Did pirates really go "arrrgh?"

A pirate is one of the original terrorists of the world. In fact, terror was just as much a weapon in a pirate's armory as his sword. So just when did the pirate pass from a seafaring, Osama Bin Laden-type of scumbag to the romantic, handsome, swashbuckling hero? More importantly, did they really go "arrrgh?" Let us examine the mystique of the pirate.

The definition of a pirate is one who robs or plunders ships on the sea or targets on shore without a commission from a government or king. Privateers or corsairs were the same as pirates except they had a commission to capture ships belonging to an enemy nation. West Indies pirates were known as buccaneers, which comes from the word boucan, a wooden frame used for cooking meat used by French hunters called boucaniers. Interestingly, the English word, filibuster, has its origins in pirate terminology. Vrijbuiter meaning plunderer in Dutch was corrupted into the English "freebooter" and the French "flibustier." The French word then went back into the English as "filibuster." A filibuster was not a pirate but an adventurous man involved in certain Latin American revolutions and coups. Finally, the meaning evolved into talking without stopping as a disruptive maneuver, taking captive a legislative process.

Of course, all through history, wherever there were people, there were pirates of one type or another. Even Julius Caesar was taken captive by pirates and held for ransom at one point in his life. Irish pirates enslaved Saint Patrick. Vikings were notorious pirates.

Today, however, our present stereotypical image of a pirate is one of THE most recognizable icons in the world. Just where does that come from? The simple answer is that most of what we know as pirate characteristics in our time are the inventions of writers of fiction.

In 1883, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote the novel Treasure Island. This is the Holy Grail of pirate depiction. Long John Silver never existed, but he will always linger in our minds as the pirate of pirates. This characterization is complete with one leg and a pet parrot perched on his shoulder. The treasure map with an "X" marking the spot came from this book.

Then in 1950, Robert Newton perfected the stereotypical way of speaking and dressing in the film adaptation of Treasure Island. He was the first to interject those famous growls of "Arrrgh" into pirate conversation.

The following list of items (according to FreeDictionary.com) constitutes the stereotypical pirate dress:

* Motley clothes which are bright-colored, shabby and mismatched. Pirate captains are generally depicted as distinguishing themselves from the rest of the crew with naval or aristocratic style velvet coats. Waistcoats, breeches, open-necked shirts with large cuffed boots and belts also developed as typical pirate wear, and of course, all topped with the three-corner hat.
* An eye patch.
* A wooden or peg leg.
* A hook on the stub of an amputated hand.
* A large golden hoop earring.
* A bandana worn alone or under the three-corner hat.
* A parrot on the pirate's shoulder. The most common phrase the parrot squawks is "pieces of eight!"
* A pesky ship's monkey.

We also automatically smile when we hear any of those famous words in the pirate jargon: "shiver me timbers," "avast," or "yo-ho." How about "fifteen men on the dead man's chest, yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum!" This sea-shanty is from the book Treasure Island as well.

Whether it be Captain Hook of Peter Pan fame or Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, all of the above work together to romanticize the lives of pirates through history. But what was the reality?

Hard to imagine the untold misery that pirates have caused in stealing, torturing, raping, and murdering their victims. They were normal looking seamen for their day and not the laundered version we think of. These were hardened, rough men and sometimes women, surviving on the plunder of others, and some were known especially for their cruelty. Edward Teach, also known as Blackbeard, was one such example. Probably the most famous of all pirates, his image was one of a cutthroat. His goal was to make his appearance as terrifying as possible. Every so often, he would kill one of his crew just to show who was boss, and he would cut off the fingers of his victims if they refused to give up their goods.

The sad part of the pirate legacy is that it still goes on today. Sailing in some parts of the sea is as dangerous as walking alone down a dark alley on the shabby side of town. And piracy is on the increase. Statistics on pirate attacks from 1993 to 2003 were 234 attacks, 16 deaths, and 52 injured worldwide, with 193 crew members held hostage. The South China Sea and waters off Indonesia are particularly problem areas, but narrow bodies of water like the Suez Canal and the Panama Canal have pirates operating in them as well.

These days, the typical pirate wears a ski mask, carries an AK-47, and travels in a speedboat. Mostly, they rob passengers of credit cards and cash, but rape and murder can also be on the agenda. One trick is broadcasting a weak distress signal, low enough that the authorities are not alerted, but strong enough that a passing ship will be lured to them, and then the passengers of the ship find themselves victims of pirates. In 2001, pirates killed New Zealander yachtsman, Peter Blake.

Perhaps we had better start growling, "Arrrgh, I'll Crush Ye Barnacles!" to these modern-day terrorists of the sea, and blast them right out of the water.

September 19 is Talk Like a Pirate Day. Visit the website and perfect your pirate vocabulary.