During the Renaissance, society considered pirates as dirty, heartless, and evil. Pirates deliberately tried to scare their enemies. They designed their ship's flags with evil images, including a skeleton stabbing a heart. Blackbeard, one of the most famous pirates, braided his hair to look like devil's horns and carried his cutlass in his mouth to make him look evil. In fact, pirates possessed qualities that society valued and pirates were similar to other people in Renaissance society in numerous ways.
Pirate life was not very easy, but it had a well-organized leadership, just like other ship workers. On board the ship, the system of government was both dictatorship and democracy. The leader was the captain. He made all the rules and he had the final say on attack. Next came the first mate, he took orders to the shipmates and carried out orders in absence of the captain. The lowest level was the crew, they voted on whether or not to attack ships.
Henry Morgan Recruiting for the Attack: this was o...
Painting by Grigory Gagarin. Azov Cossacks fightin...
PiracyAll the crew was involved in the decision making process.
In addition to being skilled fighters, many pirates were skilled in areas that were valued in Renaissance society. The pirate doctors helped to improve health on board the ship, cure common illnesses, remove bullets, and amputate limbs. Pirate blacksmiths repaired barrels, fixed the weapons, and helped to repair the ship. The pirate carpenters fixed holes in the boat and made different items for the ship.
The duties of the average pirate were a lot like duties of ship workers of that time. They had to swab the deck to keep it from becoming slippery. Also, in times of need, they repaired minor holes and leaks on the ship. During battles, the pirates were not allowed to run away from a battle at any cost. The other...