What is Pirate Mythtory? Over the last couple of centuries pirates
have occupied a place in our imagination unlike any other group of people. The
romance of the sea, the excitement of battle and the admiration for a rascal
have all contributed to our love of pirates. From novels like Treasure Island and
Captain Blood, plays like Peter Pan and The Pirates of Penzance, the paintings
of Howard Pyle and N.C.Wyeth and most recently films such as the Sea Hawk,
Cutthroat Island and Pirates of the Caribbean, popular culture has always
included pirates, and this popular culture has coloured the way we view
pirates. Pirate Mythtory is the grey area where fiction meets fact, where the
romance of stories is tranformed into the reality of history.
What is this website all about? This website is dedicated to
the extraction of fact from fiction. Some might say I'm a spoilsport, but I
truly believe that the history of piracy is as interesting, if not more so, than
the fiction. We could never have enjoyed the exploits of fictional pirates had
real pirate not acted as examples and inspiration for our authors and
film-makers. There is nothing wrong with pirate fiction, it's great, but it
must not be confused with pirate fact.
Click on the links below to
explore the site. If you have any suggestions for pirate myths which need
exploding or would like to make contributions to the site please email me.
Likewise, if you have a pirate myth related question and you can't find the
answer, email me.
