the generation that became the pirates of the golden age. At a time when all these future pirates were teenagers, Avery was already a legend.
As a sailor aboard a merchant ship, Avery, like many other sailors, became increasingly disenchanted with work, conditions and the system as a whole. On board many of these merchant ships, the captains and owners did not care about sailors, especially sailors. They were fed little and often served spoiled food, and they had to work tirelessly day in and day out.
In 1694, Avery refused to tolerate this attitude and organized a riot. He hijacked the ship under cover of darkness while Captain Charles Gibson slept in his cabin.
Rumors and myths
Avery and his crew sailed mainly in the Indian Ocean, using Madagascar as their base. During one of the voyages, they stumbled upon a ship belonging to the Indian emperor.
The tales of what happened on board the ship vary from source to source, but they all agree on one thing: Avery left the battlefield as a rich man. The ship carried a lot of money, jewelry, gold, silver and ivory, worth the equivalent of $ 200 million. Avery was lucky. Each member of his crew received a piece of the treasure, which was the amount owed to the sailor for 20 years on board a merchant ship.
With the treasures, Avery sailed to the Bahamas, where he bribed the Governor of Nassau, having received a new ship bound for Europe. After landing on the shores of Ireland, he said goodbye to his crew and disappeared. Nothing else is known about him or about his treasures.
Avery is one of the very few pirates who managed to get out of the water and escape punishment. For his followers, the pirates of the golden age, a happy old age was extremely rare. The authorities hunted them, sparing no expense or time.
The Golden Age of Piracy
The persecution of pirates ended, as a rule, in cruel executions, which the authorities tried to use as a means of intimidating future pirates. And there were many who wanted to become them.
The Golden Age is called so because there were many pirates in it, one more colorful than the other.
Bellamy's "Black Sam", for example, was a real star in the pirate world. He was nicknamed "Marine Robin Hood". In 1715, at the age of 26, Black Sam became the captain of his own ship and one of America's most feared pirates. Having amassed a fortune and earning a resounding reputation, he went to Cape Cod in 1717, but on the way there the famous pirate luck left Sam. The ship ran aground during a violent storm. Bellamy, his crew and his treasures went downhill.
Another famous pirate is Jack Rackham, nicknamed Calico Jack. As a pirate, Rackham was not particularly lucky. He was captured and hanged in 1720, but his flag survived for centuries and remains the same pirate symbol we know today. This is the skull and bones, or Jolly Roger.
Female pirates
Rackham also distinguished himself with his team, which included two of the most famous "pirates" of the golden age - Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie. At that time, women on the ship brought misfortune, and it was not easy to find the fairer sex among the sailors.
Of course, such names as Chin Shi in China and Granual or Grace O'Malley in Ireland are known all over the world, but these women were not so much pirates as leaders and leaders of pirate bases.
Mary Reed and Anne Bonnie were charged with piracy and sentenced to death by hanging. Upon learning that expectant mothers were exempted from the death penalty, both pirates seduced their guards and became pregnant. Their arrest, trial and avoidance of execution were very high-profile news in the London press, but none of the pirates could boast the same newspaper attention as Edward Teach, the most famous and fearsome of all pirates of the golden age. This is the man who became famous under the nickname Blackbeard.
Terrifying Pirate
Interestingly, if it had occurred to anyone to compile a list of the most successful and wealthy pirates of the golden age, Blackbeard would not have made it into the top ten. But he is by far the most famous pirate of all, whose identities are reliably confirmed by historical documents. And all because he deliberately cultivated the image of a fearsome pirate, with whom it is best not to engage.
Blackbeard ruled the seas through fear. He grew a long beard, put on expensive clothes of aristocrats and forced his entire team to support the chosen image - savages in noble clothes.
During battles, Blackbeard attached wicks to his hat, which burned and smoked, creating a demonic halo of sparks, fire and smoke. For sailors from those unfortunate ships that came across Beard's path, the captain was truly a terrifying sight. Most of them surrendered without a fight. And if it came to a battle, then Blackbeard's ship, like the two-meter captain himself, was armed to the teeth.
Mortal combat
So successful was Blackbeard's tactics that there is no evidence of deliberate murder, torture, or harm by the pirate. Everyone just gave up to him. And so it continued until the final fatal battle with the British Royal Navy in 1718.
Young Lieutenant Robert Maynard led a detachment of sailors whose main goal was to find and neutralize the famous pirate, who had acquired the status of a legend during his lifetime. Blackbeard and his crew laid siege to and boarded Maynard's ship. But the young lieutenant refused to surrender, and a deadly battle ensued between him and the giant pirate. Maynard shot Blackbeard, but the pirate continued to fight furiously. His machete was about to cut the lieutenant in two when Maynard's soldiers pounced on the pirate from all sides and inflicted several mortal wounds.
The Secret of Blackbeard
The biggest pirate secret is still connected with Blackbeard - the whereabouts of his captain's log.
The magazine was found by Maynard and used as evidence in a court against the captain and crew on charges of piracy. But after the meeting, the magazine, along with all court documents and records, disappeared from the face of the earth. Many people have tried for years to retrieve the lost records, but to no avail. No one even knows what exactly Blackbeard's magazine is hiding. Perhaps the same map is hidden there, marked with an X, indicating a pirate treasure. However, all those who held the magazine in their hands are already dead a long time ago, and the dead, as we know, do not tell stories.
Hope Chikanchi