The Age of Piracy a history by Robert Carse

"They sought on the sea by force of arms to take from other men what was legally theirs" → initially, piracy wasn't about greed and robbing the whole world but getting what is yours **

"(...) the dream of the next magnificent prize were always there to draw them from safety" → They are ready to risk their lives for the prize

• mortality was very high among pirates BUT "Each man who chose the pirate way would remember the plagues, the fluxes, the fevers, the outright starvation in the city slums, the backbreaking and debilitating labour of the farms and the awful punishment for the slightest crime. But then, for a sailor, life was far worse in the King's ships" and that explains why so many people during the 17th and 18th centuries choose to become pirates → people were desperate for something better → note that the French revolution happened in 1789 which further proves the disapproval of people towards the empire

"Men waited with carefully concealed hope to join as a pirate" → the conditions of work and life were so bad that becoming a pirate was a dream; it offered better choices and life

"The men choose their captains and discharged them at will; and if really displeased with their actions, marooned them and elected another from among their number. It was primitive, nonpolitical anarchy and it worked. → they didn't need politics or schemes because becoming a pirate was a means to an end → it worked because it was a crew made out of people with common goals and common ideals → a ship cannot sail herself

• Quartermaster - "He was used by the crews as a counterbalance to the captain" → this shows that they had created their own system of balance so those on top do not become like the rich monarchs on the land

"The dream of the return home grew dimmer with each voyage"

The idea of piracy and how it started was for people to find money to get a better life. The living conditions at the time were very bad and a lot of people were mistreated. So it wasn't out of greed that people become pirates but it was for the sake of getting a better life. Most pirates never got to go back home but that was their dream all along - to just have enough money to live in the comfort of home.

Very rarely they made someone walk the plank or have marooned him. If they did they would give him one shot so he can "put himself out of his misery". They also used mainly the common red battle banner compared to the Jolly Roger (skull and bones). Prisoners were also treated amazingly humanely because it was more profitable to do so (higher price for slaves in good conditions etc.)

"They hated the Spanish but also all oppression. They were absolutely resolved to remain free"

Tortuga became their own little civilization and settlement. Some choose to stay there and some ventured out to sea. Little by little, it was created to be a town for pirates and smuggling and free life. At first, there weren't any women there but they transported some prostitutes from London. Little by little the settlement grew to become the capital of piracy.

The method of piracy

Use islands to mask the action and sail suddenly onto the unexpecting ship

Engage time was best at dawn and dusk → the light is not clear enough and plays as a cover

1. Weapons

The vessel is usually smaller than the victim (and they liked it that way):

• speed and the ability to maneuver; a low silhouette and a shallow draft → to allow easier escapes