Are there any pirates at this time. Pirates of the 21st century: some facts about modern piracy (Video). From the depths of centuries

Contrary to popular belief, the life of pirates was strictly regulated. Gambling, fighting, drunkenness were prohibited on the ship. Failure to comply with orders was severely punished. For the appearance on board of a woman, the culprit was expected to be hanged. Those who arbitrarily left the ship or their place during the battle were sentenced to death or landing on a desert island.

When recruiting a team, the captain drew up a contract, which spelled out all aspects of joint fishing. Pirates were based on the islands, often creating a kind of "republic", the most famous of which is Tortuga. There was also an unwritten code of conduct on land that regulated the life of sea robbers. The pirates did not mint their money, preferring to use the loot, not only piastres.

The well-known pirate and writer Alexander Exkvemelin, who "earned money" by sea robbery in 1667 - 1672 in the book "Pirates of America", wrote that gentlemen of fortune help each other. If a pirate has nothing, he is supplied with what he needs, waiting for payment for a long time. The members of the pirate brotherhood were judged by themselves, considering each case individually. The captain of the ship was an inviolable figure, his power was absolute, as long as he did not make a mistake in the eyes of the crew, which could take their lives for it.

Equality and brotherhood did not extend to the division of booty. Team members who did not directly participate in the battle received fewer brethren. The owner of the vessel received half of all production. The captain was entitled to 2-3 shares, his assistants received 1.75 shares each; newcomers participating in battle for the first time were content with a quarter share. Moreover, at first the prey was put in a common pile. After that, the captain carried out the distribution, taking into account the need to have money to repair the ship, replenish stocks of provisions, gunpowder, bullets and nuclei.

The division did not concern trophy weapons - everything that you took in battle is yours. For severe injuries, compensation was due, about 400 ducats. The famous English navigator and pirate Henry Morgan diversified payments: the right hand cost 600 pesos, the left hand or right leg - 500 pesos, 400 pesos for the loss of the left leg, 100 pesos for the loss of the eye. In 1600, one peso was equal to about 50 modern pounds sterling. Medicines and medical care were highly valued. Even Blackbeard, merciless to opponents, got three doctors for his team.

Those who wanted to "tie up" with piracy had to pay the team 10,000 in any currency.

The peak of maritime robberies came in the 17th century, when the World Ocean was the scene of a struggle between Spain, England and some other European colonial powers gaining momentum. Most often, pirates made their living by independent criminal robberies, but some of them ended up in public service and purposefully harmed foreign fleets. Below is a list of the ten most famous pirates in history.

1. William Kidd

William Kidd (January 22, 1645 – May 23, 1701) was a Scottish sailor who was convicted and executed for piracy after returning from a voyage to the Indian Ocean where he was supposed to hunt pirates. It is considered one of the most cruel and bloodthirsty sea robbers of the seventeenth century. The hero of many mysterious stories. Some modern historians, such as Sir Cornelius Neil Dalton, consider his pirate reputation to be unfair.

2. Bartholomew Roberts

Bartholomew Roberts (May 17, 1682 - February 17, 1722) was a Welsh pirate who robbed about 200 ships (according to another version, 400 ships) in the vicinity of Barbados and Martinique in two and a half years. Known primarily as the opposite of the traditional image of a pirate. He was always well dressed, had refined manners, hated drunkenness and gambling, and treated well the crew of the ships he captured. He was killed by cannon shot during a battle with a British warship.

3. Blackbeard

Blackbeard or Edward Teach (1680 - November 22, 1718) - an English pirate who hunted in the Caribbean in 1716-1718. He liked to strike terror into his enemies. During the battle, Tich weaved incendiary wicks into his beard and in clouds of smoke, like Satan from hell, burst into the ranks of the enemy. Due to his unusual appearance and eccentric behavior, history made him one of the most famous pirates, despite the fact that his "career" was rather short, and his success and scale of activity were much smaller compared to his other colleagues from this list.

4. Jack Rackham

Jack Rackham (December 21, 1682 - November 17, 1720) was an English pirate who became famous primarily for the fact that his team included two more equally famous corsairs, female pirates Anne Bonnie, nicknamed the "mistress of the seas" and Mary Read.

5. Charles Vane

Charles Vane (1680 – 29 March 1721) was an English pirate who robbed ships between 1716 and 1721 in North American waters. Notorious for his extreme cruelty. As the story goes, Wayne was not given to such feelings as compassion, pity and sympathy, he easily broke his own promises, did not respect other pirates and did not at all consider anyone's opinion. The meaning of his life was only prey.

6. Edward England

Edward England (1685 - 1721) - a pirate active off the coast of Africa and in the waters of the Indian Ocean from 1717 to 1720. He differed from other pirates of that time in that he did not kill prisoners, unless absolutely necessary. This eventually led his crew to mutiny when he refused to kill sailors from yet another captured English merchant ship. Subsequently, England was landed in Madagascar, where he survived for some time by begging, and eventually died.

7. Samuel Bellamy

Samuel Bellamy, nicknamed Black Sam (February 23, 1689 - April 26, 1717) was a great English sailor and pirate who hunted in the early 18th century. Although his career spanned just over a year, he and his crew captured at least 53 ships, making Black Sam the richest pirate in history. Bellamy was also known for his mercy and generosity towards those he captured in his raids.

8. Saida al-Hurra

Saida al-Hurra (1485 - circa 14 July 1561) - last queen of Tetouan (Morocco) who ruled between 1512–1542, pirate In alliance with the Ottoman corsair Aruj Barbarossa of Algeria, al-Hura controlled the Mediterranean. She became famous for her fight against the Portuguese. It is rightfully considered one of the most prominent women of the Islamic west of the modern era. The date and exact circumstances of her death are unknown.

9. Thomas Tew

Thomas Tew (1649 - September 1695) was an English privateer and pirate who made only two major piracy voyages, a route later known as the Pirate's Circle. He was killed in 1695 while trying to rob the Mughal ship Fateh Muhammad.

10 Steed Bonnet

Steed Bonnet (1688 - December 10, 1718) - an outstanding English pirate, nicknamed "pirate gentleman". Interestingly, before Bonnet turned to piracy, he was a fairly wealthy, educated and respected man who owned a plantation in Barbados.

11. Madame Shi

Madame Shi or Lady Zheng is one of the most famous female pirates in the world. After the death of her husband, she inherited his pirate flotilla and put sea robbery on a grand scale. Under her command were two thousand ships and seventy thousand people. The most severe discipline helped her to command the whole army. For example, for unauthorized absence from the ship, the offender lost his ear. Not all of Madame Shi's subordinates were happy with this state of affairs, and one of the captains once rebelled and went over to the side of the authorities. After the power of Madame Shi was weakened, she agreed to a truce with the emperor and subsequently lived to a ripe old age in freedom, managing a brothel.

