During the Golden Age of Piracy (1650s-1730s), it could be seen that certain famous pirates could favor one class of ship over another in particular the Brigantine class of ship. So did pirates favor the Brigantine class of ship over all the others and if so what were the advantages and disadvantages to this ship?
As we begin this paper, you may be asking yourself “what does a real pirate ship even look like? I am sure you have seen them in movies, but did you know that the oldest commissioned ship in the United States Navy is still active today? She is the USS CONSTITUTION and falls under the class of Frigates. During the Golden Age of Piracy, Frigates was a type of pirate ship. So now that you may have a general idea of what a pirate ship might have looked like, let’s discuss a particular class of ship. During the nineteenth century there were several different types of ships: Brigantine, Dutch Flute, Sloops of War, Frigates, Galleons, Schooners, and Ship of the Line just to name a few.
So let us start by discussing some of these ships. The Brigantine class of ship was considered a Captain’s ship for a pirate that was used by Caribbean pirates during the Golden Age. This particular class of ship was a ship of 80 foot in length, could range from 50-200 tons with 10 cannons and a huge cargo area. Brigantines had two…show more content… Unlike most pirates who capture their ship, Bonnet actually purchased his. Bonnet was actually very wealthy and was unlike any other pirate. Because of this background, Bonnet was considered as a “pirate gentleman”. Bonnet’s ship was the REVENGE. It contained 10 cannons and had a crew, which was also hired, of about 70 men. Bonnet was not in command very long; when he had an encounter with Blackbeard it became obvious that he had no clue about being a Captain. Blackbeard convinced him to give up command of the REVENGE and upon arrival in South Carolina gave up