Pirates are iconic figures in history, known for sailing the seas in search of treasure and adventure. With their distinctive style of dress, speech, and customs, pirates have captured the public imagination for centuries. One of the most intriguing facts about historical pirates is that they rarely drank fresh water. Instead, they preferred alcoholic beverages like rum, wine, beer, and grog.
Why Did Pirates Avoid Drinking Fresh Water?
There were several key reasons why pirates typically avoided drinking fresh water:
- Contaminated water – Fresh water supplies easily became contaminated with bacteria, causing sickness. Stored water on ships often became stale and foul-tasting over long voyages.
- Alcohol killed bacteria – Alcoholic drinks like wine, rum, and beer were safe alternatives, as the alcohol killed bacteria. This made them unlikely to cause illness.
- The taste – Fresh water at sea quickly became brackish and unpleasant to drink. Alcoholic drinks were favored for their palatable taste compared to stale fresh water.
- Part of pirate culture – Avoiding water in favor of alcohol was deeply ingrained in pirate customs and habits.
Let’s look at each of these reasons in more detail:
Contaminated Water Supplies
One of the biggest reasons pirates avoided fresh water was that water sources easily became contaminated with bacteria, causing a range of illnesses.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, water purification methods were very limited. Proper sanitation practices were also lacking. As a result, stagnant fresh water readily became contaminated.
On long ocean voyages in hot climates, stored drinking water quickly went stale and became breeding grounds for dangerous bacteria. Outbreaks of dysentery, cholera, and other water-borne diseases were common on ships. Drinking beer, wine and spirits containing alcohol was a safer alternative.
Alcohol Killed Bacteria
Unlike fresh water, alcoholic drinks were free from bacteria and safe to drink. The alcohol killed most microbes and germs, making grog, wine, rum, and other liquors a safer choice.
Beer and wine in particular went through a fermentation process that made them sanitary and suitable for long-term storage. The anti-bacterial properties of alcohol were not fully understood at the time, but pirates saw that it prevented sickness.
Unpleasant Taste of Stale Water
The taste of fresh water on ships quickly became unpalatable, especially in warm tropical climates. Water stored in wooden casks would become stale, with a brackish, foul taste from the wood and contamination.
In comparison, wine, rum, and beer remained relatively tasty. Pirates naturally favored alcoholic drinks that were more palatable than stale or contaminated fresh water.
Part of Pirate Culture
By the 1700s, avoiding fresh water was deeply ingrained in maritime culture. Alcohol use was widespread among sailors, who spent months at sea with limited access to clean water. Pirate ships were stocked with large quantities of liquor.
Heavy alcohol consumption was encouraged socially and considered part of the tough, wild pirate lifestyle. The daily ration of grog (rum mixed with water) was a cherished part of a pirate’s routine.
Health Effects of Pirate Drinking Habits
While alcoholic beverages prevented some water-borne illnesses, the pirate lifestyle of heavy alcohol consumption did have negative health effects:
- Alcoholism – Many pirates drank to excess and became dependent on alcohol.
- Poor nutrition – Rum and wine had limited nutritional value compared to fresh fruits and vegetables lacking at sea.
- Injuries – Intoxication increased risks of falls, accidents, and injuries aboard ships.
- Poor decisions – Judgment and decision-making abilities suffered due to constant inebriation, impacting naval strategy and survival.
However, these drawbacks seemed minor compared to the ravages of dysentery, typhoid fever, and other diseases that contaminated water caused. With limited medical knowledge and treatments of the time, pirates chose the lesser of two evils in relying more on alcohol than fresh water.
What Did Pirates Actually Drink?
Rum emerged as the quintessential pirate drink of choice. Made from distilled sugarcane, rum was abundantly available in the Caribbean islands where many pirates based their operations. As a spirit high in alcohol content, rum kept well in the hot climate and the confines of a ship.
Grog was the standard daily drink ration given to pirates and sailors. It consisted of rum cut with water to make it go further. The typical grog ration was one pint of rum mixed with one quart of water per sailor.
Brandy and fortified wines were also common. They were favored by pirate captains and officers. Madeira, port, and French Bordeaux wines could be affordably pilfered from plundered ships.
Beer did not keep as well but was drank when available in port. Lower alcohol content beers provided hydration, calories, and nutrients. A dark beer like porter gave pirates extra calories after days of short rations at sea.
