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Pirate Facts & Worksheets

A pirate is a sailor who attacks other ships at sea and steals their property. Piracy is the act of robbery and related criminal acts by ship.

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A pirate is a sailor who attacks other ships at sea and steals their property. Piracy is the act of robbery and related criminal acts by ship. A pirate ship is usually identified by a flag with a skull and crossbones which is called a Jolly Roger.

See the fact file below for more information on the pirates or alternatively, you can download our 23-page Pirate worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

ETYMOLOGY

  • The word pirate comes from the Latin word purateivitia which means sailor or sea robber.
  • It also comes from the Greek term peiratēs which translates as a ship attacker.
  • The English word pirate first appeared in 1300.
  • The first spellings were pyrate, pyrat, and pirrot.

HISTORY

  • The earliest record of piracy was in the 14th century BC when a group called the Sea Peoples attacked ships in the Aegean and Mediterranean regions.
  • In Ancient Greece, piracy was considered a noble profession.
  • The first people to combat piracy were the rulers of Minoan Crete who formed a navy for that purpose.
  • Pirates often targeted popular shipping routes, like the English Channel and the Strait of Malacca.
  • Julius Caesar was once kidnapped and held prisoner by Cilician pirates. He took revenge on these pirates and formed his own navy to combat them.
  • In the 15th and 16th centuries, there were both Muslim and Christian pirates.
  • The Muslim pirates were called the Barbary corsairs and the Christian pirates were called the Knights of Saint John.
  • In 1692, a major Caribbean port was destroyed by an earthquake and so no longer attracted pirates. Instead, pirates explored other port colonies such as Rhode Island and Bermuda.
  • In the late 17th century, rumors spread about the existence of a pirate utopia. This utopia was named Libertalia and was a colony in Madagascar founded by Captain James Misson and his pirates. Legend has it that Libertalia lasted for 25 years but the fishy thing is, its exact location is unknown.

CULTURE

  • Pirates had to adhere to a set of rules known as the Pirate Code.
  • The Pirate Code differed from one ship to another.
  • Pirates agreed to divide up the loot and responsibilities between them.
  • A common rule in the Pirate Code was no fighting among pirates onboard the ship.
  • Pirates wore eye patches so that one eye would be well-adjusted to night vision. Good night vision was important for seeing below deck.
  • Pirates loved drinking grog, which is a mixture of water, rum, lemon, and sugar.
  • Not all pirates buried their treasure. This was because they wanted to get their share immediately.
  • Pirate loot was not always gold. It often included food, clothing, and lumber.
  • On top of stealing loot, pirates also killed people.
  • Legend has it that pirates made people walk the plank before killing them, but that is not entirely true.
  • Pirates used torture methods on their prisoners like whiplashing or keelhauling (tying a person up and dragging them underneath the ship).

FAMOUS PIRATES

  • The most feared pirate of all time was Blackbeard, also known as Edward Teach or Edward Thatch.
  • Blackbeard was known for intimidating people by weaving hemp into his beard and setting it on fire.
  • The Vikings were the most famous pirates in medieval Europe.
  • The Vikings were from Scandinavia and were active from the 8th to 12th centuries. They ransacked ships on the coasts of Western Europe, North Africa, and the Baltic Sea.
  • When English pirate William Maurice was hanged and his body parts cut off, King Henry III started to see what a serious crime piracy was.
  • Famous female pirates include Mary Read and Anne Bonny who were both convicted of piracy during the Golden Age of Piracy.
  • Female pirate Ching Shih and her husband Zheng Yi were known to have commanded tens of thousands of pirates.

PIRATES vs. PRIVATEERS

  • A privateer, also called a corsair, acts similarly to a pirate but under official orders from the state.
  • A privateer is commissioned by the government to capture merchant ships of an opposing country or authority.
  • All the pirates in the Bahamas were driven off the islands by former privateer Captain Woodes Rogers.

FUN FACTS

  • A “Jolly Roger” refers to the flag with the skull and crossbones that is often associated with pirate ships, but not all pirate ships have Jolly Rogers.
  • Mediterranean pirates outnumbered the Atlantic and Caribbean pirates.
  • Pirate ships were often small and agile.
  • The advantage of pirate ships over merchant ships was that they were heavily manned.
  • The ships used by Chinese pirates were called “junks” and were wooden sailing ships.
  • Junks armed with weapons to be used by pirates were called “war junks”.

Pirate Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the pirates across 23 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Pirate worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about a pirate who is a sailor who attacks other ships at sea and steals their property. Piracy is the act of robbery and related criminal acts by ship. A pirate ship is usually identified by a flag with a skull and crossbones which is called a Jolly Roger.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Pirate Facts
  • Aye, Aye, Captain!
  • When and Who
  • Pirate Crossword Puzzle
  • Odd One Out
  • Comparing Concepts
  • Famous Pirates
  • Pirate Symbols
  • Picture Story
  • My Pirate Code
  • Pirate Bookmarks

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Link will appear as Pirate Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, October 14, 2019

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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