The main weapon of the pirates was fear. The black beard, for example, inspired such horror that it was often enough for him to simply raise his flag, as the unlucky enemy immediately surrendered without joining the battle. Once, Bartholomew "Black Bart" Roberts, entering the New Foundlen Bay of Trespecy, robbed and sank 21 ships there, without meeting any resistance: the crews simply fled when they saw that he was coming.

Among the pirates came across outright sadists, such as or who tortured their captives as entertainment. For the majority, however, torture was only a means to maintain their reputation. Known as fearsome monsters, the brutal pirate captains met with less resistance, which meant saving people and ammunition. Nevertheless, many of them managed to be sailors in their time, and the abuse they were subjected to on board merchant ships turned them into ruthless and very dangerous killers. As David Cordingley wrote in his book Life Among Pirates, "the true world of pirates has often been closer to today's horror films than to romantic plays and adventure novels on the subject."

In general, those who make pirate stories the basis of their own works tend to give them a romantic aura and add decency. For example, there was such a John Gau, also known as John Smith. He was just thirty-five years old when, on November 3, 1724, he mutinied aboard the George Galey, and then took the ship to the Auckland Islands. Along the way, he kidnapped three women from the island of Kawa. Here is what Daniel Defoe wrote about the attitude of this cruel pirate towards women: « the women were kept on board for some time, being used in such an inhuman way that when they were put ashore, they could not only walk, but even stand; then we found out that one of them died right on the shore, where we left them". Despite this evidence, a century later Walter Scott, using Gau's story for his historical novel The Pirate, omitted these atrocities.

Cordingley, as an example of the cruelty common among pirates, cites the sworn testimony of two sailors about the treatment of them by Charles Vane. One of them, Nathaniel Catling, was aboard the Bermuda Diamond when it was attacked by Vane's Ranger in April 1718. The captain and crew were killed, the pirates took one black man and 300 coins. Catling pretended to be dead, but inadvertently showed signs of life, and one of Vane's team cut him with a saber in the shoulder. After that, the pirates burned the "Diamond". The second witness, Edward North of the Bermuda ship "William and Martha", saw with his own eyes how one of the crew members of the pirates tied to a bowsprit, put a gun in his mouth, and then burned his eyes with a fuse to force him to tell how much money was on board.

Such treatment of people can only be called cruel, but its motives were clear: to intimidate the captives and quickly find out from them where the valuables are. Cordingly names a third motive: "Pirates retaliated ruthlessly for any attempt to cross their operations and were more atrocious than usual when they attacked the islands where their comrades were hanged or the ships that captured them."

Edward Low surpassed in cruelty all other pirates. His sadism became the talk of the town in the Caribbean. In March 1742, Governor Hart left a description of Low's capture of a Portuguese ship on its way back to Brazil. After the captain threw a huge bag of gold into the sea, Lowe cut off his lips, roasted them in front of him, and offered to eat them in exchange for a pardon. Refused, Low finished off both the captain and all thirty-two members of his crew.

There is evidence that even, who boasted that he treated prisoners well, brutally tortured the people he captured in the Spanish city of Porto Bello. He burned women's intimate places, and even burned one in the oven because she refused to tell him where the gold was hidden.

Torture and, were very diverse. Sometimes the victim was stretched with ropes tied to the arms and legs, and then with sticks and sabers. Sometimes heavy stones were placed on the chest until the person lost the opportunity to breathe.

Exquemelin describes a pirate torture of captives called "vulding": “a thin cord or fuse was wrapped around the head and tightened until the unfortunate eyes popped out of their sockets”. One particularly terrible torture was invented by Montbars of Languedoc. He nailed the man's rectal outlet to the mast, and then made her dance a jig around her until the entire bowel was wrapped around the mast; at the same time, the unfortunate man was beaten with burning sticks.

Montbar of Languedoc

I believe that any of the readers will easily be able to understand this man: being ardent and noble in nature, and once having read to the bone the writings of Bartolome de Las Cassas, who narrated about the atrocities of the Spanish conquistadors, this young man inflamed with a fierce hatred for the Spaniards as cruel murderers and sadists. The death of his uncle at Santo Domingo added fuel to the fire, when, having gone to the New World to serve in the Royal Navy in the war with Spain, their ship was attacked by the Spaniards. Since then, Montbar fulfilled a vow of revenge, and having leaned into a pirate bay, he soon became famous and gained the nickname "Monbar the Fighter" for terrifying the entire Spanish coast, killing and torturing the Spaniards wherever he met them.

