The Image of the Pirate

by

Siri and Selma have recently become fascinated by pirates after seeing Barbara’s post https://aigantaigh.wordpress.com/2026/03/22/neues-logbuch-neuer-kurs-meine-neue-uber-mich-seite/
Klausbernd, alias Masterchen, sets them straight:

Siri und Selma schwärmen seit neuestem für Piraten, nachdem sie Barbaras Post https://aigantaigh.wordpress.com/2026/03/22/neues-logbuch-neuer-kurs-meine-neue-uber-mich-seite/
gesehen haben. Klausbernd alias Masterchen klärt sie auf:

Siri and Selma ©Kb Vollmar

You know, the credo of mass society is: “Away from the norm!” Who could embody this attitude more vividly than your pirates? Whilst the heyday of piracy was made possible by the exploitation of the colonies in the Americas, the pirate dream is produced by a hierarchical society in which the individual feels at the mercy of others. With pirates, who had a flat hierarchy, things were different: the leader, for example, could be voted out at any time.
You’re probably right; the pirates were by no means merely lawless or antisocial. They devised an effective social and health insurance scheme that stipulated how much would be paid out in the event of injury. Some ship crews stipulated in their code of honour that rape was punishable by death. That is why scenes of rape are rarely found even in pornographic pirate literature. 
In his novel ‘The Red Rover‘, James Fenimore Cooper conjured up the image of the noble pirate and regarded pirates as the first democratic community since antiquity.

Ihr wisst doch, das Credo der Massengesellschaft lautet: „Weg von der Norm!“ Wer könnte diese Haltung anschaulicher verkörpern als eure Seeräuber. Während die Blütezeit der Piraterie durch die Ausbeutung der Kolonien in den beiden Amerikas ermöglicht wurde, wird der Piratentraum durch eine hierarchische Gesellschaft produziert, in der sich der Einzelne ausgeliefert fühlt. Bei den Piraten, die eine flache Hierarchie aufwiesen, war dies anders: Der Anführer konnte beispielsweise jederzeit abgewählt werden.
Ihr habt wohl recht, die Seeräuber waren keineswegs nur gesetzlos oder asozial. Sie erfanden eine effektive Sozial- und Krankenversicherung, die festlegte, wie viel bei Verletzungen bezahlt wurde. Einige Schiffsbesatzungen legten in ihrem Ehrencodex fest, dass Vergewaltigung mit der Todesstrafe geahndet wurde. Deshalb sind selbst in der pornografischen Piratenliteratur nur selten Vergewaltigungsszenen zu finden.
James Fenimore Cooper beschwor in seinem Roman „Der rote Freibeuter“ das Bild des edlen Piraten und hielt die Piraten für die erste demokratische Gemeinschaft seit der Antike.

Two women dressed as pirate fairies with wings, corsets, and hats holding a sword and pistol on a ship deck at sunset
WordPress has helped transporting Siri and Selma further into the world of pirates. These are typical sweet AI pirates, Hollywood-Style.

The image of the noble savage, as conceived by Jean-Jacques Rousseau in the early 18th century in reference to the ‘natural man’, still haunts pirate literature to this day – and, it seems, your imaginations as well. Publishers’ sales figures show that it satisfies deeply repressed needs, particularly among female readers. What the Wild West novel is to men, the pirate novel is to women and girls like you, in which the privateer captain is portrayed as noble and good. Rousseau’s view that humanity strays from goodness under the influence of civilisation is abundantly clear in a cliché of pirate literature: the instinct-driven, wild individual who renounces the constraints of civilisation thus becomes a good person. This noble savage is presented as a contrasting figure to the corrupt, decadent society of the colonial masters and their wives.

Das von Jean-Jacques Rousseau zu Beginn des 18. Jahrhunderts auf den Naturmenschen bezogene Bild des edlen Wilden geistert bis heute durch die Piratenliteratur und scheinbar auch durch eure Vorstellungen. Die Umsatzzahlen der Verlage zeigen, dass es tief verdrängte Bedürfnisse speziell der weiblichen Leserschaft befriedigt. Was dem Mann sein Wildwestroman ist, das ist der Frau und den Mädchen wie euch ihr Piratenschmöker, in dem der Kaperkapitän als edel und gut dargestellt wird. Rousseaus Ansicht, dass der Mensch durch den Einfluss der Zivilisation vom Guten abweicht, zeigt sich überdeutlich in einem Klischee der Piratenliteratur: Der triebhaft wilde Mensch, der zivilisatorischen Zwängen entsagt, wird demnach zum guten Menschen. Dieser edle Wilde wird der verdorbenen, dekadenten Gesellschaft der Kolonialherren und ihrer Frauen als Kontrastfigur gegenübergestellt.

