Other men wished to escape the cruelties inflicted on them for minor and major infractions. Piracy promised them a better way of life, the chance to make their fortunes, and the opportunity to leave the drudgery of life on land. As pirates all men were equal. No longer did one man outrank another. The crews chose their captains, and signed articles of agreement to insure that everyone earned a share of any prize taken. Such freedom was unavailable to men who remained on the right side of the law.
In some parts of the world, though, people became pirates out of economic necessity. Fishing and boating were their means of livelihood. If the fishing dried up, they needed to find another way to earn enough money to live and so resorted to smuggling and/or piracy. This has been true for centuries along the southeast coast of China. It also happened to the buccaneers and privateers who worked in the logwood industry of Honduras. After the Peace of Utrecht, the Spaniards destroyed their livelihood, leaving them to starve or join one of the pirate crews that sailed the Caribbean.
For many centuries Europe was plagued by wars interspersed with times of peace. When at war, nations recruited men to serve in their navies. When peace came, these same men were forced to find other employment or die of starvation. Those who knew only the trade of sailing often turned to piracy. Such was the case following the War of the Spanish Succession. Prior to the cessation of hostilities, the Royal Navy employed 53,000 men. With peace at hand, they dismissed 40,000 of those seamen. At about this same time (1715-1725), there was an upsurge in piracy along coasts bordering the Atlantic Ocean. Most English-speaking pirates came from the Royal Navy, merchant ships, and privateers. Between 1716 and 1718 there were 1,800-2,400 pirates. By 1726 those numbers dropped to 1,000-1,500 pirates.
That's not to say all men who turned to piracy did so willingly. When pirates captured a ship, they either killed those lacking the seamanship skills or put them ashore. Able-bodied seamen, however, especially those who possessed a specialized skill (surgeons, carpenters, coopers, musicians) had no such option. Pirate crews always needed men familiar with ships and the sea, and so forced them to join in their nefarious trade. During the Golden Age of Piracy, many pirates who sailed in Caribbean waters were "forced men."
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