The described execution, by the way, was a kind of honorable execution among the Vikings, namely: the prisoner was cut open in the stomach, nailed the rectum to the mast, and then drove around it until he fell dead. Somehow this does not seem very similar to the behavior of a noble person, right? This story teaches us about what a person who commits revenge turns into. Montbar of Languedoc went missing at the beginning of the 18th century, and no one knows which of the seas buried his ashes, and how much he left behind.

Most of the real, cruel pirates were like that. If you have small children, then think carefully before letting your child go to a children's party in the form of a sea robber.

Historical cases

"Walking the Plank" plays a large role in popular culture's awareness of pirates. In fact, this type of execution was used very rarely. Most of the pirates did not scatter victims. Even the few who enjoyed the spectacle of torture (such as Edward Lau) used longer methods as well.

see also

Notes

Literature

• Don Carlos Seitz, Under The Black Flag, Dail Press, 1925 (republished by Dover Publications in , ISBN 0-486-42131-7)
• Samuel Pyeatt Menefee, "Pirates: 2. Walking the Plank", The Mariner's Mirror, vol. 80 (May, 1994), p. 204

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A person has a hole the size of a god in his soul, and everyone fills it as best he can.

And so, what types of punishment for misconduct were used on a pirate ship?

Walk the plank

The victim was forced to walk along an unnailed board, one end of which protruded into the sea. The victim fell along with the board, and in the water grabbed it, looking after the sailing ship and the good-natured laughing team. This is a classic way of sea execution. The rest is its variations. A small load like a stone from the ship's ballast was tied to the patient (5-10 kg is more than enough for reliable operation of the technology), and, encouraged by the spikes, he walked along the board sticking out overboard to its very end. Although, in fact, this custom is mythical and was invented by one of the writers (almost Defoe); nevertheless, it is mentioned in Stevenson's immortal creation. The pirates did not bother with such nonsense, but simply threw it overboard. Moreover, the load is also not particularly needed. A long swim in the open sea left a ghostly chance of salvation (most sailors from the time of the sailing fleet swam about like an ax).
For your information: even when swimming in warm thirty-degree tropical water, death from hypothermia of a body tired of floundering cheerfully will occur within a day. Well, the colder the water ... Well, you understand ...

Dragging under the keel


Dragging under the keel (keeling)- in the era of sailing ships, the punishment consisted in dragging a person with the help of keel ends from side to side under the bottom of the ship. Keeling often resulted in the death of the person being punished and was considered equivalent to the death penalty. This type of execution was used by ancient Greek pirates.
The convict was lifted onto the yard, lowered upside down into the water and pulled with a rope under the keel to the other side of the ship. Punishment was made one, two or three times, depending on the offense. If the criminal did not choke, then there was a great danger that he would be so cut up by the benthos that had grown on the bottom of the ship that he would soon die from bleeding.
In some ancient Greek images, you can see how pirates are dealt with in a similar way. In the 17th century, Dutch and English captains of the fleet sometimes resorted to this type of punishment, but after 1700 it was replaced by a spanking, for example, a CAT WITH NINE TAILS.

whipping

The lash was otherwise known as the Law of Moses. Usually 40 or 39 lashes were prescribed, with fewer lashes signifying some semblance of humanity, since according to the Old Testament, 40 lashes actually meant the death penalty. Of course, even 39 blows were enough for the punished to die, but to punish with 40 blows, like Pontius Pilate, was considered inhumane. More often than not, the captain or crew was punished with fewer lashes, depending on the severity of the crime. It is noteworthy that the tradition of punishing a criminal with 40 blows is not biblical, but Roman. In ancient Rome, if the criminal remained alive after punishment, he had the right to kill the executioner, so 40 blows usually became fatal. Using the same logic, the Catholics calculated that 39 would not lead to the death of the punished. During the Golden Age of Piracy, 39 lashes were extremely common.

