Uploaded by MILITARY HISTORY 2015. A look at the Military History of Pirates and Musketeer Weapons. A history of pirates weaponry. Learn about the weapons of 17th-century Caribbean pirates and various combat techniques with them, both offensive and defensive. Then we face off against the crew of a merchant vessel to find out if they have learned how to win with pirate weapons.
Part 2 starts at 21:28 and asks whether the classic cut-and-thrust of the Hollywood Musketeer movies had a basis in reality. The cup-hilt rapier, with its light and flexible blade, did not require a left-hand dagger for defense. This was the sword of the French Musketeers and of the Spanish Conquistadors–the most feared swordsmen in Europe. Shows how the art and sport of fencing began with this weapon, and compares the reality of the weapon with the myth of its use.
Much of what we know of ancient history is the history of militaries: their conquests, their movements, and their technological innovations. There are many reasons for this. Kingdoms and empires, the central units of control in the ancient world, could only be maintained through military force. Due to limited agricultural ability, there were relatively few areas that could support large communities, so fighting was common.
Weapons and armor, designed to be sturdy, tended to last longer than other artifacts, and thus a great deal of surviving artifacts recovered tend to fall in this category as they are more likely to survive. Weapons and armor were also mass-produced to a scale that makes them quite plentiful throughout history, and thus more likely to be found in archaeological digs.