Hello, would you be able to post tips on how to start a pirate au? This is my first time making one.
【 Hi! My tip for any au (or any story, really) is simply research. It’s important to understand the dynamics and realism. So I put together some pirate knowledge for you! I’ll probably make more posts on this soon. I’m thinking pirate terms, ship terms, common weapons, things like that. If you’d be interested, let me know. Hope this helps, and good luck on your story (: 】
⇝ portable drinking water was hard to come by so many ships carried an abundance of wine, beer, and rum
⇝ a famous mariner drink is grog (sugar-water, lime juice, and rum) which was known to prevent scurvy
⇝ another is bombo/bumboo (sugar-water, nutmeg, and rum) or rumfustian (water, raw eggs, sherry, gin, beer)
⇝ not only worn because someone lost an eye
⇝ worn to keep one eye adjusted to darkness
⇝ when fighting/raiding below deck they could switch the eye patch instead of waiting for vision to adjust
⇝ not all pirate flags were black with a skull and crossbones
⇝ most pirate flags were plainly black or red (completely red flags were known as the most aggressive)
⇝ if there were designs, many adorned hourglasses to represent the inevitability of death
⇝ when not working, pirates often played cards or dice (although, gambling was against the rules on some ships), sang, danced, partied, etc.
⇝ stopping at ports was a fairly regular occurrence so they could take a break from the harsh sea to sell goods, repair the ship, and of course find women
⇝ sure, some people became pirates for the life of crime, but the overwhelming majority were simply sailors who abandoned their jobs due to horrendous working conditions
⇝ pirates were treated far better by their captains than navy men
⇝ there were even periods of time where pirating wasn’t illegal — governments would enlist pirates during wartime to plunder enemy ships. these pirates were labeled ‘privateers’ and legally allowed to operate under ‘letters of marque’ which basically made them military contractors
⇝ pirate careers were a few years long tops (even the famous blackbeard only lasted two years)
⇝ many were killed or injured especially because medical facilities were practically nonexistent
⇝ well-run ships had a clear division of labor
⇝ positions included captain, quartermaster, boatswain, carpenter, cooper, gunner, navigator, etc.
⇝ the captain had absolute command during battle and chose where/when to go somewhere
⇝ the quartermaster oversaw ship operations and divided the loot
⇝ pirates were not as chaotic as media portrays — they were actually quite democratic
⇝ but the illusion of being brutal would be beneficial for plundering as the possibility of surrender was increased
⇝ most pirates were illiterate, but there were quite a few who actually came from higher social classes
⇝ looting gold/silver was much less common than looting supplies (food, drink, candles, navigational tools, repairing equipment, medicine, etc.)
⇝ most pirates didn’t want to kill people — they would steal the goods and leave the crew (or let the crew join them) especially because the bounties weren’t usually worth it
⇝ most pirate ships took their rules very seriously, with punishments being severe
⇝ common rules were against lying, stealing amongst themselves, fighting on board, gambling, etc.
⇝ walking the plank was not a common punishment (it actually rarely ever happened) — punishments were usually flogging, dunking, tying to the mast, hanging, marooning, or keelhauling
Famous Pirates to Check Out for Motivation: Stede Bonnet, Anne Bonny, Francis Drake, Calico Jack, William Kidd, Henry Morgan, Mary Read, Bartholomew Roberts, Edward Teach (Blackbeard)