Nine-tailed

Dragging behind the ship

The offender (or prisoner) was thrown overboard, tied by his hands (or legs). And dragged for several hours. As a result, the poor fellow either choked, or froze, or an evil shark bit off his extra dangling parts. The theme of this execution is revealed in the work of Jack London "The Sea Wolf"

Hanging

Hanging was used as a punishment for piracy, but the pirates themselves did not disdain this type of execution! In general, for the period of the XVI-XVIII centuries, this type of execution as hanging was the most common. The agony of the executed lasted several minutes and death by hanging was considered one of the most cruel punishments. In the 16th and 17th centuries, executions of pirates were always carried out in public to instill fear in ordinary sailors. Usually the port docks became the place of execution, and the bodies of the state continued to hang for several days, and sometimes weeks. The hanging itself was presented as a magnificent ceremony. Under British maritime law, a person caught in piracy, was to be hanged within 10 days from the date of sentencing. This was done so that onlookers from all nearby cities could gather for the execution. On the appointed day, the prisoner met with the priest for repentance. Sometimes this was also done in order to be able to pay a ransom for the condemned. If there was no repentance or ransom, the offender was solemnly escorted in shackles through the whole city, and sometimes they were transported bound in a special wagon. The official, walking in front, carried the symbols of admiral power - silver oars. A priest followed the convict. Arriving at the place of execution, the priest read a sermon on the evils of piracy, which could go on for several hours. After the sermon, the accusation was read, after which the convict received the last word. Then a hood was thrown over the criminal's head, a noose was put on and the support was knocked out from under his feet. The body of the criminal writhed in convulsions, which the cynical pirates called the devil's dance, and the crowd surrounding the place of execution stared at the death throes of the unfortunate. The body hung at least until sunset, and more often for a longer period. The body was then removed and thrown into the sea at low tide.
The pirates themselves mostly hung the guilty or prisoners on a yardarm.

Landing on a desert island

The punishment of landing on a desert island or Maronig had nothing to do with the romance of Robinson Crusoe. This was the most severe punishment for a sailor. As a rule, the sailor landed on the island had only one way out - suicide.
Typically, pirates used three punishments - the Law of Moses, throwing overboard and marooning. The last punishment was applied to thieves, oath-breakers and captains of rebellious ships. Usually, when landing on the island, a person was left with all the clothes that he was wearing at the time of sentencing, a bottle of water or rum, a gun and some gunpowder and bullets. But if in "Robinson Crusoe" and "Treasure Island" a person found himself on a relatively large island inhabited by animals and plants, then in real life, a tiny patch of land, surrounded on all sides by the ocean, a lonely reef or rock, was chosen as the last refuge. Often such islands were completely hidden under water during high tide. Few managed to escape after this. Captain Charlie Vane is known to have been rescued by a passing ship. But as a rule, sailors landed on a desert island put a bullet in their foreheads. To avoid a painful death.
The word itself "maroning" comes from the Spanish "cimarron" - deserter. Since this punishment was mainly used by pirates, even if an honest and noble captain saved the unfortunate person, he would face an inevitable execution for piracy.

Burrowing in the sand

This is a typical pirate execution. A person was buried on the shore at low tide so that one head would stick out. When the tide came in, the offender would choke. It is practically impossible to get out of such a trap on your own, since the water exerts strong pressure on the sand. In addition, death often occurred not from drowning, but from the inability to breathe normally in the conditions of compressed sand.

water torture

Such torture was actively used by the Inquisition in the Old World for many centuries, but the pirates only borrowed it, with the only difference being that they used sea water, and in some cases used urine mixed with liquid feces. The tortured man was given water to drink until he turned inside out or burst. During torture, the offender's nose was pinched and a liquid was poured into his mouth through a funnel, which he had to swallow before taking a new breath. All this was repeated long enough to infuse the maximum amount of liquid into the stomach. Then the angle of the body of the poor fellow was changed, he was laid on his back in a horizontal position and the weight of the full stomach squeezed the lungs and heart. The feeling of lack of air and heaviness in the chest complemented the pain from a distended stomach.

Let blood and sweat

The least known yet documented torture used by pirates in the Caribbean. In 1718, George Shevlock subjected the captive captain to cruel torture: naked, he was driven through the line of pirates armed with needles for sewing sails. Then the bloodied prisoner was put in a sugar barrel infested with cockroaches, the barrel was covered with a blanket and left to "feed the insects with their blood." In another documented case, such torture was actively used by pirate captain Francis Spriggs.

hanging in chains

Hanging in chains was used not so much by the pirates themselves, but on the contrary, it was used against them and was supposed to inspire "sacred horror" in all pirates. It was good news for the pirate that he was already dead. But the unburied body doomed the immortal soul to eternal wanderings and torment, and this acted on the superstitious pirates more than the fear of death. The body was placed in chains or an iron cage and it rotted under the scorching sun and was pecked by birds. In the end, the remains fell into the water, where they were taken away by fish. This is how the famous pirate ended his days William Kidd.

