Tag: Pirate food

An estimated two million sailors died of scurvy between the 16th and 18th centuries, a debilitating and often fatal disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. The question of what do pirates eat to prevent scurvy, therefore, holds the key to understanding survival on the open seas during the Age of Sail.

Scurvy killed more British sailors during the 18th century than enemy action. During the Golden Age of Piracy, buccaneers and sailors faced this severe vitamin C deficiency, but many learned innovative ways to get fresh food and what did pirates eat to not get scurvy.