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   Part Two of a Two Part Series |
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| What was life like for a pirate? What did they do all day? What kind of food did they eat? Pirates often chanted “All for one and one for all”. Every pirate ship was a floating island of true democracy. The democratic pirate way allowed all to look and dress as they pleased. Many had only a shirt on their back, one pair of pants and most went barefoot as you could not climb rigging in boots. There was no rank or class distinction on a pirate’s ship. They all ate the same food and drank the same water. This was very different from ordinary ships which managed with many ranks and rules, and with food, time and sleep controlled. The captain was elected by equal vote. He would be elected because he was respected, had leadership ability, bravery, and boldness to lead the crew. A Pirate’s Ship The best pirate ship was a stolen one. Pirates stole ships that quickly gave them power, maneuverability and speed. No pirates ever had a ship built for them — they simply acquired a new one when needed. Ships which had been occupied by pirates for some time were very undesirable places to be. The crew worked only when something needed immediate attention or maintenance. No unnecessary cleaning or swabbing the decks — to keep the ships seaworthy was the sole objective. A Pirate’s Flag Traditionally all sailing ships flew the flag of their country. Pirates, who had no allegiance to country, designed and made their own flags of recognition. Red or black flags were usually flown to instill the fear of death and war on the hunted ship. The black flag had various insignia designed by the pirate crew, most notably the skull and crossed bones, the death sign, which had been used since medieval times to designate poison. Other common insignias were skeletons, a devil, and an hourglass which meant that time was running out. A Pirate’s Food on the Ship Food served aboard the early wooden sailing ships was barely palatable. Hard biscuits packed in oak barrels stored in the damp hold of the ship was the main food. They were served with salted pork and beef sometimes covered with green mold and riddled with worms, sour beer, cheese so hard it could be made into buttons and water so stale and putrid they had to hold their nose to drink it. For the seaman, thirst and hunger were their constant companions on long voyages; in port, the ship was restocked and provisions were plentiful and fresh — it was feast or famine.
The goal of the chase on the open sea was either the prize ship itself, its cargo, weapons, or the much desired gold or silver which were frequently on board. The pirate’s plan of attack on a potential prize was a well-laid-out procedure. They would ply on all the sails for speed. The pirate ship would close the distance between themselves and the prize, and would stalk the prize, observing carefully from the crow’s nest and through the spyglass — the ship’s length, number of masts, type of sails, rigging, its gun ports and cannons, how low it sat in the water, the flag it flew to determine its country, estimate its crew, the type and quantity of cargo, and how it was loaded. Often if it were too great a risk, the crew would vote not to attack. If the pirates agreed to attack, they might stalk for days. Once all circumstances were in his favor, the pirate captain would order the crew to prepare to overtake the prize. In approaching the victim the pirates used an old trick. They ran up the mast a flag the same as that of the victim, to get near without suspicion. The prize was approached slowly, creeping up to within cannon range; then they would strike their colors down and run up their own black flag before the victim could realize the danger and protect itself. There were a couple of choices for the pirates, the entire crew might transfer from the dirty, old pirate ship to a clean merchant ship, with better sails, new rigging and abundant stores of food and medicine. Or they may decide to split their own crew to take over the prize and sail to a friendly port to sell the cargo themselves. If their current pirate ship was large, powerful and in good condition, the pirates had no interest in the ship itself, and instead took whatever they wanted of the cargo for their own ship. Common on the merchant ships were cloth, spices, animals, rum, indigo, tobacco, sugar, flour, hard wood, gold, silver, copper, jewels, silks, medicine, and housewares. But, gold and silver were the most treasured loot found on any prize. It could be divided and spent easily. The loot was distributed among the crew on land after a successful venture. Every pirate was granted a share of the loot according to their own laws of distribution. There were times, though, when the pirates did not capture their prize and were defeated. Even with their rapid, sneaky attacks many times they became victims and they were captured and hung on the spot, their ship sunk with no survivors to tell the tale. A Pirate’s Common Beliefs Pirates were generally superstitious and some of the common beliefs were:
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