Everyone knows that pirates are unscrupulous criminals who seize and rob ships. Despite all the unscrupulousness and the fact that every pirate is a complete bandit, among the pirates there was also a system of rewards and punishments. Piracy is a team effort in which everyone must trust each other, which is why pirates have come up with over a dozen creative punishments for those who don't follow the rules or refuse to do their jobs. Tough but effective methods of piracy punishments are waiting for you further!

Sweating

The victim was tied with a short rope to match the ship, while the other pirates took turns sharply jabbing their swords at her. In order to suffer as few injuries as possible, the punished was forced to move quickly, and sometimes even dance. Active movements caused the same active sweating, so the pirates nicknamed this measure of punishment.

Walk the plank

Everyone painfully knows the method of pirate punishment, ending in the death of the victim. Pirates, of course, did not practice this method as often as we are shown in the films, but nevertheless, it really existed.

In accordance with the traditions, the victim had to walk on the plank blindfolded and hands, and then jump into the ocean.

Apparently, the Dutch pirates of 1829 did not think this measure was cruel enough, so in addition to all of the above, they also shot the victims in the legs.

Flagellation

Perhaps one of the most unpretentious, but cruel punishments. Unlike standard flagellation, in which the victim was simply beaten with whips and lashes, in the pirate version, salt or vinegar was poured into the wound to maximize the pain.

Throw overboard

Least creative punishment on the list. The offender was simply thrown overboard into the ocean, teeming with sharks.

Sometimes the pirates still came up with a more creative way, they tied the victim with a rope to the ship, after which she followed him until she died.

Prolonged immersion in water

As a rule, this punishment did not end with death, but nevertheless it was unpleasant.

The violator of the order was tied to a beam, after which they were dipped under water for a different amount of time. How many times and for how long depended on the severity of the crime.

Selling into slavery

Pirates sold a member of their crew into slavery, after which they spent the proceeds on booze and women.

It was the favorite method of punishment among pirates, for obvious reasons.

Landing on a desert island

If you watched the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean" and are familiar with Captain Jack Sparrow, then this method of punishment is familiar to you.

The guilty pirate was landed on a desert island, and sometimes even handed a pistol loaded with one bullet so that he could commit suicide without waiting for a painful death from hunger.

shackles

Another non-lethal, but cruel method.

The offender was shackled by the legs on the lower deck, while less humane pirates left the victim to suffer under the scorching sun above.

Hanging

Nothing new or surprising. Pirates hanged the victim, leaving her hanging on a rope after death as a reminder that it was not worth breaking their pirate laws.

Dragging under the keel

Perhaps the most creative method of punishment, in the vast majority of cases ending in death.

The victim was tied to two tail ends (ropes) on both sides of the ship, after which they were pulled under the bottom of the ship from side to side.

The convict was lowered into the water upside down and pulled through the bottom until he choked or was cut by shells and died from bleeding.

Pirate laws

Before the campaign, the pirates always entered into a special agreement (usually in writing), which stipulated important issues of the upcoming enterprise. It could be called differently: charter, agreement, code (eng. code, fr. chasse-partie). It indicated what share of the booty the captain and crew of the ship were to receive, compensation for injuries and injuries, rewards for those who distinguished themselves, and punishments for the guilty. The content of such agreements did not differ much from each other.

Here are the articles of the agreement of Captain William Kidd (which were included in the criminal case file as evidence for the prosecution):

“If a person in the service loses an eye, leg or arm, he must be given 600 piastres or six healthy slaves.

The person who first noticed the merchant ship must receive 100 piastres.

Any person who does not obey the commander must be deprived of his share of the spoils and punished as the captain of the ship sees fit.

Anyone who gets cold feet during the attack must be deprived of their share of the booty.

Any person who was drunk at the time of the attack must be deprived of their share of the booty.

Any man who incites mutiny must be deprived of his share of the booty and punished as the captain of the ship sees fit.

Any person who cheats on the captain or his crew in taking loot, money, goods, or anything worth more than one piastres must be forfeited their share of the loot and marooned on the nearest uninhabited island that comes in the way of the ship.

Any money and other booty must be divided among the crew members."

Trial of Captain William Kidd. 19th century drawing

And here are the rules on the ship of Captain Bartolomeo Roberts:

"Each member of the crew has an equal say in the affairs of the day. Each member of the crew is entitled at any time to the fresh provisions and spirits captured, and may use them to his pleasure, unless it becomes necessary to save them for common use, which is decided by a vote.

