Number Ten: A Noble Profession
The ancient Greeks, other than being known
as scholars and philosophers, are also one of the greatest mariners in the ancient world.
The ships they built came only second to none as they traded with different countries as
well as explored uncharted regions by sea; and it comes to no surprise that their mastery
of the waves is amongst their most commendable talents.
To the ancient Greeks, Piracy is not at all illegal or outlawed.
In fact, they view it as a perfectly viable and honourable way of earning a living.
Two of the greatest literatures that came out of Greece, The Iliad and The Odyssey,
even made many references to piracy as a means to transport and sell slaves that they have
captured from rival territories.
Number Nine: A King’s Ransom A little known fact about Roman emperor Julius
Caesar was that he was once abducted by pirates.
As they were holding Caesar for ransom, the pirates demanded that a ransom of 20 Talents
(or $600,000 in today’s standards) in order to secure Caesar’s release.
In a strange turn of events, Caesar scoffed at his captors and felt offended with the
ransom that they were asking.
He went up to his captors, treating them like his subordinates, and told them that they
should demand 50 talents from the Empire in exchange for his freedom.
They did so and Caesar returned to Rome in one piece but not before giving them a warning
that he will hunt them down with a Roman fleet and crucify them, a threat that the pirates
did not take seriously.
Later on, Caesar ordered to have a fleet assembled to pursue his kidnappers.
The pirates were eventually captured and Caesar immediately had them crucified.
Oh, and Caesar got his 50 Talents back.
Number Eight: The Pillars of Pirate Pillaging We know that there are Spanish pirates and
French pirates, we are even aware of pirates sailing the seas of Asia.
However, none of them compare to history’s most successful band of scoundrels who sailed
the high seas: The Vikings.
By any modern or popular culture standard, the Vikings may not fit the description of
what a pirate is and they may be wrongly placed in the category as warriors.
While this is partly true that they are warriors, the Vikings were pirates in all sense of the
word.
They raided, looted, pillaged, and burned their way through the 8th and 12th centuries
so much that they have become, to this day, the most fearsome band of seafarers that you would
not want to come across.
Their reach covers the coastlines of their home of Scandinavia to the far reaches of
North Africa.
These guys could give lessons to Jack Sparrow and Davy Jones on how to actually be a pirate.
Number Seven: The Ultimate Thirst Quencher Often, depictions of pirates include images
of drunken men missing a few teeth and an unkempt beard.
It is not entirely false that pirates love their drink, what somehow comes as a form
of myth is that they drink copious amounts of rum.
While there was no scarcity of rum when they invade a sleepy coast, pirates mostly prefer
a mixture called “Grog”.
Traditionally, this tipple was composed of rum diluted with water or weak beer.
The concoction varies from one individual to another as some, to add more flavour, adds
sugar, lime, or even cinnamon into it.
How it tastes like, we can only imagine.
Number Six: Lucky Charms Pirates are extremely superstitious as history
would write about them.
This may be because of the unknown terrors under the sea that – during that time – had
no scientific explanation.
A giant squid may be seen as a monstrous Kraken or a sudden storm may be mistaken for the
wrath of a sea god.
Whatever it is, pirates stay extremely careful not to pull on any supernatural strings that
may spell disaster for them.
One of the ways they did keep the bad juju away was through the use of charms and amulets.
It may come as a surprise to us that, to a pirate, piercing an ear with precious metals
such as silver or gold is not a fashion statement but, instead, it is a pirate’s way of warding
off bad health and keeping bad luck at bay.
Number Five: Talking the Talk We’ve all done it.
At one point in our lives, we have tried to make our best impression of what a pirate
sounds like with the “Arrrrs” and the “Avast, ye mateys!”
The truth is pirates are not just from Europe.
They come from all parts of the world from Scandinavia to Singapore.
The so-called Pirate accent was an invention of actor Robert Newton in Disney’s adaptation
of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island in 1950.
Newton, in an attempt to add some texture to his character, spoke with a west-country
accent and overdid it quite a little.
Years later, Newton used the same accent when he was cast in the movie Blackbeard the Pirate.
Thus, the pirate accent was born and cemented into our consciousness.
Number Four: Gentleman Pirate William Kidd was one of the most famous swashbucklers
in the history of pirates.
Known popularly as Captain Kidd, he was born from a wealthy family.
However, as he was growing up, Kidd had taken an interest in piracy and thus became embroiled
and involved with pirates
and there are still doubts as to the validity of the narrative on whether or not Kidd was
actually a full-fledged pirate, he was still hanged in 1701 for, well, being accused of
the crimes of piracy.
After his execution, Kidd’s body was hung above the River Thames in chains as a warning
an deterrent to other pirates.
Rumor also has it that during Captain Kidd’s lifetime he buried treasure in an unknown
location; treasure that may have saved his life from the gallows had he revealed where
they were during his trial.
Number Three: Captain Crazy Speaking of infamous pirates, Edward Teach,
otherwise known as Blackbeard has a reputation for being an absolute troublemaker with a
flair for theatrics
In one account, Blackbeard was said to weave hemp into his beard and setting it alight
before boarding a captured ship.
Aside from that, he would dress in black from head to toe to add more gravitas to his entrance
as well as sprinkle an element of supernatural fear in his enemies.
this trick was indeed quite effective as many of his victims would swear that Blackbeard
was the devil incarnate and surrendered to him without a fight.
Number Two: The Mistress of the Sea Pirates do not have much when it comes to
their mortality.
Many of them would either end up in the gallows or blown to bits before reaching a ripe age.
Also, many of today’s beliefs paint pirates as mostly men.
However, one of the most successful pirates to ever sail the pages of history was a woman
named Ching Shih, also known as Madame Ching.
Her cunning and ferocity in the seas gained her notoriety as she spread terror across
China Sea in the early parts of the 19th Century.
Commanding over 1800 ships and around 200,000 pirates that included women and children,
she constantly clashed with other pirates and went head on with the British and Portuguese
Empires as well as the Qing Dynasty itself.
She managed to escape death and the gallows multiple times and is one of the few – if
not only – pirates to retire from her trade.
Number One: Hoist the Colors When we say pirate ship or pirates, often
the image conjured up in our heads is a white skull with crossbones on a black field.
The most common and recognizable pirate flag in literature and popular culture is the Jolly
Roger – skull and crossbones on a black field, as mentioned earlier.
However, pirate flags come in different styles and colors depending on the captain, country,
or cultural background.
Black may seem right as a universal color but, historically, a red flag is more feared
than any hue on any pirate ship; and the image of an hourglass incorporated into the personal
standards of the ship makes it even worse.
Red, in pirate parlance, is a symbol that lets other ships know that the crew will be
given no quarter and no prisoners will be taken.
An hourglass, quite plainly, means that your time is up.