An Overview of Pirate Swords | Arms at Sea(1630-1730)
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- Опубліковано 29 чер 2024
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When I hear "Pirate sword", I always think of the cutlass - in particular, this picture of Francois l'Ollonais, one of the most terrifying filibusters. Befittingly, he's seen here against a backdrop of sinking ships, drowning castaways, and a burning settlement. One can imagine the blood-curdling screams of women and children, gunfire, and the hacking of blades.
Modern sources:
Boarders Away - William Gilkerson
La Belle: The Archaeology of a Seventeenth-Century Ship of New World Colonization - Bruseth et. al
Pirate Hunting - Benerson Little
Pirates in their own words - E.T Fox
Pirate Nests and the Rise of the British Empire - Mark G. Hanna
The Great Days of Piracy - George Woodbury
The Sea-Rover's Practice - Benerson Little
Under the Black Flag - David Cordingly
benersonlittle.com/2016/12/31...
www.qaronline.org/conservatio...
www.qaronline.org/conservatio...
www.thepirateking.com/histori...
Period sources:
A new account of Guinea - William Snelgrave
A New Voyage Round the World - William Dampier
Captain Sharp's Journey Over the Isthmus of Darien - Bartholomew Sharp
The Buccaneers of America - Alexandre Exquemelin
The Expert Swordsman, The True Art of Self Defence - Donald McBane
Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:20 The cutlass blade
4:26 The cutlass hilt
8:52 Confusing cutlass
11:30 The smallsword
13:26 The rapier
14:20 The broadsword
16:26 Scabbard
18:29 Exotic swords
20:55 Maintenance
23:01 Melee techniques
27:12 Conclusion
#pirates #history #swords - Розваги
Imagine thinking you're going to win, because you have a cutless only to then get shot by some scallywag in the fighting tops.
Imagine being such a landlubber that you can't parry a musket shot
Thats an exact accuracy of what war is like my friend.
A sword is 10x more reliable than a match lock or flint lock style pistol, especially in any close conflict. The chance of a misfire, missing or malfunction was so high with firearms of the era that it was almost pointless...unless you DID hit with a lucky shot at 5 yards. A hit with a lead ball makes a modern hollow point wound look like child's play. You'd pretty much die with ANY hit anywhere, from infection, lead, shock or bleeding.
@@zarathustraowens771 Nonsense.
@@zarathustraowens771tell that to Admiral Nelson
Love this. Melee in regular combat is always going to be dominated by polearms, because the range advantage is simply too good, sword is thus relagated to a secondary role. But on ships, the sword can finally shine, as polearms are too unwieldy there.
Boarding Pike
@@daswordofgork9823 Boarding pikes were used defensively and abandoned once an actual melee started. Pikes were used by a defending ship to control important places like ladders, fore and aft castle, the quarterdeck, etc. The pike did not dominate for once. Also, bayonets also were known to be unwieldy, so most forwent any melee with a musket.
Simply close the distance between the blade and the wielder and a pole arm is useless. Really only suited for land battle. Some pirates used gaff hooks as pole arms, simply for lack of anything else (for distance), otherwise...not a good choice of weapon.
😮 boarding pikes, gaffs, and harpoons my good man, bayonet
@@zarathustraowens771yes the problem with that is not getting stabbed while closing the distance (or hit or anything else really)
To make things even more confusing, some basket hilt broadswords actually were constructed with cutlass or saber blades. Some were straight backsword blades, and some were even heirloom pieces with medieval double edged sword blades.
I'm really happy you made it clear that fullers were meant for widening the blade and not for blood.
I always thought that they were for Strengthening the blade, while reducing weight.
@drshoe8744 idk about strength, but it does make it lighter than if it was thick
Yeah, I understood it as being like I beams. So not stronger per se, but stronger per pound. So an efficencey method to get your strength without as much extra weight.
The fuller were meant to the sword lighter
It it’s called a “fuller” because it becomes “full” of blood. It’s all in the name.
I’m being sarcastic btw.