Each member of the crew must be familiar with the list of prizes (loot - Author's note) on board, because in addition to their own share, it is allowed to change clothes. But if they deceive their comrades even for a dollar in the form of dishes, jewelry or money, they will be landed on a desert island.

It is forbidden to play dice and cards for money.

Candles and lamps must be extinguished at eight o'clock in the evening, and if anyone from the crew wants to drink after this hour, he will have to do it on the open deck in the dark.

Each member of the crew must keep his own, sabers and pistols clean and always ready for battle.

Boys and women are forbidden to be among the carriage. If anyone is seen seducing a woman and takes her on a ship in disguise, he will be killed.

Anyone who voluntarily left the ship or left the hand-to-hand combat during the battle should be punished by death or landing on a desert island.

Fighting is forbidden on board, but every quarrel must be brought to an end on shore by a duel with sabers or pistols. At the command of the quartermaster, the duelists, placed with their backs to each other, will have to turn around and immediately shoot. If anyone does not do this, the quartermaster must knock the weapon out of his hands. If both missed, they would have to continue to fight with sabers, and the first blood spilled would reveal the winner.

No one can talk about lifestyle changes until everyone's share reaches 1000 pounds. Anyone who becomes crippled or loses a limb in the service must receive 800 piastres from the general supply, and for lesser damage - proportionally.

The captain and quartermaster receive two shares of the prize each, the gunner and boatswain - one and a half, the other officers - one and a quarter, ordinary gentlemen of fortune - each share.

Musicians have the right to rest on Saturdays. Other days - with permission.

If the agreement was in writing, all team members signed it. The illiterate put a cross. It is curious that in the surviving pirate codices, the murals are not arranged in the usual way (and in our time too) - at the bottom of the document, but randomly throughout the free space. So the pirates did it specifically in order to follow an important rule: everyone is equal on a pirate ship, there are no first and last.

Very few pirate codes have survived to this day, since the pirates, when attacked by the ships of the navy, tried first to destroy the agreement. Otherwise, such an agreement could fall into the hands of the authorities, which served as irrefutable proof of guilt and meant the fastest way to the gallows.

Over those who violated the provisions of the charter, the pirates themselves administered the court. Here are the most common punishments that were used by pirates to those guilty of violating their laws, as well as torturing captured prisoners to obtain information about hidden valuables:

bloodletting- Numerous shallow cuts were inflicted on the offender with knives (as a rule, they did not lead to death).

Immersion in water- the person's head was lowered into the water and kept there until he began to suffocate.

Flogging- whipping. If 40 blows were prescribed, then such a punishment was called the "law of Moses."

Hanging- mainly used for the treacherous murder of a teammate (the most common type of death penalty at that time).

Hanged on a yardarm. 19th century drawing

Keeling (dragging under the keel)- with the help of a rope (under the keel ends), a person was dragged under the keel of the ship from one side to the other across the ship (often led to death: if a person did not choke, then he received serious cuts from the sharp edges of the shells that overgrown the bottom of the ship). It was done one, two or three times depending on the offense.

Dragging under the keel

Throw overboard- a person was simply thrown into the open sea.

Maroning (landing)- a man was left on a desert island.

A person landed on a desert island in those days, in most cases, faced a sad fate - a slow death from hunger and thirst, or long-term vegetation in primitive conditions. Therefore, according to pirate custom, they left him a loaded pistol and a bottle of rum. 19th century drawing

Beating with a nine-tail whip- a person was given blows with a nine-tail whip (as a rule, when several dozen blows were given, it led to death, especially if there were hooks or blades on the whip). Among sailors, the punishment is also known as "The Captain's Daughter". If after such an execution the offender remained alive, then his back was rubbed with salt - not in order to increase suffering, but to avoid blood poisoning from deep wounds.

A nine-tail whip is a short stick with leather straps, at the ends of which hooks, blades or pieces of metal are fixed. The mere thought of being beaten with a nine-tailed whip was enough to cause panic in any person.

"Island for One"- a man was thrown into the sea with a piece of wood.

Towing- a person tied to a rope was dragged behind the ship (sometimes led to death: a person choked or sharks could attack him).

But the punishment in the form of "walking on the board" did not exist among the pirates. The first mention of such a punishment dates back to 1785, after the golden era of piracy. Pirates never forced a person to walk on a board - this punishment was attributed to them by artists at the end of the 19th century, and then it got into literature and cinema.

