Contents
How did pirates die?
This is how pirates died, without a happy ending. Capture, captivity, death and their ways of dying, before and after combat. Fortune soon abandoned them
Pirate Danger
Pirate ship appears as a ghost in the semi-darkness
For a crewmember of a merchant ship making the route from Europe to America, the voyage in itself was a dangerous one. Storms, lack of wind, sea currents, hurricanes, etc. But the sighting of a pirate ship changed everything, death could be on that ship, if it reached them.
A short life, an almost certain death
A life always on the edge
Pirates usually lived very few years, dying in combat or by hanging. They usually came from poor backgrounds and tried to escape from misery, stealing and killing if necessary. They risked everything imaginable to get a good booty, although some also succeeded and became rich by running adventures and hobby.
The dreaded boarding, life or death
The sailors knew the pirates would not stop.
Soon the boarding would come and they would fall upon them like bloodthirsty beasts. It was the pirate’s answer for not having heeded their warning to stop the ship, they would be put to the sword. A mistake by the ship’s captain, thinking he could run away from them in time, could cost them their lives.
Warning shot
A barrage of cannon fire caused a cloud not only of smoke but also of splinters as the bullets ricocheted off the ships.
A cannon shot that hit a ship could be devastating because of the amount of splinters it created and shot out as projectiles in all directions.
Early death was his destiny
Usually after a few years of piracy, they would die. Sometimes the crew of the ships did not make it easy, knowing what their fate would be, before a band of pirates, who like madmen boarded the ship. Some crew members decided to die by killing. In these cases, even if the pirates managed to seize the ship, some of them fell and died in the attempt.
Death on boarding, hanging ..
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A cannonade or a boarding resulted in many dead and wounded on both sides.
This is how the Pirates died: violent death, disease, hanging, their great enemy alcohol, locked up and corpse in a cage, mutilated by their war wounds, even eaten by cannibals.
But comrades in arms, often by obligation, they defended each other to the end. They usually led a short life, an almost certain death.
A violent death or death by disease
Chose a short but pleasant life
Life at that time was very hard, all day working in semi-slavery conditions. That is why many of the pirates chose a life that was short but intense and pleasurable.
Many times he obtained a good booty, seizing a ship. But other times, the pirates died in combat, on the gallows, or victims of terrible diseases.
To the gallows, an example for others
Some 400 pirates were hanged annually as an example to others
When all countries turned against them, the persecution was such that little by little they were imprisoned. Normally they were hanged in the public square, as a general chastisement.
When the pirate had been famous, they exposed his corpse at the entrance of the ports, so that everyone could see him.
Your greatest enemy, your friend alcohol
Alcohol in quantities
A disproportionate drinking raged among them. They lived so much every day, that every time they got a booty, they got so drunk, that they fell asleep everywhere. They were becoming alcoholic, with great drunkenness.
When Jamaica passed to England, the island was promoted as a refuge for pirates and privateers. It was a political move, as England knew it could not keep Jamaica Island in its possession in the face of pressure from Spanish troops. It opted to hire and support the Filibusters that besieged the area as troops against Spain and its Caribbean islands.
The corpse in a cage
Exposed its skeleton for years at the entrance to the port.
The famous Captain Kid was hanged, with such bad luck that the rope broke. He had to be hanged again.
His corpse was put in an iron cage made to suit him, and displayed for years at the entrance to the River Thames. For the chastisement of all those who might be inclined to throw themselves into Piracy.
Ended up in the pan
The cruel murderer was eaten by cannibals in a cruel ritual as cruel as his life
The bloodthirsty French pirate, better known as the Alones, who committed so many atrocities, was captured by the cannibals of Central America. He terrorized his prisoners, killing one of them and eating his heart in front of the others.
Curiously, he had an end in accordance with his life, he who committed so many brutalities, received his punishment and was devoured by the cannibals, who tore him to pieces.
War wounds
Mutilations of arms and legs during boarding
The medicine of the time knew of no other more effective remedy for serious wounds than to cut off the injured limb. This is the origin of the image of the pirate, lame, one-armed or one-eyed. Most of the mutilated, who were saved, died after a few years.
Although many were dying little by little, they had many successes over the years. They managed to take over towns in the viceroyalties of Spain, as important as Panama or Portobello.
Venereal diseases
Their amusement was in taverns and brothels.
It gave them a lot of prestige that every booty they got was quickly spent in the taverns and brothels of Jamaica. After many days or sometimes weeks without seeing a woman, they would go straight to the brothels. The lack of hygiene on the pirate ships, together with this kind of life, brought them serious diseases.
The consequences of this rampage were other venereal diseases. In time, these diseases caused them enormous discomfort and even death, as there were no treatments to treat them.
Partners in combat
They supported each other in the boarding process
They fought to the death, in some cases in pairs. The Brotherhood of the Brothers of the Coast, created by the Filibusters, had rules of mutual support. Each pirate was twinned with a companion, with whom he entered into a mutual defense agreement.
In combat they supported each other, having the obligation to defend themselves. The rules of the Brotherhood of the Brothers of the Coast were very clear and implacable. If one of them abandoned the other, then the Brotherhood would hang him.
They punished the abandonment of the partner
They hanged those who abandoned a companion
One of their strengths was their organization and the rules of the Brotherhood. Designed to protect the group, they ensured that this association was maintained for many decades. The rules were clear and enforced. In combat, members supported each other and had an obligation to defend themselves.
If one of them, during the combat, abandoned the other, then the Confraternity of the Brothers of the Coast would hang him.
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