If I told you to imagine a pirate captain, you would have most likely imagined a tough male dude dressed in black clothes wielding a saber. He most likely also has a pet parrot and a big floppy hat. There is also a very high chance that he has an eyepatch. And I forgot to mention the big beard. If you then started to think of how his crew looked, you would probably imagine a mix and mash of men with quite a few replaced limbs. In the old days being a pirate was awesome. You have no leg? You now have a peg leg. You"re missing a hand? Have a hook. You"re deaf? Just man the cannons. The easiest way for a pirate to make a living was through intimidation. In that kind of occupation, having an extreme disability was no problem at all. Even the famous Blackbeard never had to kill until his final battle with the marines.Pirates wore eye patches because the inside of the ship was usually much darker. Therefore they used eyepatches to keep one eye adjusted to the dark. During raids, they could move the eyepatch to the other eye to drastically improve their night vision.
Back then, simple infections were a big problem. A small splinter could lead to a disabled eye or an amputated limb. And thus the terrifying image of a pirate was born.
While pa.s.sing the tropical islands, they naturally had to bring a few of the pretty colorful birds along. During the long sailing sessions, they would train these parrots as a way to combat boredom.
Most of the first pirates were sailors. They were always under a huge amount of stress and at some point decided they had enough. Thus they mutinied and started to live their lives like Robin Hoods, stealing from the rich to settle scores (not exactly giving to the poor).
The impression we have of pirates is completely outdated. Modern ones are very well equipped and organized. They now don night-vision goggles and carry AK-47s, heavy machine guns, and rocket launchers. They also navigate with GPS devices and use sophisticated speedboats mounted with heavy mortars to target ships. Most of them are a part of organized crime gangs and target anything from cargo ships to cruise ships.