In fact in those days any man who had a grudge against
the world might turn pirate. Even women were found among them.
A jovial, brutal crew, they swaggered and swore their way through
life. And if the gallows at the end always loomed over them what
then? There was always plenty of rum in which to drown the thought.
Some of the pirates became very famous. The very sight of the Jolly
Roger, as the pirates' black flag was called, struck terror to the
hearts of merchantmen, and it is said that one pirate captured and
sunk as many as four hundred ships before he was caught. Yet these
ruffians often had dealings with seemingly respectable tradesmen.
Having captured a few ships, and taken all the booty on board his
own, the pirate would sail for some port. There he would show some
old letters of marque, swear that he was a privateer, and had captured
the goods lawfully from the enemy, for the world was always at war
in those days. And as the goods were going cheap, too many questions
would not be asked. Thus a profitable trade was done.
The Navigation Laws too helped pirates to thrive on the coasts
of America. For they seemed so unjust and burdensome that people
thought it no wrong to evade them. So, often, piracy and smuggling
went hand in hand.
At length piracy grew so bad that people felt that something must
be done to stop it.
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