7 April 2024 17:45
They have almost no connection with reality.
The era of piracy in popular culture is considered one of the most romantic. Of course, all thanks to films: the same “Pirates of the Caribbean” became extremely popular in the mid-2000s. However, the older “Captain Blood’s Odyssey” or “Treasure Island” are not inferior to them in cult status.
Pictures and TV series have given rise to many myths about filibusters. It seems that any sea robber must certainly have a wooden leg, an eye patch and a parrot on his shoulder. And also a ship with the Jolly Roger and a black mark. In fact, it’s not like that. “Kinoafisha” sorted out common misconceptions.
No parrots
This is just a beautiful fiction. The image of a captain with a bright bird on his shoulder is really memorable, but there is no practicality in it. Cats were much more common on ships. Firstly, sea robbers believed that they brought good luck, and secondly, they caught rats that threatened food supplies.
All the pirates went by the black Jolly Roger.
The skull and crossbones is truly the most popular pirate flag. But not the only one. Edward Teach, whom history remembers as “Blackbeard,” walked under a white cloth on which was depicted the cross of St. George. There were other options: a skeleton with a saber in his hand or with a spear piercing the heart.
By the way, the fabric was not always painted black. There were red, dark purple, and even yellow banners.
Opponents were warned using a black mark
A beautiful legend invented by R.L. Stevenson. There is no evidence that real pirates warned rivals or crew members about impending problems using black circles.
Pirates appeared in the 17th century
Not at all. The “Golden Age” is actually called the 17th-18th centuries. It was then that maritime robbery acquired unprecedented proportions. After all, America was discovered quite recently, there were more ships in the oceans, but they were less guarded: there wasn’t enough fleet for all the people.
But the very principle of piracy – that is, robbery of ships on open water – arose at the same time as maritime trade. Even in Ancient Greece, in the fourth and third centuries BC, merchants from mouth to mouth conveyed frightening news to each other about “peirates”, seekers of happiness. They were also in Ancient Rome – and, by the way, they were able to briefly capture Gaius Julius Caesar himself. Unfortunately, crimes on the seas and oceans have not been eradicated to this day. It survives in Somalia, around Malaysia and the Caribbean.
Pirates lived only by robbery
Another myth that “grew” from films and books by R.L. Stevenson. The line between a lawbreaker facing the gallows and a respectable merchant was very blurry. Filibusters have always sought profit first. If a good offer came, they transported cargo and goods peacefully. If there were no options, they took away other people’s property by force. History knows cases when robbers united in guilds, serving one king and taking money from the subordinates of another.
There were no women among the pirates
There were, and some more! The most famous is, perhaps, Anne Bonny. She was even nicknamed the mistress of the seas. The girl, who grew up in the family of a lawyer, by chance met the pirate Jack Rackham and followed him to sea. She lived at the same time with another filibuster, Mary Read. Since childhood, she was forced to pretend to be a boy, served in an infantry regiment as a cadet, got married, and only after the death of her beloved and meeting Anne Boni, she set off to conquer the oceans.
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2024-04-07 14:45:07
