I’m reading Under the Black Flag, by David Cordingly. It’s a nonfiction look at pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. Pirates!
I’d guess I’m on page 2 or something, and I’ve already learned the difference between buccaneers, corsairs, and privateers. I bet you don’t know the difference. But I do!
Flipping through it a bit, I see that barely anyone ever walked the plank. I always wondered about that. I mean, why bother with all the hoopla? Kill the guy and throw him overboard. Or just throw him overboard and let him die on his own.
I have no romantic illusions about pirates, so this book won’t burst any bubbles for me. Pirates were, and are, just criminals and thugs. They’re same kind of people who mug old ladies (and young men) in alleyways, or rape women in the park. They’re bad people. It just happens that they use a boat as transport. But the fact vs. fiction aspect should be fun.
[“Avast, ye scallywag!” means, “hold on a minute, you disreputable fellow.”]
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