The pirate based on a photo of Kb.

 I’m afraid I have to disappoint you, though; that was by no means the case. The pirates maintained close business ties and even friendly relations with the exploiters of Hispaniola and other colonies. In particular, the English governors and pirates worked together in the Caribbean during the 17th and 18th centuries. The pirate often became the governor’s assistant, at the very least, and was able to supplement the governor’s meagre salary through joint business ventures. Films such as ‘Pirates of the Caribbean‘ (winner of the 1943 Oscar for Best Special Effects) and ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ (the subsequent modern film) accurately depict this mutually profitable collaboration. Furthermore, the English nobility were generally well-disposed towards pirates, provided they did not interfere with their own affairs.
On closer inspection, the ‘noble savage’ turns out to be a calculating, seafaring businessman who engaged in unscrupulous, high-risk ventures. Pirates and the establishment do not form the dichotomy that admirers like you might assume.

Ich muss euch jedoch enttäuschen, das war keineswegs der Fall. Die Piraten pflegten geschäftlich engste und auch freundschaftliche Beziehungen zu den Ausbeutern Hispaniolas und anderer Kolonien. Speziell die englischen Gouverneure und Piraten arbeiteten im 17. und 18. Jahrhundert in der Karibik zusammen. Der Pirat wurde zumindest oft zum Helfer des Gouverneurs und konnte dessen geringe Besoldung durch gemeinsame Geschäfte aufbessern. Filme wie „Piraten im Karibischen Meer“ (Oscar-Gewinner 1943 für die besten Spezialeffekte) und „Fluch der Karibik“ zeigen diese für beide Seiten profitable Zusammenarbeit korrekt auf. Außerdem war der englische Adel den Piraten meist wohlgesonnen, solange sie die eigenen Geschäfte nicht störten.
Der edle Wilde entpuppt sich bei genauerer Betrachtung als berechnender, seefahrender Geschäftsmann, der skrupellos Risikogeschäfte tätigte. Pirat und Establishment bilden keinen Gegensatz, den Bewunderer wie ihr vermuten.

Pirates were usually quite vain. It is a well-established fact that whenever they captured a ship, they immediately turned their attention to the trunks of clothes

Our image of the pirate has been largely shaped by Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel ‘Treasure Island‘, which was published as a serial in England between 1881 and 1882. Stevenson is regarded as the first author to portray both the positive and negative aspects of piracy entertainingly.
This novel contains all the elements that make up our image of the pirate: the wooden leg of the ship’s cook, Long John Silver, the steel hook replacing the hand lost in battle, the parrot and the eye patch, which are the trademarks of the pirate captain Flint. And, of course, the pirate’s treasure is a must.
The wooden leg was an invention of Stevenson’s, yet it lacked any historical basis. In this portrayal, Stevenson confused pirates with sailors in the Royal Navy, where it was customary to employ disabled sailors as ship’s cooks. The eye patch and parrot, on the other hand, were more likely to be accurate, as many seafarers were blind in one eye due to determining their position using a sextant by gazing at the sun, and some sailors also kept parrots on board.

Unser Bild des Piraten wurde maßgeblich durch den Roman „Die Schatzinsel“ von Robert Louis Stevenson geprägt, der von 1881 bis 1882 als Fortsetzungsroman in England erschien. Stevenson gilt als erster Autor, der die positiven und negativen Seiten der Seeräuberei unterhaltsam darstellte.
In diesem Roman finden sich alle Elemente, die unser Bild vom Piraten ausmachen: das Holzbein des Schiffskochs Long John Silver, der Stahlhaken für die im Kampf verlorene Hand, der Papagei und die Augenklappe, die das Markenzeichen des Piratenkapitäns Flint sind. Außerdem darf der Piratenschatz nicht fehlen.
Das Holzbein war eine Erfindung Stevensons, jedoch fehlte ihm dabei jede historische Grundlage. Stevenson verwechselte bei dieser Darstellung die Piraten mit Matrosen der englischen Kriegsmarine, in der es Brauch war, versehrte Matrosen als Schiffsköche einzusetzen. Augenklappe und Papagei waren hingegen wahrscheinlicher, da durch die Positionsbestimmung mittels des Sextanten und des Schießens auf die Sonne viele Seefahrer auf einem Auge blind waren und auch einige Seeleute Papageien an Bord hielten.

