Tag: Seafaring

Over two million sailors died from scurvy between the 16th and 18th centuries, a crippling and painful fate that no self-respecting pirate wished to face. Understanding how to avoid scurvy as a pirate was not just a health concern, but a matter of sheer survival that separated the living from the legends.

Scurvy killed an estimated two million sailors between the 16th and 18th centuries, claiming more lives than storms, shipwrecks, and combat combined. Understanding **why was scurvy a common problem for sailors?** lies in the monotonous, nutrient-deficient diets of long sea voyages, a historical puzzle that took centuries to solve.

Between the 16th and 18th centuries alone, scurvy is estimated to have killed more than two million sailors. This debilitating and fatal disease, a persistent threat on long voyages, had a cause that eluded doctors for centuries. The critical question of why did sailors suffer from scurvy is answered by an understanding of nutrition and the harsh realities of seafaring life.