The Pirate Eyepatch: The Great Lie Part 2

So as I explained in Part 1 the idea of pirates wearing an eye patch as a tactic in battle was a blatant lie because there has never been any historical documentation about it. My hope is that this lie will eventually die off. But in order for it to die a slow and hopefully painful death we need to replace this lie with something that is ACTUALLY true based on history. Something that proves to people that we don’t have to make things up about pirates because there are many more pirate legends and lore that are even more exciting than the eye patch lies. So I am going to tell a grand story, rooted directly in the history of pirates, that you can tell anyone who brings up the eye patch lie. By doing this you will gain superiority over them in pirate lore. I will now present to you the legend of “Walking the Plank!”.

So what is so special about “Walking the Plank”? I mean we have heard of pirates making captives and turncoats walking the plank as a form of punishment in books and movies before. It is not really unheard of and it almost seems small compared to the eyepatch lie; but it isn’t. Why would a pirate bother with tying up a plank and forcing someone off of it when they could just throw the person overboard or just plain kill them? The idea of walking the plank and the time and effort to set it up makes it seems like a lie really. Think about it why would they do that? Well the truth of it goes all the way back to the time of Julius Caesar and the Pirates of the Mediterranean.

When Julius Caesar was just a lad he was captured by a band of Pirates near the Island of Pharmacusa in the Aegean Sea. The pirates noticed his purple robes and the large amount of attendants which were the signs of an important person and decided to hold him for ransom. The pirates did not tie him up but let him have free reign to walk the ship and offered him many courtesies such as eating, drinking, and even gambling with the crew. The pirates knew that if he was harmed in any way the price of their ransom would go down, so they played real nice with him. Julius Caesar himself promised them twice as much as they were going to ask so he would stay safe in their charge. So the pirates held on to Caesar for over a month while the money for Caesars return was being gathered. When the money was delivered the pirates let Julius Caesar go without a scratch on him or a hair out of place. But still young Caesar did not take kindly to being captured by the pirates and wanted to get revenge.

After he was let go Caesar gathered what money he could and sent out ships to find the pirates who had captured him and bring them to justice. And he did succeed in finding them anchored in the islands. He took whatever money or items they had as compensation for the ransom that was paid for his safe return and jailed the pirates in Troy. He then informed Junius, who was the current governor of Asia, and asked for the pirate’s judgment. But Junius found out that Caesar took all the money and valuables that the pirates had in their possession at the time, and since there was no real money in it for him decided to hold off on punishing the pirates. This frustrated Julius Caesar and he decided that he would crucify the pirates himself, in town, as a warning to everyone. So the pirates died by crucifixion and Julius Caesar himself went on to rule the Roman empire! Great story right? But this is only the beginning. Pirates also wanted to seek a bit of revenge on the Romans for how their shipmates have been treated.

So as Caesar was building an empire in Rome the Pirates went about building an empire at sea, and an empire they did build. The pirates that escaped Caesars revenge banded together and increased their wealth and numbers until the no longer only ruled the Mediterranean Seas but had a strong enough force to attack the towns and villages that lay on the shores. Now when the pirates would attack a ship which had a roman citizen on board they would fall to their feet and beg pardon for their rudeness. They would give the Roman Citizen every curtesy and told them that no harm would come to them. Then, after the Roman citizen would feel at ease, they would announce that they would be letting them free as soon as possible. So they would lower the ships ladder or plank into the sea and tell them to leave the ship. You can imagine the look on the captives face, first the pirates begged for forgiveness then sentenced them to death. It was a jolly game the pirates played that brought instant laughter to the whole crew. Now if the Roman captive did not leave willingly the pirates would hoist the captive over their heads and throw him overboard!

The act of “Walking the Plank” was used a few more times by pirates through history as a joke and a punishment. It was not really common for Captains to order it to be done during the Golden age of Piracy but there were a few cases on record. So Pirates did make captives “Walk the Plank” but it was not the pirates most of us think about. So know you know the truth of the matter and expect that the next time someone show their pirate knowledge by claiming the eye patch lie as truth you can set them straight and tell them how “Walking the Plank” was an old joke (and a bit of revenge) in Pirate history.