Pirate Ships were used to perform an attack on a merchant ship, any goods that were being transported were stolen and stored on the pirate ship while the crew were fighting, quite often the victim ship was also stolen.

Pirate Ships, Ship in the sun (Click to enlarge)

Around a hundred to two hundred years ago pirates would perform an attack on a single merchant ship and the crew of the pirate ship would board the victim vessel attacking any crew aboard, after this they would steal anything of any value and make their escape. It was not uncommon for the pirates to steal the merchant ship itself after attacking it.

There is still a problem of piracy at sea today but it is nowhere near as vicious or blood thirsty as the early pirates of the 1800's - 1900's. Modern day pirates travel using high speed power boats and steal valuables from private yachts and cruise liners. If the victim vessel is only small it is sometimes stolen along with its contents, this problem has decreased over the years and has practically been eradicated in United States waters.

The early pirate ships would be stocked with weapons such as high power cannons, pistols and swords, these would be used to force the victim vessel into submission so the pirates can steal the contents of the ship.

Some of the more feared and famous pirates would have a flag on their pirate ships which they would raise just before they attacked another vessel.

Pirate ship information - Detailed information about the life of a pirate and their ships. www.geocities.com

Wikipedia - Historical piracy information and more pirate related info. en.wikipedia.org

Google Images - Lots of images of different pirate ships. As well as hand drawn images. images.google.com


The vessels which were usually targeted by pirates were mostly merchant and transportation vessels, these ships would be carrying food and supplies such as gunpowder and water. The merchant vessels or trading vessels would be carrying items such as gold, silver and tobacco.