Heroes or Villains?

We live life everyday knowing that one day we will eventually die. But the real question is; when you die would you want to be remembered as a hero or a villain? Personally, I would want to be remembered as a hero, and not be associated with the word villain at all. Pirates, on the other hand, probably think they are viewed as heroes but are no where near that. In Under the Black Flag, pirates are described as very prideful people, as well as being thieves and unmerciful, and these are not hero traits. The way I see it is, everything that we do in this life will not go unseen or will not go unpaid for either. And because pirates do so many awful things, they are villains and that their destinies are doomed for destruction and their careers are going to eventually end, and they will end badly.

In Buccaneers and Pirates it mentions that from a young age the author wanted to be a pirate. He wanted to be like Robin Hood, but from the sea. These positive views about pirates were because of movies and plays he had seen before. These forms of media portray pirates to be heroic figures because of their bravery and the different roles they had on their ships; which of course make children want to be a captain or a crew member of a pirate ship.

But in reality, pirates were just violent men who showed no mercy to their victims by hurting them, and eventually killing them or keeping them as slaves. Pirates robbed people of their belongings just because they could and would keep the goods that belonged to their victims. Even when on Privateers, they had a letter of marque and reprisal, which granted them permission to steal belongings, but still they would withheld goods from the King (the one granting permission), knowing it was not right.

In Pirates and Privateers by Cindy Vallar, it is said that the buccaneers were originally hunters who lived on a small island in the Caribbean, but were then run off by the Spanish which made them upset and they began having reckless behavior. They began raiding Spanish towns, and torturing people which made them view cruelty as an art form. L' Ollonais, along with Rock Braziliano, were viewed as the two worst buccaneers in history. They were thirsty for violence and tortured people without remorse. Not once did either of these men do any heroic acts or anything worthy of looking up to. Which explains why they were only successful in their careers for about seven years.

When you live a revengeful life, like both of these buccaneers did, towards the Spaniards, nothing good comes out of it. You hurt innocent people in the process of your revenge and you go down in history being viewed as a villain, which is exactly how I view these men.

.

Myth Busters

Myths are stories about someone or something that are not necessarily true or false. They are stories passed down from person to person to create a bigger story about a certain subject. For example, pirates. There are many different myths about pirates and how they looked, how they dressed, how they acted or how they were as people. Many of these myths are false but some of these myths are quite true as well.

While reading Under The Black Flag, the author mentions different myths and explains how and why these myths came to be. One myth that many people have heard before is that pirates make their victims walk the plank, but that is nowhere near the truth. People assumed this was true because of the way pirates are portrayed in the movies. The truth of the matter is that pirates did not have the time or patience to make their victims walk the plank; they just hacked their victims to death and threw them of the sides of their boats. Another well-known myth is that pirates would bury their treasure and that is in fact not true. Pirates considered their treasure to be bales of silk, barrels of tobacco, different carpenter tools and even black slaves. These goods were probably better use to them if they were not buried. 

Although, not all myths about pirates are false. In movies pirates are always seen flying the "Jolly Roger" which is the black flag with the skull and bones. This was true; many pirates flew this flag, but they did also fly other different pirate flags as well. Another myth about pirates is that their ships were rowdy and boisterous vessels full of drunk men. This, as well was true. The pirates would pass time drinking rum and fighting over absolutely nothing and would even end up killing their own men. Of course, this meant their ships were loud because of all the ruckus.

Pirates were very unpredictable, unruly, violent people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3fztn2roaw

Myths About Pirates

Throughout history pirates have always been seen as "savage" people, and I understand why. When I think of a pirate, I think of a mean, tall, bearded man, with an eye patch, and a parrot sitting on his shoulder. I think of this because of all the different pirate movies I have watched.

In the movies, pirates are usually represented as a crew of mean men traveling together on a big boat to find treasure, or to steal goods and riches from other people traveling on boats. Not only that, but pirates are also known for hurting people, killing people and even kidnapping them. Pirates are also represented as, not so clean people who wear raggedy clothes and dirty hats. Although, there is many different types of pirates, which I am sure wear different clothes and have different styles.

There are many myths, as well as misconceptions about pirates. For example, many people think that pirates bury their treasures and create maps with "x" marking the spots of the places where they once buried them. Another myth, is that pirates wear eye patches for one of two reasons. One, being that they are missing an eye, or two, they use the eye patch as a technique to help their eyes adjust to the light of day and the darkness of the lower decks of their boats. Another myth about pirates is that they have their own slang. For example, that they say phrases like, "arr" and "matey." Another known myth about pirates is that when they lose limbs, whether it be their hands or legs they replace them with hooks and peg legs. One of the last myths about pirates is that they no longer exist. People think that pirates just somehow died off and that piracy is not a thing anymore. 

About Me

I am twenty years young and have a two year old daughter. My passion is cooking, although I am not the best at it. I love visiting the beach and spending time with my family. One day I would love to travel the world.