- Joined
- Jun 4, 2002
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- 3,930
Sutcliffe said:
Actually, a pirate's most prized weapons were his pistols (common to carry several), followed closely by his cutlass. Pistols worked well in close quarters, and due to their short barrels, could be quickly reloaded. Just the weapon for boarding a prize after you've sprayed their decks with shot from blunderbuss or swivel guns. Contrary to hollywood theatrics, pirates were loath to use their cannon other than to fire a warning shot, destroy mast/spars/sails, or disable a ship's rudder, the goal being to immobilize the prize, not send it to Davy Jones.
Bows and crossbows were not all that uncommon among 16th and 17th century pirates. Remember, during that era, firearm technology was pretty crude, going from matchlocks to wheel locks to snaphaunces to flintlocks. So it wasn't unusual for arrows to be fired by pirates or at them, and usually with good effect. Interesting to note that among English longbows used during the reign of Henry VIII, the ones having the heaviest draw weight were those used in naval warfare to shoot arrows specially designed to shred sails/rigging.
Sarge