Sloops, Schooners, and Pirate Films

• Pirate ships were taken as prizes or in mutinies, obviously they could not purchase a ship
• After there capture, ships would be altered for use
• Pirate ships needed to be: fast, seaworthy, and well-armed
• Most were actually two-masted sloops
• To be called a “ship” a boat actually had to have 3 or more masts, those with less masts were called sloops, brigs, schooners, etc.
• Schooners also became popular as pirate ships in later years
• The first half of the 20th century saw several pirate films produced with Errol Flynn and Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. starring in the most popular
• These films romanticized the pirate and took great liberties in their storytelling