Key West Shipwreck Museum Blog

Most pirates didn't bury gold or silver like popular culture would have us believe, their "treasure," was usually stolen food, water, rum, clothing, weaponry, and even soap!

During the 17th and 18th centuries, most European societies were far from democracy. Ironically, most pirate crews that operated in the Caribbean were democratically structured. In fact, pirate crews were ...

What does a pirate mean when he says he'll give "no quarter?"

What we know as the skull and crossbones, with the human skull and the two long bones, was actually commonly referred to during the 17th and 18th century as the ...

Acts of piracy can be traced to ancient times--ever since our oceanic waterways have been used for commerce.

The word "pirate" originates in the 1300s from the Latin word pirata meaning "sea robber" and was also a Latin synonym from the word "peril."

The term was popularized by author Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island and referred to pirates who attacked Spanish ships across the Caribbean throughout the 17th century. Buccaneer is actually a ...

Although actual cases of pirates burying treasure was rare, Captain William Kidd is believed to have buried a good portion of his personal treasure on Long Island before sailing to ...

We all know Sir Walter Raleigh is famous for setting out find the mythic city of El Dorado in 1595, which Raleigh never found.

When did treasure maps become popularized? And why do we think that all pirates buried treasure and possessed treasure maps?