Pirate ships came in all shapes and sizes. There were big ones and small ones, sail ships and rowing boats. Some were bristling with cannons, others made do with scaryfellas wielding cutlices and grappling hooks. But what types of vessels were most popular among pirates and how were they used?
Before we get into the nitty gritty of the differences, we should discuss a few things these boats had in common. If there is one thing that all pirate ships generally shared is that they were not bought and sold as pirate ships. If you were to go back in time to some coastal Caribbean town, walk toward the docks and try and ask some nice-looking shipwrights whether you could perhaps purchase a pirate ship please. You would most likely be laughed at and then taken on an extensive introduction to the local prisons and methods of criminal punishment. No, one did not buy a pirate ship. One could only make a pirate ship.
Besides pirates typically weren't in the business of buying anything anyway even when it was available and so every ship we call a pirate ship usually started off life as something else a bit more boring before being stolen and refitted for the purpose of piracy. This usually meant making more space for a larger crew and as many cannons as could be crammed on. Cabins were removed, sail arrangements were changed and all kinds of stuff was tipped overboard, all to make room for more potential treasure.
Cram that conversion with unwashed sea criminals hoist up the jolly roger and you've got yourself a pirate ship. With that in mind let's look at the many varieties of pirate ships criminals used to terrorise the open waves. Welcome to Wars of the World.
Slopes were the most common choice during the golden age of pirates during the 16th and 17th century. They sailed around the Caribbean but were hardy enough to cross the Atlantic if necessary. Relatively easily made single-masted slopes were commonly built in the Caribbean itself and were similarly easily adapted for pirate antics. A large bow sprit the beam that extended from the slopes prow meant that slopes had an increased canvas area, more sail coverage, more wind utilized, more maneuverability. This was the great advantage offered by slopes, speed and control. Although usually small, no more than a hundred tons and capable of holding 18 cannons at most, slopes were made to be fast, capable of reaching speeds of up to 10 knots.
In a slope pirates could ensure they could get up real close to any merchant vessel before they had had too much time to prepare. Staring over at a slope, brimming with ruthless cutthroats close enough to smell, merchant sailors can be forgiven for surrendering to the crew of these small but nimble vessels. On top of this should pirates find a crew a bit better prepared than they'd expect it. A hasty retreat was always an option. A shallow draft meant it could reach the sections of sandy shoreline, bed-aramed and larger vessels couldn't get near, perfect in the reef-strune Caribbean sea. With the waters of the Caribbean filled with privateers and navies of Europe's monarchies, always on the prowl. The option to just catch the wind and get out of an area fast shouldn't be underestimated.
Cheap, simple to capture, sail and replace. The slope was an easy choice for pirates just starting out in their criminal careers.
便宜、简单易学、易替换的帆船。对于那些刚开始涉足犯罪生涯的海盗来说,斜坡是一个很容易的选择。
Another favorite of the pirates of the Caribbean and Atlantic was the two mastered schooner. Like the slope, this boat was fast, easy to maneuver and enjoyed for its size, a large capacity for guns and cannons. A narrower hole and even shallower draft meant that schooners could easily hide in shallow estuaries in order to escape enemies. The downside of course is that this vessel couldn't hold as much booty or crew. Still, schooners were perfect for fast raids, capable of outpacing most other ships at sea. In the hands of an enterprising pirate captain and his crew, they were fierce some vessels indeed.
Now we're starting to get to some of the big ships. The Brighantine was one of them, capable of weighing as much as 200 tons. They were true icons during the Golden Age of Sail, combining both speed and size. Like the schooner, the Brighantine had a shallow draft, two masts and a large boussprit. Unlike sloups and schooners however, Brighantines were large with enough space to position cannons within the hull. This gave much more protection to pirate crews for when things got ugly. With big holes, some 24 cannons and enough space to hold over 100 men, Brighantines gave a pirate captain a lot more options, engaging in long battles and targeting the largest of spoils first and foremost among them.
Incredibly, none of this came at the expense of speed. Utilising square sails and even orbs during times when the winds were low, the Brighantine, commonly known as a Brigh, was a fast, maneuverable ship that was adored by pirates, navies and civilians alike. Small wonder why they were the ideal boat for a pirate captain of significant standing, for whom the Brighantine gave the perfect mix of abilities.
William Kidd sailed a version of a brick, the three mastered 287 tonne adventure galley, using it to pass all the way around the Cape of Good Hope and into the Indian Ocean.
威廉·基德乘坐一艘三桅、重287吨的冒险加利帆船的一种版本,使用它绕过好望角并进入印度洋。
Square rigged ships were a broad category of vessel. More often than not, they were captured merchant ships of significant size, identified by their large square sails and three masts. Not designed as fighting vessels, their weight and large hold meant that they were slow and cumbersome to sail. These ships usually weighed more than 1000 tons.
