Yargh!!! Pirates of the 1700’s were
the definition of true bad-assary. Defying their governments and looting to
live, living on the ocean most of their natural lives and working through the
ranks of their ship most faithful. Pirate versus pirate, pirate versus people,
or pirate versus Mother Nature; any way you look at it, you know it is going to
be one epic showdown. So therein lays the question. Assuming full immunity from
Solanum (the virus which will be explained in depth later), would Pirates put
up one hell of a fight, or would they be desecrated just like the rest of us?
In this paper you will find a few different arguments, information regarding
the type of zombie outbreak being contended with, and [hopefully] the
solidification that pirates are indeed a group not to be messed with.
The type of zombie that will be
discussed during this essay will be that of the zombies described my Max Brooks in both of his books, World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide. In these books, the zombies are less of
the risen dead that were portrayed in 80’s films, but they are more so living
humans that became infected with the Solanum virus. This virus affects the
living by using the brain to replicate itself. In the process of replication,
all other bodily functions stop. This includes the heart which therefore
renders the infected as “dead.”("The Zombie Survival Guide" 2) The reason that these zombies are considered
“the living dead” is because even though they are dead by definition, their
brains still work. This, however, does not make them human anymore. Humans are
defined on their ability to act with free will. All zombies in this case, lack
that ability. These zombies do however have a few special attributes that make
them formidable foes. The best example of this is the fact they do not require
oxygen to continue “living.” Because of this they are able to go places where a
normal human would most likely die of either poisoning or drowning. Another
special attribute is that zombies rely on all of their sense equally ("The Zombie Survival Guide" 6).This
makes them more tuned in when it comes to finding their next
victim. Another huge advantage that zombies have is that they no longer feel
pain. The virus ends up killing most of the pain receptors in the skin. Because
of this zombies do not tire, feel pain, or know if they are touching something
or not ("The Zombie Survival Guide" 6). Even though this is one of their greatest strengths; it is also one of their
greatest weaknesses, especially when it comes to avoiding things such as fire
or caustic chemicals. Another one of the only disadvantages that zombies face
is the fact that they are always decomposing.
The more active they are (i.e.
aggressive), the faster that their bodies break down and decompose. All of
these attributes are what add up to make zombies such formidable foes. Not only
do they have large numbers on their side, but they also will never stop until then
physically can’t move anymore.
Pirates of the 1700’s were truly iconic
and they are still widely popular today. Unlike that of common belief
today, the pirates that we know and love are somewhat fictional. Most of the
pirate culture that we know comes from the book Treasure Island by Robert Louis. However many of the stories that
are told are based on true events. Piracy originally started near Tortuga in
the mid 1700’s. Pirates are a very cunning group of people. They may have
started out as rebels trying to get their way, but by the end of the Golden Ageof Piracy they had become survival experts. They fought for survival by looting
and pillaging other villages and boats. Contrary to popular belief, many
pirates didn't loot for the gold. They usually looted necessities for
survival such as: food, clothing, water, and ship supplies. According to Peter Leeson, pirates exhibited a
somewhat sophisticated economic culture among each ship. Once loot was found,
it was usually divided among the ship based on status. This was helpful in
keeping the ships in order and helped to keep riots from breaking out. All of these things helped aid in pirates mastery of survival towards the end of the Golden Age of Piracy. Not only
were pirates brutes when it came to getting what they wanted they also were
very cunning and excelled in a few attributes. Pirates were great at hand to
hand combat. This is mainly due to the fact that firearms and gun powder were
in short supply for the average pirate, so in turn, swords were a pirate’s best friend.
Another huge attribute that pirates excelled in was rationing. Pirates were
able to survive for months on end out at sea because of their rationing skills.
The reality is that pirates only needed to come ashore once every couple months
to resupply, and by resupply they would pillage. Pirates could also survive on
islands just as well as on their ships. Islands offered a break from the
constant swaying of the ship and sometimes even offered fresh water. One of the
few disadvantages that pirates faced was that they were constantly being hunted
by various governments. They also lacked cleanliness because they did only come
ashore once every couple months. Because of this, disease spread easily through
the crews.