12. Francis Drake

Francis Drake is one of the most famous pirates in the world. Actually, he was not a pirate, but a corsair who operated on the seas and oceans against enemy ships by special permission of Queen Elizabeth. Devastating the coasts of Central and South America, he became immensely rich. Drake accomplished many great deeds: he opened the strait, which he named after himself, under his command the British fleet defeated the Great Armada. Since then, one of the ships of the English navy has been named after the famous navigator and corsair Francis Drake.

13. Henry Morgan

The list of the most famous pirates would be incomplete without the name of Henry Morgan. Despite the fact that he was born into a wealthy family of an English landowner, from his youth Morgan connected his life with the sea. He was hired on one of the ships as a cabin boy and was soon sold into slavery in Barbados. He managed to get to Jamaica, where Morgan joined a gang of pirates. Several successful campaigns allowed him and his comrades to acquire a ship. Morgan was chosen as captain, and it was a good decision. A few years later, under his command there were 35 ships. With such a fleet, he managed to capture Panama in a day and burn the entire city. Since Morgan acted mainly against Spanish ships and pursued an active English colonial policy, after his arrest, the pirate was not executed. On the contrary, for the services rendered to Britain in the struggle against Spain, Henry Morgan received the post of Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. The famous corsair died at the age of 53 from cirrhosis of the liver.

14. Edward Teach

Edward Teach, or Blackbeard, is one of the most famous pirates in the world. Almost everyone heard his name. Lived and engaged in sea robbery Tich in the heyday of the golden age of piracy. Entering the service at the age of 12, he gained valuable experience, which was then useful to him in the future. According to historians, Teach participated in the War of the Spanish Succession, and after it ended, he deliberately decided to become a pirate. The glory of a ruthless filibuster helped Blackbeard capture ships without the use of weapons - when he saw his flag, the victim surrendered without a fight. The cheerful life of a pirate did not last long - Tich died during a boarding battle with a British warship pursuing him.

15. Henry Avery

The most famous pirate in history is Henry Avery, nicknamed Lanky Ben. The father of the future famous buccaneer was a captain in the British Navy. From childhood, Avery dreamed of sea voyages. He began his career in the Navy as a cabin boy. Then Avery was appointed first mate on a corsair frigate. The ship's crew soon rebelled, and the first mate was proclaimed captain of the pirate ship. So Avery took the path of piracy. He became famous for capturing the ships of Indian pilgrims heading to Mecca. The booty of pirates was unheard of at that time: 600 thousand pounds and the daughter of the Great Mogul, whom Avery later officially married. How the life of the famous filibuster ended is unknown.

16. Amaro Pargo

Amaro Pargo is one of the most famous filibusters of the golden age of piracy. Pargo was engaged in the transportation of slaves and made a fortune on this. Wealth allowed him to do charity work. Lived to a respectable age.

17. Aruj Barbarossa

Famous powerful pirate from Turkey. He was characterized by cruelty, ruthlessness, love of bullying and executions. He was involved in piracy with his brother Khair. The pirates of Barbarossa were the menace of the entire Mediterranean. So, in 1515, the entire Agiers coast was under the rule of Aruja Barbarossa. The battles under his command were sophisticated, bloody and victorious. Aruj Barbarossa died during the battle, surrounded by enemy troops in Tlemcen.

18. William Dampier

Sailor from England. By vocation, he was a researcher and discoverer. Made 3 trips around the world. He became a pirate in order to have the means to engage in his research activities - the study of the direction of winds and currents in the ocean. William Dampier is the author of such books as Travels and Descriptions, A New Journey Around the World, Direction of the Winds. An archipelago in the northwest coast of Australia is named after him, as well as a strait between the western coast of New Guinea and Waigeo Island.

19. Grace O'Malle

Female pirate, legendary captain, lady of fortune. Her life was full of colorful adventures. Grace possessed heroic courage, unprecedented determination and a high talent for piracy. For enemies, she was a nightmare, for adherents, an object of admiration. Despite the fact that she had three children from her first marriage and 1 child from her second, Grace O'Malle continued her favorite business. Her activities were so successful that Queen Elizabeth I herself offered Grace to serve her, which she received a decisive refusal.

20 . Ann Bonnie

Anne Bonny, one of the few women who excelled in piracy, grew up in a wealthy mansion and received a good education. However, when her father decided to marry her off, she ran away from home with a simple sailor. Some time later, Ann Bonnie met the pirate Jack Rackham and he took her on his ship. According to eyewitnesses, in courage and ability to fight, Bonnie was not inferior to male pirates.

Incredible Pirate Facts

1. In the 18th century, the Bahamas were a haven for pirates.

The Bahamas, today a respectable resort, and its capital, the city of Nassau, were once the capital of maritime lawlessness. In the 17th century, the Bahamas, which formally belonged to the British crown, did not have a governor, and the pirates took over the reins of power. At that time, more than a thousand sea robbers lived in the Bahamas, and squadrons of the most famous pirate captains moored in the harbors of the island. The pirates preferred to call the city of Nassau Charlestown in their own way. Peace returned to the Bahamas only in 1718, when British troops landed in the Bahamas and regained control of Nassau.

2. The Jolly Roger is not the only pirate flag.

The "Jolly Roger" - a black flag with a skull and crossbones - is often called the main pirate symbol. But it is not so. It is rather the most famous and spectacular. However, it was not used as often as is commonly believed. As a pirate flag, it appeared only in the 17th century, that is, already at the end of the golden era of piracy. And by no means all pirates used it, since each captain himself decided under which flag he would raid. So, along with the "Jolly Roger", there were dozens of pirate flags, and the skull and crossbones among them did not stand out at all as particularly popular.

3. Why did pirates wear earrings?

Books and films do not lie: pirates almost without exception wore earrings. They were even part of a pirate initiation ritual: young pirates received an earring the first time they crossed the equator or passed Cape Horn. The fact is that among the pirates there was a belief that an earring in the ear helps to preserve vision and even helps to cure blindness. It was this pirate superstition that led to the massive fashion for earrings among the pirates. Some have even tried to use them for a dual purpose, casting an anti-drowning spell on the earring. Also, an earring taken from the ear of a murdered pirate could guarantee a decent funeral for the deceased.

4. There were a lot of female pirates

Oddly enough, women in pirate crews were not such a rare occurrence. Even female captains were few and far between. The most famous of them are the Chinese Cheng Yi Sao, Mary Reed and, of course, the famous Ann Bonnie. Ann was born into the family of a wealthy Irish lawyer. From an early age, her parents dressed her like a boy so that she could help her father in the office as a clerk. The boring life of an assistant lawyer did not appeal to Ann, and she ran away from home, nailed to the pirates and quickly became a captain thanks to her determination. According to rumors, Ann Bonnie had a quick temper and often beat her assistants if they tried to challenge her opinion.

