Friendly pirates?

[kgsuarez]

When sailing were pirates friendly to other pirates?

 

[SirChristopherMings]

KG Suarez,
Welcome to the site, sorry I haven't greeted you earlier. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/par-ty.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="" border="0" alt="par-ty.gif" />

Good question, I think the answer is, "What would you do if you were a pirate?"

If you ran across a ship that you could take without a lot of trouble then it wouldn't necessarily matter if they identified themselves as pirates or not, On the other hand, if you could find a lightly armed merchant vessel, that would probably hold more appeal than an armed ship of pirates no matter what their size. Pirates were generally willing to steal from anybody, they were equal opportunity offenders, but they preferred easy prizes over difficult ones.

There are, however, historical instances where pirate crews would join forces for a time, and this would enable them to take larger prizes or raid coastal towns, Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, or Howell Davis, la Bouche and Cocklyn, or Thomas Tew and Henry Every. These alliances never seem to last very long though.
<img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/dp_nogd.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":ng" border="0" alt="dp_nogd.gif" />

 

[Keith]

I think more than not pirates stayed away from each other, there are a few cases of a pirate breaking off combat when the other flew the skull and crossbones for example

From the Olivier Le Vasseur bio at the site <a href="http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/309/34/" target="_blank">http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/309/34/</a>

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->In 1719 La Bouche seeing a ship anchored off Gambia Castle, bore down upon it only to find that it was captained by Howell Davis, another pirate. The two formed a partnership and sailing down the coast to Sierra Leone came up with Cocklyn, another pirate. The three crews took the fort, and spent the next seven weeks refitting their ships. During this time they took an English slave ship the Bird Galley that came into the port. La Bouche was given the galley in place of the brigantine he had previously commanded. Having refitted the pirates went to sea, but an argument soon forced the three to part company.  <!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Pythons excellent article <a href="http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/267/34/" target="_blank">http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/267/34/</a> talks about it a bit at t he start

 

[CapitainDams]

<!--`QuoteBegin-SirChristopherMings`+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(SirChristopherMings)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->
There are, however, historical instances where pirate crews would join forces for a time, and this would enable them to take larger prizes or raid coastal towns, Blackbeard and Stede Bonnet, or Howell Davis, la Bouche and Cocklyn, or Thomas Tew and Henry Every
[/quote]


Or Sir Henry Morgan's expeditions

 

[CatalinaThePirate]

Depending on who you ask, Morgan is either a pirate, or a privateer... I would think the <i>privateer</i> would leave other privateers of his own country alone, but attack those of nations his country was warring against.

 

[CapitainDams]

Aye! but for attack town many pirates were together.

For example the attack o'Panama in 1671, organised by Morgan.
A lots o'seadogs have participated.
But after, Morgan left with the most o'the treasure!

 

[child of Thor]

That guy who wrote a letter saying to other English ships that if they tied a particular knot on the main mast(or something like that) then he would do his best to let them by unmolested.

A friendly pirate?

 

[CapitainDams]

Henry "Long Ben" Every

He sailed with William Want, Joseph Farrell, William May and Thomas Wake.

 

[kgsuarez]

What about the knot? What's that all about?

 

[SirChristopherMings]

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE</div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->What about the knot? What's that all about?<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

KG,
See Captain Dam's great article about Henry Every on the main site, it will answer the question for you.
<a href="http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/316/34/" target="_blank">http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/view/316/34/</a>

There are a bunch of articles prepared by the PA membership on the main site;
<a href="http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/category/5/26/34/" target="_blank">http://www.piratesahoy.net/content/category/5/26/34/</a>

Check them out. <img src="http://www.piratesahoy.com/forum/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/bookish.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":mm" border="0" alt="bookish.gif" />