In general, sneaky and bloody. Pirates took advantage of climatic factors, such as fog, to attack larger merchant vessels with more crew. They practiced barbaric acts with some captured precisely so that their fame of evil would spread. With that, they had the advantage of being feared – most of the time, the crew surrendered before the melee. Piracy has occurred all over the world throughout history. The most famous period, that of the Caribbean, between the 17th and 18th centuries, sheltered the so-called “golden age of piracy”, between 1713 and 1730. be chased. The most used were boats with only one or two masts, which did not exceed 20 m in length. The massive Queen Anne¿s Revenge, illustrated here, was an exception. The famous Blackbeard used the vessel for just under a year, until he decided to sink it in June 1718 because it was too big and difficult to hide.
wildness at sea
Blackbeard’s Vessel Was a Slave Ship Before It Was Captured
1. In addition to attacking on the high seas, pirates liked to set up ambushes in small bays and coastlines, where they could hide behind islands. It was also common to take advantage of moments of fog and poor visibility. A lookout was on the mast looking for casualties – preferably cargo ships, as military vessels could be part of a larger fleet.
2. Once sighted, the victim ship needed to be overtaken (this is why pirates preferred small, fast boats). If it wanted to be stealthy, the pirate ship could fly a false flag and cover its cannons to pretend it wasn’t an enemy. Once the ships were close, the pirates would fire a cannon and shout surrender orders.
3. Surrender was preferred to attack, because battle might damage the ship to be conquered. Also, most ships of the day carried artillery to withstand an attack, even non-warships. If the opponents did not surrender, it was time for a fight: the cannons were fired
4. While part of the pirates operated the cannons, the rest threw hooks at the opposing ship to invade it. The correct method was to hook simultaneously from stern to bow, ensuring the largest possible area to jump to the attacked ship and also to escape, if necessary.
5. Once on board, the pirates engaged in hand-to-hand combat. Practically everyone carried daggers for this. But they also used swords, sabers and axes. From the 17th century, grenades and firearms began to be used, such as pistols, muskets and blunderbusses. Blackbeard was known to wear a belt with three pairs of pistols.
6. An invasion lasted up to 15 minutes. Yield was signaled when the ship’s crew placed the weapons on the ground. Pirates looted supplies, ropes, tarpaulins, tools, wood, etc. The objective was not always to stay with the boats – many times they were sunk. The crews were freed, killed or enslaved
cannon ammunition
cast iron bullet
Used to penetrate the hulls of ships
chained bullet
Designed to damage sails and rigging, preventing escape
shrapnel
It was made up of several iron shards and used to injure people.
Sources: Books The Pirate Ship by Angus Konstam and Tony Bryan, Privateers & Pirates 1730 – 1830 by Angus Konstam and Angus McBride, and The World Atlas of Pirates by Angus Konstam
Consultancy: Dalton Delfini Maziero, historian and expert in archeology
See also:
+ The 7 most terrible pirates of the seas
+ Are there still pirates nowadays?