Caribbean Pirate Costume
If you’re looking for a Caribbean pirate costume, then you have come to the right place. Everyone, at some time in their lives, has dreamed about being a pirate, swaggering around in full pirate costume brandishing a large cutlass shouting out “Arr, me hearty”. If not, here’s your chance to dress in a pirates of the Caribbean costume.
Here’s a great selection of Caribbean pirate costume, as well as Captain Jack Sparrow’s pirates of the Caribbean costume. Click on any link and you’ll find even more costumes. There are costumes for adults, teens and kids.
 Jack Sparrow Prestige Adult Costume |
 Jack Sparrow Quality Adult Costume |
 Jack Sparrow Child Costume |
 Davy Jones Deluxe Adult |
 Elizabeth Pirate Deluxe Adult and Teen |
 Rogue Pirate Adult Costume |
It seems that pirates have a certain glamour attached to them… just think about Captain Jack Sparrow in the movie Pirates of the Caribbean. But what exactly is a pirate and what is their history?
Pirates are people who commit robberies at sea. The golden age of piracy was around 1650 to 1820 when thousands of pirates would travel by ship and rob, seize or destroy other ships for their bounty. Piracy was in these seamen’s blood. They didn’t just do it for the money, but for the adventure, danger and fame. Just think about real life pirates such as Blackbeard, Henry Morgan and John “Calico Jack” Rackham.
Pirates were tough and a pirate ship was no place for a weakling. Life for a pirate was cruel, violent and very often very short. This is because they often got sick, got caught or died in battle. Probably because of this pirates knew how to have fun and loved wine, women and song. In fact, legend has it that Blackbeard had fourteen wives!
During the golden age of piracy one of the main hunting grounds was the Caribbean. The reason was that these “new lands” were rich in silver, gold and gems. The Spanish quickly claimed these lands and sent large ships or galleons to the Caribbean to bring back this precious cargo. As a result, the pirates found it hard to resist attacking these ships and relieving them of their booty.
Pirate attacks were so often successful because they carried more crew than any ordinary ship. This meant that they could quickly outnumber their victims. Also, the pirate ships were adapted so that they could carry many more cannons. It must have been terrifying for a merchant ship to see a pirate ship approaching with a skull and crossbones flag waving in the breeze, knowing that they would be outnumbered. Often they would surrender quickly without any fighting.
One of the most famous pirates is a fictional character called Captain Jack Sparrow. He was memorably portrayed by Johnny Depp in the Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. These films follow the swashbuckling and high seas adventures of Captain Jack Sparrow, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann as they remove curses, pay debts of honor and find love.
If you think that all pirates were men, then you’d be wrong. There were indeed women pirates, although very few. It was against pirate rules for women to be aboard ship and so they had to disguise themselves in men’s clothes.
Two of the most female pirates were Anne Bonny and Mary Read. Anne Bonny was an Irish lass who was said to have had a vile temper and wild behavior. She married a pirate called James Bonny and sailed to the Caribbean. It was here that she met another pirate, John (Calico Jack) Rackham, became his mistress and later joined his crew.
Mary Read was born in England to a poor family. She dressed up as a man known as Mark Read, went to sea and later joined the British Army. She settled down as a woman and married but after her husband’s death she was captured by Calico Jack and joined his crew. She became a firm friend with Anne Bonny.
There have also been a few fictional female pirates. The most notable is Morgan Adams, captain of the Morning Star, in the 1995 film Cutthroat Island. Another female pirate is Elizabeth Swann in Disney’s Pirate of the Caribbean films. She was the governor’s daughter who was kidnapped by Captain Barbossa and ends up dressing as a pirate to help Captain Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in their swashbuckling adventures.
Pirate of the Caribbean Films
The Curse of the Black Pearl, 2003: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley – Very entertaining Disney adventure with plenty of action, humor and thrills, as Captain Jack Swallow and Will Turner save the life of the governor’s daughter, Elizabeth Swann.
Dead Man’s Chest, 2006: Sequel to the highly successful Curse of the Black Pearl. Jack owes an unpaid debt to Davy Jones…his soul. Now, he must find a way to save himself before his time runs out.
At Worlds End, 2007: This third movie ties up most of the loose ends in the storyline created in the second movie. It has great special effects and stunts.
Other well-known Caribbean pirate films
Morgan the Pirate, 1961: Starring Steve Reeves, Valarie Lagrange, Chelo Alonso. This is the story of the famous Welsh pirate, Henry Morgan, commandeering ships and looting the Spanish.
Treasure Island, 1972: Starring Orson Welles. Welles portrays Long John Silver in this great version of Robert Louis Stevenson’s pirate tale.
Blackbeard’s Ghost, 1968: Starring Peter Ustinov, Dean Jones, Elsa Lancaster. This is a fun Disney film with Peter Ustinov as the infamous Blackbeard.
The Pirate Code
The idea of the pirate code started in the second half of the seventeenth century when buccaneers created various sets of rules which eventually became known as the Pirate’s Code or the Articles of Agreement. These codes varied from captain to captain but had some points in common. Pirates were asked to sign or make their mark on the Articles and to swear allegiance.
Two written works detail the pirate codes of conduct:
- Charles’ Johnson’s A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724, is the best source of information
- Henry Morgan’s code is preserved in The Buccaneers of America by Alexandre Exquemelin (1678).
From these works we have the pirate codes of Bartholomew Roberts, John Phillips, Edward Low and Henry Morgan.