13 Bizarre Pirate Traditions That Will Leave You Shocked
A glimpse into the absurd pirate traditions that we’re all probably unaware of!
Some individuals believe pirates are a myth, while others fall towards the side that they do exist.
There are enormous amounts of evidence that supports the existence of pirates and while gathering that evidence, historians also came across materials that explain and showcase numerous normal yet strange, eerie, and downright instance pirate traditions! Keep on reading to find out what they are.
1. Pirate Earrings Protected Hearing
Pirate ships had several cannons, especially Blackbeard’s ship had 40 cannons and any explosions would be and were deafening to the crew.
We’re talking about pirates here not superheroes who won’t tear their ear drums with the sound of almost 40 cannons being fired at the enemy. So to prevent themselves from going deaf the pirates hung wads of wax next to their earring which would be worn before firing.
This would prevent their ears from being damaged and hence it would allow them to fire and shoot easily. These wads of wax protected their ears from the loud sounds and we’ve seen them on Jack Sparrow’s earring as well.
2. Pirate Earrings Also Served as an Insurance Policy
The earrings aren’t just storage for wax and to prevent these pirates from going deaf, they are also an insurance policy.
Since pirates are all about the sea and are practically obsessed with it! We get it! Often they die on the sea and to ensure that they aren’t thrown in the deep blue sea to hang out with the whales and sharks their earrings are their insurance policy.
A pair of either silver or gold earrings is melted down and that is the insurance to purchase either a casket or get a proper funeral instead of being dumped into the sea. In addition to this pirates have several superstitions surrounding their earrings which includes that they prevent them from sea-sickness, cure bad eyesight, and gold earrings keep you from drowning.
Pirates also engraved their home information and details inside their earrings, especially those pirates that had families.
3. Pirates Practiced Gay Marriage in The Early 1600s
Now, this tradition isn’t so strange, since pirates had the same monotonous routine which either included stealing or robbing or doing chores the whole day they got bored. Since almost all pirates were men and even pirates had needs they started developing a deeper sort of friendship or seamanship which was known as matelot.
Men joined in matelot shared property, affections, and even sexual partners and they wore gold rings.
4. There Was A Secret to Blackbeard’s Facial Hair
Edward Teach also known as Captain Blackbeard was the most terrifying and deathly pirate ever known.
He owes that to a mixture of hemp which he would wrap around his beard and under his hat and light it on fire. This would make him appear as a stoner god since the smoke would waft out of his hat and make him appear probably more deadly than he already was.
5. Most Pirates Enjoyed A Good Hostage Situation
In addition to stealing and robbery pirates would earn a lot once they had captured the right hostage.
In 75 BCE, a few pirates took the wrong hostage; an ambitious young Roman politician named Julius Caesar. Yes that Julius Caesar. The pirates demanded a ransom of twenty talents (around 600,000 dollars in modern US currency).
Young Julius told the pirates he was worth 50 talents (around $1.3 million in modern money) and serenaded them with poetry. Caesar arranged to have the ransom paid and was released.
Once free, Caesar rounded up a force of soldiers, took command, tracked down the pirates, captured them, and crucified all of his captors . Yikes! That took a rather dark turn!
6. Patches Helped Pirates with Night Vision
Patches were not only worn by pirates who had lost an eye but it was worn to help the pirates with night vision. I’m talking about shutting one eye and then walking to the bathroom at 3 am without stubbing your toe.
Except the lighting in ships changed dramatically below and above deck and in order to fight and run the pirates had to have night vision.
Therefore they wore the eye patch because it helped them navigate the stairs and not fall and break their neck during a fight.
7. Pirates Doubled as Mixologists
Since it was hard to find drinkable alcoholic beverages at sea, Pirates simply opted for the kill it with fire strategy and dumped a bunch of booze in barrels.
Later in 1731, this drink the infamous grog became the official policy and the British Royal Navy gave sailors ½ a pint of rum which is equal to five shots per day. I mean they’re practically partying at sea. The Royal Navy’s grog ration lasted until the Cold War.
8. Five Shots
The pirates borrowed the recipe of grog and made it legendary by adding lemon juice which helped prevent any diseases such as scurvy and sugar. This made the lemon barrel water rum much less foul. Perfect for a day of stealing and fighting. The perfect drink that the pirates could unwind to in their ships.
9. Ladies Liked to Pirate Too
Piracy was not just a boys club many women wanted to be pirates and were pirates. These women had to be tougher, stronger and more ruthless than the male pirates.
Anna Bonnie served the pirate ship Revenge and she was the lover of Captain Calico Jackham’s in 1720. Along with Anna her friend Mary Reid served as well who was dressed like a man. However, their wonderful careers ended when their ship was captured.
10. The Plank was Mostly a Myth
While there’s little evidence that the pirates used the plank as a means of psychological torture there’s not a lot of evidence that they used it everyday. This idea and concept came as a result of Hollywood movies which showed the plank being widely used by pirates.
Pirates were very creative in all other departments but they wanted a quick and easy kill instead of torturing by making the hostage stand on a plank. They used other methods that are far worse than the plank which included keelhauling which includes throwing the victim under the boat and then passing him down the ship’s keel where there are barnacles and then dragging him with the ship to his end. It’s pretty savage!
11. The Jolly Roger Flag Has Many Variations
The Jolly Roger was first mentioned in a general history of the pirates by Charles Johnson in 1724 however there are several different versions of it. The pirate flag can have red skeletons, hourglasses, and men standing on skulls. Therefore there are several variations of the Jolly Roger flag.
12. Everyone dreaded The Bloody Red Pirate Flag
The Jolly Roger flag was terrifying however the most terrifying and deadly flag was the red flag not the black flag. A ship that hoisted the red flag let the enemies know that no mercy would be given to a captured ship and everyone on board would be slaughtered on sight.
The flag was known as the blood-red and if a captain saw that flag everyone on board would jump ship even the sailor!
13. Marooning People was A Real Thing
Marooning was one of the worst death sentences you could ever get because it was slow. Those marooned were typically disgraced pirates who were accused of violating the rules of their ships.
Marooned pirates were dumped on an isolated sand bar with just clothes and a small portion of water along with a weapon for short-term survival or if they were cowards they would shoot themselves with the weapon.
Sometimes the marooned could be rescued by another pirate ship but that didn’t happen quite often and they would simply die a slow and terrible death.
Sources
https://nilefm.com/life/article/6173/10-pirate-traditions-you-didn-t-know-about
https://www.seaofthieves.com/community/forums/topic/41418/bizarre-pirate-traditions/1