Due to their lack of agility, pirates were unlikely to choose a square rigged ship as their first choice, but in a pinch they could do a lot worse. Square rigged ships were great for stealing large amounts of booty and could navigate through deep oceans with ease. They were also very common to find on the open waters, for they were widely used in transatlantic slave trade, carrying everything from sugar to human slaves. They also looked big, and in the naval scene at the time, big equals bad. Everyone can see the size of your ship in their telescope. Paint a few fake cannons on the port side and you've got merchants surrendering their cargo's left right and centre. All in all not bad and as a result of their impressive intimidation factor, they wound up in pirate fleets regularly.
The Dutch float was technically a square rigged ship, perfectly designed for carrying large amounts of cargo. This ship combined massive size with a galley like design. Popularized by the trading heavyweight that was the Dutch United Provinces, a float was cheaply built but sturdy. Cumbersome but with massive possibilities for customization for any creatively minded pirate captain. Often weighing over 300 tons, these vast vessels were sometimes just too tempting for pirates to abandon after a successful raid and just look at them. They are massive. Standing aboard that hulk, it would be hard for any pirate captain when offered the chance to take one to say no.
Interestingly, these ships had a wide, flat-bottomed cross-section. This made them very useful when navigating the Caribbean, although not by design. They were made this way in order to cunningly evade taxes and tolls. All shipping, passing through the straits accessing Denmark, Norway and Sweden were taxed by the Danish based on their deck area, not the actual capacity of their holds. This sneaky design allowed the Dutch to dodge taxes and remain dominant in trade. They were as popular with pirates as they must have been unpopular with Danish tax officials. Many believe the legendary ghost ship, the flying Dutchman, to be a Dutch float. Sightings of this mysterious ship seem endless, with even the future King George V, claiming to have cited the thing off the coast of Australia in the summer of 1880 when he was only 15 years old.
I'm sure this is the one you've been waiting for. The galleon, the heavyweight champion of pirate vessels, scourge of merchant shipping and pirate hunters alike. A Spanish design, the galleon combined the need to carry large cargoes while still being able to defend itself with cannons. Often crammed with silver and gold stripped from the crumbling empires and enslaved peoples of the new world, these ships needed to be well defended because the attention they attracted was immense. There was no prize in the Atlantic, more dangerous and more sought after. Capturing one, let alone sailing one, was enough to make any pirate captain incredibly rich, as well as incredibly impressive.
A galleon shows hundreds of years of shipbuilding experience in its design, looking at a picture of a 15th century manor war. You can see how the stern castle at the back part of the ship and the four castle at the front are both extremely tall. This made the ship top heavy and hard to handle, but was crucial in the up close naval warfare of the time. Well, in the more modern galleons during the Golden Age of Sail, this four castle disappears, but the high castle remains, giving the galleons a distinctive silhouette even when viewed from a distance.
The main fighting power of these ships though were their gun decks, with as many as 70 cannons and with crews up to 200 strong, galleons were capable of outgunning any other vessel outside of the navies of Europe's mononkes. A pirate captain leading one of these ships was nothing short of unbeatable.
That is, unbeatable, save for one exception, with size and weaponry came compromises, speed and maneuverability the most important among them. These ships could also only dark in deep water ports and were limited from a great many pirate bases. They were always at risk of storms and sand dunes, and whereas moving slowly is a slight negative to a galleon in lawful hands, for everyone on board knew that few pirates would ever be crazy enough to face them, let alone succeed in the endeavour. In the hands of lawless pirates, this simply wasn't the case.
Pursued at times with relentless energy from large and well-equipped regional forces, pirates could rarely afford to plot around the sea in a massive galleon, making a statement wherever they went. One incredibly famous galleon was the Queen Anne's Revenge. Captain by its infamous pirate captain Edwood Teach, the Queen Anne's Revenge was a well-armed French slave ship, converted following its capture into one of the most formidable pirate vessels of all time.
Finally we come to frigates, but be warned this entry comes with something of an asterisk. That's because frigates were a pretty loose category to define a ship changing drastically over the years. Compare a frigate of the 18th century to one from the 19th, and then again look at one in the 21st. Thankfully for all a line at the time, it was the first of these that pirates during the age of sale were able to get their hands on.
Still, a well-armed frigate in the hands of pirates would have been a truly fearsome prospect for any sailor to face. Generally speaking, ships known as frigates would have had one or two gondex, but were smaller and more nimble than ships of the lines used in naval battles. Make no mistake however, these were warships purpose-built for battle. They were well-made, well-armed with as many as 40 cannons, and they meant business.
Although technically outgunned by galleons, their speed and modern design meant that they could run rings around these well-armed but cumbersome ships. One of the most famous pirate run frigates was the fancy, the famous ship captained by Henry Avery. It was with this fearsome vessel that he battled the royal fleet of the Indian Mughal Empire, capturing the treasure filled 1,600 tonn Gangesa Y, and making himself the equivalent of a 17th century pirate billionaire in the process.
In the era of the Golden Age of Sail, when the ship was your steed and your weapon, a ship like the fancy plowed through foes like a nuclear bomb, a true terror of all pirate vessels. And there you have seven types of pirate ship. Please leave a comment down below with your own thoughts and reactions, and remember to like this video and subscribe to support the channel. Thank you for watching, and I'll see you next time.