6:00pm
The forgotten children came to us one by one – dark-haired, dark-eyed, and ready to fight as Sol’s army.
Oldy sang to them as night fell.
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These kids are the ones making purple cloth. But their lives are about to change.
One reason the early 1700s were swarming with pirates is that a lot of soldiers suddenly found themself out of work (and they were the minimum-wage workers of the way, so they were ALREADY desperate).
As wars ceased, unemployed soldiers had to make a living somehow – so they turned to piracy. In some cases, it was a neat fit – they were already used to hideous conditions, harsh bosses, and risking their life for their paycheck.
Many soldiers were pressganged in the first place, so even getting forced into piracy wasn’t all that big a change.