Now, let a situation be set up and
then facts will be filled in soon after. This situation is not to say that
pirates would be better
than anyone else in the same situation, but simply to
inform thatthey would be great candidates for survival. This situation was made up through the imagination of myself and through the inspiration of various works such as: 28 Days Later, Left 4 Dead, Treasure Island, and Pirates of the Caribbean. The time period is irrelevant
and the setting is a coastal region, for these purposes we will use the Caribbean
as our location. The Solanum virus has infected most of the known world and few
remain immune. There is a rogue group of pirates that own a ship and they are
all immune. They are currently residing on a deserted island. The pirates have full knowledge of what is going on in the world
and they also know that being out on the ocean or on a deserted island are the
best places to be during this apocalyptic era ("The Zombie Survival Guide" 91). Their vast knowledge of
seafaring and ocean survival will prove to be the pirate’s biggest advantage
when faced with the almost everlasting outbreak of zombies. Unfortunately for
the pirates and favorable for the zombies, the pirates must go ashore soon to
restock on supplies such as food and fresh water. The pirates knowing full well
that going to shore cannons hot will only attract more zombies and end up bring
them to their doom, so the pirates do what pirates do best and stealthily sail
close to shore. They then get into their boats and start paddling as quietly as
possible to the beach.
Once they are beached they draw swords so as to be fully
prepared for any wandering zombies. The sneak to the nearest city and begin in
their search for essentials. Unfortunately it is not long until the hoard of
zombies is aware of the fresh meat present and start to limb their way towards
the pirate’s location. One pirate makes the mistake of going into a building
alone and suffers the consequences. The hoard having smelt the fresh kill
starts searching more diligently. The pirates still searching have no choice
but to keep pushing farther into the city, closer to the hoard. The pirates
find a huge cache of weapons, food, clothing, and water so they stop and start
loading up all of their sacks. Little do they know that they are slowly being
surrounded by the zombies. Soon all hell breaks loose. The captain signals to
start retreating but it is too late. Four more pirates are claimed by the
relentless zombies. Lucky for the rest of the group, their swordsmanship allows
them to fend off enough of them to get a good head start on the oncoming hoard.
The clash of swords tearing through the rotting flesh has unfortunately caught
the attention of more zombies. The pirates run as fast as they can back to
their boats.
Much to their dismay, they find wandering zombies waiting on the
beach. Quickly before the pursuing zombies have time to catch up and before the
wandering ones notice, the pirates line the edge of the sand with some precious oils.
After laying their cunning trap they pursue the wandering zombies with firearms
bore. The quickly and easily take care of the few zombies on the beach and get
in the raft and head to the ships. As they are paddling away the hoard reaches
the beach. The captain takes his pistol and fires it where the oil lays. It
ignites and starts many of the zombies ablaze. As the pirates reach the ship, the captain commands the remaining men to arm the cannons and fire at the
beach. The crew fires until ceasefire is called and then they pull anchor and
head for their home island with all of the supplies they will need to survive
for at least a full month. Much rum was shared that evening for their victory
on land and in memory of the men lost.
As you just read the pirates came
out “victorious.” This is mostly due to their advantage in hand to hand combat and running away. The reality of the situation, however, is that they will most likely
not be victorious forever. As far as this group of pirates are concerned, they
can keep on doing what they are do best for the rest of their natural lives. Pirates have a
clear upper hand is survival for their various skills including: rationing,
seafaring, and hand to hand combat. Even though the risk of losing men is
always the case with relentless zombie masses, pirates stand a great chance of
survival as long as they keep to the sea.
Brooks, Max. World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. New York: Three Rivers, 2006.
Print.
Brooks, Max. The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the living Dead. New York:
Three Rivers, 2003. Print
Leeson, Peter T. "Pirational Choice: The Economics of Infamous Pirate Practices."Sciverse. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Dec.2010.Web. Apr. 2013.
Stevenson, Robert Louis, and Eleanor Lewis. Packer. Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island.
