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Pirating is as old as civilization itself. A pirate is
a sailor who attacks ships or villages on the coast. The word “pirate”
comes from the Greek word meaning “attacker."
Many pirates were brutal and greedy murderers, while some were polite
and treated their captives with dignity. Men became pirates for a variety
of reasons: to escape from a dull life of hard work, to seek adventure and
riches, or to escape from slavery or the law.
Piracy started in the Mediterranean Sea with the ancient seafaring
people known as the Phoenicians, Cretans, and Greeks over 2,500 years ago.
In 789 A.D. the Vikings raided the coasts of Europe and North America to
establish new places to live.
The “Golden Age of Piracy” lasted over three hundred years, from the 1500’s to the 1800’s. Pirates were very active in North America and the Caribbean where there were many colonies ruled by European nations. In the 1500’s the Spanish organized naval convoys each year to carry all the treasure home from the “Spanish Main," the mainland of Central and South America. The convoy could include as many as 100 ships. The treasure was placed in galleons (a large, slow moving ship) that could carry 200 crew and 60 canons. Even though the pirates generally had the advantage of speed and cunning, they couldn’t out do the spanish convoy.
Pirates have always fascinated people. Many songs, plays and novels have been written about them. Much of today’s treasure hunting is to find and plunder sunken pirate ships in the seas; or buried and hidden treasure of past pirates. The mystique of piracy continues...
Perhaps the most famous of all pirates was Blackbeard. Blackbeard’s
real name was Edward Teach, born in England about 1680. He was notorious
(well know for bad things) for raids and evil deeds throughout the West
Indies and the coast of North Carolina and Virginia. In 1718 the governor
of Virginia sent two British ships to attack Blackbeard, while he was
wintering in North Carolina near the Ocracoke inlet. He was killed after a
desperate struggle in which he suffered 25 wounds.
It is said that Blackbeard got his nickname from his practice of
braiding his long black beard. Legend has it that he also would put
lighted matches under his hat in the thick of battle to illuminate his
face, giving him a very scary appearance.
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