The pirate is based on a photo of Kb.

Like many authors of the 19th and even the 20th century, Stevenson drew his knowledge of piracy from Captain Charles Johnson’s ‘General History of Piracy‘ (1724). This work is attributed to the English Puritan Daniel Defoe. It is the only contemporary account of the lives of pirates based on court records and witness statements.
Like ‘Treasure Island‘, ‘A General History of Piracy‘ influenced J. M. Barrie, who based the character of Captain Hook in his play ‘Peter Pan‘ on Stevenson’s descriptions. Our ideas about pirates, just like yours, can be traced back to Defoe and Stevenson.

Wie viele Autoren des 19. und sogar noch des 20. Jahrhunderts bezog Stevenson seine Kenntnisse über die Piraterie aus Kapitän Charles Johnsons „Allgemeiner Geschichte der Piraterie“ (1724). Dieses Werk wird dem englischen Puritaner Daniel Defoe zugeschrieben. Es ist die einzige zeitnahe Dokumentation über das Leben der Piraten, die auf Gerichtsakten und Zeugenaussagen beruht.
Über „Die Schatzinsel“ wirkte „Die allgemeine Geschichte der Piraterie“ auf J. M. Barrie, der in seinem Bühnenstück „Peter Pan“ die Figur des Kapitän Hook an die Beschreibungen Stevensons anlehnte. Unsere Vorstellungen wie auch eure von Piraten sind auf Defoe und Stevenson zurückzuführen.

Two children in pirate costumes on a beach with a treasure chest full of gold and a pirate ship in the background
Siri and Selma on Holkham Beach, North Norfolk

Some pirates amassed great wealth. The brilliant navigator Captain Henry Avery (Long Ben) was the most successful pirate of all time, having captured the Indian Grand Mogul’s magnificent ship. He then retired to Devon under the name Benjamin Bridgeham. Equally successful was your hero Bartholomew Roberts, known as ‘Jack Sparrow’, whose handsome appearance served as the model for many depictions of pirates (such as that of Johnny Depp in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’). He captured over 400 ships and was an eccentric among pirates, as he neither drank nor indulged in gambling, but was a great lover of music. Modern research suggests that Roberts was a woman, as she insisted, amongst other things, that she be thrown overboard in her clothes after her death. Roberts died a wealthy woman.

Einige Piraten erlangten großen Reichtum. Der geniale Navigator Kapitän Henry Avery (Long Ben) war der erfolgreichste Pirat aller Zeiten, indem er das Prachtschiff des indischen Großmoguls kaperte. Danach setzte er sich als Benjamin Bridgeham in Devon zur Ruhe. Ebenfalls sehr erfolgreich war euer Held Bartholomew Roberts, genannt „Jack Sparrow“, der als gutaussehender Mann die Vorlage vieler Piratendarstellungen bot (wie auch jene durch Johnny Depp in „Piraten der Karibik“). Er kaperte über 400 Schiffe und war ein Exzentriker unter den Piraten, da er weder trank noch dem Glücksspiel frönte, sondern ein großer Musikliebhaber war. Die heutige Forschung vermutet, dass Roberts eine Frau war, da sie u.a. durchsetzte, dass sie nach ihrem Tod in ihren Kleidern über Bord geworfen wurde. Roberts starb als reiche Frau.

