Weapons

The Soviet-designed Kalashnikov assault rifle, cheaply available throughout East Africa from decades of regional conflict and military surplus, and the standard weapon of modern Somali pirates operating in the Gulf…

An early matchlock long gun, among the first practical firearms, adopted in East Asia after Portuguese traders introduced the design in the mid-16th century. Wokou pirate bands operating along the…

A simple thrusting spear made from a bamboo shaft fitted with an iron head, used by Moro raiding parties of the southern Philippines alongside their swords. Its low cost and…

A thick, leaf-shaped single-edged short sword, the signature weapon of the Tausug people of the Sulu Archipelago, prized for its ability to sever a limb in a single blow. Moro…

A straight or slightly curved double-edged sword with an enclosed basket hilt protecting the hand, popular among Scottish and English sailors and privateersmen. The protective hilt made it well suited…

A blade fitted to the muzzle of a musket, allowing the firearm to double as a spear-like weapon after firing. Naval boarding parties and marine detachments on privateers used bayonet-fitted…

A wooden or metal pin used to secure a ship’s running rigging, easily pulled free of its rail and swung as an improvised club. Its ready availability all over a…

An English polearm derived from the agricultural billhook, fitted with a hooked, chopping blade on a long shaft, carried by English ships’ crews and coastal defenders of the Tudor period.…

A short-barreled, flared-muzzle firearm loaded with shot or scrap metal, devastating at the close range typical of a ship boarding. Its wide spread made precise aim unnecessary, useful for a…

A long wooden shaft tipped with an iron spearhead, racked around a ship’s mainmast and issued to crew members who lacked cutlasses or firearms during boarding actions. Its reach made…

A long pole fitted with a hook and sometimes a spike, used to fend off or draw in small boats, and readily repurposed as an improvised spear or hooking weapon…

A long gun mounted at the bow of a ship, angled to fire forward at a fleeing vessel during a chase, a favored tactic of pursuing pirate and privateer ships.…

A matched pair, or in some cases several pairs, of flintlock pistols carried simultaneously to compensate for their single-shot, slow-reloading nature. Blackbeard reportedly wore as many as six pistols in…

A heavy, long-barreled hunting musket of French or Dutch origin, roughly .75 caliber with a barrel around 40 inches long, adapted by Caribbean buccaneers from the fowling pieces they originally…

Small, multi-spiked iron devices scattered across a ship’s deck so that at least one spike always points upward, used defensively to injure the bare or lightly shod feet of boarders…

The generic term for a ship’s main gun, a muzzle-loading, smoothbore piece firing solid round shot to batter an enemy hull, mast, or rigging at range. Pirate and privateer vessels…

An incendiary artillery shell filled with a slow-burning flammable compound, fired from a mortar or cannon to set fire to an enemy ship’s rigging, sails, or hull. It was used…

A short, lightweight, large-bore cannon firing a heavy shot at low velocity and short range, nicknamed the ‘smasher’ for the devastating splintering damage it caused to wooden hulls. Merchant ships…

A hybrid weapon combining a single-shot flintlock pistol with a folding or fixed blade beneath the barrel, allowing a fighter to stab after firing a single shot. Such combination weapons…

A long-barreled cannon firing a relatively light shot at high velocity and long range, prized for accuracy over raw destructive power. English privateer captains such as Francis Drake used culverins…

The cutlass was a short, broad-bladed sword with a curved edge and a hand-protecting hilt, purpose-built for the cramped, chaotic fighting of ship boarding. It never misfired or needed reloading,…

A combination tool-weapon pairing a cutlass-style blade with an axe head, issued to some 19th-century naval boarding parties to combine cutting, chopping, and rigging-clearing functions in a single implement. It…

A long-hafted, single-bladed axe wielded two-handed, among the primary weapons of Viking Age warfare alongside the spear. Unlike swords, axes were affordable and common across Norse society, making them a…

A general term for single-edged Chinese sabers used widely by soldiers, militia, and pirate crews on the South China coast, including the vast pirate confederation led by Zheng Yi Sao…

A heavy naval gun firing a large round shot, capable of serious damage to an enemy hull but demanding a substantial, well-built ship to carry its weight. Larger pirate flagships…

A mid-sized long gun, lighter than a full culverin but sharing its accurate, long-range characteristics, commonly carried aboard armed merchantmen, privateers, and naval vessels of the 16th and 17th centuries.…

An English flintlock variant featuring an external safety catch, or ‘dog,’ that held the cock at half-cock, popular among 17th-century sailors, buccaneers, and privateersmen. It offered improved safety when carried…

A multi-barreled flintlock pistol with four splayed barrels fired simultaneously from a single lock, designed to spray shot across a group of attackers at once. It was associated with ship…

A tall wooden bow drawn to the ear, used by English archers embarked aboard privateering vessels and Cinque Ports ships engaged in medieval Channel warfare and raiding. Archers stationed in…

A single-edged, cleaver-like blade used across medieval Europe, including by North Sea and Baltic sea raiders of the 14th and 15th centuries. Its heavy, forward-weighted blade delivered powerful chopping strikes…