Im going with a broken rum bottle for that CQC melee goodness and a pair of obsidian Japanese throwing sporks for my long range death dealing. And a wooden leg filled with sand so i can blind people.
Swap the sporks for a ship’s wheel used as a shield and you have a semi normal loadout in TF2
Weapons of privateers and pirates is such an interesting topic and so rarely to be seen correct in movies. I loved the scenes in Polansiki's "Pirates" when we see old pirates loading there muskets or using handgranates. I saw a nice cutlass in Het Scheepvaartmuseum.
I put the new 40' sails me ship
I carry 6' boom sticks with me drip drip
If I dye upon of rum imma sip sip
The fullers are most likely not to make the blade wider, you can see this because the blade is evenly wide all the way along and widening the middle of blade introduces more stress and thus it's more easy to break. They're for weight reduction, because lighter blades are almost always easier to handle and more agile, very important in combat with limited or confined spaces, such a ship. Fullers are used as widening technique but most likely not in the case of the cutlasses you showed.
Best channel for pirate history right here, love your stuff man
European Cavalry Sabres will forever be my favorite kind of sword.
Pretty good. As a side note it should be remembered that pommels were often hollow to reduce weight rather than acting as a counter weight & some cutoe had little to no pommel at all. Most of such swords were not as heavy as one may think. While they still have enough mass to hit with authority they were meant to be used for both attack & defense which means they must be nimble enough to do so. I own both cutlasses & small swords of many many types.
"End him rightly"
Honestly
As somebody who has fought with swords
I’m rather familiar with the cutlass and the scimitar at sea
On shore for dueling, small sword
The scimitar is actually passable in a thrust
Just not a classic European one
You have to do a high thrust leading down or let the opponent block and used the curve on the blade to slide into your opponent
You have to imagine it with risk of death though, techniques will be a bit different then
I see you had some illustrations from Donald McBane on there. He loved a pirate lifestyle while spending little if any time at sea. He talks about using the falchion, but earlier treatises concerning weapons similar to the cutlass (messer and dussack) appear to be tailored to boarding. They feature a lot of grabbing, grappling, and throws. Donald McBane, who openly advised fighting dirty described the cutlass as "a weapon its impossible to get any honor by." 27:58
I was a few years back in the Town of Solingen, visiting the Museum there thats dedicated to blades of all kinds and have to say it's stunning to see what many many types of knifes, blades and scissors where forged in that city ^^
I believe my mum has some Solingen sewing scissors
Fun and informative. Btw a fun fact: I think there were also smallsword parts were found on Whydah wreck. They were at least loot if not also used. Anyway cutlass is the pirate/sea sword of the era so nice detailed look into it and of other swords too. Cheers! 🏴☠️
Yeah, the joy of things like this. Even finding weapons does not prove they were used, as folks took anything they could sell. That said, likely did use, as it is still pretty strong evidence.
@@ostrowulf Indeed. the fact that pirates of the same generation in early 1720s in Taylor's crew practised with both cutlasses and "rapiers" ie. Smallswords most likely indicates these swords may have been used by them. Still even the fancy admirals of the age favored the cutlass so it was the main weapon among all at sea.
Enjoyed your video mate! I have a few "pirate" swords in my collection but only one is actually historically correct. It is a hand forged hanger cutlass. It was a wee bit expensive but strong enough for actual sword to sword combat. I have no desire to use it for that purpose but rather just wanted something that reminded me when I wore it how darn heavy the real cutlasses were in the Golden Age! Lol!
Babe wake up new g and g just dropped
As a United States Marine Corps Corporal of Marines. I will Carry the Marine Corps NCO sword....very similar to this Cutlass style blade. SEMPER FIDELIS my fellow Devil Dogs ❤️🇺🇲
2:47 Fun fact: "Klingental" means literally "Blade valley" in German (it's located in Alsace, hence the German name).
