Pirate Misconception, Thanks to Media

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Pirates: strong and fierce men plundering ships, bathing in gold coins and drinking the days away-- thanks to the movie Pirates of the Caribbean the pirate life has been shown in a glorified light. Johnny Depp acting as a drunk captain with amazing adventures leads viewers to believe it was fun to be a pirate. In reality, life out at sea was far from fun; risks were everywhere, both from being killed by other buccaneers or illness on the ship. The shocking real life of a pirate contrasts dramatically with the glorified lifestyle shown in today’s media.
A pirate is most commonly known as someone who robs or commits illegal acts of violence at sea or on the shores. Piracy is a way of life, a lifestyle choice where stealing means obtaining money. Piracy today, in many ways is very similar to piracy hundreds of years ago, only now with better technology. Piracy takes place in high routes of trade usually in areas that go through narrow straights or between islands. (Cordingly 18.) Many pirates target merchant ships approaching shores, because the smaller pirate ships could maneuver around come up faster than larger cargo ships. There have been many attempts and organizations working to stop piracy for centuries but it seems to only adapt vs disappear.
The Golden Age of Piracy was not only the most popular period for pirates, but it was and still is the inspiration for art, stories, poems and even movies today. The Golden Age took place at the beginning of the 18th century, and lasted 30 years until 1722 when 52 of Captain Roberts’ men were hung. (Marx 100.) During this period pirates plundered all the seas but most stories come from the Indonesian islands, the English channel, the Atlantic and of course the Caribbean. Thes...

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... Media may alter the way pirates were portrayed but as the world can see piracy has some very deep and dark secrets.

Works Cited

Alchin, Linda. “Pirate Clothing.” Elizabethan Era. Elizabethan-era.org.uk. May 16, 2012.
January 19, 2014. http://www.elizabethen-era.org.uk/copyright.html. Online.
Cordingly, David. “Introduction.” A World Wide Illustrated History: Pirates. North Dighton,
MA: JG Press, 1998. Print
Ellen, Eric. “Piracy Today.” A World Wide Illustrated: Pirates. North Dighton, MA: JG
Press, 1998. Print.
Kirkpatrick, Jennifer. “Blackbeard: Pirate Terror at Sea.” National Geographic.com September/6/2010. Jan/13/2014/. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/pirates/ bbeard/html#top. Online
Marx, Jennifer G. “The Golden Age of Piracy.” A World Wide Illustrated History of Pirates.
North Dighton, MA: JG Press, 1998. Print.

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