A light cannon firing a small shot, commonly mounted on smaller pirate sloops and privateer vessels that valued speed over heavy firepower. Its light weight suited fast, shallow-draft ships operating…

A very light cannon, smaller than the falcon, sometimes mounted on a swivel for flexibility of aim. Small, fast pirate and privateer vessels favored falconets and similar light guns that…

An Indian sword combining a native Indian hilt with an imported or locally forged European-style blade, popular among Maratha warriors and naval forces including those of Kanhoji Angre. The hybrid…

An expendable vessel deliberately set ablaze and steered or drifted into an anchored enemy fleet, used to cause panic, destroy shipping, and force ships to cut their anchor cables and…

A single-shot handgun ignited by a flint striking a steel frizzen, the standard sidearm of Golden Age pirates. Because it required a lengthy reload, many pirates carried several at once;…

A lighter smoothbore firearm originally designed for hunting birds, adopted by sailors and buccaneers as an accurate, if lighter-charged, alternative to heavier military muskets. Its lighter weight made it easier…

The short, stabbing sword of Roman military tradition, also carried by marines during Rome’s era of endemic Mediterranean piracy in the late Republic. Its thrusting design was well suited to…

A heavy, single-edged chopping blade used across the Malay Archipelago as both a working tool and a weapon, carried by Malay and Sumatran sea raiders operating in the Strait of…

A multi-pronged iron hook attached to a line, thrown to snag and pull an enemy vessel alongside so it could be boarded, an essential tool for pirates whose primary tactic…

An early hand grenade consisting of a hollow iron, glass, or wood ball filled with gunpowder and fitted with a fuse, lit and thrown onto an enemy’s deck moments before…

A polearm combining an axe blade, spike, and hook on a long shaft, carried by ship’s marines and boarding parties of 16th- and 17th-century navies and privateer vessels. The hook…

A short, single-edged sword with a slightly curved blade, worn by sailors and officers and considered the direct predecessor of the naval cutlass. Its compact size suited the confined spaces…

A short, curved dagger with a distinctive J-shaped profile, traditionally worn at the waist across the Arabian Peninsula and Red Sea coast. Sailors and raiders operating in the Red Sea…

A straight, double-edged Chinese sword traditionally associated with officers and skilled swordsmen, as opposed to the single-edged dao more common among rank-and-file fighters. Some Chinese pirate leaders and officers of…

A large-caliber Chinese matchlock or flintlock wall gun, often mounted on a swivel or forked rest, used aboard Chinese war junks and by coastal militias of the 18th and 19th…

A long, heavy single-edged sword with a distinctive forked pommel, favored by Moro warriors of Mindanao and the Illanun (Iranun) sea raiders. Some blades featured a spur near the tip…

The curved, single-edged Japanese long sword carried by Wokou raiders who terrorized the coasts of China and Korea from the 14th through 16th centuries. Chinese Ming dynasty accounts describe Wokou…

A curved, double-edged dagger associated with Oman and the wider Gulf and Indian Ocean coast, worn as an everyday sidearm by sailors and traders in the region. Like the related…

A distinctively curved Ottoman Turkish saber with a widened, reinforced tip (yelman) for powerful cutting strikes. Because the Barbary states operated as autonomous dependencies of the Ottoman Empire, their corsairs…

A dagger or short sword with a distinctive wavy, asymmetrical blade, produced across the Malay world and carried by Moro pirates of the southern Philippines. Its irregular wound channel was…

A small bronze swivel cannon produced and used throughout maritime Southeast Asia, mounted along a vessel’s rails or even in its rigging. Moro pirate praus of the Sulu Archipelago typically…

A colloquial name given to an unusually long-barreled cannon, typically mounted amidships on a pivot so it could be trained to either side of the ship. Its extended barrel gave…

A heavy, single-edged chopping blade originally used by Caribbean hunters and woodsmen to butcher cattle and clear brush, later adopted by buccaneers as a readily available close-combat weapon. Its versatility…

A pointed iron or wooden tool used for everyday rigging work, splicing rope, and separating rope strands, readily converted into a stabbing weapon in a sudden shipboard fight. Its constant…

An early firearm ignited by a smoldering match cord lowered into the priming pan, used by 16th- and early 17th-century sailors and corsairs before the flintlock became dominant. Its dependence…

A mechanically drawn bow mounted on a stock, used by sailors and marines of medieval Europe, including the Victual Brothers, a confederation of Baltic and North Sea pirates active in…

A small ship’s cannon, lighter than a saker, suited to smaller vessels including many pirate and privateer ships that could not carry the weight of larger ordnance. Its lighter weight…

A Mediterranean flintlock variant using a distinctive external mainspring lock mechanism, widely produced and used across the Balkans, North Africa, and the Ottoman Mediterranean. Barbary corsairs and Aegean and Adriatic…

A long-barreled shoulder firearm used by naval marines, privateersmen, and pirate crews for engaging an enemy crew at range before boarding. Naval patterns were often shorter than land-service muskets for…

A shortened, large-bore version of the musket, easier to handle in a ship’s tight spaces than a full-length musket while still offering more range than a pistol. Naval boarding parties…