The punishment attributed to pirates by illustrators is "walking on the plank". 19th century drawing

To a modern person, these punishments may seem cruel, but for their time there was no excessive cruelty in them. Rather, on the contrary, taking into account that in Europe in the XVII century. and partly in the 18th century. still used such types of execution as wheeling and quartering, pirate punishments look relatively humane.

Of course, other punishments were also used by pirates, although not so common. For example, someone who hid part of the booty from his comrades could simply be kicked out of the ship and would never again be accepted as a pirate. For the murder of a member of his team, the guilty person could be tied to a tree instead of hanging, and he himself chose the person who would kill him.

Behavior and manners

The order on a pirate ship was not much different from the life of peaceful sailors. Although, according to eyewitnesses, he was not distinguished by strict discipline. Everyone considered himself a free man, not obliged to obey anyone except the captain. And the captain was often reluctantly obeyed.

William Dampier, himself a well-known pirate of the second half of the 17th century, describing a three-month voyage with filibusters off the coast of Panama, noted:

"They were the saddest creatures ... And although the weather was bad, which required many hands upstairs, most of them got down from the hammocks only to eat or relieve themselves."

"Each did what he wanted, without asking if his comrade was pleased. Some of them sang and danced, while others tried in vain to sleep, but this kind of inconvenience had to be endured without grumbling. Before the fight, filibusters usually hugged as a sign of brotherly agreement or, holding hands, vowed to stand for each other until death.

The pirate was a free man and could leave the ship at any time, join another team that was willing to accept him. He could also go ashore at any time and leave the pirate business.

Here is how the governor of Tortuga and the Coast of Saint-Domingue, Jacques Nepve de Poinsy, described the filibusters in a letter to the French government in 1677:

"There are still more than a thousand of these people who are called filibusters ... They travel wherever they want; at the same time, they do not obey well as far as service on the ship is concerned, since everyone considers themselves bosses, but they are very good at undertaking and acting against enemy. Each has his own weapons, his own gunpowder and his own bullets. Their ships are usually not very strong and poorly equipped, and they have no other property than that which they seize from the Spaniards."

Discipline also did not contribute to the fact that the pirates always drank a lot of rum. Often this led to sad consequences.

So, being off the east coast of Hispaniola during the campaign of the Morgan flotilla against the cities of Maracaibo and Gibraltar in 1669, the pirates got so drunk that they blew up the powder magazine on the flagship of the flotilla - the royal thirty-six-gun frigate, transferred to Morgan for the expedition by the governor of Jamaica, Thomas Modyford. About thirty pirates died, and Morgan only survived by a lucky chance.

One of the most famous pirates, Henry Morgan, had an amazing quality - he was always lucky. 19th century drawing

Sometimes drunkenness led pirates straight to the gallows. November 15, 1720, off the west coast of Jamaica in the area of ​​Cape Negril Point, a team of pirates led by John Rackham, nicknamed Calico Jack, staged a grand drinking bout. By evening, the pirates were so drunk that most of them could not even get on the deck of their ship to repel the attack of the twelve-gun sloop Eagle, Captain Jonathan Barnet, who had boarded them at that time, and was sent by the Jamaican authorities to capture Calico Jack.

Alcohol also let down the pirates Bartolomeo Roberts (although Captain Roberts himself did not drink alcohol), nicknamed "Black Bart". In early February 1722, Roberts' ships anchored in a bay off Cape Lopez on the west coast of Central Africa. There they were discovered on February 5, 1722 by the English warship Swallow under the command of Captain Chaloner Ogle. On the eve of the decisive battle on February 10, 1722, the pirates seized a merchant ship with supplies of alcohol and got so drunk that at a critical moment, many were not ready for battle. The pirates suffered a crushing defeat, and Black Bart himself was killed by a volley of buckshot from the Swallow while trying to escape from the bay.

The social organization of the pirates was democratic. All positions on the ship (including captain and quartermaster) were elected. All important decisions were also made by a majority vote at the meeting. Anyone had the right to say at such meetings whatever he considered necessary.

Here is what Exquemelin wrote about the relationship of pirates:

"The pirates are very friendly and help each other in everything. To those who have nothing, some property is immediately allocated, and they wait with payment until the poor have money."

"The pirates treated each other with care. Those who have nothing can count on the support of their comrades."

Conflicts between team members, if the law was not violated, were settled with the help of duels. Since duels were usually prohibited on board the ship, the rivals went ashore with pistols and knives (or boarding sabers). The role of the second was played by the quartermaster. They usually fought to the first blood.