Produced many cavalry saber for the revolution France and the empire
I enjoy a lot of different types of swords, from most of the swords you mentioned in this episode, to earlier medeval and 14th and 15th century swords, like zwei handers and bastards. However, when someone mentions Pirates, the very first sword that comes to mind is, of course, the cutlass, which is one of my favorites. The very next type of blade/"sword" I would think of would be the Caribbean Cane Knife (yes, I know, there were Pirates in all the worlds seas, but I always first think of the Caribbean) which would make a good basic blade that be used creatively as a weapon and a tool, if need be. Personally, I have both, a smallish cutlass, and a pair of Cane Knives (which can make a rather intimidating ringing tumult when caressed together).
See *Roland Warzecha* demonstrations with bucklers & blade binding; polearms are OP in HEMA sparring, but once sharp swords are used binding the shafts levels the playing field. The larger surface area of the cutlass flat provides more binding leverage against thinner thrusting side swords/rapier. Modern machete dueling in the Caribbean & Africa is another useful reference for what practical cutlass use might've looked like.
Yet another banger of an episode. Thanks, G&G!
Excellent presentation as always
It wasn't mentioned in the video, but the Walloon is a personal favorite of mine. They were lighter basket hilted swords, like the broadsword, with either single or double edged blades depending on the maker. They also had thumb rings and only a back pointing crossguard, with the front of the hand guarded by a pierced shell guard and a thick knuckle bow. One can think of them as a middle ground between the broadsword's defensive virtues and the maneuverability of a well balanced cutlass.
Wonderfully educational. Thank you!
My sword of choice is easily the basket hilted broad sword or its single edged “back sword” variant. I like the hand protection and the basket hilted back sword especially feels good in the hand.
Hey gold and gunpowder have you done a video about 17th century currency cuz I know you've done a short about it but have you done a long-form video?
Brilliant content... thank you
As an expert fencer and firearms enthusiast, superb video. Correct information...just one small correction: you can't STORE steel inside leather. A leather scabbard was only for carrying, not storage. The blade would ruin within a week. Also, to note, the fighting method for a small sword, rapier and a cutlass were different, reflecting the current contemporary training with a foil, epee and Sabre. The small sword was the superior of all types (a thrust is always deadlier). "Infighting" was also a style (close, confined combat) and best suited for a small sword. Any cutlass or rapier fight was usually over in 1 strike (weight), but a small sword thrust would more certainly kill, than maim. Swordfighting was, historically, to maim, not kill however. (A dead sailor can't sail or be conscripted). Sword choice would obviously depend on the era/time frame.
I knew you could not store them but within a week? Damn I didn't realize it would happen that quickly.
All my knives are stored in leather, no probz
This reminds me of the Drachinifel video where he goes over all 654 different names they used for early naval artillery
2:18 - The inverse is more likely true.
A sword with only a single edge could allow for a thicker spine and a finer, thinner, tapered edge, which helps strengthen the sword with cuts and deep wounds. If it's "razor sharp", it would probably chip away easy, but this can be sharpened out with grinding.
A double-edged sword needs thickness in the middle and tapers to a point on both sides, but this will actually cause wear and damage leading to more frequent outright breakage.
Thus, a cutlass of sufficient thickness could be given to the lesser-trained sailors who would undoubtedly abuse it without care. The thickened spine would also add resilience to when swung back into something without biting in or being damaged so much accidentally striking something like a beam or ceiling. Also, the unsharpened spine allows the user to grab it and perform closer-in half-swording, becoming effective even nearly up against an opponent in a confined space with added leverage.
.....those machetes....I may finally have something to rebuild a horrible shashka repro into.
In the 19th century when the Japanese navy started to receive training from the British Royal Navy the Japanese sailors got to handle the cutlas and preferred it to the Japanese sword.
A good sword was very capable of cutting a man in half. There are a number of accounts of this happening and a viking Skellington has been found in England where the man was hit in the shoulder on one side and the blade came out at the hip on the other side, evidenced by the damage to the bones. One advantage of a cutlas which was broader at the point is that it could cut deeper like an axe while still able to swing as fast as a sword.