Mit herzlichen Grüßen von der Küste
The Fab Four of Cley
🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

(This post is based on a longer article that Klausbernd published a few years ago. See also the section of the essay on female pirates that he published as a shortened post five years ago https://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/29/piratinnen/)

(Diese Post geht auf einen längeren Artikel zurück, den Klausbernd vor einigen Jahren veröffentlichte. Siehe auch den Teil des Aufsatzes über Piratinnen den er vor 5 Jahren gekürzt als Post veröffentlichte https://kbvollmarblog.wordpress.com/2021/03/29/piratinnen/)




© text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers & Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2026

74 thoughts

  1. Thank you for this interesting and informative post. Pirates have always carried a certain charm for me, and Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow sealed the deal. The AI images are lots of fun. This is one of the AI capabilities that’s enjoyable.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much, dear Terry 🙏 🙏
      We were always fascinated by the literature about pirates and started collecting them many years ago.
      Playing with AI to produce pictures is fun. The problem is that at this stage, AI always tries to produce the same kitschy style.

      Wishing you a happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  4. Excellent! KB looks very distinguished as a pirate! Stevenson may have got the accuracy of the history wrong, but I dearly loved reading ‘Treasure Island’ as a child, and it made my imagination run wild with the descriptions of the characters. Then when the film of the book came out in 1950, starring Robert Newton, I was too young to see it. But ten years later my parents took me to see the film in a London cinema when I was 8, and I really enjoyed it.

    Love from Beetley, Pete. X

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pete

      We also loved reading “Treasure Island” and saw the film later. And we are still quite fascinated by the pirates. When Kb taught at McGill in Montreal, he had some assistants to help researching and in a way, that was the beginning of this article. Here at our coast, there were not so many pirates but rather smugglers and beach robbers.

      Thanks and wishing you a cosy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Gwendoline

      It’s always fun to dress up. The Pirates liked it very much. Some had their genuine style of dressing like Calico Jack, the English Pirate John Rackham. Most female pirates modelled their style of dress on that of the men.

      Thanks for commenting

      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • I’ll believe you 🙂 But – he’s Aussie, they’re different (more into beer, footie and meat pies). We’ve been married 40 years and it’s the first time he’s let me put him in a wig* and apply makeup. (* From my blonde plaited version for Octoberfest dress up.) If only I could upload a photo in the comments. Anyway, we had a great time at the party, and he had many admirers.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Great fun to watch and a very interesting read, dear friends. You must be an expert on pirates, Kb. I remember being in Cley around Harbour Day and there were so many pirates there, including you.

    Aah, The Treasure Island. I think Long John is one of the truly great characters in classic literature. He charmed me as a young reader just as he charmed young Jim and the readers of today. 

    What a coincident, I have an invitation for a big party on a boat in June and dress code is maritime or pirate! Like Garrulous Gwendoline I find lots of inspiration here.

    God helg!

    Kram

    Annalena xx

    “Always be yourself, unless you can be a pirate, then be a pirate.” Anonymous.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Annalena

      We celebrate every year a big pirate day at Wells-next-the-Sea, just a few miles down the coast, and in Cley as well. At the Harbour Day here, most kids and adults come as pirates. Pirates have an irresistible appeal. And, of course, we celebrate on September 19th the ‘Talk Like A Pirate Day’. It’s celebrated worldwide, but in a few places as much as here.

      Thanks & KRAM
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂
      xxxx

      Like

    • Dear Steve

      A couple of years ago, we had a holiday at Penzance and stayed just opposite the famous pirate pub Admiral Bembow.

      Gilbert and Sullivan wrote this comic opera in two acts, where the pirates are sweet and romanticised, following Walter Scott’s highly romantic novel ‘The Pirate’.

      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Like

    • Dear Roberta
      The pirates came from all strata of society. Their leaders were often educated. They gave themselves certain laws that they followed.
      They had to organise their lives as they lived very closely together as a productive group.
      Thank you
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  11. Such an interesting piece. I was about to recommend ‘Saltblood’ to you, but having just now read your previous post, I see you have already read it. I see you’ve been having fun with AI! Luckily it’s alway easy to identify. Something about the cinema-poster styling always gives it away!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Dear Margaret
      Yes, it’s, in a way, a pity that you are bound to one style before you are really able to work with AI. But you are right as well, now you can often see immediately what’s done with AI. I know professionals who use AI, but you don’t notice it. We are only playing with it and having fun.
      I liked reading ‘Saltblood’.
      Thanks and happy weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley 🏴‍☠️
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  12. Ihr Lieben in Cley, was für ein interessanter Beitrag zu den Piraten, vielen Dank! Mir hat speziell gefallen, dass die Anführer jederzeit abgewählt werden konnten, was wahrscheinlich auch in der heutigen Zeit mit gewissen Politikern eine gute Vorgehensweise sein könnte!

