Pirates Trivia

1. What nationality was William "Captain" Kidd?

From Quiz All Right, Me Maties!

Answer: Scottish

William Kidd (c.1645-1701) was a privateer, born in Scotland, who only became a pirate in middle age. His legend was made into a 1945 movie "Captain Kidd" starring Charles Laughton as Kidd.

From Quiz A Pirate's Life for Me

Answer: Articles

Every pirate ship had its own articles; some were common to all ships such as no women allowed on ship, punishment for stealing, running away, or keeping secrets was death, and the crew shared the bounty equally. Everyone had to follow the rules, even the captain.

From Quiz Pirates of the Caribbean

Answer: 1650 to 1730

Piracy existed in the Caribbean for many years, even till the mid 1800s, but after the Golden Era, attacks became less frequent because ships would sail in fleets accompanied by other ships to protect the treasure: in other words, they sailed in convoy.

From Quiz Robert E. Lee Meets Blackbeard

Answer: Circa 1680

Despite the fact that many pirates tried to hide the details of their lives before becoming buccaneers, their approximate ages were not that hard to determine from witnessed accounts of their actions as well as from whatever evidence was available of their pasts.

From Quiz Sailors of the Black Flag

Answer: The Jolly Roger

The Jolly Roger usually consists of a skull and two diagonal bones, but some pirates used more elaborate versions including various red flags and versions of the Jolly Roger with up to three skulls. There have also been occasional reports of ships (especially submarines) in regular navies sometimes flying the Jolly Roger, usually as an act of triumphalism or in a dare-devil spirit.

From Quiz Real Pirates Of The Seven Seas

Answer: William Kidd

As a member of a joint French and English crew that sailed in the Caribbean, William Kidd and other members of the crew mutinied and removed the captain of the ship on which they sailed and renamed it the "Blessed William". It is disputable if he was actually a pirate or a privateer, but at any rate he was hanged in chains in England as a pirate in 1701. The belief that he left buried treasure "somewhere" has enhanced the legend of Captain Kidd.

From Quiz A Small Pirate Ship is Called a Thug-boat

Answer: Mary Read

English woman Mary Read spent her childhood disguised as a boy by her mother. This was because her older (legitimate) brother had died, and their mother wanted to keep getting money from his paternal grandmother. Mary stayed living as a man until she fell in love with a soldier, and revealed herself as a woman so they could be married. After the untimely death of her husband, she took ship for the West Indies. When the ship was attacked and boarded by pirates, Mary joined them. In 1720, Mary took the "king's pardon" turned and Privateer, and then joined forces with Anne Bonney and her lover Jack Rackham after they took her ship. The three, along with their crew, were captured that same year and sentenced to death by a court in Jamaica, but both Bonney and Read were spared as they were pregnant. Records show that Mary Read died in childbirth, in jail in Jamaica, in 1721. It was not recorded what happened to her child, but it is assumed he or she died too.

From Quiz Terror of the seas ... Blackbeard!

Answer: Edward Teach

I wouldn't want him teaching at my school!

From Quiz The True Pirates of The Caribbean

Answer: Henry Morgan

Henry Morgan conducted several raids on Spanish fortresses and garnered a large and loyal crew. He succeeded by raiding the fortress from land at night instead of by sea. He amassed a large fortune and lived out his days as a plantation owner. He died of natural causes in 1688. Don Juan de Guzman was president of Panama at the time. Thomas Modyford was an early governor of Port Royal. Blackbeard was another notable pirate.

From Quiz Buccaneer Pirates

Answer: 1650-1730

The "golden age of piracy" was between about 1650 and 1730. At this time piracy was common in the Caribbean.

From Quiz Pirate Flags

Answer: Jolly Roger

Pirates generally had their own flag customised but this is the media famous one. It is thought pirates such as Emanuel Wynne, Edward England, Thomas Tew and Henry Every used this flag.

From Quiz Do You Know Pirates ?

Answer: Edward Thatch/Teach

Edward Thatch (aka Teach) was nicknamed for his phenomenal beard. He became a pirate after capturing a French warship in 1717.

From Quiz Yo-ho-ho!

Answer: Edward Teach

Teach was born in Bristol, England, around 1680, and took to piracy sometime during the War of Spanish Succession (1701-1713). He was a huge man, standing 6'4" in his pirate boots, and was always armed to the teeth with pistols, cutlasses and daggers. Moreover, he had a penchant for weaving strings of hemp and tapers into his enormous beard, which must have made him even more terrifying to behold - especially when he lit the tapers! Teach made his permanent base in North Carolina and the Governor of North Carolina, Charles Eden, afforded Blackbeard unofficial protection in return for a share of the booty. Teach met his end after a desperate battle with the British Navy on November 22, 1713. It took five gunshot wounds and 20 stab wounds to do him in.

From Quiz Be Ye A Pirate?

Answer: Captain of the pirate ship

The Captain and, sometimes, the Quartermaster were entitled to a double share of the proceeds of any looting. On some ships the Captain would receive only a share and a half. On some ships the Quartermaster would receive less than the Captain. Pirates also gave cash compensation to crew members who suffered loss of limb while on duty.

From Quiz Pirates!

Answer: He was hanged

Kidd met the fate of many pirates - at the end of a rope.

From Quiz All Right, Me Maties!

