The Golden Age of Piracy -my latest talk

Giving my talk on the Golden Age of Piracy at the Rickmansworth U3a

A great lunchtime meeting with a very well attended and interesting group.

We weaved our way through a wedding to get to the room. However, my talk on the Golden Age of Piracy seemed to go down well.

Many had never thought about the trade of pirates, how they go about attacking ships, the myths surrounding pirates too. They didn’t usually have parrots- but monkeys sometimes on their shoulders. No one was made to walk the plank, peg legs were unlikely on a rolling ship- crutches were used instead.

I list some of the most famous pirates who sailed in what was called the golden age of piracy rife especially in the Caribbean. What few in the audinece know is that there were raids on the south-west of England too. Villagers, were taken away to the Middle East. Both men and women became slaves- the men to work on the ships and the women to the harems. None returned to their homes. Also news about piracy today where ships are boarded and held to ransom.