5. Why are there so many one-eyed pirates?

Everyone who watched a movie about pirates must have thought at least once: why are there so many one-eyed among them? The eye patch has long been an indispensable part of the pirate image. However, the pirates wore it not at all because they completely lacked an eye. It was just convenient for quick and more accurate aiming in battle, and it took too long to put it on for battle - it was more comfortable to wear it without taking it off.

6 Pirate Ships Had Tough Discipline

Pirates could do any indecency on the shore, but strict discipline reigned on board pirate ships, because the life of sea robbers depended on it. Each pirate, entering the ship, signed a contract with the captain, stipulating his rights and obligations. The main duties were unquestioning obedience to the captain. Even a simple pirate had no right to contact the commander directly. This could be done at the insistence of the sailors only by the appointed representative of the team - as a rule, the boatswain. In addition, the contract strictly determined the part of the booty received by the pirate, and an immediate execution was due for an attempt to hide the captured - this was done to avoid bloody showdowns on board.

7. Among the pirates were representatives of all walks of life

Among the sea robbers were not only the poor who went to sea for lack of other means of subsistence, or fugitive criminals who did not know the possibility of legal earnings at all. Among them were people from rich and even noble families. For example, the famous pirate William Kidd - Captain Kidd - was the son of a Scottish nobleman. He was originally an officer in the British Navy and a pirate hunter. But the innate cruelty and passion for adventure pushed him onto a different path. In 1698, under cover of the French flag, Kidd captured a British merchant ship loaded with gold and silver. When the first prize was so impressive - could Kidd refuse to continue his career?

8 Buried Pirate Treasures Are Legends

There are many legends about buried pirate treasures - much more than the treasures themselves. Of the famous pirates, only one is reliably known that he actually buried the treasure - this was done by William Kidd, hoping to use them as a ransom if he was caught. It did not help him - after the capture, he was immediately executed as a pirate. Usually, pirates did not leave behind large fortunes. The expenses of the pirates were great, the crews were numerous, and each member of the crew, including the captain, was succeeded by one of his fellow colleagues. At the same time, realizing that their age is short, the pirates preferred to squander money, rather than hide it in the views of a very unreliable future.

9. Walking a yardarm was a rare punishment.

Judging by the films, the most common method of execution among pirates was the "yard walk", in which a man with his hands tied was forced to walk on a thin yard until he fell overboard and drowned. In fact, such a punishment was rare and was only applied to sworn personal enemies - to see their fear or panic. The traditional punishment was “dragging under the keel”, when a pirate punished for disobedience or an obstinate prisoner was lowered overboard with the help of ropes and dragged under the bottom of the ship, pulling it out from the back side. A good swimmer during the punishment could easily not choke, but the body of the punished turned out to be so cut up with shells. stuck to the bottom, that recovery took long weeks. The punished could easily die, and, again, more from wounds than from drowning.

10. Pirates have sailed all the seas

After the movie Pirates of the Caribbean, many believe that the seas of Central America were the nest of world piracy. In fact, piracy was equally prevalent in all regions - from Britain, whose privateers, pirates in the royal service, terrified European ships, to Southeast Asia, where piracy remained a real force until the twentieth century. And the raids of the northern peoples on the cities of Ancient Rus' along the rivers were real pirate raids!

11. Piracy as a way to make a living

In difficult times, many hunters, shepherds and lumberjacks went to the pirates not for adventure, but for a banal piece of bread. This was especially true for the inhabitants of the countries of Central America, where in the 17th-18th centuries there was an endless battle of European powers for colonies. Constant armed skirmishes deprived people not only of work, but also of their homes, and the inhabitants of seaside settlements knew the maritime business from childhood. So they went to where they had a chance to be full and not think too much about tomorrow.

12. Not all pirates were outlaws.

State piracy is a phenomenon that has existed since ancient times. Barbary corsairs served the Ottoman Empire, Dunker privateers were in the service of Spain, and Britain, in the era of dominion over the ocean, kept a whole fleet of privateers - warships that captured enemy merchant ships - and privateers - private individuals engaged in the same trade. Despite the fact that state pirates were engaged in the same trade as their free brothers, the difference in their position was huge. Captured pirates were subject to immediate execution, while a corsair with the appropriate patent could count on the status of a prisoner of war, a quick ransom and a state award - like Henry Morgan, who received the post of governor of Jamaica for his corsair service.

13. Pirates still exist today

Today's pirates are armed with modern machine guns instead of boarding sabers, and modern speedboats are preferred to sailing ships. However, they act as decisively and ruthlessly as their ancient predecessors. The Gulf of Aden, the Strait of Malacca and the coastal waters of the island of Madagascar are considered the most dangerous places in terms of pirate attacks, and civilian ships are advised not to enter there without an armed escort.

7 most feared pirates in history

With the advent of the famous Jack Sparrow, pirates have become such cartoon characters of modern pop culture. And that's why it's easy to forget that real sea robbers were more formidable than their Hollywood parody. They were brutal mass murderers and slave owners. In a word, they were pirates. Real pirates, not pathetic cartoons. As evidenced by the following...

1. Francois Olone

The French pirate Francois Olonet hated Spain with all his heart. At the beginning of his pirating career, Olone almost died at the hands of Spanish marauders, but instead of reconsidering his life and becoming, say, a farmer, he decided to devote himself to hunting the Spaniards. He clearly expressed his attitude towards this people after he beheaded the entire crew of a Spanish ship that fell in his way, with the exception of a single person, whom he sent to his brethren to convey the following words: “From this day forward, not a single Spaniard will receive from me not a cent."

But these were only flowers. Considering what happened next, we can say that the beheaded Spaniards still got off lightly.

Having earned a reputation as a cutthroat, Olone gathered eight pirate ships and several hundred people under his command and went to terrorize the coast of South America, destroying Spanish cities, capturing ships bound for Spain, and generally delivering a severe headache to this state.

Nevertheless, luck abruptly turned away from Olone when, returning from another raid on the coast of Venezuela, he was ambushed by outnumbered Spanish soldiers. Explosions rumbled here and there, the pirates flew to pieces, and Olona barely managed to escape from this meat grinder, capturing several hostages along the way. But this was not the end of his difficulties, because Olona and his team still needed to leave the enemy territory alive and not run into another ambush, which they simply would not have beaten off.

What did Olone do? He took out a saber, slashed one of the Spanish hostages across the chest, pulled out his heart and "bited into it with his teeth like a greedy wolf, telling the others:" The same awaits you if you do not show me the way out.

The intimidation worked, and the pirates were soon out of danger. If you're curious about what happened to the headless Spaniards we mentioned earlier... well, let's put it this way: for a week the pirates ate like kings.

