This would have been in case they needed to go underdeck to continue a fight after having taken the deck of a ship. The human eye can adapt rapidly from low light or night conditions to daylight conditions, but it takes as much as 25 minutes for the eye to adjust from daylight conditions to low light levels resembling night. The reason for this is that there are two types of light receptive cells in the eye, cones and rods. Cones are the predominant light sensitive cells for day-time vision.
They are also responsible for our color vision. These cells have evolved to adapt quickly to changing light conditions.
Both cones and rods play a role in night vision and day vision, but rods are the primary light sensitive cells for night vision. Rods can detect extremely low amounts of light, even a single photon, but they are less effective under high levels of illumination. When lighting conditions change, cones will quickly adapt while rods will take longer to adjust. Cones are initially responsible for adapting to low light level conditions, but they are also not very effective in dim light.
Thus, it takes a while for our night vision to fully activate because it takes a while for the rods to adjust so that they can take over from the cones as the primary photoreceptors. One possible evolutionary reason for this is that humans are primarily diurnal creatures, so our vision needs to be very receptive to day-time levels of illumination.
The fact that it takes the eyes longer to adjust to decreased illumination than to increased illumination has implications for combat situations, especially those which require navigating between areas of daytime level lighting and areas of relative darkness. Pirates, when they boarded ships, would take the deck and then they might have to go beneath the deck to finish a fight. On the other hand, their ship might get boarded and they might get driven below deck by enemy marines. While going underdeck, combat would become more difficult since it would take a while for their eyes to adjust to the darkness so that they could see their attackers.
One possibility is that pirates, while on deck, would wear the eyepatch over a dark-adapted eye and use their daylight-adapted eye to fight. When they went below deck, they would use their dark-adapted eye. This would have given the pirates a fearsome advantage over their opponents since they would be able to see more clearly than their adversaries and be able to surprise them.
What is the likelihood of this hypothesis? Pilots will even do this to retain their night vision while flying. One problem, however, is that there are no historical accounts that mention eyepatches being used in this way by pirates, or other seafaring combatants for that matter.
There is also no archaeological evidence for the idea, and it is difficult to see how this hypothesis could be confirmed through archaeology in the first place. Thus, while it is plausible, the hypothesis may be untestable at this time.
This would have enhanced their chances of success in taking an enemy ship. It seems that if pirates could come up with the idea, seasoned marines and naval officers could have thought of it as well. Pirates are classically represented with the eyepatch. Public Domain. The idea that pirates wore eyepatches to protect their dark-adapted vision for fighting below deck is an interesting theory, and it is scientifically plausible considering how the eye works.
Nonetheless, there is no mention of this reason in historical records and no way to confirm it archaeologically. As a result, it is not possible to test or confirm such a hypothesis with the current data. Whatever theory is correct, the eyepatch is an important part of modern pirate lore and having a logical reason for why pirates used an eyepatch can only enrich it.
Top image: Statue of pirate with eyepatch. Source: Public Domain. Caruso, R. Why does it take so long for our vision to adjust to a darkened theater after we come in from bright sunlight? Scientific American. McCarthy, E. All Exhibits. Indoor Exhibits Year-Round. Outdoor Exhibits March-Nov.
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Gift Memberships. Code of Conduct. Gift Certificates. Group Visits. Birthday Parties. Private Events. Special Events. Full Calendar. Therefore, in the past, having an eye patch was a huge advantage. Indeed, pirates wearing eye patches could cross ships quietly without fighting. Moreover, in those days it was wiser to avoid fighting at sea. It was impossible to find a doctor and medicine in the middle of the ocean.
The black headband or headband, the bandana, the tricorn hat, the skull and crossbones flag, the parrot on the shoulders, a wooden leg and the pirate hook describe many characteristics of pirates. However, the next question is: Why did pirates wear eye patches? Do some pirates wear eye patches for purely professional purposes? When attacking in the dark or at night, is an eye that has already been put in the dark advantageous for adapting quickly to the dark?
In fact, our eyes adapt easily to light, but it takes a few minutes to adapt to darkness. The principle is simple. When pirates cross the light and enter the darkness, they will put the eye patch over the other eye to use the eye that has been trained to be black. Therefore, the pirates have a chance to see perfectly.
This system saves them essential time in battle. Therefore, during a boarding process, in order to chase enemies hidden in the dark deck, pirates cannot see anything in the dark.
Indeed, the sun was blinding and their eyes had not yet adapted to the semi-dark state. So, although both eyes were in good condition, wearing an eye patch allowed the pirates to see clearly, whether in the dark or in the daylight. Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.
Remember me Log in. Lost your password? Second, they wear an eye patch. But then why did pirates wear eye patches? Wearing an eye patch intimidates the enemy It is true that some pirates wear eye patches to cover ugly scars or gouged eyes. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published.
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