Why did you become a pirate?

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I spend a lot of time on this channel discussing the tactics, histories and misdeeds of pirates in the 17th century. One of my patreon supporters asked me to provide a list of motivations as to why sailors turned to piracy. To some, the decision to "go on the account" requires no motivation, or it is utterly incomprehensible. Some view it as an adventurous lifestyle of freedom, others find it ludicrous that you'd trap yourself in a wooden prison and risk every day dying from the noose or malnutrition.The truth is rarely so simple, and discussing this question can give us valueable insight into the lives of these men, who they were, and how they compare to similar groups throughout history.
Sources:
Piratical Schemes and Contracts - E.T Fox
Pirates In Their Own Words - E.T Fox
The Sea Rover's Practice - Benerson Little
A Voyage Round the World - William Dampier(based)
0:00 Introduction
1:24 Greed
3:24 Lifestyle
5:38 Forced
7:33 Slavery
9:02 Religion and Nation
11:53 Rebellion
15:21 Outro
#history #pirates #goldandgunpowder

[@spirospagiatis4731]

Me : Why did I become a pirate? The answer is simple, VENGEANCE!!!!! I WANT TO PAY BACK THOSE WHO BETRAYED ME, BUT I DON'T WANT TO KILL THEM........I WANT TO MAKE THEM SUFFER FOR ALL ETERNITY!!!!! I WANT TO HEAR THEIR SCREAMS, I WANT TO MAKE THEM CRY AND BLEED, I WANT TO SEE THEM BEG FOR THEIR LIVES, I WANT TO DRINK THEIR TEARS!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA😈😈😈😈 Bartholomew Roberts : Welcome to the club😎

[@BiggestCorvid]

Honestly, this does sound like the reactionaries I know. Can't ever back down from a fight, but also is always running away from problems in general.

[@user-wi2ns5tf3y]

Money

[@SeaDog337]

"What force leads a man to a life filled with danger, high on seas or a mile underground? It's when need is his master and poverty's no stranger, and there's no other work to be found..." - Lament for the fisherman's wife.

[@TigerBaron]

Reminds me of Askeladd's quote from Vinland Saga - "We're all slaves to something, most just don't realize it.".

[@jamesgreen6376]

Spoken like a true simp

[@michaelsmith8028]

It's that 17th and 18th century grindset bro.

[@blackhawkdown342]

Its very easy to gloss over how many pirates likely didnt have a choice. We in the modern world like to view the past as backward while romanticizing those who embraced modern values, such as freedom and individuality. Excellent video!

[@danielstryker9660]

So happy to support these videos! I myself am actually a Navy man at the moment, and downloading these videos for my underways is one of the best decisions I have made. Keep up the excellent work! Something I was interested in was any myths pirates from this era may have believed? I.E the kraken, sirens, etc.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

Thank you for the support Daniel. Email or contact me on Patreon if you want me to send you the .mp4 files of the videos. I've never encountered any such myths in the books. There were some superstitions, one group of pirates were discussing women on Valentine's day, and this apparently caused a storm. It doesn't seem to have been widespread or important enough for historians or period writers to make a note of it, however. Maybe it was something taken for granted

[@PoDaBo]

That's so awesome!!! My best friend from 3rd grade Is in the navy on a ship as well! Yall could be on the same ship! How long have you served? What force led you to join the military and navy more specifically?

[@PoDaBo]

I've been thinking about joining the military. Navy or airforce

[@_p3t3r_34]

Up to this point I thought it thought the main reasons were poverty and desperation (the rest coming after it). Exept for the two pirates who claimed they joined the pirates because: a) free alcohol b) laziness, the guy literally signed the articles, for he's heard that pirates do not work that much.

[@tg10tg]

Pirates are really interesting and something that is almost never discussed in history books. I am New but i really love your Chanel

[@JY-fs4iy]

Another comparison could be the "space pirate" I read somewhere. In a fictional future space when space travel are ubiquitous, and missile on earth cannot reach them. Hence power on earth cannot directly control them. In such chaotic space, the golden age of piracy might back again.

[@mageillus]

For the GOLD of course!

