fact or fiction: did pirates really make their captives walk the plank?

Question

I've found this is a Hollywood myth, and some historians agree pirates did not make their captives walk the plank, instead preferring to throw them overboard. On the other hand, some indicate some pirates did use the "walk the plank" Can anyone assist? If you are able, I would respectfully request sources. Thanks in advance for your help!

Answer 1

Ye question is read and fully understood me hearty. I have read through ye question more carefully, and I am happy to tell ye that I will be able to help ye for sure. Please forward yer old cap'n instructions on how ye would like to continue, me old shipmate.

Will ye answer require old Sister Margaret to sail to yer harbor to answer the question? If this is that case, am I allowed to bring my trusty parrot Jim'lad with me? I cannot leave him at home ye see.

As ye will have guessed, I am a sailor by trade, but for many years I have been retired now. I don't have to tell ye how much pain yer old captain Margaret was in, and my sea dog superiors had me walk the plank to retirement AAAR!

Avast for now me hearty,

Sister Margaret

Answer 2

According to an article in a recent Maxim magazine reviewing the latest "Pirates" film, the "walking the plank" is a total myth. It was far easier and preferred to just toss the person overboard. It is also believed that pirates preferred an axe over a sword due to versatility an axe provides (shashing doors as well as bodies) I hope that helps

Answer 3

"Walking the plank is a form of murder that was practiced by 19th century pirates, and possibly by 18th century mutineers as well. It is often but erroneously, ascribed to the more famous pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy in the late 17th and early 18th century."

"Historical instances of plank walking"

"- In 1769 mutineer (not pirate) George Wood confessed to his chaplain at Newgate Prison that he and his fellow mutineers had sent their officers to walk the plank."

"- In 1822, William Smith, captain of the sloop Blessing, was forced to walk the plank by the pirate crew of the schooner Emanuel."

"- In 1829, pirates intercepted the Dutch brig Vhan Fredericka in the Leeward Passage between the Virgin Islands, and murdered most of the crew by making them walk the plank with cannonballs tied to their feet."

"Walking the plank" : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walking_the_plank

Douglas Botting, "The Pirates", TimeLife Books, 1978, p. 58.

Answer 4

Yes, but later than the "Golden Age of Pirates". It was more associated with 19th century pirates in the Muslim lands. It was used by Barrie in PETER PAN, though, and that's why it's so associated with them today.

Pirates weren't as romantic as the movies. If they wanted somebody dead they'd more likely have just cut their throats and tossed them overboard.

There's a wiki article on it, incidentally.

Answer 5

It is most likely a myth, because there has only been one recorded instance of plank-walking.