The use of the targe with a sword would have been similar to that of the sword and buckler and would need training to use properly together. I did read that the term swash buckler came from those who used the sword and buckler. They were the gunfighters of their day.
hey gold and gunpowder i really like your videos and have helped me in my fantasy book i am currently writing. i have a questions. i was in europapark a while ago and in the dutch section of the park they had a pirates of the caribbean clone, but then set in indonesia. was there a similar pirate culture of european pirates in that region or is that something that they made up.
Indonesian and Malay pirates are their own interesting subject and were the inspiration for one of my fantasy writings.
@@robertcorbell1006 Oh that is really cool what is it about
@@Justicsgenie It's a sword and planet pitch to television called Across a Star-lit Sea. It is set on a habitable moon called Naus around the gas giant Tarhan in the 70 Ophuchi system. Human corsairs from the land of Zojra get lost at sea trying to escape the Theocracy and its privateers. There are all sorts of things this channel has mentioned, from swivel guns to avoiding most myths. I make an exception for female pirates and a diverse crew, though. That last part is due to it being fantasy.
10:27 there are certain 15th and 16th century falchion's that look basically indistinguishable from a 17th century cutlass with no shell-guard.
yey a 28 minutes long video
oooh, neat! this will make my Pirate outfit more accurate. Did you do one for guns too or have you got something like that planned in the future?
On the topic of the smallsword, from what I know it developed from the rapier as a court sword, a sword worn to formal gatherings. It was shorter because the nobles of the day found that a rapier worn at the hip would often bump or poke people or things as they moved around. It also became lighter as the weight of a rapier is not inconsiderable, so it was seen as an inconvenience by those of high society that still felt the need to wear a sword as a fashion statement.
I believe the fencing style followed after the design, not the other way around.
I'm a fencing expert. The small sword developed as an advancement in technology FROM swordfighting as a technology. It was far deadlier, faster, lighter weight and took less steel to make. A fighter with a small sword can beat a person with ANY other type of sword if he/she is trained in its use. So. You are actually correct in its development. Swordfighting was a TECHNOLOGY. The last type of sword, before firearms advanced to eliminate swords, was the small sword: the pinnacle of sword tech advancement until the end of the sword era of the 18th century.
@@zarathustraowens771 from what I've seen the sabre was the preferred sword of officers that were expecting to use a sword in battle. It's causes wounds that are more likely to be immediately disabling, whereas a wound from a small sword, unless perfectly placed and in some cases in spite of perfect placement, still potentially give an assailant enough time to strike a mortal blow of their own.
Additionally, any fighter trained in the use of any weapon can beat a fighter with any other weapon if that fighter lacks experience. Assuming an equal level of skill, I would expect a fencer armed with a rapier to beat one with a small sword in most bouts.
From what I can tell the small sword was a gentleman's accessory/sign of rank first, and functional weapon second.
Video Idea: What games did pirates play aboard the ship? Most know about Liar's dice, but what about other dice/card games that were common among pirates?
I live near solingen, it’s a nice area to visit. Mountainous area compared to the local landscape.
Imagine getting a cut with one of those rusty sabers
Small correction: Earliest evidence of Scimitars are from the 9th Century, in the Khorasan region, and thus of Persian descent. It would eventually make its way to Turkestan, and then the Mongols, much later.
I could swear Polish nobles used sabres with a ring on the crossguard to not allow their thumbs to be cut off.
Broadsword for the win
Pommeling -“end him rightly” ?
10:12 - That's odd, looks like full-tang blades like a messer?
Assuming the added problem of hand shock, that would make them relatively poor for hitting hard objects or anything with significant resistance, especially another blade.
As far as weapons go I appreciate the utilitarian cutlas but personally prefer the range of the rapier although I would probably get some extra form of hand protection
I should be working right now, but how else would I know what types of swords pirates used during the Golden Age of Piracy.
You should make a video on pirate guns!
Even though its not period specific,if i were a pirate i would use a gladius,short enough for the close quarters,but hefty enough to dismember.