    Cari saluti Martina:)

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Martina

      Ja, das wäre nicht schlecht – besonders gerade mit einem.

      Habe Dank für deinen Kommentar und ein schönes Wochenende wünschen
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂 

      Liked by 1 person

  14. Ein überaus interessanter Artikel, Klausbernd! Deutlich ist zu merken, dass er nicht auf die Schnelle rausgehauen ist, sondern gründliche Recherche seine Basis bildet. Lesevergnügen der besonderen Art, und die Illustrationen sind ein besonderes Zückerchen (so lasse ich mir KI-Einsatz gefallen 😉).
    Herzliche Grüße in euer Piratinnennest!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Ganz herzlichen Dank, dear Ule 🙏 🙏

      Die AI Spielerei hat uns viel Spaß gemacht, wenn wir auch blutige Anfänger sind.

      Herzliche Grüße vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  16. This is such a brilliant post and a wonderful read. I, for one, find pirates utterly fascinating. There is just something about historical brutality mixed with romanticised rebellion. Given that the pirates operated as democratic “rogue states,” challenging social norms with early injury compensation systems, unique codes of conduct, and democratic leadership, no wonder they became captivating antiheroes rather than just criminals. Thanks for sharing, and have a good day 🙂 Aiva xx

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  17. You look great as a pirate, it suits you 😊😉. I saw some ships in Greenwich once at the Tall ship festival. There was a pirate walking around. I will always remember it.
    Pirates have some fascination to us. Great post. Thanks

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  18. I LOVED this post!!! I especially appreciated the way you moved between the image of the pirate and the reality behind it. There is something very human in that contrast. We are drawn to the idea of freedom, and yet, as you show, the reality is often far more complex.
    It made me think about how easily we create stories that reflect what we long for, and how important it is to return, from time to time, and look more closely.

    Even Canada has claim on pirates. A favourite story of mine is about Peter Easton, who operated along the Newfoundland coast in the early 1600s. He was a very successful pirate, who had a strategic mindset. He eventually sailed to Nice, where he was offered asylum, invested in the region, and became part of the court of the Duke of Savoy. In the end, he retired with wealth, a title, and a place within the very kind of structure one might imagine pirates stood against. It feels like a perfect illustration of your point. The line between rebellion and participation is not always as clear as we might think.

    Your AI photos were brilliant, but I especially enjoyed the painting of Siri and Selma. Sending much love and many hugs to our dear friends, The Fab Four of Cley!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Rebecca

      Kb started with the painting of Siri and Selma. Dina asked him to do such a paiting or drawing. And he then asked Dina to produce some AI pictures. So it started with the pictures.
      Kb thought it a pity that we didn’t made anything of his pirate-researches years ago except one post about the female piracy. He just wanted it to be published and here it is.

      The line between revolution against a system and taking part is indeed very thin. And that was not only in the times of the pirates. In modern history it was f.e. Mussolini who started out as an anarchist and then became a fascist.

      We just googled Peter Easton who became that powerful that he couldn’t be ignored and he was never captured. The pictures on google show him as a typical pirate in the classic outfit of his trade. We hadn’t read about him before. He was one of the early pirates. Well, actually the earliest pirates operated in the Mediterranean at the time of Iulius Caesar.

      Thank you very much for your kind comment.
      Sending you lots of love 😘🥰 and hugs 🤗🤗 over to the far coast of Canada
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  19. So ein schöner und vor allem auch sehr interessanter Beitrag zum Thema Piraten ist das, wobei ich gerade richtig Spaß am lesen hatte!

