Lafayette Journal and Courier

A pirate's life for me?

Hollywood has everyone lining up to walk the plank, but true pirate history is more than just yo ho ho and a bottle of rum

By Tim Brouk

July 6, 2006

With a ship-shaped moon bounce, a treasure hunt and plenty of rum drinks, Allison Skertich is helping her cousin plan a pirate-themed party this weekend.
"The recent Purdue University graduate and her relative, Tracy Ores, have been swept up in all things pirates thanks to the success and anticipation of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. From the toy plastic sword she uses as an ice scraper to new pirate jokes like "What is a pirate's favorite school subject? Aaarrrrt," the pirate life seems innocent and fun.

However, when Skertich dug deeper into history books, she quickly found out that a pirate's life would not be for most.

"They led incredibly horrible lives," said Skertich, now living in Valparaiso. "They ate bread infested with maggots and were drunk all of the time."

With Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opening Friday in theaters nationwide, the pirate culture will be on the silver screen once again. But just how accurate is Disney's portrayath Riedeman, an adviser at Purdue Student Union Board, has seen many of her students get swept up in pirate culture. They often dress up as pirates for Halloween or throw on the pirate theme at a party or event.

Riedeman, whose high school mascot was a pirate, grew up in Decatur County. The county was named after Stephen Decatur Jr., who battled pirates during the Barbary Wars. Riedeman had to study pirate history through her schooling in Decatur County and does not look at pirates as romantic figures.

"The irony is that the pirates weren't exactly the greatest of people," Riedeman said. "They'd pillage and rape women and take over towns. The Hollywood image students see makes it look fun, but it's odd if you really think about it."

Purdue history professor Frank Lambert believes Hollywood has never been accurate with the golden age of pirates, which spanned roughly between the 17th century to the early 18th century. He has not seen the first Pirates of the Caribbean, and he doesn't plan on seeing the new one.

"To be honest, reading about pirates is far more fascinating than some romantic version in a movie," Lambert said.

Lambert concurs that real pirates' lives were anything but romantic. They usually were former sailors who found themselves out of work when there were no wars to be fought. Their lives were tough, dangerous and uncertain. They were not as free and easy as most think, Lambert said. A pirate's life at sea was about as constraining as the caste system they endured on land centuries ago.

"They were under relentless discipline," Lambert added. "They were under command of a corsair or buccaneer."

Still, the chance of gaining treasure and wealth was enough to make pirating a popular career.

"I suspect part of the enduring fascination we have with pirates is that these were characters who lived on the fringes of society and were independent," Lambert said. "The reality of it is that they were outlaws."

In Lambert's book, The Barbary Wars: American Independence in the Atlantic World, pirates were sought out by countries to help create havoc with the shipping of a rival country.

"It was clear the Barbary pirates on the Mediterranean were capitalists," Lambert said. "Countries would raise funds for a vessel and crew, and the pirates would raid enemy vessels for a cut of the take."

Gail Selinger, an author from Redlands, Calif., also believes the true pirate history must be publicized. Her book, The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pirates, profiles some of the most brutal pirates as well as the most gallant.

"When Francis L'Ollonais would capture a ship, he would cut out the heart of a crew member and feed it to the next one. He would keep doing that until they would say where their treasure was," Selinger said. "Red Legs Greaves, a Scottish indentured slave who ran away from a plantation and ended up on pirate ship and didn't even know it, wouldn't kill people unless he had to."

Selinger believes while the atmosphere of Pirates of the Caribbean is pure fantasy, the look of it is more accurate.

"Pirates wore whatever they wanted to: red, jewelry and feathers -- things they were not allowed to wear as peasants," Selinger said. "Jewelry was always worn to show off to citizens and as advertisement to prostitutes -- 'Look at me. I can spend money on you.' They at least kept one earring on. If they died on land, the earring would be worth enough for a burial.

Whether pirates were positive or negative forces in world history, Beau Tague, 21, of West Lafayette believes anyone growing up in the Midwest cannot help but be interested in pirates.

"Being landlocked," Tague said, "it's a really neat thing to run through your imagination: the free lifestyle and sailing on the high seas and adventures everyday."