2. Jean Lafitte

Despite his effeminate name and French origin, Jean Lafitte was the true king of the pirates. He had his own island in Louisiana, he robbed ships and smuggled stolen goods into New Orleans. Lafitte was so successful that when the governor of Louisiana offered $300 for his capture ($300 was half the country's budget in those days), the pirate responded by offering $1,000 for the capture of the governor himself.

Newspapers and authorities portrayed Lafitte as a dangerous and brutal criminal and mass murderer, a kind of Osama bin Laden of the 1800s, if you will. Apparently, his fame crossed the Atlantic Ocean, since in 1814 Lafitte was given a letter signed personally by King George III, who offered the pirate British citizenship and lands if he took their side. He also promised that he would not destroy his little island and sell it piece by piece. Lafitte asked to give him a few days to think ... and in the meantime he hurried straight to New Orleans to warn the Americans of the British advance.

So, maybe the United States did not like Jean Lafitte, but Lafitte the United States was like family.

Although he was not an American, Lafitte treated the new country with respect and even ordered his fleet not to attack American ships. One pirate who disobeyed his order was personally killed by Lafitte. In addition, the privateer treated the hostages well and sometimes returned their ships if they were not suitable for piracy. The people of New Orleans considered Lafitte almost a hero, since the contraband he brought in allowed people to buy things they otherwise could not afford.

So, how did the American authorities react to the news of a future British attack? They attacked the island of Lafitte and captured his people, because they thought that he was simply lying. Only after future President Andrew Jackson intervened, noting that New Orleans was not ready to endure a British attack, did the authorities agree to release Lafitte's men on the condition that they agree to help their navy.

It can be said that it was only thanks to the pirates that the Americans managed to defend New Orleans, which otherwise could have been a significant strategic victory for the British. In this city, the latter could gather their forces before attacking the rest of the country. Just think: if not for this unwashed French "terrorist", the States might not exist today.

3. Stephen Decatur

Stephen Decatur does not fit the typical pirate image in that he was a fairly respected officer in the US Navy. Decatur became the youngest captain in the history of the Navy, which would be a ridiculous fiction if it weren't true. He was recognized as a national hero, and for a time his portrait even flaunted on the twenty-dollar bill.

How did he achieve such popularity? Having organized some of the most epic and bloody raids in history.

For example, when Tripolitan pirates captured the frigate Philadelphia in 1803, 25-year-old Decatur gathered a group of men dressed as Maltese sailors and armed only with swords and pikes, and entered the enemy harbor. There, without losing a single person, he captured the enemies and set fire to the frigate so that the pirates could not use it. Admiral Horatio Nelson called this raid "the most daring and audacious adventure of the century."

But that is not all. Later, returning from the capture of another ship, the crew of which was twice the number of Decatur's crew, the man learned that his brother had been mortally wounded in a fight with pirates. Although his crew were exhausted from the recent raid, Decatur turned the ship around and chased the enemy ship, which he and ten other men later boarded.

Ignoring the others, Decatur rushed straight to the man who had shot his brother and killed him. The rest of the team eventually gave up. Thus, in one day, the young man took 27 hostages and killed 33 pirates.

He was only 25 years old.

4. Ben Hornigold

Benjamin Hornigold was Emperor Palpatine for Blackbeard. While his protégé became the most famous pirate in history, Hornigold was forever a footnote in books about Edward Titch.

Hornigold began his career as a pirate in the Bahamas; then he had only a couple of small boats at his disposal. However, a few years later, Hornigold sailed on a huge 30-gun warship, thanks to which it became much easier for him to engage in sea robbery. So much easier that, apparently, the privateer began to rob solely for the sake of fun.

Once, for example, in Honduras, Hornigold boarded a merchant ship, but all he demanded from the crew was their hats. He explained his demand by the fact that last night his team got very drunk and lost their hats. Having received what he wanted, Hornigold boarded his ship and sailed away, leaving the merchants with their goods.

And this was not the only case. On another occasion, a team of sailors captured by Hornigold said that the pirate released them, taking only "a little rum, sugar, gunpowder and ammunition."

Alas, his crew did not seem to share their captain's views. Hornigold always considered himself a "privateer" rather than a pirate, and to prove this, he refused to attack British ships. Such a position did not find support from the sailors, and in the end Hornigold was removed, and a good part of his crew and ships went to Blackbeard. Before he lost his head.

Hornigold left the life of a pirate, accepted a royal pardon and took up the other side, hunting for those with whom he once hung out.

5. William Dampier

Englishman William Dampier used to achieve a lot. Not wanting to be content with the status of the first person to travel around the world three times, as well as a recognized author and research scientist, he had a small business on the side - he plundered Spanish settlements and plundered other people's ships. All this in the name of science, of course.

Pop culture tries hard to convince us that all pirates were toothless and illiterate bums, but Dampier was the exact opposite: he not only respected the English language, but also filled it with new words. The Oxford English Dictionary refers to Dampier more than a thousand times in its articles, since it was his pen that wrote examples of such words as "barbecue", "avocado", "chopsticks" and hundreds of others.

Dampier was recognized as Australia's first naturalist, and his contribution to Western culture is simply invaluable. It was from his observations that Darwin repelled, working on the theory of evolution, and he is also mentioned in a laudatory tone in Gulliver's Travels.

However, his most striking achievement did not concern literature or science. In 1688, when his first trip around the world was almost over, Dampier sent his team away and landed somewhere on the coast of Thailand. There he boarded a canoe and sailed home on his own. Dampier landed on the English coast only three years later; he had nothing but a diary... and a tattooed slave.

6. Black Bart

In the XVII-XVIII centuries, sailing on military or merchant ships was an extremely thankless task. The working conditions were disgusting, and if you suddenly pissed off an elder, the punishment that followed was extremely cruel and often led to death. As a result, no one wanted to become sailors, so the military and merchants had to literally kidnap people from ports and force them to work on their ships. It is clear that this method of hiring did not arouse in the sailors any special loyalty to the cause and to their superiors.

Bartholomew Roberts (or simply "Black Bart") himself became a pirate by force, which, however, does not make him worse than others. Roberts worked on a slave trader's ship that was hijacked by pirates. When they invited sailors to join them, he agreed without hesitation. Although there is a possibility that the robbers also threatened to kill him if he did not go with them. Due to his high intelligence and talent in navigation, Roberts quickly gained the captain's trust. When the latter was killed, he (by that time he had lived with the pirates for only half a year) was elected to his place.

Roberts became a prominent pirate, but apparently never forgot where he came from. Having boarded some ship, he, before engaging in profit, asked the captured sailors whether the captain and officers treated them well. If someone from the commanding staff received a complaint, Roberts ruthlessly cracked down on the guilty. By the way, other pirates also practiced this. although their punishments were more sophisticated.

