The emotional cost of Pyracy

[Patrick Hand]

I was wondering exactly what it meant to "Go Pyrate"

Think about it for a moment, you can never go back home, you can never see anyone that you knew as you were growing up, you can't go and see you parents if they were still alive, you no longer have a Country, you are an outlaw.

Sure, we are just "playing"

But what did it really mean back then?

Obviously there was a reason that many Pyrates became alcoholics...

Plunder, wealth, power sounds fun, but what was the price?

[Capn_Enigma]

I do not see much of a problem there. Sure, you burn the bridges behind yourself, but you are far from being "alone and on your own" afterwards.

You swap one social surroundings with another, but, after all, that is the life of every sailor, be it then or now: When I mustered on aboard my various ships, I knew that I would not see friends or relatives for at least half a year. But you can make new friends aboard the ships you are on, or even in the harbors you visit.

In the 17th century, sea voyages were even longer and could last a year or two, so leaving your home behind was part of normal sailor life.

[Phillip Black]

It seems to me that most pirates had given up hope of "seeing home or family" before even turning pirate...perhaps even coming to this conclusion prior to leaving for their first voyage in the merchants or Royal navy.

Still, it would be interesting to know what the effects of some prozac could have had on a pirate crew...

[Silkie McDonough]

Knowing what you are giving up and coping with it are two different things! I moved from my home city to a city 6 hours away and it was very difficult. I had the US mail, computers and telephones to stay in touch but not having a support system around is difficult and you don't always get along with your coworkers. Some pirates may have found themselves in situations that they did not choose and had not planned to be away so long. I think it would have been very tough. Additionally, as in so many things, every one handles things differently. Two men, same situation ...many possible reactions!

[Phillip Black]

That's very true, and something to remember. Pirates were a relatively small percentage of the demographic if I'm not mistaken. So, perhaps those that turned pirate, just had a penchant or tendency to deal with the separation from home, etc. in that way...

[CaptainCiaran]

I wonder how much the Age (time period) itself played into it. Back then life expectancy was so short, and disease, war, sickness were even greater threats than they currently are. I also wonder how much more common it were for people to give up their children (to other relatives or into the Church or the military) due to economics and such. Was it uncommon back then for people to be here one day and gone the next?

Basically I imagine that there might not have been the same sort of emotional or social bonds then as there are now. Not that people didn't love and care; I'm sure they did! But just the times were different from ours.

Very interesting topic, Patrick.

[oderlesseye]

Pirates fer the most part are not "frozen in the theme of piracy"

Lots of 'em would go on~one or two cruises to make some quick / and sometimes only available cash. Many would find other work when it was available. - Pirates by convienience-

Sure there were "permanent pirates" whose entire life was dedicated to drinkin and piracy . However there is distinction between "carreer Pirates and those who dabbled. Going Pirate as it were is as you already answered yer own question- Going outside the Law..

[Matty Bottles]

If you preyed against ships from your own nation, it seems that you could be labeled a pirate within the course of one or two cruises. (This is just an impression I've gotten, however; I would be hard pressed to name specific sources other than Johnson.) If you were outcast as a pirate, it can't be more traumatic than, say, fighting a war: when you're in the mix, you can function, even though your actions might seem incomprehensible to others in 'mainstream' society. As a friend of mine who served a few years in Iraq before mustering out of the Marines said:

"When you're there, you're like 'That's the way it is,' but after you've been out of it for a while you're like 'Wow, that sucked. That was really, really awful and I never want to do that again.'"

In situations like that, people don't have the luxury of examining their situations impassively. (And, as another friend of mine who served in an Army Recon unit in Vietnam said, "People like that died.")

When you can self-medicate to the level that pirates were able to (and, for example, the child soldiers of Sierra Leon) I imagine they could cope pretty well.

[Patrick Hand]

Bloody Jack Madd, your post is closser to what I was going for..... The only difference is that the people that went to war, got to return home after their tour of duty was over......

Being in the Navy, or on a Merchant ship, or even as a Privateer, you can go home again.... but it you went Pyrate, unless you could get a pardon, you can't go home....

When I was in the Army, aaargh, there were times when I would get "home-sick" of course, I could "deal" with it..... but I also knew that I could go home on leave, and after my enlistment was over..... After two years stationed in Korea, when the plane landed, and the pilot anounced that he wanted to be the first to welcome us back to the United States... Hey... THAT felt good.......

So without a pardon what would a Pyrate do...? can never go home, and where could he "retire" without getting caught, and tried for Pyracy.....

[capnwilliam]

Actually, most people who migrated to the United States as recently as the early 20th century did so knowing that they would never again see the old sod or the people they's left behind. Most never did.

Most pirates were career seamen, and probably switched back and forth between the navy, the merchants, privateering, and piracy, as need and opportunity arose. It was probably a rare lad who ever started out as a pirate; but probably many seamen had severed their home times when they first set out to sea.

Capt. William

[oderlesseye]

Most pirates were career seamen, and probably switched back and forth between the navy, the merchants, privateering, and piracy,

I would add one more and that was being a fisherman..

[Capn_Enigma]

I would add one more and that was being a fisherman..

... and / or smugglers.

[Jib]

But let's not forget. Many of these people came from a life of crime. Perhaps you didn't want to go home because it was worse? And let's not forget that crime often makes for strange bed fellows. They say in our current prison system in the USA that low end criminals (thieves, swindlers, etc.) often become quite "hardened" after spending time with those who engage in hard and violent crime (rape, murder, etc).

[Matty Bottles]

I was hesitant to mention the prison population because they aren't so isolated from family as a pirate would be, but I think that is an excellent example. You know, I think it would be hard, but for the GAOP things were ridiculously hard all over. These people had hope by the barrelful. They also had rum. I think those things together helped prevent outright breakdowns. This is probably a spectrum as in all things, there were some people under hard conditions who broke down, and some who didn't. And people who were abnormally sensitive (and let me say that a pirate's normal sensitivity was probably absurdly obtuse) were probably preyed upon by their companions. So, Patrick Hand, I tend to agree that yes, it was exceedingly hard, but for the most part pirates were hard men.

[oderlesseye]

Alot of people who were sentenced to "transportation" or slavery to Jamacain plantations from England were fodder for Piracy.. And yeah most were already criminals. I was just following the Idea that pirates were not at sea 24-7 year-around and had to do things that included being legit for a time to make ends meet till opertunity arrived in the form of joinin another crew or rejoining the previous crew they served with. Life was hard in that time for most.

PIrates and "crimminals alike" ( though I see no real distinction apart from being saliors) had it harder because they were not generally accepted in society.

[Capt. Bo of the WTF co.]

Not accepted in society = Pyrate/ Criminal.... OK by me! :)

A born natural says I...