The concept of “walking the plank” is often associated with pirate lore and the so-called “Golden Age of Piracy,” which spanned roughly from the late 17th century to the early 18th century. However, it’s important to note that historical evidence supporting the widespread use of walking the plank is scarce, and the practice may have been more of a literary and cinematic invention rather than a common reality.
The image of a pirate forcing a captive to walk off a plank into the sea has been popularized in various pirate-themed stories, novels, and films. The idea likely originated from the vivid imagination of writers and storytellers who aimed to create dramatic and perilous scenarios for their pirate tales.
While pirates did employ various methods of punishment and intimidation, such as marooning or keelhauling, there is limited historical documentation of walking the plank as a common practice. The majority of historical accounts of piracy come from trial records, captain’s logs, and other official documents, and they rarely mention this specific form of punishment.
It’s possible that walking the plank was inspired by other, more historically accurate methods of punishing or disposing of prisoners at sea, but the concept has become deeply ingrained in popular culture as a symbol of the brutal and ruthless nature attributed to pirates during the Golden Age of Piracy.