Pirates are people who attack and rob ships at sea. They might seem like a lot of fun in the ride, but you definitely would not want to meet one outside of the Disney Parks! The pirates that sailed the Caribbean were a scary bunch, and would not hesitate to torture or kill their victims in order to get their hands on some more loot.

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During the early 1700s, there were around 2000 pirates in the Caribbean. This period is called the Golden Age of Piracy. 

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We often think of pirates as having lots of treasure, piles of gold and silver looted from their enemies. However, this was not the case. Pirates mostly stole valuable things that they could easily sell like sugar or cloth, or they took things to help them survive, like food, wine, and medicine. 

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Speaking of plunder, it turns out that pirates rarely buried treasure. Stories about them hiding their riches became popular because of Captain Kidd’s legendary lost treasure. No one has ever found it, but it could be worth around $10 million today, if it actually exists. Most pirates spent their plunder quickly when they returned to port — there was no need to bury their loot unless they were being chased by the navy. Pirate treasure maps where X marks the spot are just stories unfortunately. 

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Pirates did not actually make people walk the plank — if they wanted to kill you, they had swords and pistols for that! And if they wanted to kick you off the ship, they would just leave you on a desert island and sail away.

 

There were rules on pirate ships that all members of the crew had to follow. They declared how any treasure they captured should be shared out, banned any fighting amongst the pirates whilst on the ship, and even told them when they had to put out their lights for bed — 8 o’clock! 

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There were very few women pirates. On most pirate ships, women were not allowed on board, and if any of the crew tried to break the rules they could be marooned or killed. There were two famous female pirates in the Caribbean though, called Anne Bonny and Mary Read — for their story, check out Terrible Tales of Petrifying Pirates!

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Pirate captains were in charge of the ship and gave orders to the other pirates when they were fighting their enemies. The rest of the time though, pirates decided things together by voting. Even the captain was voted for, and if he was not doing a good job, he could be voted out!

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Pirates in the Caribbean were hunted down and executed. They were no match for the might of the Royal Navy, which had 13,000 sailors and lots of powerful warships at its disposal. If caught, pirates would be taken to court and were often sentenced to death for their crimes. 

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After they were executed, the authorities would sometimes put pirates’ bodies in cages and hang them from tall wooden posts called gibbets. Captain Kidd’s body was dipped in tar to stop it rotting and hung over the mouth of the River Thames for three years after his execution, as an example to other pirates of what would happen to them if they were caught.