Pirates

Barbara J. Feldman

A pirate is a robber who attacks ships. Although piracy has occurred since ancient times, the golden era of piracy was the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries on the Mediterranean and Caribbean seas. When the early American colonists established successful trade routes to Europe, many pirates turned their attention to the Atlantic. Pirates have been the subject of much literature, and hundreds of websites are devoted to their study. Welcome aboard, swabbie!

Blindkat's Pirates of the Caribbean

4 stars

Blindkat's extensive pirate site was one of the first web pages on the topic, dating back to 1995. If you are looking for something specific, try the site map, which is an alphabetic index of topics. My favorite sections are "What's a Privateer, Pirate, Buccaneer, and/or Marooner?" and "Articles of Piracy" found in "A Pyrates Life: Fact, Legend & Myth." There are also sections on specific pirates, their ships, weapons, flags (called jacks) and language (see "A Pyrate's Lexicon.")

National Geographic: Pirates of the Whydah

5 stars

"Black Sam" Bellamy's pirate ship The Whydah sank in a storm off the New England coast on April 26, 1717. The captain, 143 crew members and booty stolen from fifty ships went down with her. In 1984, she was discovered by underwater explorer Barry Clifford. Armed with new clues, historians are re-evaluating what they know about pirate life. This National Geographic special takes an in-depth look at nine of the Whydah pirates, and reprints a May 1999 magazine article. Don't overlook the Resources & Links page, which includes recommended websites, films, books, and a printable version of the pirate bios.

National Geographic Pirates!

5 stars

"Ahoy! Have ye heard the secret of this ramshackle inn where ye'r lodgin'? They say it's full of booty but nobody's been able to find it." Join this interactive adventure, and while looking for the loot, you'll unearth tales of real pirates woven into the story line. When your adventure is finished, click on Books for Buccaneers (from the main menu) for elementary and young adult reading lists.

Pirates! Fact & Legend

5 stars

Krzysztof Wilczynski, who started his pirate site in 1996, traces piracy to ancient Greece because it was mentioned in Homer's "Illiad and Odyssey." More pirate history and pirate biographies can be found in the appropriately named sections, but the bulk of the site is found in Details on Pirates and on the lively discussion boards. I found the articles on software piracy interesting (look for them in the Details section under Modern Piracy.)

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

5 stars

This is the official movie site for the swashbuckling Disney summer blockbuster. Visit to view movie clips, snag some graphics for your website, download a screensaver, feast upon stills from the film, or to play games. Yup, I chose the games, too. The games are filed under each movie title, so to access them enter Curse of the Black Pearl or Dead Man's Chest. At time of my visit, there were no free games for At World's End.