Roberts, being a civilized man, eventually forced his crew (the one that had previously captured him) to follow a rigid 11-point code of conduct, among which were: no gambling, no women on board, blackout at eight o'clock evenings and obligatory washing of dirty bed linen.

7. Barbarossa

In movies and TV shows, a pirate can be considered lucky if they have at least one ship and a crew of a couple of dozen people. But as it turned out, some real pirates were much luckier in life. So, the Turkish pirate Hayreddin Barbarossa had not only his own fleet, but also his own state.

Barbarossa started out as an ordinary merchant, but after an unsuccessful political decision (he supported the wrong candidate for sultans), he was forced to leave the Eastern Mediterranean. Having become a pirate, Barbarossa began to attack Christian ships in the area of ​​​​what is now Tunisia, until the enemies captured his base, leaving him homeless. Tired of being constantly kicked out, Barbarossa founded his own state, known as the Regency of Algiers (the territory of modern Algeria, Tunisia and parts of Morocco). He succeeded thanks to an alliance with the Turkish Sultan, who in exchange for support provided him with ships and weapons.

Close your eyes and imagine a pirate. Does he wear an eye patch, bury gold, and abuse the "P"? If so, then we hasten to inform you that the image of pirates, as Hollywood portrays it for us, is not just wrong - in reality, they are sometimes even more picturesque.

6. Pirates talk… well, like pirates

Myth:

The growl of pirates came to life thanks to decades of cartoons and feature films, where each pirate was supposed to growl, imitating a bloodthirsty barmaley. Except when you happen to be Johnny Depp. In this case, you are supposed to speak with Depp's intonations.

Of course, we understand that the "pirate accent" that we hear in all these pirated films is somewhat exaggerated, but it's based on something, right?

Is it true:

Phrases such as "Damn me" and traditional songs like the pirate "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest" were coined by Robert Louis Stevenson for his novel Treasure Island, published in 1883, 150 years after the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. By the way, more than 90 percent of all pirate myths come from the same book: one-legged pirates, squawking parrots, drunken brawls... they all originate from Treasure Island.

Yes, pirates did occasionally lose limbs in combat, but Stevenson was the first to put all the elements together to create the popular image of the pirate.

How about a growling voice? It actually comes from an accent from the southwest of England. In 1950, Disney adapted Treasure Island, where Robert Newton played a pirate, somewhat overdoing it with a rolling "r". Two years later, Newton used the same accent in Blackbeard, starting a now common stereotype.

So what did “pirate talk” actually sound like? In reality, there was no "pirate dialect". Pirate crews consisted of such a diverse audience and rabble from different countries who spoke a variety of languages, not to mention a variety of dialects and accents, that it was absolutely impossible to create any special, "pirate dialect".

5. Instead of a missing eye, pirates wore an eyepatch

Myth:

The eye patch is the most recognizable feature of a pirate. In every movie about pirates, at least one member of the crew will definitely wear such an armband. Like that goofy pirate with the wooden eye in Pirates of the Caribbean.

With all those bandages, peg legs and hooked arms, pirate movies try to convince us that as a pirate you are bound to be lucky enough to lose an eye or at least one of your limbs. Sometimes screenwriters overdo it in creating the image of a pirate that he becomes like a walking stool.

Don't argue with pirates

But why do pirates have a greater chance of losing, for example, an eye than, say, a Viking?

Is it true:

It appears that the only reason the pirates wore an eyepatch over their other eye was to keep one of their eyes permanently dark-adjusted when they were moored to another ship. If this theory is correct, then they wore bandages only before and during the raid.

Judge for yourself: the pirate had to fight and loot both on deck and below it, and since artificial lighting was rare then, it was rather dark in the hold. And in order to get used to the twilight of the hold, the human eye may need several minutes, which in the heat of battle, you see, is not very convenient.

Of course, we do not know if this is the main reason for such an abundance of armbands among the pirate brethren, but this assumption makes much more sense than just “and somehow in one of the troubles he lost an eye”, or “they liked to drink tea, and sometimes they forgot to take the spoon out of the glass.” It would be much more plausible for a pirate to sacrifice his peripheral vision than to lose his vision altogether. You can try it yourself, put an eye patch on for the next half hour, and then, imagining yourself climbing into the hold of a pirate, go to the toilet.

In fact, this method is so convenient that it is still used by the US military today. Instructions for operations at night recommend keeping one eye closed in bright light in order to maintain the ability to see in the dark.

4. All pirate ships have a skull and crossbones flag.

Myth:

The classic Jolly Roger has become so associated with piracy that it is not even necessary to write the word "pirate" itself, and so everything is clear. This pirate attribute is necessarily used in literally every movie about pirates.

Sometimes the bones are replaced by two crossed sabers, like Barbossa in Pirates of the Caribbean, but for the most part, it's always a skull and crossbones (sabers).

Image: The flag industry in Barbossa's time was surprisingly high-tech

But it does make sense, right? The purpose of the pirates was to scare the crap out of the sailors, and while they shake the gravy out of the frayed underpants, freely move their precious loot.

Is it true:

In fact, if you see a pirate ship approaching you and you see a black flag flying, consider yourself lucky - the pirates tend to spare you. The real "battle flag" wore a decidedly more minimal "just red" design. Historians believe that the term Jolly Roger (English "Jolly Roger") comes from "jolie rouge", which in French means "red" or "reddish".

In addition, the design of the black ensign varied greatly from ship to ship, with only a few captains using a skull and crossbones, notably Edward England and Christopher Condent. And, for example, the pirate Blackbeard used a strange flag with a skeleton holding an hourglass and piercing a bleeding heart.

In general, hourglasses were a very common element on pirate flags, as they symbolize the inevitability of death. Captains Walter Kennedy and Jean Dulayen also used watches, although in their case the watch was held by a naked man holding a sword in his other hand:

And some, like Thomas Tew, were too lazy to depict mysterious signs on the flags, being satisfied with a poorly painted hand holding a dagger:

However, most pirates did not practice such art at all, limiting themselves to either all black or all red flags.

By the way, the Florida Museum has one of only two authentic pirate flags that have survived to this day. In this case, it looks like it should, in accordance with our ideas:

3. Sailors who are disillusioned with an honest lifestyle become pirates.

Myth:

Judging by popular sources about the life of pirates, their whole life was robbery, battles and the accumulation of trophies, so the decision to join their party was entirely based on your inclination to this lifestyle.

Is it true:

In fact, the bulk of the pirates were honest sailors who abandoned their jobs because the conditions were appalling. Only a small part of them became pirates because they liked being outlaws. The work of a sailor in the time of pirates was one of the most disgusting that one can imagine, and if they lived under British law, most of them did not even have to subscribe to it - the Royal Navy simply kidnapped them.