[@alexrexaros9837]

I don't know why this video hits me. On a political and spiritual level. They're passionate men. Seeing the nobles they praise as demi-gods or greater figures. And they probably never saw them. They wanted to escape banality, oppression from religious wars and political qualms, seeking thrill and adventures in the colonies, to push out violence against those they perceive as the ones responsible for their woes. The life of a pirate is that of a renegade. Renegades who acted upon the world and destroyed who they saw as the enemy. Fuckin' hell. This speaks.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

interesting interpretation

[@alexrexaros9837]

@@GoldandGunpowder Eeeeh, you can call me cringe mate. T's alright.

[@RodCornholio]

I think it's extraordinarily difficult to get in the mindset of those people in those times. It's unimaginable for most of us to deeply understand what it was like. My hunch: life - before being a pirate - was harsh, brutal, risky, and short. In their calculus, I suspect they knew that _being_ a pirate would be a little less harsh, still brutal, _more risky_ and short. The difference being - you could have more (money, wealth, stuff) if the risk went your way. Sort of the classic, high risk/high reward dilemma. I think many of them were faced with options that were not good, no matter what they chose.

[@MrChickennugget360]

i think a key factor was they mostly were already engaged in lucrative privateering and did not want to stop. Biggest factor was the nature of the New World being the "wild west" of the era. You have a perfect cocktail of vast wealth being generated in the Caribbean Colonies, lots of experienced sailors who in many cases were veterans of the wars against Spain.

[@CosplayZine]

Pirates were motived by greed and a lack of jobs after the treaties were in effect. Their tactics were bold but usually well calculated depending on who was leading them. As you said they weren't always revolting against their government like the insurrections you mentioned towards the end. However they did often think they had a right to do what they were doing so I can see the commonality there.

[@ivanivanovich4294]

One of the coolest niche channels ever. I'd love to see a video about pirate video games discussing inaccuracies, but your normal videos are exceptional Definitely subscribing! Keep up the sick and awesome content.

[@nealmaxwell790]

Even though I know, historically speaking he turned pirate mostly due to financial problems, I still like to think Stede Bonnet turned because he heard about the pirates of New Providence Island and had the mother-of-all midlife crises

[@GoldandGunpowder]

stay tuned for the Stede Bonnet bio coming the 28th

[@nealmaxwell790]

@@GoldandGunpowder I can’t friggin wait!!!

[@simba4805]

I imagine there are many people today - especially among your viewers - who think they would've become a pirate back in "the good old days" for one or more of the reasons in the video. It would be very interesting to me to actually figure out how life would have been back then and if I would've had sufficient motive and opportunity to actually become a pirate. Like, I love sailing - a lot. And depending on the family I'd be born into there would probably not have been any way to ever actually own a boat - let alone a ship. Today I can just join a sailing club for a few bucks a month and use their boats or save up for a charter trip once a year or something like that. 300 years ago the options were a lot more limited, I think. I might have joined a merchant crew to work my way up through hard work all the way to... deckhand. Now, I don't have any illsuions that I would have started a revolt among the crew and take the ship by force and start calling myself a pirate captain or anything. But I don't know if the simple opportunity to join a pirate crew where I might have even the slightest chance to have a bigger role would've been enough to take the associated risks but I'm also not sure I wouldn't have...

[@ErrolWhiteOfficial]

I would and I would plunder your ship. Coward

[@MrDDiRusso]

WHY DID I JOIN THE PIRATES? BECAUSE THEY HAVE THE COOLEST OUTFITS!

[@Erik_White]

Why become a pirate? Cause i aint payin 70 bucks to play unfinished games.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

for me its obscure european art films

[@bookofroger]

0:42 Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin on the far left jammin out! Lol

[@crusader2112]

Hey, I came from your stream with The Politicrat. This was a great video, keep up the great work. New Sub. 👍

[@GoldandGunpowder]

welcome, glad you enjoyed

[@crappystudios5824]

“Aye, I be needing a ship and crew”-Pirate

[@merafirewing6591]

Starting life as a pirate is interesting about what would be the cause for it, and also the more interesting is the that the ship's crew and officers will have their own reasons why they chose this life of crime. Heck even a soldier will end up in a den of thieves.

[@RabidPancakeDisorder]

WOOOOOOOO, LETS FUCKING GOOOO! YOU ARE A DAMN LEGEND! GNG YOU ARE THE BOSS!

[@jasondohrman7098]

Once agian, thanks for the video. Good stuff!

