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Yo-ho yo-ho, a Pirates Life for Me! - Day 6 is now! - Night 6 starts at 6pm EST


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30 minutes ago, Matts4313 said:

I have not seen sea wenches, so also wait on signing me up. 

I’ve sent some booty to your inbox. 

I hope my boss isn’t monitoring the internet usage today because I just spent about 20 minutes browsing “pirate whores, sexy pirate, pirate women butts” and a few other key terms

so that could come back to bite me later I think 

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1 hour ago, Matts4313 said:

When I play sea of thieves, I get distracted by trying to survive crazy storms and solo the kraken... that I dont even know what the actual point of the game is. 

I thought the point is to kill other people and steal their boat and smash it into an island

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Random Pirate History Lesson: Many know about the pirate activity in the Caribbean but few know of the extensive pirate legacy in the Indian Ocean and the role it played in the growth of the American colonies. At the end of the 17th century the Caribbean pirate trade became much less lucrative as security for Spanish fleets increased and the governments cracked down on piracy in the region. Not only that but on June 7, 1692 a huge earthquake completely devastated the pirate haven of Port Royal in Jamaica. Many considered it God's judgement on the local pirate population. As piracy died in the Caribbean, many pirates turned their eyes towards a new prize: the Indian Ocean.

Many exotic goods such as spices, gems, and silks were common in the Indian Ocean trade and called to the pirates. The Indian Ocean was a heavy area of trade in Asia carrying goods from India, Arabia, China and more, so there was plenty to go around. Most pirates operated with letters of marquee to give them some semblance of legitimacy on the high seas. Letters of marquee were official government documents sanctioning the capturing of ships from countries considered enemies. The profits would then be split between the privateers, investing parties, and the officiant. However these were only recognized by the countries issuing the letters of marquee and therefore the attacked ships would just see these men as pirates and in many ways they were just licensed pirates. Many men with letters never planned on attacking French ships at all but rather planned on targeting ships from the Mughal Empire. As the British Empire was not at war with the Mughals, this was flat out piracy. This did not deter American colonial officials who, hearing of the untold riches of the far east, quickly signed off on many letters of marquee to begin the new age of piracy on the other side of the world.

Estimates say that during the 1690's nearly 40 ships sailed to the Indian Ocean from America and/or returned to America from there. Almost all of those captains held letters of marquee but few if any actually followed through on attacking the French. The lure of Indian Ocean treasure was practically irresistible. One contemporary from that time said that the treasures of the Indian Ocean "are such a lure to seamen that there's almost no withholding them from turning pirates." The average legitimate seaman earned only one or two pounds a month at the time whereas a pirate could earn easily earn a hundred or even a thousand times that amount. Few mariners had problems attacking Muslim ships, even those who carried passengers on their Hajj, or pilgrimage to Mecca. In fact, these were particularly popular targets as those on their Hajj typically had their finest clothes and jewelry and also carried a lot of money on them to perform charity as they went. Most of the time the pirates prided themselves in attacking these ships, believing it to not be a sin to kill "infidels" and that it would be considered lawful to plunder "enemies of Christianity."

These pirates were not just tolerated, but celebrated by American colonists. By using pirates to bring in these exotic goods, the colonists were able to buy things for far cheaper prices than if they had been brought in legally and taxed by the British. Oftentimes the best items would be sold in London and never even make their way to the colonies. Between that and the fact that they pumped tons of money into the colonies this way made them extremely popular amongst all classes of people. Many pirates only participated in the trade long enough to build up a moderate amount of wealth and then returned to their homes, becoming upstanding members of their communities. Pirates were also protected by their communities because so many people, from family members to officials to merchants, were involved in the pirate trade and if punishments happened for those involved in piracy it would affect many prominent members of society. Pirates played an important role in the establishment of the American colonies as their own entity and many of the sentiments of the colonies being separate from the British that later blossomed into the American Revolution began during this period.

Edited by rackcs
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2 minutes ago, MWil23 said:

Rack I’m a sucker for a good history lesson. History teachers unite!!!

Pirate history is very interesting to me and I own a couple of books about it. The connections piracy has to early American colonial history is super interesting to me.

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