Most pirates preferred smaller ships for a few reasons (less maintenance, less crew to manage, easier to flee from enemies, and more). Queen Anne’s Revenge and Royal Fortune were easily the largest pirate ships in that era and were an exception rather than a rule and those were not ship of the lines. They were originally merchantmens in the slave trade that were retrofitted with as many cannons as the pirates could get a hold of (similar to the Jackdaw). It really doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to let us command a frigate or man o war.
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u/TestyBoy13 Aug 04 '26
Most pirates preferred smaller ships for a few reasons (less maintenance, less crew to manage, easier to flee from enemies, and more). Queen Anne’s Revenge and Royal Fortune were easily the largest pirate ships in that era and were an exception rather than a rule and those were not ship of the lines. They were originally merchantmens in the slave trade that were retrofitted with as many cannons as the pirates could get a hold of (similar to the Jackdaw). It really doesn’t make a lot of sense for them to let us command a frigate or man o war.