[@unknowntrooper_2791]

As much I like the usual memes, it was nice to have a more serious video of a topic like this. Again interesting overview. Cheers! 🏴‍☠🪙⚔

[@jackrice2770]

Perhaps the best socio/political classification of 'pirate society' is that it is an anarchy...which does not necessarily have a perjorative meaning, but indicates a society without centralized authority. The "Pirate Code' didn't contain any particularly complex political ideas, just the rather practical rules for the survival of the group. Today we might call this same social theory "libertarian", which no one can call a socially progressive philosophy, and the pirate social norms were pretty much those of their time period. Much has been made of the fact that they had a formal agreement to share their stolen income far more equitably than elsewhere, but after all, this is a criminal 'gang', you're not going to want to piss off your fellow gang members over money. The comparison to modern biker gangs is pretty apt, and when a member violates their rules, or more usually, takes proceeds not due him, the punishment is quite violent. The same would have been true in pirate crews. In a world where 'loyalty' was a very important personal quality (after all, their societies were all based on loyalty to the monarch and nobility) these men transferred their loyalty to the group, as men in combat almost always do. The basic motivation? Well, in a society where money is everything, my response to the suggestion 'they did it for the money' is "Well, duh!" Why do drug gangs sell drugs? Because they espouse a philosophy of personal freedom? It's a fool's errand to try to pick apart all the factors that came together to create the Golden Age, but us students of humanity are all fools, so why not?

[@ravenb3048]

When I was just a lad looking for my true vocation My father said "Now son, this choice deserves deliberation Though you could be a doctor or perhaps a financier My boy, why not consider a more challenging career?

[@Prometheus7272]

I think a bit part of it was the search for adventure and freedom, I'm not trying to idealise these pirates, but people often join combat arms for these reasons, look at how many join the military often not for money (it pays terribly) but because they seek an exciting life.

[@bigblue6917]

If you changed the title to why become a highwayman much of this would still be relevant. After the English Civil War ended a number of the more well to do royalists became highwaymen. Though this was as much to do about lose of lands and income as it did about taking revenge on the victors.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

i have not heard about highwaymen kidnapping and enslaving people to bolster their ranks

[@SWTORDREKKIN]

​@@GoldandGunpowder is this a dick response?

[@paulsteele8614]

This is the first video I've watched that mentioned Hornigold but then again I'm starting from the newest to oldest video, really enjoying the content

[@GoldandGunpowder]

I have a full episode on him

[@paulsteele8614]

@@GoldandGunpowder I will definitely watch it going down the list of videos most recent to oldest I'll be sure to give it a like

[@spirospagiatis4731]

Here's my pirate meme : In Nassau, you drink rum In Soviet Russia, RUM DRINKS YOU!!!!!

[@merafirewing6591]

Lmao!

[@Mad-Cat_Dan]

Rum and death should mean the same you!

[@hobo8420]

Great video, do u know which book the part about sailors making more than tailors is from? Seems like a very interesting notion. iirc wages in wartime went up for all sailors

[@nikoisland6731]

I like the romanticized view of pirates, but i also like learning actual history. I think your videos are cool

[@BlockPartiesOfficial]

These videos are making me desperately crave being able to see a day in the life of a pirate with my own two eyes

[@wayneashford5697]

i've recently wrote & drew my own comic book about an un-employed man who's a 🦸... dressed up as a Pirate.

[@sapeurmaboul4046]

13 : 41 i discover your channel with the review of captain blood novel

[@junglediff9546]

Can you make a vid on urban legends and myths pirates belived in

[@rebralhunter6069]

So I see you set a premier date a week before the videos goes live, on both your channels. Does that do anything to increase viewers hip? Or do you really just like the premier feature

[@GoldandGunpowder]

It's to announce the videos and build hype

[@rebralhunter6069]

@@GoldandGunpowder makes sense. I ask because most people I watch on youtube will set the video premiere like 1-3 days before it goes live, whereas you do a week. I was curious if that impacted viewers or not but it seems not. I generally dont enjoy premiers personally. But seeing yours pop up does actually get me pretty hyped for the video. Your channels are one of the few on KZbin that are an instant watch for me when I see them go live.