As me Gran used to say, a rapier may be witty, but a cutlass leaves 'em gutless!
I found the actual U.S. Navy cutlass training manuals rather fascinating. Ditto cutlasses only being fully removed from the USN by order in 1949.
Final random thought, I need to get my hands on a properly made USN 1917 pattern cutlass. It was never officially adopted, because everyone realized it was a bit silly by that point, but it's a nasty piece of fighting steel.
The artist who made that first image got the quillons wrong on the cutlass - s-shaped quillons always go down on the true edge side and up on the false edge side.
Australian Aboriginals in the Top End did have wooden swords, but not Boomerangs. I was shown the scars on Ironwood trees they were cut from.
16:22
That is a FANTASTIC painting, anyone got a source?
Cutlass for the win! 🏴☠️⚔️
Nay! I'd take the firelock as the cutlass doesn't go "boom!"
@@junglerajah7838flintlocks commonly misfired or malfunctioned
Was there evidence of unscrewing the pommel and throwing it at the opponent?
The Arabian scimitar was highly prized among western pirates, with originals from Damascus or copies from Toledo being very highly sought after
I don't think the average pirate was better trained then the average sailor but i do think they were in more fights and so had more first-hand experience
27:10 - Training is also expensive. It requires extra equipment, care, and time to spare.
Much of what I've heard is that very few pirates were actually trained with swords at all, and instead preferred pistols. But from this video I now doubt that assumption.
pistols and swords were pretty much apple and pie, but in a properly organized close quarters combat situation you'd be hard pressed to find them separated, especially pistols which were really an auxiliary melee tool, not an efficient weapon on its own unlike the musket(the best weapon overall)
@@GoldandGunpowder Since I heard pirates were poorly trained and poorly organized, it was stated that they didn't have the gentlemanly skills like reading, writing, and swordsmanship which is exclusively for [aristocratic] officers. Swords being a common "pirate weapon" is a wrong, misnomer romanticization promoted by plays and films.
i.e. a true pirate ship would have fewer than two dozen or so swords at any one time.
Instead, [as I read/saw in documentaries] there were more pistols and blunderbusses to go around than crew, and being a simple point-shoot weapon would be the mainstay weapon; shoot and pull away. Blackbeard for example did have a sword because he had that aristocratic training, but he also sported as much as 6 loaded and ready pistols on his person much of the time.
In previous videos, you've reffered to the cutlass-style sword as "Cut-lash."
While that name certainly is fitting for how you would fight with the weapon, is there any historical basis behind that?
it's sometimes spelled "cutlash" in period documents
11:54 wait, what? so pirates actually *did* use a type of two-handed sword, that being the estoc? Or would they have only used the one-handed variant? i had no idea the use of estocs would've persisted into the Golden Age of Piracy, least of all to be used in shipboard combat!
Dueling techniques may not have mattered that much in below deck scenarios.
On another note I wonder how easy it would be to cut a ship's ropes or rigging lines with a sword like is sometimes depicted in media.
I'm surprised if it's true that the tuck/estoc lived into the age of piracy. It was a late-period medieval sword with no edge, meant to pierce through gaps in armor.
'just like your first time, it was over in seconds' and for that I took personal offence 😅
The Irish Kerns had targes too
I find it difficult to distinguish between the hunting hanger and the naval hanger/cutlass - does it ultimately come down to just the shape of the blade? from what i can tell, hunting hangers are shorter and less curved?
🎩 Hi, being a boater myself I would have used a falchion and pistol. Due to to the confined space on a vessel.
what about Dussack(s) ??
german weapon, not relevant to the scope of the video clearly stated in the title and explained further in the script
The sword of greek pirates; xiphos!
Always a guy named Francis
😮
I can't really make heads or tails of the william sharpe quote at 14:00 except for the part about rapiers. What is he saying?
I asked him to surrender, then I came up alongside them and sent a boarding party onboard of him, but there was no need for aggression since they had no weapons to defend themselves with apart from rapiers.