However, this should not paint an idyllic picture that the pirates were a model of virtue and decency towards each other and nobility towards captives. The lives of sea robbers are literally overflowing with stories of regular rebellions, betrayals, fights, quarrels over the division of booty and murders. Pirates, for the most part, were not at all noble sea robbers, who are constantly written about in novels and films.

According to eyewitnesses, the same Edward Teach, when robbing captured ships, did not even bother waiting: if the victim could not quickly remove the ring from his finger, Blackbeard snatched out a saber, chopped off his hand and threw it into a bag.

Blackbeard always carried a cutlass with him, and when attacking he wore a baldric with six loaded pistols.

One night Blackbeard was drinking in the wardroom with members of his crew, including the pilot and chief officer Israel Hands. While drinking, Blackbeard pulled out two loaded pistols and placed them on the table next to him. Some time later, Captain Teach suddenly extinguished the candle and fired two pistols in the dark, although no one gave him the slightest reason for such an act. As a result, Hands was shot in the knee and left crippled for life. When asked why he did this, Blackbeard said:

"If I don't kill some of my people from time to time, they will forget who I really am."

French pirate mid-17th century François L "Olone, having captured a Spanish ship at the mouth of the Esther River, ordered to cut off the heads of all the Spanish sailors who had surrendered and were no longer dangerous, who were on board. Although he could have received a ransom for them.

Pirates Francois L "Olone cut off the heads of captured Spaniards. Drawing of the 19th century.

In January 1722, ships under the command of Bartolomeo Roberts arrived at Vida, one of the centers of the Slave Coast slave trade. There, the pirates seized eleven ships of the slave traders, after which they demanded a ransom from the captains. Everyone paid what they could, except for one Portuguese captain. Then Black Bart ordered both ships of this captain to be burned alive with sixty slaves in the holds. Which is what was done.

But, perhaps, Captain Edward Low, nicknamed "Ned Low", who hunted in the Caribbean and the Atlantic from 1721-1724, surpassed everyone in atrocities. Here are just a few of his exploits.

One day he did not like the dinner prepared by the ship's cook. For this, he ordered the cook to be tied to the mast of one of the previously captured ships and burned along with the ship.

In another case, Ned Lowe ordered the lips of a Portuguese captain, who had thrown a sack of gold overboard during an attack by pirates, to be cut off. Lowe then fried them in front of the captain, after which he offered the captain to eat them in exchange for mercy. He refused, then Low ordered to kill him and the crew of the captured ship.

In the end, Low's atrocities so bothered the team that a riot broke out and he was dropped off on a desert island.

Edward Low, nicknamed "Ned Low". 18th century engraving

The pirates were real masters of torture. There are stories of pirates setting their victims on fire, gouging out their eyes, cutting off their limbs, and even shooting them with cannons.

John Steel, who participated in Morgan's campaigns, wrote in a letter to the Secretary of State for England:

"A common thing among privateers, in addition to cauterization with an ignition wick, was cutting a person into pieces; first the body, then one arm, the other arm, the leg; sometimes they tied a rope around his head and twisted it with a stick until his eyes popped out - this it was called “vulding.” This was done before the capture of Puerto Bello, because they refused to show the way to the city, which did not exist, and many times in the city itself, because they did not want to show riches that they did not know. A woman was put there naked on a stone and fried, because she did not admit where the money was, which she owned only in their imagination; about this, as he heard, some people declared with boasting, and one patient admitted with regret.

Cauterization with a fuse, or "torture of St. Andrew", was often used by filibusters of the West Indies to obtain valuable information from captives: fuses were inserted between the twisted fingers of the victim, which were then set on fire. The wicks smoldered, causing unbearable pain to the unfortunate victim.

The lieutenant governor of Jamaica, William Beeston, in an account of the raid of French pirates on the island in 1694, reports:

"Some women were allowed to be raped by the Negroes, some had their breasts cut off, so that great inhumane cruelties were never committed even by Turks or pagans."

Thus, if the pirates had concepts of honor and nobility, then only in relation to themselves, and even then not always. In relation to the captives, anything was allowed, any atrocities.

After a successful voyage, the pirates returned to their base ports, the largest of which at different times were: Tortuga, Port Royal in Jamaica, Petit Goav in Hispaniola, New Providence in the Bahamas, etc., where they organized grandiose revels.

Pirates Edward Teach and Charles Vane drinking together on Ocracoke Island in the autumn of 1718. 18th century engraving.

