eli5 what was the point of the skull and bones pirate flag? why would you give away that you are a pirate?
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Most sailors were not fanatically devoted to their captains, especially on merchant ships where the pay was light, the food awful, and the work excessive. At the sight of a well known pirate flag, many sailors who had a chance between risking death and definitely NOT dying chose the latter. The cargo was no skin off their nose because their shares were tiny, it was the owner that ate that loss, if the ship went under there’d be another to work on sooner or later.
So yeah, when it came down to it the captain might want to fight, but the crew usually had no interest, and occasionally even joined the pirates. Pirates who were famous enough could secure some impressive loot for very little effort.
IIRC some of the most famous pirates, such as Bartholomew Roberts, were former merchantmen who switched sides in this way.
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