The 16-18th Centuries Ship Food and Grocery Biases of the Pirates

Abstract

The article examines the everyday life of seafarers from the viewpoint of food habits of pirates. It focuses on nutrition issues among regular crew members specifically. The author attempts to determine the extent to which ship food could actually fit the needs of the mail community that was committed to ideals of healthy body, strength, and physical force. Special attention is further paid to the issue of pirates’ food biases. Seafarers were intent on seeking the food enjoyment that was available to the elites of the time, which was possible owing to geographic specificities of the regions of pirates’ activities in the 17th-18th centuries. The richness, variety, and calorie value of New World’s exotic products substantially widened seafarers’ grocery priorities, taking them beyond the limits of the general European conditions.