People of the UK...

@Whyme well in today's culture, more people prefer the stories of anti-authority figures and then as the underdogs over coming the odds.

@Whyme lol most pirates were English working under the crown just pointing out x

@MarieUK most started out as english navy thats why they were so good at what they did that dont change the fact the english are at least portrayed as extremely arrogant

@Whyme Do you mean ones made by Hollywood, which has always denigrated the rest of the world, assumed a "USA Uber Alles" stance, and probably greatly distorted the USA's own history ....?

Forget all their "Arrhhhh, Jim lad" and Pirates of the Caribbean tripe, for a start.

Most of the "pirates" in their 17-18C zenith were privateers, preying on Spaniards who were carrying gold etc. they had in turn already looted from the indigenous societies of South America and parts of the North American continent.

This too, in a era of frequent hostilities anyway between Britain, France and Spain when those were the leading European countries conquering, colonising and fighting between themselves over the two American continents in pre-USA days.

@ArishMell are you assuming your account on history and everyone else is wrong ? All history is slanted in the direction of whoever is telling the story 3 sides to every story yours theres and the truth

@Whyme No I am not; and of course I am aware history can be slanted either by commission or omission. There has for example, been a lot of heart-searching in my country about history from the viewpoint of our former Empire subjects, as well as Britain's own side of it.

Hollywood obviously is not, and to be fair does not claim to be, a historical research organisation even about its own nation's history.

I do not know what modern British school history syllabi contain; but I think we did cover the development of the USA in my own time at school, and that would have included the Independence, 1812 and Civil, Wars. That was half a century ago, though, so please accept my memory may be at fault there! After all, I did drop History and French from my set of the formal end-of-school exams; and I have not studied either in a formal way since.

Genuine history should of course be accurate, objective and fair. Otherwise it becomes propaganda; but that very fairness can sometimes be very uncomfortable for either "side" in anything contentious.

@ArishMell I thought you died! have not heard from you in dm in a while.

@trackboy No! Still alive! Still here!

@ArishMell you been quiet in dm