Blind pyrates

[Salty]

Alright, inquiring minds need ta ask more wiser folk about. With battles, skirmishes, and accidents or rampant cases of VD how were eye injuireis treated or dealt with? Either in Medical, Social, or Historical aspects.

Anyone?

[Capn_Enigma]

As A. O. Exquemelin wrote, buccaneers were compensated for loss of eyesight in battle:

Then came the agreed awards for the wounded, who might have lost a limb or suffered other injuries. They would be compensated as follows: for the loss of a right arm, 600 pieces of eight or six slaves; [..]; an eye, 100 or one slave, ..

[Salty]

Thank ye for the reply, i did realize that they were compentsated but i wondered if anything else was done.

Cheers,

Salty

[The Chapman]

While not finding a lot about the cultural meaning of blindness in this time period, I am still looking, but under the category of characteristics generally known as 'disability' I found this fascinating listing:

http://library.gallaudet.edu/dr/faq-earliest-deaf.html

I had forgotten about Pepys' dinner with the deaf boy (hey, practically all that guy did was go to dinners; can you blame me?), and this site's speculation that the hand signing language used may have been related to Old Kentish hand signals.

Cool!