Answer: Irish

Anne McCormac was a pirate and privateer who was born in Cork Ireland. When she married James Bonney, a sailor, her father disowned her. She later fought alongside Mary Read and "Calico Jack" Rackham (whom she married after divorcing James Bonney)

From Quiz A Pirate's Life for Me

Answer: William Kidd

William Kidd was a privateer who was hired to protect English ships while they were in the Caribbean. He and his crew did their job until his crew got tired of giving away the treasures they confiscated from enemy ships. During a voyage in 1698, William Kidd and his crew attacked an Indian ship called the Quedagh Merchant coming around the tip of India. Kidd and his men boarded the ship and stole their treasure along with the ship. William Kidd was no longer a privateer; he was a pirate. On his way to Boston with his new ship and crew, William Kidd was arrested and sent back to England. He was hanged for piracy and his body was left in a cage in exhibition.

From Quiz Robert E. Lee Meets Blackbeard

Answer: No one really knows

"Teach, Thatch, Thach, Thache, Thack, Tack, Thatche, and Theach" show up as spellings for Blackbeard's surname in records according to Robert E. Lee's "Blackbeard the Pirate: A Reappraisal of His Life and Times." Pirates often abandoned the names they had before they joined up especially if they came from prominent families as it seems that Blackbeard probably did from his ability to befriend and have correspondence with men like Tobias Knight, Chief Justice and Secretary of the Province of North Carolina. Drummond shows up as one of the names advanced by Robert E. Lee for Blackbeard's real surname.

From Quiz Sailors of the Black Flag

Answer: Sir Francis Drake

Operating under the English flag, Sir Francis Drake (1540-1596) was hired to hunt down notorious pirates and later pillaged along the Spanish Seas. He was also the first Englishman to sail round the world. He was second-in-command of the English fleet that fought the Spanish Armada (1588).

From Quiz Real Pirates Of The Seven Seas

Answer: Queen Anne's Revenge

Blackbeard was born sometime during the latter 1600s, although no one is certain as to an exact date. His life of piracy began somewhere around 1716, when he joined the crew of Captain Benjamin Hornigold, an already well-known pirate. Ocracoke Island in North Carolina was one of Blackbeard's favorite places to lay anchor and it was there that he was killed during a battle with Lieutenant Robert Maynard of HMS Pearl in November 1718.

From Quiz Terror of the seas ... Blackbeard!

Answer: Date and year are unknown

Most people believe it to be 1680, although this can't be proved.

From Quiz The True Pirates of The Caribbean

Answer: Edward Teach

Edward Teach was an English pirate in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic during the early 18th century, a period referred to as "The Golden Age of Piracy." Blackbeard often fought wearing a large feathered tricorn hat and sporting multiple swords, knives, and pistols. He had hemp and lighted matches woven into his enormous black beard during battle. Accounts of people who saw him fighting reported that he looked like the devil. Howard Pyle was a pirate illustrator. Robert Newton authored "Blackbeard the Pirate" and Edward Walsh was a trader on St. Mary's Island.

From Quiz Buccaneer Pirates

Answer: gambling

Gambling was strictly forbidden aboard most pirate vessels and whenever they made port the crew loved to spend their profits on gambling. They also liked drinking and card games, of course. If they were caught gambling on board then they would be severely punished.

From Quiz Pirate Flags

Answer: A horned skeleton holding an hourglass and a spear pointing at a bleeding heart.

This flag and its owner became infamous through out the Caribbean and was very much feared. It was said that when another ship saw the flag they surrendered straight away.

From Quiz Yo-ho-ho!

Answer: Who knows?

Nobody really knows why the skull and crossbones flag came to be known as the Jolly Roger. Some theorists maintain that it is a corruption of Joli Rouge (French for 'Pretty Red') because pirates used to fly a flag red with the blood of their victims. What a nice decorative touch! Another story is that Jolly Roger is a corruption of Al Raja, Arabic for 'King of the Sea', and the pirates, who were convinced that they were kings of the sea, appropriated the name and gave it to their flag. I find that theory a bit far-fetched. Old Roger was certainly a pseudonym for the devil in the 16th/17th centuries, but that's a pretty tenuous connection, too.

From Quiz Be Ye A Pirate?

Answer: election by the crew

In most cases the pirate captain was elected by the crew. In many cases his authority could only be exercised regarding choice of victims and leading up to and during battle. The pirates tended to have a very democratic and enlightened system of management.

From Quiz Men of the Jolly Roger

Answer: Edward Teach

Edward Teach (aka Blackbeard) was one of the most notorious of the pirates. In 1718 Blackbeard actually blockaded Charleston until a ransom (in the form of a chest of medical supplies) was delivered to him.

From Quiz The Pirate Museum

Answer: Invented by the pirate Joseph Liam ("Joe Lee") Roger

The black flag served to strike fear in the hearts of merchants and seamen and to encourage speedy surrender. The red flag meant imminent attack and/or "no mercy". Some privateers flew the black or red flag together with their country's flag. The death of a seaman was marked in the log book with skull and crossbones.

From Quiz Pirates!

Answer: Edward Teach

Maynard is the officer who killed Blackbeard.

From Quiz All Right, Me Maties!

Answer: Welsh

Henry Morgan (1635-1688) was born in a small village in South Wales and was probably the most famous buccaneer that ever lived. After an act of piracy, he was arrested and sent back to England to stand trial. Instead of being tried, he was promoted to deputy governor of Jamaica by King Charles II.

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Last Updated Nov 02 2024 5:46 AM

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