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Image credit: Howard Pyle
Howard Pyle's illustration of pirate marooning. Marooning is leaving someone behind on purpose in an uninhabited area, such as an uninhabited island. The chief practitioners of marooning were 17th and 18th century pirates, to such a degree that they were frequently referred to as "marooners." The pirate articles of captains Bartholomew Roberts and John Phillips specify marooning as a punishment for cheating one's fellow pirates or other offenses.