101 Amazing Facts about Pirates

By Jack Goldstein

Arrr matey! Are you loaded to the gunwalls? Do you know what Blackbeard’s ship was called? Which pirate ate a man’s heart? Who makes the list of the top ten pirates of all time? All these facts and more can be found in this excellent quick-read guide to pirates. Whether you’re Henry Morgan himself, or just some unlucky Jonah, this book containing over one hundred facts is sure to float your boat. Land ahoy!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AUK Authors
• Release date: Jan 22, 2014
• ISBN: 9781783335282

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General Facts

A pirate is defined as an individual who commits crimes whilst at sea. Any crime would theoretically count, however most pirates would practise robbery or violence.

Although pirates have operated throughout history and still do so today, what we now call the golden age of piracy took place between the early 17th and the mid 18th century.

During this period, there was a fine line between piracy and the legitimate sacking of enemy ships. The famous British sailor Sir Francis Drake was more fearsome and ruthless than many pirates, however he was allowed to do pretty much what he wanted as he sailed under the Queen’s protection!

Although there is a certain romance for the golden age, pirates faced huge amounts of risk every day. You may be surprised to know that even the most successful pirates generally had careers lasting just a few years.

Today we tend to associate the golden age of piracy with those who operated in the Caribbean, however both the Indian Ocean and the West coast of Africa were also popular pirate waters.

Sadly, there is no reliable evidence that any pirate captain ever owned a parrot.

Also, rather disappointingly, no-one is ever known to have been forced to ‘walk the plank’ in real life - although pirates did sometimes just throw men overboard!

Throughout the golden age of piracy, grog was a tipple much-loved by pirates. To make grog you would dilute rum with water or weak