What did pirates wear in the 1700s?

Asked by: Mark Valenzuela

Pirates use cloth tied around their neck and tucked in front of their vest, similar to neckties today. They also wore black and wide hats to protect them from the sun’s heat, similar to men in the middle class from the 1700s. It also became the pirate attire of captains.

What did 17th century pirates wear?

Pirates wore loose and straight-cut doublets as overcoats. Wealthy buccaneers and privateers also wore jerkins. Though the doublet was loose, a belt allowed pirates to store small weapons like daggers.

What did real pirates wear?

About-to-be hanged pirates are recorded as wearing fancy velvet coats and jackets, taffeta breeches, gaily-coloured silk shirts, ribboned stockings, fancy-buckled shoes, and felt tricorne hats.

What were pirate clothes called?

Doublet or coat – Expensive item of pirate clothing. Long clothes, including the doublet were a style of pirate clothing best suited to land. Decorated with ornate braids and fabrics. Breeches – trousers were generally only worn by English pirates.

Did pirates actually dress like that?

Nor did real pirates wear frilly lace shirts, long frock coats, jewelry, or swords. Some of them wore the cocked hat (called a tricorn today), McGann says, but they wore it with the broad side facing front (less surface area for the wind to catch).

What did pirates eat in the 1700s?

Dried food, such as beans, pulses and sea biscuits were the main staple on long voyages as well as salted meat and pickled vegetables and fruit. Because the supply of fruit and vegetables lasted such a short amount of time, pirates would frequently suffer from malnutrition caused by lack of vitamin C.

Did pirates really wear stripes?

Striped pants are the mark of a pirate because patterned fabric, like stripes, was more expensive than an average sailor could afford. When they were in town and needed clothing, pirates had theirs made from the best materials available.

What do girl pirates wear?

Women pirates, just like the male pirates, also dressed themselves in coats that were called doublets which were brocaded and decorated with braiding. Under the coats, they wore the typical puffy sleeved shirt that is associated with pirates.

Why did pirates wear earrings?

Earrings were also worn for superstitious reasons. Some pirates were convinced that wearing an earring would improve or even cure bad eyesight, as they believed that the precious metals in an earring possessed magical healing powers. Another tale was that pierced ears would prevent seasickness.

Did pirates go barefoot?

Most pirates and seafaring people in the Age of Sail went barefoot when the weather allowed. It gives better grip on deck and when climbing the rigging, and bare feet dry out better than shoes when they get wet. When they needed some protection, or were going ashore, pirates usually wore sandals.

What did pirates drink?

Grog, Beer and Rum

Because of this, many seamen drank grog, beer or ale as opposed to water. Fresh water on board would often become tainted by green scum and slime, so a small amount of alcohol was often added in order to improve the bad taste of old water. This water and alcohol combination is better known as grog.

How did pirates do their hair?

Steel razors had only recently been invented, and were still the province of the very rich. Poorer men shaved themselves with iron blades, or plucked the individual hairs with crude tweezers. Sometimes, they shaved with broken glass.

What jewelry did pirates wear?

Pirate captains only wear jewelry, specifically gold earrings, gold rings, and gold chains. They wear jewelry to keep it safe when it is on their person. They can also bring it with them anywhere. Common sailors usually resort to wearing only one gold hoop earring.

Did pirates wear one or two earrings?

The gold earrings pirates wore served a couple different purposes. The gold hoops ensured that if their body washed ashore there would be enough money for a funeral, as whoever found the body could use the gold jewelry as payment for burial.

What type of earrings did pirates wear?

Common sailors were known to wear a single gold earring in one ear. Besides being portable wealth, a single gold earring had an important purpose for the pirates. Religion influenced people to believe that in order to get to heaven, you needed a funeral.

Why did pirates have eye patches?

The eye patch could be used to prepare one eye to see in the dark, so when they would go below deck they could swap the eye patch from one eye to the other and see with the eye that has already adjusted to low light conditions. This would allow them to instantly see in the dark.

How do you say hello in pirate?

Ahoy – A pirate greeting or a way to get someone’s attention, similar to “Hello” or “hey!”. Arrr, Arrgh, Yarr, Gar – Pirates slang used to emphasize a point. Avast – Pirate speak for pay attention. Aye aye – Confirmation that an order is understood.

Did pirates actually have hooks?

Most famously attributed to seafaring pirates, peglegs with wooden cores and metal hands shaped into hooks have actually been the prosthetic standard throughout much of history. While Hollywood has exaggerated their use of hooks and peglegs, pirates did sometimes rely on these types of prostheses.

Why did pirates have parrots?

A colorful talking bird would have been expensive, so pirates probably stole them along with other valuable cargo. The crew on a pirate ship may have been glad to have these intelligent birds onboard to entertain them on long, dull voyages.

Did pirates have tattoos?

You see, pirates from 1690 – 1720 or so simply didn’t wear tattoos. Or if they did, the markings would be as rare as similar marking on nuns today. It’s true that Europeans, and especially sailors, have been getting tattoos for many years.

What did pirates do to slaves?

To pirates, slaves were worthless cargo, and they treated captured Africans accordingly. Contacts with free Africans were restricted to trading relationships, which sometimes led to violent excesses. Many black people were mistreated or killed by pirates.