Top 7 Weapons used by Pirates

7.Grappling Hook
The grappling hook or boarding hook was a weapon of pirate times that was used to attach one ship to other, usually a crippled ship, bringing it in to be boarded. The most common design had a single metal shaft with 3 or 4 equally spaced hooks at the top and an eye at the bottom which was where the roped was tied. Ships were either crippled first by cannon shots then boarded and raided before it sunk or no crippled and taken over and added to the fleet. Crippled ships had food, cargo, inventions, machines, weapons and battle plans raided before the vessel would go underwater, this was only made possible by the grappling hook. Prior to the grappling hook men would try to board a ship from a small row boat. These pirates were picked off quite easily as they tried to climb the ship. Once the hook was invented and ships were brought together the ship with more heavily armed fighters would almost always win the battle which was usually pirates.

6.Stinkpot
The stink pot was a clever invention that was essentially a round container with chemicals in it. Once it was set on fire it would create a cloud of horrendous smelling odours. The idea was very simple once two ships were close enough light the stink pot on fire and throw it at the enemy ship like a grenade. The smell would cause its victims to panic, flee and vomit. This simple invention made for easy ship boarding by pirates.

5.Firearms
Whether it's a blunderbuss or a musket, firearms were a popular weapon among pirates.
The blunderbuss is a shotgun used at short range. It scattered lead balls in a wide arc, not a weapon of accuracy but more of a spray and pray type gun. The musket on the other hand was used to take out pirates boarding ships from a distance. It is one the earliest forms of the sniper rifle. Pirate captains like Blackbeard often has small pistols they kept hidden for dire situations.

4.Hand Weapons
Belaying pins are small bats used by pirates to help secure ropes but they also doubled as strong club if the situation arose. Knives and daggers were a very common weapon but used as a last resort. They are small, concealed and deadly but are only usable at close range. Boarding axes were a very versatile weapon of pirate times. They were used to cut ropes, chop into lower levels of ships, they allowed pirate to board a ship from the ocean by chopping into the hull and climbing their way up. In combat the boarding axe added an additional 2 feet of range which could mean the difference between life and death. Marlin spikes are spikes made from metal or hardened wood which had their uses on a ship but could also be used as a club or dagger. The most popular hand weapons of pirate times were the sabre and cutlass.

3.Grenado
The grenado or powder flask is an early form of the hand grenade. Grenados were similarly constructed to stink pots but filled with gunpowder. The fuse was lit and the flask was tossed with devastating effects. Sometimes simpler is better, this was the case with power flasks, just make sure the person throwing them doesn’t trip.

2.Cannon
The cannon was the main defence of any pirate on the high seas. Surprisingly pirates would op from using large cannon balls as they would flat out destroy an enemy ship. More commonly gravel, musket balls and nails were loaded into a cannon and fired which would damage the ship’s rigging. This would allow pirates to easily board the ship, raid the goods and commandeer the ship. Grapeshot, a special type of round was used to clear the deck of an enemy ship. The round consisted of multiple layers of iron balls wrapped in canvas which were sometimes separated by metal or wood. When fired the balls would scatter impacting a wide area making it perfect for clearing people off the deck.

1.Reputation
One of the most powerful weapons at sea was a pirate’s reputation. Some pirates worked hard at building their reputation and displaying their image like Blackbeard. He wore the long jacket, had swords and guns at his side, was smoking wicks and had that big burly black beard he’s famous for. His ship too was a menacing site. He had up to 40 cannons on a single ship which would rival any Royal Navy warship.

Music: Blue Wednesday
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Source:
http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showthread.php?p=168230
http://www.alderneywreck.com/index.php/artefacts/grenades
http://www.richardgardnerantiques.co.uk/product/george-iii-blunderbuss-by-p-bond/

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