    Liebe Grüße auf die wunderschöne Insel der neuerdings so wunderbar orjentierten Piratinnen und lasst es euch, trotz allem so richtig gut gehen!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Hanne

      das ist ein lieber Kommentar. Ganz herzlichen ❤ Dank 🙏 🙏

      Leider konnen wir nicht den Originaltext von über 50 finden, nur die Zusammenfassungen. Aber wir bleiben dran, sie zu suchen.
      Schön, dass du Spaß am Lesen hattest. Kb hatte auch großen Spaß beim Schreiben damals. Er hielt sogar eine beliebte Vorlesung über das Bild des Piraten in der Literatur. Sie wurden meistens als Kämpfer für Freiheit und Abenteuer romantisiert und auch erotisiert. Es gibt das Genre des Piraten Soft Pornos. Diese Erotisierung bezog sich sowohl auf weibliche wie auch auf männliche Piraten. Grundsätzlich wussten die Piraten jedoch nichts mit Frauen anzufangen. Es waren eher homosexuelle Gemeinschaften. Frauen wurden so schnell wie möglich an Land ausgesetzt – allerdings nicht im Piratenporno.

      Mit lieben Grüßen von der sonnigen Küste Nord Norfolks
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  23. Dear Fabs, I have a direct link to the Pirates of Brancaster. The Wreck SS Vina was one of my family’s ships, built in 1894 for trading between the East coast and the Baltic. In WW2 she was was requisitioned and filled with explosives to avert seaborne invasion.

    The next indignity came when the RAF used Vina for target practice. Eventually she ended up on the sand bar and… well, she still lives there 125+ years later. We used to have the ship’s bell, but it got ‘lost’ in a house-move.

    As for the link, I believe that there were always Pirates on board, benign ones that guarded her on the high seas, kept her afloat during her various indignities and – when eventually scuppered – made sure her visible presence remained. Apotropaic benevolence.

    We found the Wreck beer to be excellent. All the best to you 4 (both, if S & S might be distressed by the tale). KS / RH

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • Hi Keith
      We several times went out to this wreck, what is quite an adventure as you know.
      We couldn’t find any mentioning of pirates at Brancaster, but a lot of smuggling like at ours in Cley.
      But actually where is sea there are pirates.
      Thanks
      Kb 🙂

      Like

  25. Liebe Fab Four of Cley,

    Eure Leidenschaft für die Piratengeschichten, Literatur mit der reizenden KI-Bebilderung ist eindrucksvoll.

    In meiner Umgebung des fränkischen Binnenlandes gab es keine Piraten und entsprechende Geschichten. Legenden gibt es in Nürnberg von dem Raubritter Eppelein. In den letzten Jahrzehnten tauchte die Piratenpartei auf, die auch bei der letzten Wahl in Listenverbindung mit den Humanisten wieder einen von siebzig Sitzen im Stadtrat erobern konnte. Meine Partei ist es nicht, ich höre kaum von ihr, öffentlich tritt sie in Erscheinung beim Fastnachtszug.

    Viele herzliche Grüße aus Nürnberg sendet Bernd

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen,
      lieber Bernd. Über die Piratenpartei hörten wir nur am Rande. Wir dachten, das sei ein Witz und vergaßen es wieder.
      Die Raubritter und die Piraten gingen der gleichen Profession nach, die einen zu Lande, die anderen auf der See. Und beide boten sich an, später idealisiert zu werden, die einen u.a. durch Schillers “Die Räuber”, die anderen durch viele literarische Bezüge. Und dennoch gibt es einen großen Unterschied zwischen beiden. Die Piraten waren weitgehend demokratisch organisiert und bildeten die Vorläufer von Kranken- und Sozialversicherung.
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom heute ruhigen Meer senden
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  28. Aye!
    Habt erst einmal ganz lieben Dank für das Verlinken! Und es freut mich sehr, dass ich Siri und Selma so inspiriert habe, auch wenn ich sie direkt aufs Glatteis führte, mit der romantisierten Darstellung der Piratenwelt.

    Ich finde Euren Beitrag (und auch die beiden anderen, die Ihr mir verlinkt hattet) unglaublich lesenswert. Einige der Kommentare hier fand ich auch überaus inspirierend, so dass ich schon weitere Ideen für Beiträge habe. 🙂 Ich habe den Eindruck, man könnte noch so viel mehr über die Piraten schreiben!