[@Vepantteri]

Ah, I get asked this question almost everyday

[@benjamindover5549]

I read somewhere that Pedro Gilbert was one of the very last pirates in the Americans, could you do a video on him?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

only 1630-1730 on this channel

[@jamesgreen6376]

My biggest regret in life was I wasn't there on January 6th a pirate's life for me

[@anon2034]

13:43 probably post on 4chan too!

[@derekdreke4990]

Tired of the man and this was the best way around it also because they didn't have motorcycles back then and being on the sea was pretty dam cool

[@JCOwens-zq6fd]

The same list of varied reasons so many of us turn toward criminality today really. Whole tech & culture have changed human beings are pretty much the same.

[@davehigh2275]

Aye, a simple sailor in the kings navy. who wanted his own ship and had a mind set to get what he wanted by the sweat of his own effort. I ask no quarter and none given! Ye make your own future however short it may be.

[@brookingsbeachcomber]

freedom and anti-establishment

[@brookingsbeachcomber]

not to mention all the free contraband

[@ChicoNahui]

Thank you for discussing the historical reality of the relations between pirates and slavery. I believe in a "warts-and-all" view of history, anything less is a disservice to historical fact. Some well-intentioned folks take too much of a candy-coated view of history, and ironically that type of thinking actually hinders the progress these folks are trying to achieve. 🏴‍☠️

[@GoldandGunpowder]

I've got several videos concerning pirates and slavery lined up for black history month

[@ChicoNahui]

@@GoldandGunpowder oh, nice! I will be looking out for those. Any plans on going more in-depth about Spanish Guarda Costas?

[@GoldandGunpowder]

I'll cover them a bit in some upcoming videos but not nearly enough

[@ChicoNahui]

@@GoldandGunpowder right on! Keep up the great work!

[@thebobbalo1]

FOR THE CLOUT LOL

[@user-ju5el6eg4f]

Many true facts that we decidded to become pirates but i however will sail each haunted shores and dreadful sea's forever that there i will become captain king.

[@glennroberts3069]

It’s In my blood and DNA. Black Bart is my however many great greats Grampa!

[@treblestrings6263]

Why did I become a Pirate? BECAUSE MY DREAM IS TO BECOME THE KING OF PIRATES!

[@jackdorsey4850]

Newbie subscriber, give me the pirate oath love this channel

[@rustycyborg8492]

To find the One Piece

[@setituptoblowitup]

🤔

[@cr0sad3r70]

Piracy? Really? A man of your talents?

[@piotrwisniewski70]

It's a peaceful life Well, not peaceful, but rum

[@funnelvortex7722]

It's a tough question with no clear answer for sure, it's definitely tough to get into the mindset of someone who lived in a very different time. Some may have been motivated by liberal (or at least what they saw in their eyes as "liberal") values, others greed, others were political fanatics, some may have been bored, others had no choice, and I am sure a few were just sociopaths. There were so many sailors who became pirates, each had their own reasons, it's hard to really collect all possible reasons in one video. I think the thing to really ask in regards to this is: if specifically you lived in the time period and wound up as a pirate, why would *you* become a pirate? I know what my reason would be. Deep in my mind are dark and brutal thoughts bred by pure frustration with my life situation and the world which caused it. Dark and brutal thoughts that an unrestrained and desperate man would strive to make a reality. A lot of these men were probably unrestrained, desperate men who had a mountain of frustrations, each personal, and a life of piracy was one of the many ways they acted out.

[@skeletor6789]

Thank you for all the research man, may I say that I believe the Golden Age of Pirates was the revolution of the freedom of the world...lots people did not want the coming of Empires and Civilization...what if?...just thinking out loud...

[@CosplayZine]