Perhaps nothing is more associated with pirates than a bottle of rum. Rum was invented in the 16th century. in the West Indies, as a by-product in the production of cane sugar. There are two versions of the origin of the word rum: according to one, the name comes from the Latin word succarum (sugar), according to the other, from the English word rumbullion (fight, disorder). The word rumbullion referred to the process of fermentation of sugarcane juice before distillation.

The name itself - rum (eng. rum) first appeared in the English colony on the island of Barbados at the beginning of the 17th century. Therefore, rum was sometimes called "Barbados water".

The raw material for the production of rum is molasses - molasses made from sugar cane juice. A ton of sugar cane produces 100 liters of rum. The largest centers of rum production in the XVII-XVIII centuries. located in Jamaica and Barbados.

Rum was stored in wooden barrels, from which it was poured into mugs. The first wine bottles, reminiscent of modern ones, began to be made only in the middle of the 17th century. in England. Thanks to the invention of new technology, the strength of glass has increased significantly. Having quickly become popular, a glass bottle from the second half of the 17th century. became the main container for bottling rum.

Rum Vieux Rhum Anglais 1830 Considered the oldest rum to date. Rum has been poured into similar bottles since the second half of the 17th century.

The well-known piracy historian Jean Merien cites the following words of pirates to a contemporary on reproaches of excessive drunkenness and wastefulness:

"Since dangers lie in wait for us all the time, our fate is very different from the fate of other people. Today we are alive, tomorrow we are killed - what is the point for us to accumulate and save anything? We never care about how long we will live. The main thing is to do our best spend life without thinking about saving it."

The wonderful novel Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson very accurately describes how the pirates lived through life in terms of matching the story. John Silver says:

"It's not about the ability to earn, but the ability to save... Where are the people of England now? I don't know... Where are the people of Flint? starving, by God! Old Pugh, when he lost his eyes and also his shame, began to live one thousand two hundred pounds a year, like a lord of parliament. Where is he now? Dead and rotting in the ground. But two years ago he had nothing He begged, he stole, he cut throats, and yet he could not feed himself!

Indeed, in a short time, the pirates managed to squander (drank, spend on prostitutes and gambling) all the loot on the campaign. In this they were helped by a whole system of drinking establishments and brothels, specially designed for pirates.

The following figures speak of the scale of drunkenness among pirates. By 1692, the population of Port Royal was, according to various estimates, from 6,500 to 10,000 people. At the same time, there were at least a hundred drinking establishments in the city, i.e. at least one tavern or tavern per hundred inhabitants, including women and children! And this is not counting the brothels, which were not much less.

By the way, in the novel "Treasure Island" there is one fictitious pirate attribute that has received universal fame - a black mark (eng. Black Spot), indicating an accusation made by the pirate community (or individual pirates) to one of its members in violation of the charter, orders, rules and customs. In the future, the black mark was repeatedly used in literature and cinema.

In reality, there was no black mark. In the tradition of some pirates of the Caribbean of the XVII-XVIII centuries. there was a presentation of the death card, in the role of which the ace of spades acted. If such a card was tossed to a pirate, it meant that he was in danger of death or that they did not want to see him here.

National composition

Surprisingly, but among the pirates there were black Africans (usually former slaves), who were full members of the team, had all the rights and obligations that other pirates had, participated in the division of booty on an equal basis with everyone else. The existence of such an extremely unusual phenomenon for the 17th-18th centuries, and it is not only and not so much about the freedom of black Africans among pirates (this happened in Europe as well), but to a greater extent the phenomenon of their absolute equality with whites, indicates that that the relationships in the pirate community were centuries ahead of their time. Moreover, there were quite a lot of blacks among the pirates.

For example, of the 272 pirates of the crew of Bartolomeo Roberts who were captured on February 10, 1722, 75 turned out to be black Africans.

Almost every pirate ship in the second half of the XVII - early XVIII centuries. were black pirates. 19th century drawing

The pirates had no racial controversy. Complete and universal friendship of peoples reigned on their ships.

Most pirates in the XVII-XVIII centuries. always made up of the British (from England and from the colonies of the New World), and somewhat less French and Dutch. Modern historians give the following estimates of the national composition among the pirates of the Caribbean and the Atlantic in the period from 1715-1725:

35% - English;
20-25% - Americans (inhabitants of the English colonies in New England);
20-25% - blacks (there were almost every crew);
15-20% - French and Dutch (mostly natives of the West Indies);
5% - other nationalities.

To be continued.