Pirate Factoids you didn’t know!

• A ship’s log book is called that because the speed of a ship was measured by dragging a log behind it.
• Good maps and sea charts were very rare and highly valued by pirates.  When Bartholemew Sharp captured a Spanish ship in 1681, the crew tried to throw their maps overboard.  Sharp stopped them just in time.  Legend has it the crew cried when they saw him take the maps.  Print out  the maps at the bottom of the page for a little treasure hunt!
• One of the most successful pirates of all time was Welshman Bartholomew Roberts.  He captured around 400 ships in his lifetime.
• Unfortunately there are no known pirates that actually kept parrots as pets.  But privateer Francois le Clerc was known to have a wooden leg.
• A piece of eight was a Spanish coin that was worth eight reales (another Spanish coin).  Click on the image to the right to make your own piece of eight.  (click on image then right click and save as)
• No one knows why pirates had flags, but it may have been to strike fear into the hearts of other ships, and make them surrender quickly.
• There were pirates all over the world and there are still pirates today! The “pirates of the Caribbean” regularly operated as far off as New England and Newfoundland, West Africa, the Indian Ocean, and Brazil.
• When a pirate said, “shiver me timbers” it was actually a request for another pirate to shave an especially difficult to reach portion of his back. While pirates would allow their faces and chests to get hairy, there was a strong superstition against hairy backs. By the way, “shiver” means “shave” and “timbers” means “lower back.”

Pirate Treasure Hunt!

We’ve discovered some pirate treasure maps for you.   Carefully cut out the decoder coin on the top of the map and follow the directions to find the hidden treasure! (click on map then right click and save as).  Are you savvy enough to find Davey Jones Treasure?

 

Want to make your own pirate treasure map?  Print out the one below.  Bury some treasure in your back yard and draw a map.  See if your friends can find ye  booty!  Or they be walk’n the plank!

Final Factoid:

• Contrary to popular belief, there are no know events involving pirate kittens….