Seriously, at one point half the British fleet was made up of people forcibly recruited by hired thugs who prowled the ports, looking for those who had a full set of limbs. Forced recruits were paid less than volunteers (if they were paid at all), and they were chained to the ship while it was in port.

That is, in addition to storms, high population density per square meter of deck and tropical diseases, which made the already unsweetened life of sailors even less attractive. As a result, 75 percent of those recruited died within the next two years. So when pirates took over their ship and offered them the life of a pirate as an alternative to death and permanent humiliation, most of them said, "to hell with it!". In pirate films, there is always a clear distinction between clean and law-abiding sailors and nasty, dirty and flawed pirates. In real life, they were essentially one and the same.

Pirates didn't have an institute of sloppiness, so if you were smart enough, you could very soon make a career as a successful pirate, as, for example, in the case of Black Bart, a sailor who was captured by pirates, and after only 6 weeks he became their captain.

2. Pirates preferred to bury their treasure

Myth:

This seems to be the main occupation that pirates do, right? Loot treasure, bury it in a chest, bury it somewhere, and then draw a map so you don't forget where they buried it. According to RPG games, the whole world is littered with treasure chests that the owners forgot about.

Pirates of the Caribbean showed us that the life of a pirate wasn't just about digging and searching for treasure, but they were still quite an important part of the story. Well, they couldn't completely ignore the cornerstone of the pirate existence, because pirates actually did that in real life.

Is it true:

Yes, the pirates buried their treasure... three times. But none of them bothered to draw a map, which means that such maps do not exist in nature.

Not only did treasure maps not exist, they simply weren't necessary, since the loot was found almost immediately. The first pirate we know to have buried his treasure was Sir Francis Drake, who in 1573 robbed a Spanish pack caravan carrying gold and silver and buried some of the loot along the road, because it was too heavy to transport in one trip. Apparently, the treasure was not very carefully hidden, because by the time they arrived for the remains, Drake and the team discovered that the Spaniards had found and dug up most of the precious stash.

Inside was a note, "Fuck you, Drake"

Another notorious pirate named Rosh Basigliano, under torture by the Spanish Inquisition, confessed to having buried more than a hundred thousand pesos near Cuba. Thanking for the tip, the tormentors killed him. Captain William Kidd is said to have buried some of the treasure near Long Island in 1699, but again, almost immediately after hiding the treasure was found by the authorities and used as evidence against him . That's all. If there were still buried treasures, then there is no one who could prove it.

However, rumors persist that Captain Kidd's treasure has never been found, enough to capture the imagination of writers and artists around the world.

The Kidd legend inspired Washington Irving's The Traveler in 1824, and Edgar Allan Poe's The Gold Bug, written in 1843, which sucked on the idea of ​​a pirate treasure map, among other things. Irving's work influenced Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, and this is how the misconception began to roam the world.

My meme will live on forever

1. Pirates robbed mostly gold

Myth:

In almost every pirate film, there are always mountains of pirate gold (remember the gold placers of the first "Pirates of the Caribbean").

Often the whole plot revolves around getting or keeping gold, like in Pirates, Polanski, or Cutthroat Island.

But pirates did indeed raid ships and rob the gold: this is a historical fact. Why else would they rob ships? What could be more important to a pirate than wealth?

Is it true:

How about soap? Or food? Candles, sewing tools and other outrageously vulgar household items? When pirates took over a ship, the loot was often banal salted fish or colony goods. But that was enough for them.

Wealth will not save you from hunger

Pirates are big fans of gold and silver, but even more they like not to starve to death in the middle of the ocean, or drown because they didn't have the necessary equipment to repair their ships. Being outside the law, they could not just go to the first port they came across and load up with everything they needed. They also raided to loot something boring like gunpowder and navigational tools. And for those who lived in the waters of a tropical climate, a chest with medicines was a real treasure.

And if they came across a lot of money (which sometimes did happen), they preferred to immediately squander it in pirate bays like Port Royal, rather than invest it wisely in something.

I'll take it to the Davy Jones investment fund

Since the beginning of the 21st century, ships from 62 countries of the world have been subjected to pirate attacks. More than a hundred groups are engaged in sea robbery. Why haven't they been defeated yet?

What kind of phenomenon is this - pirates in the XXI century? Why did Somalia become the base of modern pirates? Renat Irikovich Bekkin, senior researcher at the Institute for African Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences, lecturer at the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (U) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. He recently returned from a scientific trip to Somalia.

- Why did the pirates of the 21st century choose Somalia?

In fact, international sea robbery today takes place not only off the coast of Somalia. Gentlemen of Fortune from Southeast Asia, unlike their Somali counterparts, are extremely cruel. Compared to the pirates "working" in the Strait of Malacca, Somalis are harmless sheep, noble knights. And in the territorial waters of Indonesia, professional gangs are engaged in piracy. Do not disdain piracy and separatist partisans, as well as sailors and fishermen who have lost their jobs. Pirates are actively involved in smuggling activities.

But there are not so few poor countries in the world. In the same Africa. Why did piracy spread in Somalia? Indeed, since the beginning of the year, Somali pirates have seized over 30 ships. Are there any historical background for the spread of piracy in Somalia?

We can talk more about geographical than historical prerequisites. Ships going from the Red Sea to the Indian Ocean and back through the narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait cannot pass the Gulf of Aden and are a tasty morsel for lanky swarthy gentlemen from Somalia. Through the Gulf of Aden lies the path from Europe to South and East Asia, Australia. The aforementioned Strait of Malacca in Southeast Asia opens up no less opportunities for pirates - one of the busiest sea routes. And the numerous islands scattered in the inland seas of Indonesia are a paradise for pirate bases. And in Africa, Somalia is far from the only place where pirates operate. Among the places of their greatest activity, I would single out the coast of Nigeria and the south of the continent.

- What makes people become pirates? Who is he, a typical Somali pirate?

Whatever we say about pirate romance, piracy is based on poverty. Let's not forget that most of the once unified state of Somalia is dominated by the leaders of various clans and tribes.

UN employees complain: they send a cargo of humanitarian aid to Somalia, but before it reaches its destination, it is intercepted by representatives of other clans left deprived of food distribution.

Most Somali pirates are young people who are unable to find good jobs. For them, piracy is shrouded in a halo of romance. The opportunity to get involved in an interesting adventure and earn huge money at the same time, comparable to the pre-crisis Christmas bonuses of top managers from Wall Street, pushes young people into the ranks of gentlemen of fortune. According to my information, among the pirates there are no immigrants from Somaliland - a de facto independent state in the north of the Somali Peninsula. Somaliland has been living in peace and relative prosperity compared to other parts of the once unified state of Somalia since 1991, and therefore the profession of a pirate is not very popular here. Most of the pirates come from the Majertan and Hawiye clans, from Puntland, a buffer quasi-state in the northeast of the Somali Peninsula.

