Top Ten Tuesday: Reasons to Love Pirates

By: Stephanie Wyatt

Happy Tuesday! This week I am going to talk about the wonderful people who sail the seven seas in search of buried treasure. I would have listed my top ten books, but I have only read two so far, and I have been scavenging bookstores ever since, so feel free to send me some recommendations on this post.

1. They use swords

I love sword fighting. I have my own fencing equipment sitting at home because I haven’t been able to find a place to fence, and I live in a studio. Yes, I know knights use swords, but their swords are really heavy, and you can’t exactly have witty banter beneath a iron helmet.

2. The ships are awesome

I always thought that the fact that everyone lived and worked together while they traveled in basically an apartment that moves was awesome. Yes, I know trailers and RVs exist, but the ocean probably smells better.

3. Treasure

Who doesn’t like money? You never have to worry about the price of inflation with actual gold and jewels. You are guaranteed to make a pretty penny with treasure. Plus, unless it’s cursed, finders keepers applies.

4. Being a pirate is not gender specific

We have Blackbeard, Jack Sparrow, and Captain Hook that’s true. But here are five pirate women who are pretty awesome too.

5. They are every day people who took matters into their own hands.

Historically, and in the movies, pirates are people who society shunned or got kicked out of a Royal Navy for not following orders. They were people who did what they had to do in order to survive.

6. They have a ton of folklore

I love learning about mythology and legends, so when I first saw that pirates had numerous stories told about them I was sold.

7. They can be both real and fantastic

There are actual historic accounts of people who were executed for piracy. You can also find characters like Jack Sparrow if you don’t like history.

8. They have their own code

I always liked the fact that if you betrayed your crew you were made to walk the plank or marooned on the nearest island. You couldn’t exactly turn them into the authorities.

9. The thrill of adventure

Pirates don’t exactly have the opportunity to be bored. They are looking for their next destination or treasure. They don’t stay in the same place for too long, and that’s always been intriguing to me.

10. They have an inherent Robin Hood quality about them

I have mentioned before that they tend to be the people society has cast out, and because of this, they tend to help other outcasts. They have a “steal from the rich, give to the poor” mentality, or they at least have clever escape strategies when caught, which is also fun to see.

Who are some of your favorite pirates? Let me know in the comments.