Random Bizarre Pirate Traditions Most People Don't Know About (18 items)

• 

  (#18) Marooning People Was A Real Thing

  Pirates did actually maroon people on isolated land masses when they did something wrong. It was considered one of the worst ways to die, because it was slow. Typically those marooned were disgraced pirates who violated the rules of a ship. He would be placed on an isolated sandbar with just the clothes on his back, a small portion of water, and a weapon. 

  Pirates who were marooned had the option to kill themselves with their weapon, but it was widely considered cowardly. Some men actually managed to survive being marooned if they were rescued by a different pirate crew, but that was very rare.  
• 

  (#16) The Jolly Roger Is The Best Known Pirate Flag But It Has Many Variations

  The Jolly Roger black flag with a skull and crossbones might be the best known pirate insignia but there are multiple versions of that banner. The first mention of the Jolly Roger came from the 1724 book, A General History of the Pyrates, by Charles Johnson. 

  Blackbeard’s flag, for example, featured a skeleton toasting the devil while spearing a bleeding heart. Others had red skeletons, hourglasses, or even men standing on skulls. 
• 

  (#10) Pirates Doubled As Mixologists - They Created A Drink That Prevented Certain Diseases

  Credit for the invention of grog goes to sailors in the British Navy, who first started making the drink some time in the 1600s. To avoid drinking slimy water contaminated with algae and microbes, the sailors mixed rum into their water. In 1731, the British Navy gave each sailor half a pint of rum per day; that was equivalent to over five shots of alcohol.

  Pirates borrowed the recipe for grog and made it legendary by adding lemon juice (it helped prevent scurvy) and sugar (it tasted good). Their's was a drink that packed a punch.
• 

  (#9) Most Pirates Enjoyed A Good Hostage Situation, Some Even Managed To Nab Julius Caesar

  Pirates haunted the seas since humans first invented boats and they’ve captured their share of famous hostages. In 75 BCE, pirates captured Julius Caesar but when they only asked for a ransom of 20 talents, Caesar laughed in their faces and told them he was worth at least 50.

  While he was held captive, Caesar serenaded the pirates with poetry. Once his ransom was paid, though, Caesar had the pirates crucified as punishment. 
• 

  (#13) Pirates Mostly Stole Booze and Weapons, Not The Kind Of 'Treasure' Shown In Movies

  There’s a good reason why most pirates didn't bury their treasure; most of their booty wasn't gold and jewels. Pirates typically stole food, alcohol, and weapons, in addition to lumber, cloth, and animal hides - essentially, whatever ships might be carrying across the Atlantic. Those goods weren't worth much in the ground so pirates used them immediately or sold them.

   

  Only one fully authenticated Golden Age pirate shipwreck has ever been discovered. The treasure from the Whydah Gally (pictured) was discovered off the coast of Cape Cod in 1984, 260 years after it went missing.
• 

  (#1) Insurance Payments For Injured Pirates Came Out Of Everyone's Loot

  Although experts debate just how democratic pirate groups were, they were surprisingly progressive when it came to the spoils of their enterprises: they created a sort of insurance fund for injured pirates. This meant that were a member of a group to become injured, they were still able to reap the benefits of a successful campaign. 

  Individual groups' charter articles identified the amount of loot to be paid to injured pirates. So, spoils were gathered together in the aftermath of an attack; injured pirates all received the amount specified in their charter; and the rest of the group divided the remainder among themselves.

New Random Displays    Display All By Ranking