Ahoy, Matey

Shipmates,
this week we’re hoisting the lantern and peering into the fog between pirate legend and pirate truth.

Hollywood has given us parrots on shoulders, hooks for hands, peg legs tapping the deck, and unlucky souls forced to walk the plank—but how much of that actually happened on the high seas?

In this issue, we cut through the myths to uncover what pirates really did, why certain tropes stuck, and how pirate imagery sailed from history into pop culture, sports, and modern festivals. Along the way, we’ll explore how the word “pirate” itself became a badge of rebellion—and why it still flies proudly today.

No tall tales required. Just salt, history, and a sharp eye.

☠️🏴‍☠️ WHAT MAKES A PIRATE A PIRATE?

Pirates, Privateers, Buccaneers—and a Baseball Team That Stole the Name

The word pirate gets thrown around freely — in movies, sports, and pop culture — but at sea, the label once carried very specific meaning. In the Age of Sail, the difference between a hero and a hanging offense often came down to paperwork.

Let’s break it down me hearties.

⚓ PIRATE — OUTLAW OF THE SEA

A pirate was simple, brutal, and illegal.

Pirates operated without the approval of any government. They attacked ships of all nations, flew their own flags, and answered only to their crews. If captured, pirates could expect little mercy — trial was often brief, and execution followed swiftly.

Pirates chose freedom over legitimacy.
And they paid for it with their lives.

📜 PRIVATEER — PIRATE WITH PERMISSION

A privateer was a legal pirate — at least on paper.

Privateers carried a Letter of Marque, issued by a government during wartime. This document authorized them to attack enemy shipping, seize cargo, and keep a share of the profits.

To their home nation, they were patriots.
To their enemies, they were pirates.

When wars ended, privateers faced a choice:

• Return to lawful trade

• Or keep raiding — and become true pirates

Many of the most infamous pirates, including Benjamin Hornigold, began as privateers.

🏝️ BUCCANEER — PIRATE BY REGION

Originally, buccaneers weren’t sailors at all.

The term came from French hunters on Hispaniola who smoked meat on wooden frames called boucan. When European empires clashed in the Caribbean, these men turned their guns seaward and became raiders.

Over time, buccaneer became a regional term for Caribbean pirates — especially those targeting Spanish ships and ports in the 1600s.

By the Golden Age, the word was as much romantic shorthand as legal definition.

⚖️ CORSAIR — PIRATE BY ANOTHER FLAG

A corsair was essentially a Mediterranean privateer.

Operating under the authority of North African states like Algiers or Tunis, corsairs raided European shipping across the Mediterranean and Atlantic. Like privateers elsewhere, legality depended entirely on perspective.

To one side: defenders of the realm.
To the other: sea-borne terrorists.

🧭 FREEBOOTER — A BROADER TERM

A freebooter (from the Dutch vrijbuiter) was a looser term for raiders who lived by plunder — not always strictly at sea. It eventually fed into the English word filibuster.

If a pirate didn’t want labels, “freebooter” worked just fine.

🏴‍☠️ SO WHAT DOES “PIRATE” REALLY MEAN?

At its core, pirate has always meant this:

Someone who takes what others failed to protect — and refuses to ask permission.

Which brings us, unexpectedly, to baseball.

⚾🏴‍☠️ THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES — PIRACY AS A BADGE OF HONOR

The Pittsburgh Pirates didn’t choose their name for costumes or mascots.

They earned it through scandal.

In the early 1890s, Pittsburgh’s baseball club — then called the Alleghenys — signed second baseman Lou Bierbauer, who had previously played for the Philadelphia Athletics. Philadelphia claimed they still owned his rights.

Pittsburgh pointed out a loophole: Bierbauer wasn’t on Philadelphia’s protected reserve list.

The Athletics were furious.

They accused Pittsburgh of “piratical conduct” — stealing a player through technicality rather than force.

Instead of apologizing, Pittsburgh embraced the insult.

Newspapers began calling them the Pirates. Fans loved it. By the early 20th century, the name became official.

Just like real pirates of old:

• They exploited the rules

• Defied authority

• And turned accusation into identity

🧭 THE PIRATE TRUTH

Whether on the high seas or the baseball field, piracy has never been about eyepatches and parrots.

It’s about boldness, defiance, and the willingness to take a risk others wouldn’t.

Different centuries.
Different battlegrounds.
Same spirit.

☠️🏴‍☠️ PIRATE TROPES: FACT, FICTION, AND A FEW TALL TALES

Thanks to books, stage plays, and Hollywood, pirates have become a walking bundle of clichés. But some of those tropes have roots in truth… while others were invented long after the last black flag fell.

Let’s separate real pirate life from storybook nonsense.

🦜 PARROTS ON SHOULDERS — MOSTLY FICTION

Did pirates keep exotic birds?
Yes.

Did they strut around with parrots perched on their shoulders at all times?
Absolutely not.

Parrots, monkeys, and other animals were valuable trade goods and curiosities from the Caribbean and South America. A pirate might own one — but a parrot was more likely in a cage than squawking mid-battle.

The shoulder-parrot image owes more to Victorian fiction than to deck life.

🦿 PEG LEGS & HOOK HANDS — TRUE (AND SAD)

This one’s real.

Pirate life was brutal. Cannon fire, splintered wood, disease, and poor medicine meant amputations were common. Pirates often lost limbs — and improvised replacements.