Somali pirates try not to shed the blood of captured crews, they treat them humanely. And this despite the fact that the low level of medical care has taught people to be calm about the prospect of their own premature death or the death of loved ones. By the way, as one of the justifications for piracy, the Somalis cite the following argument: foreign ships use the territorial waters of Somalia for free, and the people do not receive anything from this. As for the Faina ship, according to information leaked to the media, it was transporting weapons destined for the rebels in South Sudan, that is, it grossly violated the norms of international law. If this information is confirmed, then we can say that some criminals captured others.

- And what about the Caribbean Sea, which is familiar to fans of Hollywood?

The Caribbean Sea, as well as the entire American continent, according to the notorious Monroe Doctrine, is a zone of US strategic interests. Therefore, the pirate industry put on a grand scale in this area has no chance to exist. Although individual pirate attacks take place off the coast of South America.

The picture of the capture of the ship "Faina" amazes the modern viewer. Somali pirates on boats and fragile boats board a huge ship, the side of which exceeds the entire flotilla of gentlemen of fortune by 6-8 meters. "Faina" could have accelerated, and the pirates would not have had a single chance to stop her, why didn't this happen? What are the latest pirate technologies from Somalia's filibusters?

When I traveled around Somalia, I met people who could very well be pirates. In ordinary life, they can be civilians, have a peaceful profession, and in their free time trade in piracy. Somalis are an amazing people, I have never met such positive people. The man has nothing but a ramshackle wicker house and a dollar a day's food, but he beams with a smile. Skeptics say that the reason for this is khat - a narcotic grass that Somalis chew without exception. You chew this cat, and it becomes fun and carefree in your soul. But seriously, the fact that the crews of the ships they seize, as a rule, do not put up any resistance to them, certainly gives confidence to the pirates. Because sea robbers act with lightning speed. They suddenly attack the ship and actively fire on it from grenade launchers and machine guns. But even in those cases when it is possible to neutralize the pirates, they are soon released. (Many experts believe that representatives of local authorities and the police are covering for pirates, because they share their booty with them. - Approx. Ed.)

Special attitude in Somalia to the Russians. In the 70-80s. in Somalia they built a local model of socialism, and good relations were built between our countries. Especially before the Somali-Ethiopian war of 1977, where the Soviet Union had to take the side of Ethiopia. Many Somalis studied in the USSR. I met them during my trip to Somalia. This is, without any exaggeration, a white bone, a layer of the most educated people in the country.

In July of this year, the UN adopted a document allowing the navy of a third country to enter the territorial waters of Somalia and stop the activities of pirates. Is there a force now capable of bringing order to Somalia and putting an end to piracy?

As recent events have shown, the Somali Sharia Courts Union has proven its ability to bring order and curb crime. But as soon as they managed to gain a foothold and begin the unification of southern Somalia, the United States intervened in the situation, which, through the hands of Ethiopia, prevented the unification process in the country. The US interest is to prevent the creation of a single and strong Islamic state in Somalia. Ethiopia is also not interested in the revival of Somali statehood. After the death of more than 130 UN peacekeepers and the loss of about $3 billion in 1993 during Operation Restore Hope, the world community has no desire to get involved in a showdown between clans.

On October 1, the ambassador of the virtually non-existent state of Somalia announced that the Somali government would soon recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia. How do you rate this step?

From a tactical point of view, this may be a good move, but from a strategic point of view, it is sheer stupidity. The motives of the leadership of Somalia are clear. It makes this gesture of goodwill in the hope of getting support from Moscow. If Somalia recognizes Abkhazia and South Ossetia, then the US will have no reason not to recognize Somaliland, where the Americans have certain interests. And then it will be possible to put a big fat cross on the unity of Somalia.

* By the time the issue was signed, we had no new information about the fate of Faina and the crew.

Pirate seizures of ships in the 21st century

According to the International Anti-Piracy Center, since the beginning of the 21st century, ships from 62 countries of the world* have been attacked in the coastal seas of 56 countries. More than a hundred groups are engaged in sea robbery.

According to the classification of the International Maritime Organization, modern pirate groups are conditionally divided into three types:

1. Small groups (up to 5 people) armed with knives and pistols. They attack ships in the harbor or the open sea, using the element of surprise. They rob the ship's cash desk and passengers, reload part of the cargo onto their boats and boats. The total number is from 8-10 thousand people around the world.

2. Gangs (up to 30 people), armed with heavy machine guns, machine guns and grenade launchers, often kill the crew of a captured ship, take away the ship and cargo. The total number is about 300 thousand people worldwide.

3. International organized groups seize ships with especially valuable cargo (today it is oil and oil products). They have modern satellite navigation and communication facilities, a network of agents, cover in power structures. Most often, tankers, bulk carriers, container ships are robbed. Sometimes they attack private yachts. In 2001, there was a scandal - pirates on the Amazon killed the owner of the America's Cup, yachtsman Peter Blake. Experts believe that from the stolen ships, pirate syndicates organized a shipping network with a turnover of about $ 5 billion a year.

The geography of action of pirates of the XXI century - the coastal waters of Asia, Africa, Latin America.

Main attack areas:

1. Southeast Asia and the South China Sea (Strait of Malacca, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand).
2. West Africa (Nigeria, Senegal, Angola, Ghana), Indian Ocean, East Africa (India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Somalia, Tanzania).
3. South America and the Caribbean (Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Guyana).

The most "popular" place of attacks is the coastal waters of Indonesia.

The annual damage from piracy around the world is $40 billion.

Based on the materials of the annual reports of the International Maritime Bureau:

In 2000, there were 469 piracy attacks on ships worldwide
in 2001 - 344
in 2002 - 370
in 2003 - 344
in 2004 - 329
in 2005 - 276
in 2006 - 239
in 2007 - 263

The statistics on Russian vessels is distorted, since 60% of the ships sail under the flags of other countries of the world, that is, they are simply rented out together with the Russian crew.

* This figure is not definitive as many shipowners are afraid to report pirate attacks to the police for fear of retaliation from criminals, corrupt officials and coastal police.

Recent tragedies at sea

On January 15, 2008, the cargo ship Kapitan Uskov under the flag of Cambodia left the Russian port of Nakhodka for Hong Kong, but did not arrive at the port of destination. The crew of the ship consisted of 17 Russians, including 22-year-old barmaid Ekaterina Zakharova, who went on her first voyage. There were 4.5 thousand tons of metal on board the ship. The International Center for Combating Piracy joined the search for the ship and the crew, which disseminated information with its description around the world. Even if the ship has been repainted, its name and flag changed, it can be recognized by its individual characteristics. Hopes for success are low.

