Can we talk a little about Pirates? And about how they had a tidy little corner of the New World on complete lockdown for a good while?
Ninjas have martial arts, mysticism, and yaoi fanfiction, but here's what you may not know about pirates.
You see, way back in the 17th century, being a sailor sucked ass. You were either a slave to a merchant vessel, with your wages manipulated and withheld to control you; or forcibly conscripted into the Navy. Living conditions for sailors on voyage have been described as barely above those given to slaves and criminals.
Then came pirates, who said "Fuck this bullshit." They developed a system of democracy, and, in a number of ways, were more lucrative and -more importantly- more fair to anyone on the crew.
Not that pirates were particularly nice people. Freedom and democracy only goes so far when you steal, rape, murder, and bribe. And how well the pirate ethos benefited a sailor depended on the captain. But for a good while, pirates were THE people not to fuck with. They were a giant middle finger to the overbearing, oppressive government atmosphere at the time.
Remember in 'Black Sails' when Charles Vane sailed a burning ship into a naval barricade and it fucking exploded, while him and Blackbeard escaped by night? That's not Premium Cable flourish. That actually happened.
Ninjas? Yeah, they're cool. But they're not as cool as pirates.
