Let's talk about pirates, not those who steal software and distribute it or sell it for pennies, but real ones, with a parrot and a crutch
Pirate flags
In addition to the standard black flag with a skull and bones, there were many different versions of the pirate flag, which could even be used to determine what was happening on the ship. For example, a simple black flag without a design meant a dead crew member, an hourglass meant a ship on a long sea voyage, a wounded heart meant danger. The flag shown above was the property of the famous pirate Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
Age of pirates
The average age of the pirates was about 25 years (of course, there were exceptions in both directions). A lot of them were bought in ports for a pittance, some in the past were ordinary sailors who decided to make money, because it was very difficult to live on an official salary, besides, the freedom provided also meant a lot. Some pirate ship owners started quite legally, with the transport of goods, but over time they took up this craft. During wartime, pirate ships were often hired to supplement the official navy.
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Pirate treasures
The treasures allegedly hidden by pirates have excited the imagination of treasure hunters at all times, but so far only one pirate ship with gold has been found - The Whydah. Usually pirates divided the loot among themselves (it took a lot of time on sea voyages) and spent money pretty quickly in the nearest port. In a ship named Whydah (widow) found at the bottom of the sea, treasures from fifty robbed ships were found, which amounted to more than 20 thousand pounds (as you can see, not so much, even in terms of that hard time).
Pirate democracy
The legend is beautiful, but unconfirmed. Another option - a person was allowed to walk on the board "into the sea" until he fell into the water. Perhaps very rarely it happened that way, but the crew of the pirate ship was usually not so bloodthirsty - fateful decisions, such as the choice / re-election of a captain or financial issues, were decided by voting (democracy!), And the majority won. Therefore, it was customary for pirate ship captains to be overthrown through elections, not through long knife battles or walking on an unstable board over the sea.
Racism and pirates
While slavery was practiced in the world, and the life of a slave was worth nothing, a real black freeman reigned on pirate ships - it is known that up to 60% of the crew on Blackbeard's ships were black. The captains of the ships took in fugitive slaves, for them the main thing was that a person should do his part well on the ship. and who he was and from whom he ran away, usually no one cared. There was, however, an exception - women were not allowed on the ship as pirates. However, it was not difficult for a desperate girl to change into a man's dress, and at least two cases are known when this deception was revealed, and desperate pirates turned out to be women. How many of these female pirates were actually unknown …
Pirate Democracy 2
Despite the aforementioned "democracy", in a number of cases pirates captured and held adults by force. This category usually included doctors and carpenters, who were the most valuable specialists on the ship. At the same time, they were forced to sign documents under threat of death, according to which they became crew members. Among the advantages of this situation are the right to receive a part of the loot, the right to vote and the right to "career growth."
Looting and chasing
The pirate life was not always interesting and exciting, sometimes it was just boring. For fun. pirates, as usual, got drunk, gambled, which was forbidden on many ships, sang and danced. Once, on the above-mentioned ship Whydah, the pirates decided to have fun and arranged something like "Zarnitsa", as a result of which one of the pirates had to be "killed" for his crimes. A group of drunken "colleagues" did not understand what was happening and began to beat off their comrade. With the help of grenades, at the cost of broken limbs and a murdered "judge", they freed the prisoner and suddenly found out that it was just a game. Oops …