I
have put together all kinds of cool pirate information on this page! Enjoy.
A
pirate is a person who practices piracy,
and piracy is robbery of tall ships on the high seas. Piracy dates back more
than 3000 years. Sometimes governments gave rights
to the pirates to represent them in wars, in a letter of Marquee, which made
them privateers. Pirates sailed under flags called “Jolly Rogers” or just
plain Skull and Crossbones. Also a few other flags contained an hourglass,
which meant the victims’ time was running out. It was a pirate’s job to
steal and sometimes-even kill to acquire amazing riches and goods. A
pirate’s booty was acquired from merchant ships, which usually included
linens, cloth, food, rope, gold, pieces of eight, precious stones, and
sometimes-medical supplies. The pirates’ code stated that the booty
(treasure) had to be shared equally among the crew, but jewelry was hard to
share among the crew, so the captain would take it.
Pirates
had a different life on land then on sea. On land they spent their money in
taverns and pleasures, and one of the most important tasks was to stack the
ship well enough with fresh supplies of water and food for the next voyage.
Life at sea was one great bore, and excitement only started when victims
were sighted, boarded and then robbed for their valuables. Trials for piracy
were usually held in admiralty courts and tribunes. On the day of the
hanging, the condemned pirates were led in a precession in a public place
near the water. After the execution, the bodies of the less important crew
members were buried face down below the high water mark, or left
hanging
until three tides had passed over them. The bodies of the notorious captains
were preserved in tar and hung in a place by the water’s edge, where they
swayed in the wind until nothing was left.
A
ghts
to the pirates to represent them in wars, in a letter of Marquee, which made
them privateers. Pirates sailed under flags called “Jolly Rogers” or just
plain Skull and Crossbones. Also a few other flags contained an hourglass,
which meant the victims’ time was running out. It was a pirate’s job to
steal and sometimes-even kill to acquire amazing riches and goods. A
pirate’s booty was acquired from merchant ships, which usually included
linens, cloth, food, rope, gold, pieces of eight, precious stones, and
sometimes-medical supplies. The pirates’ code stated that the booty
(treasure) had to be shared equally among the crew, but jewelry was hard to
share among the crew, so the captain would take it. 
P
hanging
until three tides had passed over them. The bodies of the notorious captains
were preserved in tar and hung in a place by the water’s edge, where they
swayed in the wind until nothing was left.