"Of all the pyratical crews that were ever heard of, none of the English name came up to this in barbarity.  Their mirth and their anger had much the same effect, for both were usually gratified with the cries and groans of their prisoners;  so that they almost as often murdered a man from the excess of good humour as out of passion and resentment;  and the unfortunate could never be assured of safety from them, for danger lurked in their very smiles."

- Daniel Defoe, A General History of the Pyrates