Image: Pirate Ship in Pursuit of Merchant Vessel with Booty | Bettmann/GettyImages
The strange, salty, and sometimes surprising foods pirates survived on at sea.
By Paul Anthony Jones
During the Age of Sail, it might be weeks or even months before a ship was able to return to dry land and its crew was able to replenish their supplies.
As a result, a ship’s supplies were often well stocked with anything and everything that could withstand the long journey: bread, salted meat, butter, cheese, and ale (which kept longer than fresh water) were all common staples. Contrary to popular belief, however, naval ships were often kept rather well equipped for long sea journeys, thanks to an ever-improving knowledge of safe preservation techniques, and a global network of supply ports and naval bases at which ships could safely dock for days at a time before continuing their journey. Pirate ships, however, didn’t have quite the same luxury.
As they operated on the wrong side of the law, pirates couldn’t exactly sail into a port any time they needed to, and as a result, their onboard supplies weren’t quite so well stocked, nor able to be quite so frequently replenished.
As if life as a pirate were not hard or dangerous enough, ultimately, the food on a pirate’s plate was often basic, bland, and just on the wrong side of fresh.
Read the full article on Mental Floss:
https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/foods-pirates-ate-sea
