FORT LAUDERDALE, Florida (19 July 2006) -- You may think of them as bathless, scurvy, out-of-control, barbarous cutthroats, commanded and cowered by the meanest dude among them, but in reality, says Jason Acosta, pirates were an egalitarian bunch. Acosta, who is descended from a pirate who swashbuckled alongside Jean Lafitte, says the pirate ship in many ways was an enlightened ship of state, with three branches of government, as it were, complete with checks and balances. Acosta's pronouncements are the result of three years of research undertaken for a history thesis at the University of Florida. With entertainment and fashion currently awash in a Jolly Roger rage, Acosta's findings are particularly relevant. The 28-year-old, who teaches American history at St. Patrick's Inner Parish School in Gainesville, Fla., scoured primary source material to piece together what a pirate's life was really like. Since most pirates were illiterate, and therefore didn't leave behind their own accounts, he read trial records, the writings of people whose ships were boarded by pirates, sermons given prior to a pirate's hanging, and anything else related that he could get his hands on. The picture he paints is far different from the one offered up by Hollywood. The pirate charters surprisingly were not unlike our nation's Declaration of Independence and Constitution, contends Acosta. In fact, top dog on the ship was not the bloodiest brute in the lot, but the best politician. The pirate captain, says Acosta, was neither self-appointed nor all-powerful. He was elected by the crew. Every man had an equal vote, even the guy who swabbed the deck. Should at any time, the crew lose faith in him, "They'd vote him off the ship and/or elect another captain. "Whomever the crew felt had the best chance of getting them the most money, whether it was in attacking a settlement or a ship, got their vote," says Acosta. To large measure, this empowerment made life aboard a pirate ship far less brutish than that on a merchant ship, where crew members "were routinely beaten, malnourished and underpaid." Piracy even offered what Acosta refers to as an "early form of health insurance," with crewmates financially compensated for a lost limb or eye. Pirates really deserve more credit than Hollywood or popular culture accords them, says Acosta. "Pirates explored and mapped new territories, expanded trade routes, and protected the British and French colonies in South America, North America and the Caribbean from Spain at a time when Britain and France couldn't afford to." They also supplied colonies with food, cloth, spices, medicines and other goods colonists couldn't get or couldn't afford from other sources. Money raked in from sale of these plundered items was spent by pirates locally - drinking, gambling and womanizing - thus bolstering the colonies' economy. That money, Acosta says, may have been the linchpin to Britain and France not succumbing to Spain. | | With the world atwitter over the latest pirate invasion, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the question arises - how authentic is Johnny Depp's dashing Capt. Jack Sparrow? Says Acosta, "His dress is authentic - except for his eye makeup. That's about it." Had it not been for pirates, argues Acosta, Britain may have lost the Caribbean colonies, places like Jamaica and what today we call the Bahamas, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. "Pirates decimated the Spanish so badly," he says, "that Spain finally had to give up some of its American empire just to get pirating to stop." Acosta doesn't dismiss the brutality and bloodshed that certainly was a part of piracy. "But from firsthand accounts, you learn the first thing (pirates tried to) do is persuade everyone to give them everything without having to killing anyone," he says. It was enlightened self-interest since any battle posed the risk of a pirate being killed or injured. Plus, it was simply good PR. "They wanted the information to go out that if you cut sails and give us what we need, we'll let you go." In fact, there are stories of pirate captains inviting the crew of boarded ships to join them. Pirates, says Acosta, "fit a niche in society when it was necessary." Even governments, who later turned against them, utilized pirates, funding them as privateers to search out and punish enemies. While a few pirates were wise enough to take their riches and retire early to a life as plantation owner, many died at the end of a noose, at sea or in battle. Acosta's own ancestor, who helped defend New Orleans against a British attack in 1815, received a Louisiana land grant for his services. With the world atwitter over the latest pirate invasion, "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest," the question arises - how authentic is Johnny Depp's dashing Capt. Jack Sparrow? Says Acosta, "His dress is authentic - except for his eye makeup. That's about it." SOURCE - Sun-SentinelCDNN Related NewsNORTH CAROLINA - Did pirates of yore get a bad rap? |