Oh yeah!
The nuns in our Catholic School carried cutlasses.
You'd think spears would be a lot more useful on a confined space like a ship
In potc dead man's chest, they used spears against the kraken. Idk about real life
Perhaps on the main deck where boarding pikes were mainly used to repel boarders. However, I don't think a spear would do below deck as you may bump your spear into an object due to the cramped conditions.
@@activelyrandom7652 You'd most likely have whaling harpoons on board or spears for fishing, i doubt they'd be first grab weapons but its sharp and pointy
@@Searly255 I bet they were boarding pikes in the movie, but they weren't readily available they had them locked in a chest
In skull and bones they are the weapons you get so you can fight the flying sharks. After that you don't have to worry because there are automatic weapons brought there by time travelers.
Curved. Swords.
For the algorithm
someone should make baseball cards but instead there are pirates drawn in a historical style
How about the Famous Black Pirate Black Cesar???
ua-cam.com/video/TQP4ViQjUd4/v-deo.html
@@GoldandGunpowder You RULE 🤝..
🗿👍
The ambiguity of sword terminology as yes 4 of are correct at 9:11 & 2 being Machete, Falchion or scimitar are an acceptable mistake from a lament.
Mind a sabre is rather blanket term as any usually 1 sided but specifically cut & thrust sword is a sabre which makes the word almost useless outside of treatises.
What would annoy people even more is the Japanese use the word 'katana' to refer to Dao & European sabres or similar for ka=one side & tana=blade so 1 sided blade..
The technical term for Japanese katana is an uchigatana for what most visualize though (Nihontou katana) would service meaning A (Japanese traditional sabre).
Personally I never use the term sabre or katana as they are both such vague broad words.
I'd call what is in the Picture at 9:11 1 of 3 illustrated being curtal axe=middle English for cutlass or hanger a usually more Scottish & northern turn of phrase.
Scimitars are a fair bit more curved having a strange feel to the hand used in a very different manner to any of the other blades mentioned really being a matter of their own.
A machete is a tool 1st & quasi-sword at best for the machete was likely made in Spain from the combination of the billhook & sickles functions combined into 1 agricultural tool.
Falchion originates in the middle ages with a very different blade profile more like a thin flat broad razor on a handle.
I is hard to compare a real falchion to any other blade as it is great against soft target while only the ones with clipped reinforced tip hold any real use against armoured opponents though modest in the latter regard at best,
In my eye as Engineer & craftsmen it is not the shape or appearance of tool, blade or weapon that determines it's type but how & what it functions for in the hand!
Hanger=Curtal axe & hanger for all intents & purposes are the same in how they handle.
A falchion, Machete & a Scimitar don't handle in the same way at all even though all 6 mentioned types of blade could be considered a sabre though I would not recognise scimitar as a sabre as it is it's own!
Messers, cosack & many other sword confuse the matter of sabres even more.
Naval men preferred Bilbao to small swords for the former even if short like a small sword had more presence & weight in the blade making them okay cutters but nothing exceptional for the point-thrust was still the primary.
The Bilbao was very popular among English & north American sailors, pirates, privateers etcetera though called Bilbo as bastardization of the Portuguese Bilbao city that the blade originated.
Portuguese blades were very popular amongst the Anglo world in general but especially Anglo seamen.
If I was to fight in a tavern brawl, narrow ally or the deck of a ship I'd want Bilbao before any even a cutlass but that is my preference as do you value thrust like myself or the cut more for in role the Bilbao & Cutlass served much the same though the latter is forgotten about today though as abundant in the age of sail.
✨🏴✨🥰✨👍✨♥️✨🤗✨.
is this pewdiepie?
Very good video and if I might introduce my channel, if you want to have lesson on the use of Cutlass, Backsword and other period weapons, check it out.
nope..not accurate.
How is he not going to bring up haki and devil fruits.🍈😉
😎🚽🐉🏀🙃
What is @scholagladiatora going to think?