pirates is a group of raiding and plundering individuals. This is due to today's society glamorizing

the pirates as fascinating characters. Historically, not much written information has been left

behind. The pirates did not leave ship logs or accounts of plunders, because it could be used to

incriminate them. Society today has invented the pirates to fit a romantic mold. Therefore, we

grew up thinking of treasure hunts, sea battles, sword fights and plank walkers, when in actuality

the pirates of old were loathed by society. During the Golden Age of Piracy, during the 17th and

18th centuries, pirates were regarded as common criminals of the seas without thought to

democracy/justice or civility. In short, the pirates had no decency. However, is there some truth

to the glamorized legends? Could the legendary characters have upheld the same ideals? In the

course of the semester, we have learned some of the truths behind the glamorized pirate facade.

Throughout life I have seen that good is more often than not overshadowed by bad. I decided to

give these characters the benefit of the

trait of pirates? After all, pirates raid, plunder, steal, rape, drink and swear. Civilized people do

Another council was put together to create a list of laws (or code of conduct) for the voyage in

I am not disputing that there existed ruthless madmen terrorizing the sea, I want to show that

Lafitte was also a patriot playing a significant role in the Battle of New Orleans, in which he

not approve of . . . for he speaks for and looks after the interests of the company" (Mark 202).

looking for better treatment. Democracy aboard a pirate vessel provided the crew with freedom

Byron's hero and captain of a pirate crew, shows remarkable civility for a pirate. While "The

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Approximate Word count = 1199
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)