A Japanese pole weapon combining a curved blade on a long shaft, giving reach advantages in open combat on beaches and decks. Wokou raiding parties are recorded using naginata alongside…

A short-hafted axe with a hammer or spike on the reverse of the blade, used both to hack through rigging and boarding nets and as a close-quarters weapon. Standard issue…

A short, single- or double-edged fighting knife carried as a backup weapon by sailors, officers, and pirates alike. Compact and easily concealed, it was used in the final, desperate close-quarters…

A reinforced, bronze-sheathed prow fitted to ancient galleys, used to punch through an enemy hull below the waterline. Fast, shallow-draft pirate vessels of the ancient Mediterranean, including Illyrian and Cilician…

A general Malay and Bornean term for a heavy chopping blade, used by Iban and other Bornean sea raiders active along the coasts and river mouths of Borneo. Like the…

A short, wide-bored gun originally designed to fire stone shot, later adapted to fire shot, scrap, and canister at close range. Its wide bore and short barrel made it useful…

A small, bell-shaped explosive charge fixed to a door, gate, or hull section to blow it open, used by privateer and naval landing parties conducting shore raids or forced boardings.…

A small keg or container packed with gunpowder and a fuse, used as an improvised explosive device to breach a door, hatch, or hull section during a boarding or raid.…

A long, slender thrusting sword favored by gentlemen and officers of the 16th and 17th centuries, including English privateer captains of the Elizabethan era. Its length gave a reach advantage…

A shoulder-fired, reusable rocket-propelled grenade launcher, used by modern Somali pirates to intimidate and threaten commercial vessels, and occasionally to fire on ships that refused to stop or slowed pursuit.…

A medium-sized long gun smaller than a demi-culverin, widely carried on privateering and merchant vessels for its manageable weight and reasonable range. Its size made it practical for smaller, faster…

A broad term for curved, single-edged swords used across the Ottoman world and North Africa, closely associated with Barbary corsairs raiding the Mediterranean from bases like Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli.…

A single-edged utility knife carried by virtually every Viking, from farmers to warlords, and used as both an everyday tool and a close-combat backup weapon. Its universal presence made it…

A slender, sharply curved Persian saber adopted across the Middle East, including by corsairs operating out of Persian Gulf and Red Sea ports. Its deep curve made it a pure…

A light, thrusting sword that evolved from the rapier, favored by well-to-do 18th-century gentlemen and some pirate captains who affected a genteel appearance. It was faster and less cumbersome than…

An early flint-ignition firearm mechanism that preceded the true flintlock, using a separate pan cover and striking mechanism. Sailors and early buccaneers of the 17th century carried snaphance pistols and…

A half-pike topped with a spearhead and crossbar, carried as a naval officer’s badge of rank and combat weapon. It combined ceremonial function with practical use as a thrusting weapon…

A long gun mounted at the stern, angled to fire backward at a pursuing vessel, used by a fleeing ship to discourage or damage an attacker without turning to present…

A clay pot filled with burning sulfur and other foul-smelling, noxious materials, thrown onto an enemy deck to choke and disorient defenders before a boarding rush. An English sailor’s 1681…

A small cannon mounted on a pivoting yoke along a ship’s rail, loaded with shot or scrap metal and used at close range against boarders or an approaching small boat.…

A curved Indian saber with a distinctive disc-shaped pommel, used across South Asia including by the naval forces of Kanhoji Angre, the Maratha admiral whose fleet raided and captured European…

A large, two-handed sword used by some medieval sea raiders; a sword traditionally attributed to the famous Baltic pirate Klaus Störtebeker of the Victual Brothers is preserved in Hamburg’s Museum…

An iron, leaf-shaped spearhead mounted on a long wooden shaft, the single most common weapon of the Viking Age and cheap enough for nearly any raider to own. Its reach…

A double-edged straight sword and the most expensive, high-status weapon of the Viking Age, carried by wealthier raiders aboard longships that struck coastal Europe from the 8th to 11th centuries.…

A firearm with multiple barrels bundled together and fired simultaneously from one lock, developed by British gunsmith Henry Nock for the Royal Navy to be fired down onto an enemy’s…

A shorter companion sword to the katana, carried as a backup close-combat weapon by Japanese swordsmen, including Wokou raiders active along the East Asian coast. Its shorter length made it…

An early firearm using a spring-driven, spinning steel wheel to strike sparks from pyrite, allowing it to be carried loaded and ready without a lit match. Its complexity and cost…

A short, leaf-bladed double-edged sword used across the ancient Greek world, likely carried by the Cilician pirates who, according to Plutarch, dominated the eastern Mediterranean with a thousand ships before…

A straight-bladed Japanese spear used for thrusting, standard equipment for many Japanese fighters of the period, including Wokou raiding parties operating along the Chinese and Korean coasts. Its reach made…

A forward-curving, single-edged Ottoman blade without a handguard, carried by Ottoman soldiers, sailors, and irregular fighters including some Barbary and Aegean corsairs. Its unusual forward curve concentrated force at the…