In this class we will touch on the racial and ethnic prejudices of the time as concerns the English's view of African slaves as "cargo" and the ways the pirates of the time challenged, but also took part in, the slave trade. 

We will also discuss that while most acts of piracy at sea were bloodless by design, some pirates did kidnap skilled crew members or engage in acts of violence to extract information. (Topics like this we won't be elaborating much on as I believe it's enough to state that violent acts did take place sometimes, without emphasizing the more graphic details.) 

Other potentially sensitive topics we may cover include the prevalence of disease on board many pirate ships due to living in close proximity and diets devoid of vitamin c, as well as their consumption of rum.