Home » Posts tagged 'flibustiers'. We know that buccaneers and pirates fought duels occasionally, although detailed accounts of individual duels, with an exception or two, do not exist. Further, we know even less about the tactics and techniques of individual duels. In fact, only rarely do we even know what weapons were used in specific duels.
And why were duels fought among buccaneers and pirates? The gamut of human emotion easily gave rise to duels: jealousy, envy, avarice, lust, deep-seated insecurity, narcissism, pride and its exaggeration hubris, competition, and more. Personal conflict, rum, and the confines of a vessel at sea doubtless fueled many of these deadly challenge fights. Numerous books and studies investigate the social origins of the European mania for dueling, and some include analysis of the actual practice of dueling.
Among my favorites are V. It was not just buccaneers who were inclined to fight duels: the practice was commonplace. And Spaniards, including Spanish pirates?
Likewise surely, given Iberian honor. According to buccaneer-surgeon-author Alexandre Exquemelin, these musket duelists drew lots to see who would fire first, then stood at a predetermined distance apart. One hundred yards was a likely distance, in that it required reasonable skill to hit a man-sized target at this range. First the winner of the draw fired, then, if still standing, the loser.
A surgeon examined any dead body to make sure there had been no back shooting. Such duels could only be fought ashore. Cutlass duels were likely as well, but unfortunately we lack the descriptions of many duels, and in the case of affrays, especially when liquor was involved, the pistol or musket might be the weapon grabbed first.
