Subject: pirate captain
Culture: Anglo-Caribbean
Setting: Golden Age of Piracy, Caribbean/Atlantic early 18thc
Object: cutlass
* National Museum of Crime and Punishment > A Notorious History of American Crime
"18TH CENTURY-1740 PATTEN [SIC] SWORD (BRITISH)
This patten [SIC] sword is a type of cutlass that was made infamous in pirate and swashbuckling lore. The mark of a cutlass was the length of its blade two feet or more and its slight curve with single edge blade.
"This weapon has a short broad blade ideal for hacking and more than adequate for hand-to-hand fighting aboard ship. It was a favorite type of weapon among the Caribbean pirates of this era."