 Facts of Piracy How did pirates actually go about attacking an enemy vessel? When pirates commanded a superior vessel they could easily confront any victim with cannon fire, crippling the ship and stimulating a quick surrender. However, pirates rarely commanded superior vessels, in fact, most often pirates commanded small lightly armored but highly maneuverable ships. For this reason, pirates seldom relied on fire power. Instead, pirates generally preferred to quickly board the enemy ship, robbing of goods, and rapidly retreating. Often, pirates would be greatly outnumbered, but because pirates employed various scare tactics they paralyzed their victims with fear. For example The Elizabethan era was the Age of Exploration from which emerged the Famous Pirate Ships and the Golden Age of Pirates! There were different styles and designs of Pirate Ships. A list of the different types of Pirate Ships were as follows: The Sloop style of Pirate Ships - small ships, 100 tons carried about 75 pirates The Brigantine style of Pirate Ships - 150 tons, carried about 100 pirates The Schooner style of Pirate Ships - 100 tons, carried about 75 pirates The Frigate or the "Man-O-War" style of Pirate Ships - 360 tons carrying about 190 men The Square-Rigger style of Pirate Ships - 90 tons, carried about 70 pirates | 
