OLD THREAD: Pirates! And General Discussion

 So.....  Since I've been watching Black Sails on Starz, I decided to delve into the world of pirates this week.

The AI overview on Google gave me some good summations which I'll put here considering, for a number of decades now at least, we have glamorized and romanticized pirates in many forms, to the point of even having a recent Disney kid's show made about them. 

"The real story of pirates in history is far more complex and nuanced than popular portrayals suggest. While the "Golden Age of Piracy" (roughly 1650s-1730s) is often romanticized, it was a period marked by both daring exploits and brutal realities. Pirates were not always the swashbuckling heroes of fiction, but rather individuals motivated by factors like poverty, political instability, and the lure of wealth."

I am guilty of enjoying the glossed over image of pirates that our current society holds.  Jack Sparrow, for instance, is a good example. Long John Silver is another. And so on and so forth.  Sure, some have been used as villains in various depictions - I'm looking at you, Captain Hook and Captain Gutt - but they're even toned down and used more as comedic foils than the murderous scallywags of old.  We also had our own beloved, short lived, pirate pro wrestling gimmick in Pirate Paul Burchill. 

More AI overview: "The Reality of Pirate Life:

Pirate life was often brutal and short, with high mortality rates from disease, combat, and executions."

Some were real: Edward Teach/Blackbeard, Charles Vane, "Calico Jack" Jack Rackham, Anne Bonny, and captain Henry Morgan.  But other popular ones were not: Long John Silver, Captain Flint, Captain Barbosa, and many more.

So.....  Avast, ye swabs, man the yards, hoist the sails, keelhaul the landlubbers, and discuss your favorite pirate shows, movies, books, or characters, and also anything else you want.  Yarrrrrrrr!

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