On February 1, 2008, off the coast of Somalia, pirates seized the icebreaking tug Svitser Korsakov, which was sailing from St. Petersburg to Sakhalin under the flag of the state of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The team consists of one Englishman, one Irishman, four citizens of Russia. For the ship and the crew, the thieves received a ransom - 700 thousand dollars. It was paid by the Switzer Weissmuller company, which owns the tugboat. Negotiations with pirates were conducted from February 1 to March 18, 2008.

How to fight

On November 16, 1994, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea was adopted, according to which all states should cooperate to the maximum extent possible in the suppression of piracy on the high seas or in any other place outside the jurisdiction of any country.

In 1991, the International Chamber of Commerce established the Anti-Piracy Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

In California (USA) there is a training center for training specialists in the fight against sea robbers. He trains anti-piracy units for the navies of Indonesia, the Philippines and Thailand.

The Maritime Doctrine of the Russian Federation, approved by President Putin on July 21, 2001, notes: "Intensification of cooperation with the countries of the Asia-Pacific region to ensure the safety of navigation, the fight against piracy" is one of the directions of the state's activity.

At the plenary meeting of the State Duma on October 1, 2008, the chamber approved a protocol instruction to the Security Committee to request information from the relevant ministries and departments "on measures taken to solve the problem of international piracy, ensure the security of international trade routes, including jointly with other members of the international community" .

On September 23, 2008, Russia sent the destroyer Neustrashimy from the Baltic Sea to the coastal waters of Somalia. The Statement of the Command of the Russian Navy says that this was done "in response to the increasing cases of piracy in the region, the victims of which are also citizens of Russia." "Fearless" is not yet taking active steps, as negotiations are underway with the pirates.

There have been victories...

In 2005, the Seaborn Spirit cruise ship was attacked by pirates off the coast of Somalia. They appeared unexpectedly on speedboats, armed with machine guns and grenade launchers, and fired at the ship.

The witty captain used an unconventional means of combat - an acoustic cannon. She stunned the pirates. The ship managed to get to a safe distance.

In May 2006, a real naval battle took place off the coast of Somalia: pirates opened fire on warships of the US Navy. The guided missile cruiser Cape St. George and the guided missile destroyer Gonzalez responded with salvos of rocket launchers. As a result of the special operation, 12 pirates were detained, including 5 wounded. The arrogance of filibusters who entered into battle with modern warships is striking.

The word pirate comes from the Latin pirata, which means to test, to try. Therefore, a pirate is a bandit trying his luck at sea, ready to rob anyone, anywhere. Moreover, contrary to the persistent stereotype, pirates robbed not only at sea, but also on land, embarking on risky land expeditions in search of rich booty for weeks to come.

The corsair, unlike the pirate, was not an "outlaw". Using, as a safe-conduct, a patent received from their government, the corsairs had the opportunity to attack the enemy both on land and at sea, without being afraid, if caught, to fall like pirates on the gallows. This legal aspect is the only thing that distinguishes corsairs from pirates. Otherwise, there is no difference - the goals, and the ways to achieve these goals, were not much different.

Black eye patch - life hack from corsairs

There is an opinion that the pirates wore an eye patch only for the purpose of hiding their injury - the missing eye. Of course, losing an eye in a fight with a dangerous opponent is a noble and a little romantic thing, but the opinion about the purpose of the black eyepatch is erroneous, as are the statements that the Earth is flat.

In fact, pirates wore a black patch over one eye for purely practical reasons. And this is the truth: when boarding a ship, the corsairs fought and searched for prey at the same time both on the upper deck and on the lower one.

It is well known that the human eye gets used to the darkness within a few minutes, so the pirate, descending to the lower deck, where it is dark, became a vulnerable target. But if one eye is bandaged a few minutes before the battle, then, having lowered into the hold and quickly moved the bandage from one eye to another, the pirate could just as quickly fight and look for jewelry.

Skull and bones on a pirate flag - Hollywood cliché

When pirates appear in the movie, their ship will definitely have a black flag with a white skull and crossbones. It became a kind of hallmark of the corsairs.

But the historical fact says that the flag with a skull developed when the pirates were in a good mood and were not going to attack anyone. But it was worth panicking if a red flag was flying on a pirate ship; he foreshadowed the beginning of the battle.

But back to the skull and bones. In fact, the pirates were quite original and creative personalities, so each ship had a flag of its own production, sewn according to the sketches of the captain or the entire crew.

Pirates became recruited sailors

Many men became sea robbers because they liked to rob and outrage, it's true. But most of the pirates of that time were recruited sailors who were embittered at everyone and everything.

The Middle Ages is a time when the rights of ordinary people were trampled much more strongly than today. Let's take the British Empire as an example. Inveterate thugs, commissioned by the government, recruited into the Royal Navy those who did not want to become a sailor voluntarily (and those who could not pay off such a fate) by threats and torture.

Recruitment in the life of a recruited sailor did not smell of romance: the guys were often beaten, poorly fed, and they were rarely paid a salary. When the ship stopped at the port, the sailors were put on shackles, like slaves, so that they would not escape.

Due to inhuman treatment, approximately 75% of people in forced service died within two years.

So, when the pirates seized the ship and offered the sailors to go to the Dark Side of the Force, many, embittered, agreed, starting to rob the ships of the British Empire, which had treated them so.

Pirate Treasure Existed

Novels about pirates claim that almost every second corsair buried the goods he stole, drew a treasure map, and then, instead of drinking away his wealth, looked at that very map, proud of his quickness and ingenuity.

But the truth looks different. Yes, pirates buried treasures, but history can document only three such cases:

In 1573, Francis Drake robbed a Spanish caravan, but there was so much booty that the robber could not carry it all away at once. Having buried part of the booty near the road, Drake planned to return for it later, but in a hurry the treasure was poorly hidden and the Spaniards unearthed it.

The Spanish Inquisition was able to talk even the most secretive and withdrawn person. Here is the famous pirate Rock Brasiliano, under torture of the "saint" of the Inquisition, he confessed that he had buried more than 8,000 pesos near Cuba.

In 1699, Captain William Kidd buried his treasure somewhere in the Long Island area, but it was found by the authorities and used in court as evidence against Kidd.

Gold is not the main thing for a pirate

Pirates were very fond of gold, but did not put it at the forefront. After all, left in the middle of the ocean without food and medicine, without tools and materials for repairing the ship, certain death awaited the entire team. Or an outbreak of cannibalism.

Whatever it was, the truth is that gold was not the main target of bandit raids, but rather a nice bonus. Corsairs were searched all over the country, they could not go ashore and calmly go to a local shop or market.

So, during raids or sea battles, pirates cleaned the captured ship clean, taking everything that could be useful in the future.