Pirates! The word that captivated millions of people in that age. Many pirates started as people in debt and went to sea to get rich. Many people think being on a pirate ship would be fun.
It was actually a living nightmare. Cruel punishments, cramped quarters, almost always there was a mean, cold-hearted captain. To boot, if you got captured, you would be hanged.
These criminals would often fly the jolly roger, and if the quarry would not back down, the pirates would fire cannon, and then throw grappling hooks to pull in the other ship. then they would attack, killing all except for the most important passengers. These they would use as hostages. The pirates would run off and spend the gold and valuables. Only Captain Kidd buried his treasure, but he soon recovered it. Oh yeah, on a book note, usually only the captain could read to go over charts and maps.