Golden Age Of Piracy Essay

Pirates are different than what most people think. Most of what is known is made up in stories. Here are some facts and important dates that probably aren't know about pirates. First of all, to know what piracy was really like background knowledge on some important events that changed history is needed. The age that holds most of these events is the Golden Age of Piracy. This started in the 16th century. The Golden Age is when piracy really caught on. People would pay for the pirates pirate ships in return for 10% of the plunder. Around 1609 “Morocco became a new center for piracy” as stated in source 2 Pirate History. In 1671 Buccaneers captured pamina and they fought in the war of the spanish succession in 1701-1714. After the american revolution the U. S.
agreed to pay for immunity from attack. This means that they paid so that pirates would not attack them. It was kind of like bribing. Also, what books and stories lead people to believe is probably not true. Most of the time books elaborate or romanticize the idea of pirates. Pirates did not really make people walk the plank, most were killed right away. In source 3 10 myths and facts about pirates it states that “when they did torture their prisoners, it was through knee hauling, marooning a person on a deserted island or sandbar, or lashings with a leather whip”.This is the same with treasure.
In the novel treasure island they are trying to find captain Flint's treasure. But in real life pirates rarely buried their treasure. Also not all pirates were males some famous pirates like Mary Read and Anne Bonny were women (source 3 10 myths and facts about pirates). All these myths were brought upon by books romanticizing the idea of pirates. Although book sometimes get it right in treasure island the pirates sailed ships used guns and caused mutinies all of which real pirates did. Now that some myths have been debunked it's time to move onto facts and what pirates were really like. But first here are some important words to know piracy, Buccaneers, and privateers. (According to dictionary.com) Piracy is what a pirate does while a Buccaneer is another name for a pirate or also a term for those who raided the spanish colonies in the second half of the 17th century. A privateer is a pirate who is commissioned by the government and is allowed to commit acts of
piracy. Many paces did not like piracy including the U.S. at one point they paid money for immunity from attack. There were many well remembered pirated like Sir francis Drake, Jean Laffite, and Blackbeard who is also known as Edward Teach. He was perhaps wno of the most feared and remembered pirates of all time. He would weave hemp into his beard and light it on fire to intimidate his enemies (source 3 10 myths and facts about pirates). To conclude, Pirates are different then what books lead people believe. Most of what they know is a made up fantasy. Pirates did not barrie their treasure or make people walk the plank. They were just average criminals, and some of them were not even bad like privateers. Pirates are different than what the average person might think.