Myth: Walking the Plank

Captains routinely forcing bound prisoners to walk out onto a narrow wooden beam suspended over open sea is one of the most widespread pirate tropes in popular fiction.

The Tropes & Hollywood Myth

Sensationalist 19th-century novels and 20th-century cinema popularized plank walking as standard piratical execution.

The Historical Reality

Primary maritime legal transcripts and logbooks show virtually no evidence of plank walking during the Golden Age of Piracy (1690–1730). Pirates preferred pragmatic or far harsher methods: immediate execution in battle, marooning on desolate islands, or forced recruitment.