3 Things You Didn’t Know About Ye Olde Pirates
Shiver me timbers! Here are 3 things you probably didn’t know about pirates
While modern-day maritime piracy is certainly no laughing matter, and the violent influence of the piracy of yesteryear remains a very serious topic indeed, there are certain aspects of life as an old-school pirate that are completely fascinating. This is quite evident if you look at the countless books and films it has inspired over the years. As such, we thought we’d add a dash of fun to our monthly blog by starting a series on the life and times of old-school pirates.
To start with, here are 3 fascinating things you (probably) didn’t know about ye olde pirate life:
Their food was pretty boring
Long journeys through unchartered waters with infrequent stops on dry land meant the pirate’s daily fare was not very exciting. Food could very easily become spoiled or infested, so they had to be ingenious in stocking the larders aboard their vessels. One of the staples of the pirate diet was hard tack – a very hard cracker or biscuit made from flour, water and salt. These often became infested with weevils on long journeys, and the seamen would then take to eating it in the dark to improve their dining experience. If they were feeling charitable, ships cooks might boil it in rum and brown sugar to make it more palatable. Keen to try it? Here’s a recipe you can try at home.
Their booze was more imaginative
Pirates enjoyed their tipple (no surprise there!), and restocked their supplies by raiding other ships. As such, they enjoyed a variety of liquors that included port, brandy, beer and sherry. If they were feeling particularly fancy they might mix up some bumbo (rum, water, sugar and nutmeg), or rumfustian (raw eggs, sugar, sherry, gin and beer).
They went to great lengths to stay alive
Old-school pirates didn’t give up the ghost easily. In fact, they were rather good at staying alive. In times of near-starvation rations, they could be counted on to dream up ingenious solutions. Cannibalism aside (we’ll spare you those gory details), they often turned to eating leather goods like belts or satchels. One historic journal text recommends that you cut the leather into strips, soak it in water, beat it with stones to tenderise it, scrape off any residual hair and then roast or grill the leather before cutting it into very small, easily chewable pieces. Naturally, you’d also need a fair amount of water to wash it down.
These are just a few of the fun pirate-related facts we have to share. Keep an eye on the blog in coming months as we uncover more! In the meantime, you can also have a look at the original post by Cindy Vallar that inspired ours.
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