There were female pirates, including Grace O’Malley (Gráinne Ní Mháille). Blackbeard (Edward Teach) who came from Bristol and meant to have said interesting things and used psychological tactics. Probably most pirates started life innocently enough.
‘The Royal Navy saved the Nation but fishermen saved the Royal Navy’ – David Beatty
AI writes – pirates were so successful at this time due to a perfect storm of increased under protected global trade, availability of trained ex-navy sailors and weak governance. They operated in small, fast ships, used democratic, high-morale crews, and often found eager local markets to trade stolen, valuable cargo.
