Week of 10/27 - Pirates!

I found the lectures on mining, sugar, and piracy to be the most interesting part of the class so far - especially pirates! Since every aspect of pirates has been romanticized by the filmmaking industry, these pirates stop seeming like real people; somehow, they start to come across as fake, a product of someone's creativity - like they never actually existed. But they were every bit as real as we are! It's fascinating to learn about how pirates actually lived, from their ten-hour work days all the way to their interactions with powerful European governments. I can't imagine taking over a Spanish treasure ship full of silver! And it's amazing to realize what an impact these people had on the trajectory of the global slave trade. And speaking of African Americans, I had no idea that they were often pirates too! I am eager to learn more about pirates in class next week.

Comments

  1. Joseph GreendykOctober 29, 2021 at 11:54 AM

    Hi Seth! I really enjoyed your post. I like your point about the film industry romanticizing pirates. Prior to some high school history classes and our discussion this week, how I viewed pirates was primarily from these fictional accounts. Back then, I though characters like Captain Hook from Peter Pan epitomized what pirates were like, when that's not actually the case. You mentioned Spanish treasure ships, which made me think of all the treasure ships that sank in the Caribbean. It would be awesome to go exploring to find some of these ships. I really liked your post!

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  2. Professor StarkNovember 2, 2021 at 9:51 AM

    Thank you, Seth, for the post. I appreciate your interest in pirates and agree they have been romanticized by the film industry. You left me wanting to read more about why pirates were so interesting, why they have been romanticized so much within the film industry, or why they capture popular imagination so much?

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