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Did pirates really say arrrrr? Why do we think they did? What were pirates really like? And do pirates still exist today? Learn lots of interesting information about pirates in this episode!
Transcript
Transcript
Tzeela: Hi I'm Tzeela and I'm 16
Rina: Hi I'm Rina and I'm 14
Dalia: Hey, I'm Dalia and I'm 11
All: And this is Things You Thought You Knew About History!
Tzeela: Where we tell you the real story behind historical misconceptions.
Rina: I have a joke for you! Why are pirates, pirates?
Tzeela: Huh?
Rina: Because they arrrrr!
Tzeela: Seriously?
Dalia: Yeah, and pirates didn’t even say arrr.
Rina: What? Really?
Tzeela: Really. There have been pirates since ancient times, but that classic pirate that supposedly said arrrg was the type from the Golden Age of piracy from 1650 to 1720 when up to 5000 pirates may have roamed the waters.
Dalia: In the 1600s these pirates weren’t necessarily dedicated to plundering other ships. They were more like sailors who used piracy as a way to steal enough money to do something else.
Rina: Around 1716 to 1726 began a period called the War on Pirates when pirates were no longer welcome to settle back on land when they wanted to. This led to the rise of pirates who turned on their own countries and became ruthless criminals loyal to no one.
Tzeela: They didn’t speak any differently than the sailor merchants at the time. The pirates from English West Country did use some version of arrr in conversation. They used arrr to express excitement or agreement and sometimes it was just part of the accent. It might not have been so central to their speech at all.
Dalia: But pirates came from all over! There were pirates from Scotland, Ireland, Africa, and France. Also, some were from Holland, Sweden, or Denmark. Even the ones from England were mainly from London, where they had a different dialect and didn’t say arrr.
Rina: Why do we all think the said arr?
Tzeela: You can thank Disney’s 1950 Treasure Island. Robert Newton, playing Long John Silver, used the “arrg”, “shiver me timbers”, and “walk the plank” that we now associate with basically all pirates
Dalia: This representation of pirates inspired almost every single pirate movie, show, book, or comic after it so it’s no wonder we think pirates say arrr
Rina: What happened to pirates?
Tzeela: During the War on Pirates, governments really cracked down on pirates they caught, hanging many, leading to a decrease and soon the end to the Golden age of Piracy
Dalia: Unfortunately, there are still pirates today in some places, though these pirates look a little different than the ones from the 1700s
Rina: Currently the UN defines Piracy as “any illegal acts of violence or detention, or any act of depredation, committed for private ends by the crew of the passengers of a private ship or a private aircraft” that takes place “on the high seas”
Tzeela: Basically, any private ship that attacks or robs another ship
Dalia: How many pirate attacks happen today?
Tzeela: There were 132 pirate attacks in 2021
Rina: More than 60% of pirate attacks from 1995 to 2017 were from Somalia, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Malaysiaת and Nigeria.
Dalia: And now for some Trivia
Tzeela: Here’s how it will work, we will ask you a question then count down from ten to give you time to answer. Feel free to pause if you need more time.
Dalia: What is the longest boat ever made?
10... 9... 7... 6... 5... 4... 2... 1
The Seawise Giant
Rina: What is the largest ocean?
10... 9... 7... 6... 5... 4... 2... 1
Pacific Ocean
Tzeela; What is the biggest lake?
10... 9... 7... 6... 5... 4... 2... 1
Caspian Sea
Rina: What are the five oceans?
10... 9... 7... 6... 5... 4... 2... 1
The Arctic Ocean, the Southern Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean.
Dalia: What should our upcoming episodes be?
10... 9... 7... 6... 5... 4... 2... 1
Send us your suggestions to thingsyouthoughtyouknewhistory@gmail.com, that's thingsyouthoughtyouknewhistory@gmail.com
Thanks for listening and as always we welcome your feedback!
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