Wooden legs, crude hooks, and basic prosthetics existed, though they were far less dramatic than modern portrayals. No spring-loaded hooks. No stylish capes.

Just survival.

🗣️ “ARRR!” PIRATE TALK — MOSTLY MADE UP

Pirates didn’t all speak in exaggerated growls.

They spoke like sailors of their time — English, Welsh, Irish, Dutch, African, Caribbean Creole — often multiple languages at once. Accents varied wildly depending on where a pirate came from.

The classic pirate voice comes largely from 20th-century actors, not 18th-century decks.

That said… sailors did swear creatively.

🪢 WALKING THE PLANK — RARE, BUT REAL

Despite popular belief, walking the plank was not standard pirate punishment.

Pirates preferred quicker methods — marooning, whipping, or execution. That said, a few documented cases exist, especially when pirates wanted to make a spectacle or terrify witnesses.

So yes — it happened.
Just not nearly as often as fiction suggests.

🏴‍☠️ BURIED TREASURE — MOSTLY A MYTH

Pirates didn’t usually bury treasure.

Why? Because pirate loot was meant to be spent quickly — on rum, supplies, weapons, and pleasure. Crews divided plunder immediately.

The idea of treasure maps and buried chests owes far more to Treasure Island than to reality.

⚖️ PIRATE DEMOCRACY — SURPRISINGLY TRUE

Here’s the trope that undersells reality.

Pirates voted for their captains.
They had written articles.
They divided loot by agreed shares.
They compensated injured crew.

In many ways, pirate ships were more democratic than the nations hunting them.

🧭 THE PIRATE TRUTH

Pirates weren’t cartoon villains or romantic heroes.

They were desperate men and women navigating violence, opportunity, and survival — sometimes cruel, sometimes principled, always human.

And if the truth is less tidy than the myths?

That just makes the real stories better.

🏴‍☠️ PIRATE BOOTY OF THE WEEK — Looks great on and off the Seas

Pirates Skull Fitted Baseball Cap

A treasure fit for any deckhand, fan, or modern-day pirate who bleeds black and gold.

Whether you’re cheering from the stands or keeping the sun out of your eye on deck, this high-quality fitted cap shows your colors loud and proud. It’s a fine piece of gear for:

• Game days (baseball or pirate reenactments)

• Faire wanderings and festival strolls

• Deck parties (rum optional)

• Every time you want to signal allegiance to a crew

  Like the team that took its name from real accusations of “piratical conduct,” this hat doesn’t just shield yer brow — it tells the world whose side you’re on. I do like this one for meself!

  👉 Claim yer cap o’ plunder:
  https://amzn.to/3NwARyi

🏴‍☠️⚓ PIRATE FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT — THIS WEEKEND

Kerrville Renaissance Festival

📍 Kerrville, Texas Jan 17th, 18th, 24th, 25th, 31st, Feb 1st

🗓 This Coming Weekend

If yer boots itch for sawdust and steel and yer mug longs for something stronger than grog, set yer course for the Kerrville Renaissance Festival — where pirates have carved out their own corner of the realm.

This festival isn’t just knights and nobles. It proudly features a Pirate Pavilion, where sea dogs, scoundrels, and black-flag loyalists gather to swap tales, show off their finest garb, and remind the rest of the fair who truly rules the waves.

☠️ What Makes It Pirate-Approved

• 🏴‍☠️ Dedicated Pirate Pavilion — a proper haunt for buccaneers, privateers, and renegades

• 🍹 Pirate Cocktail Bar — because no good raid ever ended with water

• ⚔️ RenFaire revelry mixed with maritime mischief

• 🎶 Music, performances, and characters ready for a little chaos

Whether ye come in full regalia or just curious to wander into pirate territory, this is the kind of fair where the black flag flies proudly among the banners.

👉 Plot your course here:
https://kerrvillerenfest.com/

If you find yerself raising a glass beneath the pirate colors this weekend, consider it a sanctioned act of piracy — and tell ’em The Pirate Republic sent ye.

☠️ Captain’s Log

That’s the watch, crew.

Pirates were never just the costumes and clichés—they were outlaws, opportunists, survivors, and sometimes symbols bigger than the men themselves. Some legends were earned. Others were invented. And a few refuse to die, no matter how often history tries to sink them.

Keep your compass true, your cutlass sharp, and your curiosity sharper still.

Until next tide,
Fair winds, full cups, and just enough mischief to stay dangerous.

🗣️ Share the Spoils, Matey!
Know someone who loves pirate lore, myth-busting, and salty truth? Don’t keep the gold to yourself.

📜 Join the crew → https://www.thepiraterepublic.com/weeklynewsletter-thepiraterepublic

⚓ SAIL WITH US ACROSS THE DIGITAL SEAS

📜 TikTok: @thepiraterepublic
▶️ YouTube: The Pirate Republic

🎖️ THANKS FOR SAILING WITH THE CREW

We set sail every Friday, storm or shine — delivering pirate history, legends, and lore from across the seas.

Keep yer spyglass trained on the horizon,
rest when the winds allow,
and may your course be steady, your hold full, and your tales worth telling.

If ye stumble upon treasure, tall tales, or pirate lore worth sharing, send word to:
📧 [email protected]

Disclosure: Some links in this newsletter are affiliate links, which means we may earn a few extra doubloons if you make a purchase — at no extra cost to you. Thanks for keeping The Pirate Republic afloat, ya savvy sea dog. 🏴‍☠️