    Ehrlich gesagt, habe ich “Die Schatzinsel” bisher noch gar nicht gelesen…

    Eure KI-Bilder sind ganz bezaubernd!
    Liebe Grüße vom Rhein,

    Barbara

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Liebe Barbara,

      schon seit meiner Kindheit fand ich Piraten anziehend. Ich hatte sogar ein Piratenkostüm, mit dem ich stolz beim Kölner Karneval erschien. Die Piraten sind so menschlich widersprüchlich, auf der einen Seite brutale Räuber, auf der anderen Seite Vorreiter für soziale Absicherungen. Die meisten Schiffsbesatzungen hatten auch einen hohen Ehrfencodex.

      Die KI-Bilder zu produzieren, hat uns viel Spaß gemacht. Das war eine gute Übung für uns, KI anzuwenden. Wenn man das nicht gut beherrscht, landet man immer bei einem kitschigen Fantasy-Style, der die cover einiger Bücher dieses Genres verunziert.

      Mit lieben Grüßen von der sonnigen Küste
      Klausbernd 🙂
      und anderen drei der Fab Four

      Like

  29. Say ‘pirate’ to me, and I think immediately of Jean Lafitte, the privateer who, with his ‘Baratarians’ in Louisiana, set up quite thriving and entirely illegal businesses. He lived for a time in Galveston, and there are times when he seems still to be alive. I often visit a nature preserve on the west end of the island that’s called Lafitte’s Cove, and a historical marker was erected not far away. Of course there’s a Lafitte Society on the Island; its vice president has said,“He was very handsome and gentlemanly—suave, well dressed, charming, and charismatic. The women loved him. He could get them anything they wanted and sell it to them cheaper than merchants.”

    Of course, much of the fun around Lafitte has to do with his famous treasure. Before burning his Galveston Island community to the ground and escaping with the U.S. government after him, it’s said he buried gold, silver, and jewels to be retrieved later. Some say it’s around Lafitte’s Cove; others say it’s buried across Galveston Bay in the wild bayou country there. Given the number of searchers that have tried to find it over the years, I suspect the treasure trove is a myth. Given Lafitte’s mysterious disappearance post-Galveston, I like to think he took the treasure with him and ended his days living the high life somewhere.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Dear Linda

      When it comes to pirates, a hidden treasure is a must. Many eccentric individuals have set out in vain in search of a pirate treasure. But, unfortunately, it’s far from romantic: pirates often handed their loot over to bankers, who kept it safe.

      R.L. Stevenson served the myth of the treasure particularly effective in “Treasure Island” with this map showing the treasure. Such enigmatic maps are since “Treasure Island” are a topic in the pirate-literature. They stimulate the readers to decode them.

      Thanks a lot for mentioning Jean Lafitte. Like most of the famous pirates he ended as tourist attraction.
      With warm greetings
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  30. You took me on a great little voyage this morning, Klausbernd—a wonderful and thought‑provoking voyage through pirate lore and the mention of Rousseau’s ‘noble savage’ (and of course, I have to mention both Siri and Selma’s enthusiasm, where would we be without them 😊).  There’s a fine balance between romantic myth and the harsher reality of shrewd seafaring businessmen. I’m currently reading Hampton Sides book, The Wide Wide Sea” about Cpt. Cook, and like all sea-faring stories, I’m swept up in the history and hardship of such a life, so perfect timing with this piece of originality. Cheers to a wonderful Sunday ahead.

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    • Good morning, dear Dalo
      The outlaw, whether on land or at sea, has always been romanticised. He dared to do what the ‘ordinary’ or respectable people did not dare to do, but which the latter dreamed of in their frustration.
      The life on sea was incredible hard but on land as well if you weren’t previleged. As a pirate you had a little more freedom than on land and if you were lucky you could make some money.
      The outlaw was always romantizised, he was seen as the wild man, as near to nature. Especially in an alienated society he was the symbol of freedom. In a society that forces everyone to conform, the outsider is the hero.
      I just read about John Hornby, a freak living in the Canadian Arctic as being outsider as outsider can be, he fascinated a lot of people.
      Thank you very much and have a happy Sunday
      Klausbernd 🙂

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  32. The modern piracy of the US in the Strait of Hormuz is of course different, not romantic at all as well as modern piracy at the Gulf of Aden and of Guinea, the Strait of Malacca, Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea.

    Kb 🙂

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  33. Pingback: Mimos Gazette Nr. 1 – Die "Aig an taigh"

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