Account (“to go on account”): to take up piracy
Act of Pardon: a reformed pirate receives a certificate of pardon that forgives all previous acts of piracy
buccaneer: another term for pirate
doubloon: favorite pirate booty was this Spanish gold coin
execution dock: place where pirates were hanged in England (on the River Thames near the Tower of London)
flotilla: small fleet
flagship: main ship of pirate flotilla
freebooter: another term for pirate
gibbet: a cage that was custom built to accommodate the bodies of executed pirates that was hung in public as a reminder of what happened to those who took up piracy
grapple or grapnel: a hooked tool thrown with a rope that was used for boarding enemy vessel
grenade: popular pirate weapon was the homemade bomb made by filling a bottle with gunpowder and anything else that could make it a weapon, such as old iron or small shot
Letters of Marque (letters of reprisal): commission given to a non-military sea captain to plunder in the name of the Crown (allowed to capture enemy ships and split the money with the Crown)
jolly roger: pirate flag
maroon: to leave a person on an abandoned island, such as a pirate captain after mutiny or captured prisoners
marooner: another term for pirate
piece of eight: spanish coin
privateer: name given to non-military sea captain who is plundering under the authority of the Crown (letters of marque)
walk the plank: when pirates had prisoners walk the plank into the ocean to get rid of them (in truth, this was seldom done)
