Why Are Pirates Romanticised?

[Kondoru]

Just curious.

 

[Frideswide]

I can't define the cultural impulse behind it - but the Border Reivers have had the same sanitising and romanticising.

I was involved archaeologically in the area and analysing visitors, volunteers etc there was a definite strand of transatlantic genealogists who were convinced that having one of the names somewhere in the family tree meant that they were descended from an Errol Flynn doing Robin Hood figure

 

[gordonrutter]

Why are pirates romanticised?

They just aaaarrrr!

Someone had to.

Sorry. Not sorry.

 

[Bad Bungle]

Just curious.

Good question - I wonder the same about dandy Highwaymen.

 

[Frasier Buddolph]

I expect everyone, deep down, would like to walk their boss off a short plank, set fire to their mortgage, and go yo-ho-ho'ing off into the sunset with a busty wench or buff boy-toy under each arm. The violence, sodomy, and constant threat of the rope-- well, not so much.

As evidence, I present the following exhibit: The Crimson Permanent Assurance

I don't think there are many more thrilling moments in cinema than when the wind fills the tarps and the Permanent Assurance gets under way . . .

 

[LymeswoldSnork]

Some were privateers, commissioned to attack and steal from the ships of enemy states.

 

[EnolaGaia]

Just curious.

The writings that turned pirates from marine robbers and slavers into anti-hero icons basically focused on the Euro (English; French) pirates operating in the Caribbean during the 17th and very early 18th centuries. If there's a single juncture at which this reputation remodeling began it's arguably the publication of pseudonymous "Captain Charles Johnson's" compendium of pirate biographies and tales (A General History of the Pyrates) in 1724. It appeared about the time the Caribbean pirates' era was ending, it featured highly glossed and entertaining stories of the most famed pirates, and it introduced a number of elements / tropes that remain canonical to this day. For example, this book introduced the "Jolly Roger" and "walking the plank" to the general public.

The identity of "Captain Johnson" has never been finally determined, but it's most commonly presumed 'he' was one or more writers / publishers active in London at the time. Daniel Defoe is sometimes mentioned as a suspect.

An online edition can be accessed at:

https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/17001

The second pulse of pirate promotion came in the late 19th century, when writers transformed pirates into memorable characters - most especially in Treasure Island and Peter Pan.

 

[hunck]

Mainly the beards & parrots. No woman can resist the combination.

 

[JamesWhitehead]

Mainly the beards & parrots. No woman can resist the combination.

They may have been wasting their time! I seem to recall that a number of studies concluded that pirates were a gay old lot.

Those cries of "Arghhh!" may have been the punctuation to many a jolly rogering.

"Let me guess . . . Long John?"

 

[Frideswide]

They may have been wasting their time! I seem to recall that a number of studies concluded that pirates were a gay old lot.

along the lines of Rum, Sodomy and the Lash?

 

[Austin Popper]

Gangsters get the same kind of veneration. Sometimes it's from some pretty surprising places and not just wannabe badasses.

 

[Erinaceus]

Near here it's smugglers.

"The Day of Syn is a bi-annual event in Dymchurch using the local theme of smuggling and the Dr Syn stories by Russell Thorndike. It is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend, with the last one being held in 2018. The event had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 virus. The next Day of Syn is planned for 27, 28 & 29 August (BH) 2022. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Syn
https://theromneymarsh.net/dayofsyn

 

[Yithian]

Near here it's smugglers.

"The Day of Syn is a bi-annual event in Dymchurch using the local theme of smuggling and the Dr Syn stories by Russell Thorndike. It is held over the August Bank Holiday weekend, with the last one being held in 2018. The event had to be cancelled in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 virus. The next Day of Syn is planned for 27, 28 & 29 August (BH) 2022. "

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_Syn
https://theromneymarsh.net/dayofsyn

A little more on historical smuggling here:
https://forums.forteana.org/index.php?threads/historic-smuggling-smugglers.62471/

 

[Ogdred Weary]

Gangsters get the same kind of veneration. Sometimes it's from some pretty surprising places and not just wannabe badasses.

And highwaymen and bikers. I think outlaw types appeal to people's libertarian and rebellious tendencies.

 

[maximus otter]

Everybody likes the idea of a fantasy world without rules, and secretly fancies their chances of success in it (as long as you’re the one with the cannons and cutlasses, obvs).

Look at the success of post-apocalyptic fiction, e.g. The Walking Dead and much of British SF.

The reality, l fear, would eat a veritable buffet of dicks.

maximus otter

 

[PeteS]

Why are pirates romanticised?

They just aaaarrrr!

Someone had to.

Sorry. Not sorry.

I'll get yer coat.

 

[PeteS]

Gangsters get the same kind of veneration. Sometimes it's from some pretty surprising places and not just wannabe badasses.

There seems to be a fascination with Chicago gangsters from the early 19c in the States, particularly Capone. Gomes's site Myalcapone museum seems almost a thinly disguised veneration of the guy, (he has a large tattoo of Capone) although the info on the site is interesting in it's detail.

 

[Floyd1]

Good question - I wonder the same about dandy Highwaymen.

I think Highwaymen who were not violent or greedy and had at least some sense of honour like Claude Duval did, were/are perhaps more romanticised.

 

[Floyd1]

Everybody likes the idea of a fantasy world without rules, and secretly fancies their chances of success in it (as long as you’re the one with the cannons and cutlasses, obvs).

Look at the success of post-apocalyptic fiction, e.g. The Walking Dead and much of British SF.

