From swords to boarding pikes and everything in-between, hand to hand combat was an essential skill for a successful pirate.

The heavy artillery! Here we look at some of the cannons used in naval combat.

Muskets were an essential weapon in the 17th century, although long and cumbersome for fighting on board a ship, they came into their own when fighting ship to ship or on land.

From the famous blunderbuss to more obscure weapons used by pirates.

Pistols were a lot easier to wield than the longer muskets and still pack a hell of punch, although with their smooth barrels they were only accurate over small distances.

Using 9mm blanks, these weapons are great for people that can't use black powder or don't have a shotgun or firearms licence.