It’s better to swim in the sea below
Than to swing in the air and feed the crow,
Says jolly Ned Teach of Bristol. Benjamin Franklin
‘For thirty years,’ he said, ‘I’ve sailed the seas and seen good and bad, better and worse, fair weather and foul, provisions running out, knives going, and what not. Well, now I tell you, I never seen good come o’ goodness yet. Him as strikes first is my fancy; dead men don’t bite; them’s my views — amen, so be it.’ (Sailor & Pirate) Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
His stories were what frightened people worst of all. Dreadful stories they were – about hanging, and walking the plank, and storms at sea, and the Dry Tortugas, and wild deeds and places on the Spanish Main. By his own account he must have lived his life among some of the wickedest men that God ever allowed upon the sea, and the language in which he told these stories shocked our plain country people almost as much as the crimes that he described. My father was always saying the inn would be ruined, for people would soon cease coming there to be tyrannized over and put down, and sent shivering to their beds; but I really believe his presence did us good. People were frightened at the time, but on looking back they rather liked it; it was a fine excitement in a quiet country life, and there was even a party of the younger men who pretended to admire him, calling him a ‘true sea-dog’ and a ‘real old salt’ and such like names, and saying there was the sort of man that made England terrible at sea. ibid.
In the immediate nearness of the gold, all else had been forgotten ... and I could not doubt that he hoped to seize upon the treasure, find and board the Hispanola under cover of night, cut every honest throat about that island, and sail away as he had at first intended, laden with crimes and riches. ibid.
I’m cap’n here by ’lection. I’m cap’n here because I’m the best man by a long sea-mile. You won’t fight, as gentlemen o’ fortune should; then, by thunder, you’ll obey, and you may lay to it! I like that boy, now; I never seen a better boy than that. He’s more a man than any pair of rats of you in this here house, and what I say is this: let me see him that’ll lay a hand on him – that’s what I say, and you may lay to it. ibid.
Parrots have gone a bit quiet since pirates have gone. Karl Pilkington
The really disturbing thing about Somalia is that in a country where there are few economic opportunities, pirates are perceived as glamorous and are held in awe by young boys who aspire to their lifestyle. Wilbur Smith
I used to own an island in the Seychelles and had a big boat there and one day I came across some Somali pirates who were passing by on their way to re-provision their boat. They didn't even acknowledge me – which is unheard of among sailors – and it was like looking into the eyes of a black mamba. Wilbur Smith
Merchant and pirate were for a long period one and the same person. Even today mercantile morality is really nothing but a refinement of piratical morality. Friedrich Nietzsche, cited Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 1919
Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates. Mark Twain, cited The Atlantic Monthly January, 1875
The submerged ruins of an extraordinary city – Port Royal – have given up clues to the true nature of the buccaneers who once lived here. In Search of History s2e8: The Pirates’ Lost City, History 1997
Port Royal was the pirate capital of the world … Kingston Harbour, Jamaica. ibid.
One of the pirates’ favourite drinks was Kill Devil Rum. Thinking it might enhance their virility the pirates even mixed gunpowder into their potent drinks. ibid.
The pirates were partners. They called themselves the Brethren of the Coast. ibid.
Most of their fighting took place on land. ibid.
By the year 1720 the great age of piracy was coming to a close. ibid.
Daniel Defoe wrote a history of piracy in the New World. ibid.
Nova Scotia were a haven for Spanish and Portuguese pirates. The Curse of Oak Island s2e1: Once In Forever In, A&E 2014
Semi-precious jewels and even a 700-year-old cross with possible connections to the Knights Templar. But whoever buried something of great value also constructed an elaborately fortified treasure shaft and then protected it with an ingeniously designed booby-trap flood system. Some believe it was the work of the Knights Templar. Others say it was the Rosicrucians led by Sir Francis Bacon. And yet local yore not to mention the history of the North Atlantic points to another group for the origin of the Oak Island mystery: pirates. The Curse of Oak Island: The Pirates of Oak Island (US)
They weren’t called pirates but privateers. ibid.
There are some who believe that Captain Kidd actually buried his treasure on Oak Island. ibid.
All kinds of rumours about Drake. ibid.
Paul & Rachel Chandler: I heard a small boat approaching fast. I realised then it was something horrible. I’d never had guns pointed at me before. Captive III: Taken at Sea, Somalia, Rachel, Netflix 2016
London: By late autumn 2009 what we were seeing was waves of attacks in the Indian Oceans on primarily commercial vessels. ibid. Stephen Askins, maritime lawyer
Somalia is like the wild west. ibid. Somalian
It’s big business and a growing threat. ibid. news
Seven Somali pirates suspected of kidnapping Paul and Rachel are now in prison. None of them have ever been charged with the kidnap. Twenty-six hostages kidnapped by Somali pirates remain in captivity. Stephen has never asked to be repaid. ibid. captions
That was last week! The boss wants money today! Captain Phillips 2013 starring Tom Hanks & Barkhad Abdi & Catherine Keener & Faysal Ahmed & Michael Chernus & David Warshofshy & Corey Johnson & Chris Mulkey & Yul Vazquez & Max Martini & Omar Berdouni, gangsta
The Navy in Somalia has been disbanded and nobody protects its waters … The Somali piracy industry: a trade that’s been created by the war. Behind these criminal actions are the warlord’s militia who have more ambitious goals. Secret Wars Uncovered s1e3: Somalia, History 2020
DJs whose rebellious buccaneering on the high seas led to the birth of Radio 1. But there’s another pirate radio story; a story you don’t know. One that played out on the rooftops of inner-city Britain in the Thatcher years. The Last Pirates: Britain’s Rebel DJs, BBC 2017
‘Pirates I have no time for and I think we should crack down on them as hard as we can.’ ibid. Leon Brittan
Britain’s greatest generation of pirate radio broadcasters took on the establishment and totally changed the face of UK pop-music culture for ever. ibid.
The DTI could barely keep up with them. So the government decided it was time to make peace by giving them what they wanted – a chance to be legal … Without any explanation the government pulled the plug. ibid.
In 1988 the government finally bowed to the inevitable. ibid.
Feeling betrayed once again, many of the pirates including LWR went back to broadcasting illegally. But Kiss held out. ibid.
A pirate treasure worth millions. And it’s still missing despite centuries of searching. History’s Greatest Mysteries s4e9: Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure, History 2023