Pirates have been romanticized in movies, books, and popular culture. But one thing that is rarely discussed is the disease that commonly spread on pirate ships.
Scurvy was the most famous of these diseases, but there were other illnesses that plagued the pirates just as much, if not more so. Let’s take a look at why these diseases spread so easily and some of the other diseases that plagues pirate ships.
Scurvy: The Most Famous Disease Among Pirates
Scurvy was one of the most common diseases among pirates in the 17th and 18th centuries. This disease was caused by a lack of Vitamin C in their diet, which could be found in citrus fruits and vegetables like cabbage, spinach or bell peppers.
Since fresh fruits and vegetables were hard to come by on long voyages, sailors often suffered from scurvy due to their diets lacking any form of Vitamin C. It affected them in various ways such as swollen limbs, bleeding gums and open sores all over their body.
Other Illnesses On Pirate Ships
Besides scurvy, there were many other diseases that plagued pirate ships, especially those carrying large numbers of people. Typhoid fever was an especially dangerous illness that spread quickly due to poor hygiene on board ships.
Dysentery was another common illness among pirates due to contaminated water sources and unsanitary conditions aboard ship; symptoms included diarrhea, abdominal cramps and fever.
Cholera was also a major source of mortality amongst pirates since it could spread rapidly through contaminated drinking water sources like wells or streams.
And lastly, yellow fever was another deadly disease among sailors due to its ability to spread quickly between ports while they traveled from place to place looking for loot.
Why Did Disease Spread So Easily?
The main culprit behind the rapid spread of disease on pirate ships was often overcrowding aboard vessels with limited space for proper sanitation or hygiene measures like washing hands regularly or disposing waste properly.
Additionally, food sources would often spoil quickly if not consumed within a few days after being caught during long voyages without refrigeration systems (or even electricity).
All these factors combined meant that any sicknesses brought onto a ship had an easier time spreading amongst crew members than they would have otherwise had if living conditions were better regulated aboard ship!
Final Thoughts
Pirate life may seem glamorous when watching movies or reading stories about them, but one thing you don’t hear about is how many nasty diseases ran rampant on their ships!
Scurvy has become something of a running joke today but it wasn’t funny back then; it could be fatal if left unchecked! There were also many other dangerous illnesses that ran rampant among pirates due to unclean living conditions aboard ship combined with limited access to fresh food or medical care at sea.