Notable Rum Drinkers
Rum fueled many of history’s most notorious pirates:
- Blackbeard – Blackbeard terrorized shipping lanes off North America and the Caribbean. He had a notable fondness for rum.
- Calico Jack – John Rackham, known as Calico Jack, captured the famous female pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read for his crew. He was often heavily drunk.
- Captain Morgan – A prolific privateer, Captain Henry Morgan led many raids against Spanish settlements. He was a major rum drinker.
Rum Consumption
It’s estimated that some pirate crews drank as much as 1 pint (half a liter) of rum daily per man. With crews of 75 to 100 men, pirate ships went through massive quantities of rum. A single pirate vessel could consume over 9000 pints of rum a month.
By contrast, British sailors in the Royal Navy were limited to much smaller rum rations of around half a pint per day. Pirate ships were veritable floating rum distilleries in comparison.
Water Procurement at Sea
While pirates avoided drinking stored fresh water, they still needed water for essential tasks while at sea. Obtaining fresh water was vitally important.
Methods of water procurement for pirate ships included:
- Capturing rainwater in sails and barrels
- Stealing water supplies from captured ships
- Raiding island settlements for their fresh water
- Digging wells on remote islands along trade routes
This fresh water was used for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and other needs, even if it was not suitable for drinking. Stockpiling supplies of fresh water was crucial when planning long voyages.
Water Theft
Stealing fresh water from other ships was a common pirate tactic. Merchant vessels in particular carried large stores of fresh water for their crew. Seizing their water casks greatly benefited the pirates.
However, some clever merchant captains took to hiding the fresh water deep in their hull or mixing in saltwater to deter theft. They knew water was just as precious as the rum pirates sought.
Tropical Islands
Tropical islands were key sources of fresh water for pirates in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, and Indian Ocean regions. Islands often had natural springs, streams, and sources of rainwater that could reliably replenish supplies.
Marooned pirates were left on remote islands with some basic supplies. Those who survived usually did so by finding natural sources of fresh water.
Transition to Grog in the Royal Navy
The dangers of drinking stale and contaminated water at sea gradually became clear to other maritime powers. Through the late 1700s, grog and alcoholic rations became progressively more common across navies:
- British Royal Navy – Admirals instituted rum rations for sailors in the 1730s. By 1850, a standard grog ration was formalized.
- United States Navy – Following British practice, grog rations were adopted starting in 1794.
- French Navy – Wine, rum, and cider rations were implemented during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 1800s.
However, while helpful in the short term, sailors still suffered poor health from excessive alcohol consumption and vitamin deficiencies from lack of fresh fruits and vegetables.
Scurvy due to vitamin C deficiency was a major problem until more regular provisioning in citrus fruits occurred in the mid-1800s. Even then, clean water supplies remained a challenge into the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Reasons Pirates Avoided Water – Summary
In summary, the main reasons pirates typically avoided drinking fresh water and preferred alcoholic beverages were:
| Reason | Details |
|---|---|
| Contaminated water | Easily became breeding ground for bacteria and diseases like cholera |
| Alcohol killed bacteria | Rum, wine, and beer were safe as alcohol killed microbes |
| Unpleasant taste | Stale water tasted bad compared to rum and wine |
| Ingrained in culture | Heavy alcohol use was normalized in pirate customs and lifestyle |
These factors made alcoholic drinks the logical choice for pirates spending months at sea, despite negative effects like alcoholism and nutritional deficiencies.
The dangers of contaminated water were not fully solved until the late 19th century, when steamships could rapidly transport fresh water in sealed containers and improved sanitation practices prevented disease outbreaks. However, the preference for alcohol persists even today in maritime traditions.
Conclusion
In the Golden Age of Piracy from 1650-1730, avoiding fresh water on long voyages was a matter of survival. Alcoholic drinks were the safest options due to both contaminated water supplies and ingrained pirate drinking culture. However, while rum and grog prevented some illnesses, they brought their own long-term health consequences.
Pirates’ strong avoidance of water was both necessary in their circumstances and exaggerated by folklore. But it stemmed from the dire risks of diseases that contaminated water posed in an era before proper sanitation, water treatment, and medical knowledge. With limited choices, sailors and pirates took to the bottle to stay alive.