elanya

Out of Their Element: Pirate Interactions Ashore

It was Providence. Supplies were getting low, for one thing, and the whole company was edgy. But now someone had spied a sail in the distance. It was small, probably a sloop out of New York or Boston, full of provisions and English goods to trade in the West Indies. It was a good prize, if they could catch it, and maybe their ship would be in a better state – less worm eaten and with lighter heels.

The sloop had surely seen them too, and as the pirates set more sails to pick up some speed, their prey made to do the same. The captain, whose authority during the chase was absolute, would have none of it. "Run up the flag!" He bellowed, "Fire a shot off their bow, and see if that takes the fire out of their bellies!" The crew scurried to obey, priming one of the ship's guns, and hoisted their black colors at the mainmast head. Their tactics of intimidation succeeded, and the prey spilled the wind from her sails once she heard the gun. It was a wise decision, as the pirates were closing the distance already.

The crew was not prepared to put away their weapons straight away. The quartermaster selected some men to go aboard the prize and take stock of the prize. Meanwhile, the captain and another gang of rogues interrogated the sloop's men, to be sure that they wouldn't miss any hidden treasure, and see if there were any volunteers for the sweet trade. They rounded up the sloop's crew, brandishing pistols and cutlasses in their faces as they harangued the prisoners about their cargo and the sailing qualities of their ship.

It was a good haul. There was plenty of provisions, and liquor enough for a day or two of extensive merrymaking. They even took on some new men, including an unwilling carpenter. His services were necessary, as the pirates voted to keep the prize, and they needed to refit it to suit their design. After ensuring the sloop's crew would not simply run into the nearest port with tales of the robbery, the pirates handed gifted the captives their old vessel. The pirates had no plans to stick around in any case… other prizes awaited them!

The plundering could not continue indefinitely. Eventually, their ships would be burdened with too much plunder, or too much built up marine growth on their bottoms. They would need to unload, or clean, or both. So where would they go? What would they do? And where, initially, did they come from?

Piracy, by definition, is a maritime occupation. Pirates operate from ships, on the seas. We know more about their shipboard activities, because the things that made them pirates took place at sea. Similarly, the societies they formed at sea are the best studied. But this focus on their marine lifeways overlooks the fact that pirates did not only live, or operate, on the water. Pirates went ashore for many different reasons, and understanding the interactions that took place on land is important to creating a complete picture of pirate life.