The reality, l fear, would eat a veritable buffet of dicks.

maximus otter

You don't see it so much now, but the 'trousers halfway down the arse' thing always annoyed me. It came from the US prisons where they'd take their belts from them. I'd think, but you're not from South Central L.A- you're waiting for a lift from your Mother and you live in Crewe.

 

[Mikefule]

Pirates are romanticised because adventure tales about customer service advisors or accountants would be dull reading.

Cowboys, gangsters (even the Krays), outlaws (Robin Hood), vikings, biker gangs, assassins, spies, highwaymen ("Whiskey in the Jar-o"), and pirates all live outside the boring confines of convention. They all live outside the law, and live on their wits, their courage, and their resourcefulness.

Pirates, in particular, also had freedom to roam the seas, land on remote tropical islands, and loudly sing ribald songs whilst a comely wench serves them rum and promises sexual favours. What's not to like?

Add to that a largely fictitious code of honour and you have the perfect anti-hero: a baddie who is a goodie at heart.

Of course in reality, pretty much all of these cowboys, gangsters... etc. ... and pirates were smelly violent drunkards who lived a brutal and often short life, but where's the fun in that?

 

[catseye]

I think there's a general desire to romanticise the past. The belief that times were simpler then, that everyone helped one another, dignity in poverty and the 'noble savage' being archetypal tropes. Romance writers bear a lot of the blame here, sanitising and romaticising the 'bad boy' hero who sweeps the heroine off her feet and leads her to a better life, because, so it seems, there's a hunger among the reading public for the dominant male and the submissive female. Equality in real life seems to lead to a (somewhat suppressed) desire to read about women who are powerless to resist the advances of the male. So it's not just Pirates, any group of sufficiently picturesque and easily-recognisable male dominants (there's a HUGE market for Highlanders too) will do.

It's a very interesting subject. I understand there are scholarly papers written on it.

 

[Mythopoeika]

They may have been wasting their time! I seem to recall that a number of studies concluded that pirates were a gay old lot.

Those cries of "Arghhh!" may have been the punctuation to many a jolly rogering.

"Let me guess . . . Long John?"

 

[Frideswide]

And highwaymen and bikers. I think outlaw types appeal to people's libertarian and rebellious tendencies.

Bikers? People should live in reality and if they want something that badly they should go and do it. Cannot stand an unrealised wannabee.

 

[catseye]

Bikers? People should live in reality and if they want something that badly they should go and do it. Cannot stand an unrealised wannabee.

The biker romance is a big thing. People want to read about Bad Boys being reformed by the love of A Good Woman. Apparently.

I should point out that this is miles from what I write, which is beta heroes who are usually teachers or writers or something equally 'unbadboy'ish.

 

[Cochise]

And highwaymen and bikers. I think outlaw types appeal to people's libertarian and rebellious tendencies.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Also, anyone can be a pirate captain or leader of a biker club - you don't have to have attended a particular school or university. Well, not a formal one, anyway.

It's true that most people who read about don't do it though.

 

[Mikefule]

Bikers? People should live in reality and if they want something that badly they should go and do it. Cannot stand an unrealised wannabee.

"Bikers" are a broad church. Most of us just enjoy riding our bikes, tinkering with our bikes, looking at other bikes, going places on our bikes, and meeting mates on their bikes.

Sadly, like any broad church there are sects and denominations. Some sports bike riders look down on cruiser riders and so on. However, most of us just enjoy biking and are not judgemental about people who choose to do it differently. These days the typical biker is middle aged because bikes have become too expensive for young tearaways.

The "romanticised" biker is the outlaw biker, what Aussies call the "bikie": a member of a back patch motorcycle club, the most famous being the Hells Angels. (Missing the apostrophe, but who wants to be the one to point it out to them?) This is a world of "territories", feuds, occasional extreme violence, and sometimes organised crime.

If you want to be a biker in the wider sense, yes, just do your test and buy a bike. Becoming an outlaw biker is considerably less accessible. You have to go from hanger on to "prospect" to full member. If they don't want you, you won't get in, but once you're in, you're in for life. You can check out but you can never leave.

 

[Cochise]

Sadly, like any broad church there are sects and denominations. Some sports bike riders look down on cruiser riders and so on. However, most of us just enjoy biking and are not judgemental about people who choose to do it differently. These days the typical biker is middle aged because bikes have become too expensive for young tearaways.

You should see the arguments among Harley owners. Is it OK for a bloke to ride a Sportster etc.

There are people who ride bikes and there are bikers. But agreed a full blown outlaw is in a lifetime commitment.

 

[gordonrutter]

I should point out that this is miles from what I write, which is beta heroes who are usually teachers or writers or something equally 'unbadboy'ish.

What do I get for being in both of those categories?

 

[Frideswide]

The "romanticised" biker is the outlaw biker, what Aussies call the "bikie": a member of a back patch motorcycle club, the most famous being the Hells Angels. (Missing the apostrophe, but who wants to be the one to point it out to them?) This is a world of "territories", feuds, occasional extreme violence, and sometimes organised crime.

If you want to be a biker in the wider sense, yes, just do your test and buy a bike. Becoming an outlaw biker is considerably less accessible. You have to go from hanger on to "prospect" to full member. If they don't want you, you won't get in, but once you're in, you're in for life. You can check out but you can never leave.

I was only a Moll... and you are right, you don't leave Do I count as an aspirational figure? (say yes, say yes, pretty please with jam and brass knobs on say yes!)

 

[Frideswide]

What do I get for being in both of those categories?

A big smoochy kiss and a cuddle in a nice warm blankie while being fed chocolate?