Pirate Living: Grim and Gritty, Part 2

by Marianne Ruane

The majority of pirates were honest sailors who were either forced to become pirates when their ship was conquered or who willingly did so to escape the horrible conditions on their own ship. The British navy commonly forced men into sailor jobs, and seventy percent of those coerced died within two years.¹ Being captured by a pirate ship offered a slightly better alternative.

When pirates captured a ship, they would ask the sailors whether they had been fairly treated by their captain and commanding officers. If they hadn’t, the offending parties would be killed or tortured. “This was actually a common practice among some pirates, some of whom used more elaborate forms of punishment, like making the torturers run in circles for ten minutes while the men stuck forks, knives and compasses into their butts.”²