I feel as though what we know about pirates is rather lacking as far as depth (expecially from that biased source that many have used for their pirate info aside from this channel). As we've heard tales of pirates using tactics to get what they want we often think of the few pirates who were known/legendary and forget that there were so so many who weren't mentioned much in history if at all. Those of which who didn't have a large ship or even any cannons to their name. Sometimes all it took was a few muskets to board a ship, take the contents and they'd be on their merry way. It wasn't always about the big prizes of course and that would have been a more dangerous pursuit. There was, from what I learned in my studies, the fear that slaves would overtake the ship so the slaver/blackbirder seamen had to take measures to try to stop attacks from both pirates and slave revolts. Many jumped over board as you know. Merchants may have had a bit less worried in those regards and were fairly easy targets for legends like Black Sam, Bonnet, Roberts, Blackbeard and other pirates. Many merchants often didn't want to fight or didn't have the means. So do I want a ship full of possibly diseased or weak people to sidetrack my voyage? Not if my ship is small and already crowded. Maybe a slave who is strong and healthy otherwise any slaves taken could also could just as likely revolt against the pirates. Even the strong ones may have done the same. Pirates didn't have a net structure to prevent them from jumping ship like some slave ships had. So all in all maybe the pirates motivation was based on how big their crew were and if they were part of a company or not and that would drive what they desired more than anything. Hope my take on the subject wasn't too boring for you to read 😂 Would Love to hear your thoughts on Black Sam and how the discovery of his ship played a role in treasure hunting or how it increased the popularity of pirate lore etc. I think it would make for an interesting video. I must say, your videos help paint a better picture than many channels on KZbin. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and research with us and for all the awesome content.

[@CosplayZine]

Btw I know pirates such as Blackbeard weren't against slavery and perhaps he grew up on a plantation himself in Jamaica as the recent discoveries suggest. He was reported to have had many black crew members aboard his ship. Perhaps more native speaking (like you mentioned in one of your videos) from the island than slaves I'd assume. If he said it "They were a bakers dozen" I'd like to know the source of that. Couldn't find it online. And perhaps the slave ships carried more weapons, food, medicine and gold than the merchants. Slavery it's a a sensitive subject of course but an important one to many who know or study about the Atlantic Slave Trade.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

I will cover Black Sam sometime in the future, most likely not this year All of the blacks aboard Blackbeard's ship were slaves. This is evidenced by the fact that after Blackbeard landed in Carolina, they slowly started disappearing: they were sold off. We know Blackbeard had contacts with the local plantationers, who were desperate for slaves at this time. One of them was Tobias Knight, who bought 2 slaves from BB. When Blackbeard was defeated he had 10 men aboard his sloop. 4 of those were black - we know their names, and we know that they were slaves. They even agreed to testify against the pirates in return for mercy, but since they had taken up arms against the crown they were hanged. Black Caesar(only known as Caesar) wasn't a crewman of Blackbeard but a slave owned by Tobias Knight. More on that next month. The idea that Caesar was one of Blackbeard's crewman stems from a misinterpretation of A General History. "As the slaves were transferred, Blackbeard told the Princess’s commander, Captain John Bedford, that he “had got a baker’s dozen,” suggesting that he regarded these particular blacks as commodities, rather than recruits."

[@BIGESTblade]

Why would someone turn to piracy out of simple greed? Most pirates would end up dead by the hands of pirate hunters, disease, or starvation. Since they were hunted by every government they couldn't even spend their money on anything more substantial than wenches, better weapons and other small joys of life. Hardly a way to get rich despite a few lucky exceptions.

[@commanderbell1965]

As a Black Man I would be a Pirate. Better than slave.

[@raymond5194]

The same as the drug traffickers and dealers of the 1980s.

[@slavsquatsuperstar]

Simple, I’m not paying a week’s wage for some broken photo editing software. Oh wait… ;P

[@GoldandGunpowder]

that was my reason aswell but don't tell Sony

[@rachdarastrix5251]

So African slaves at the time could powder their face dress fancy put on a pipe look snobby and make jokes while under a fake English accent and the crew will laugh and be entertained? Actually doesn't sound like a bad life.

[@ThexVaultxTech]

A number of pirates became pirates because they were addicted to chocolate and would do anything as long as they had a piping mug of chocolate with them. Better than gold, better than booze- happiness and freedom to have it.

[@piraticvs]

Bcuz muh freedom and society bad

[@locomotora6921]

Bro I love your channel but comparing pirates to protesters that the authorities clearly failed to control, is complete garbage, and damning to people that are otherwise just hate how corrupt some aspects of the US government.

[@GoldandGunpowder]

I didn't condemn nor endorse any action or group in this video. It can be interpreted either way depending on the viewer's personal opinions

[@SWTORDREKKIN]

I was looking for this comment. I thought that, too, was a low blow. We now know that most of the instigators were informants. Yeah, the USA is corrupt AF.

[@SWTORDREKKIN]

​@@GoldandGunpowder Who are you kidding with that reply? I respect bias a hell of a lot more than your attempt to obfuscate.

[@kekethetoad]

Cinge redditor tier.