| As creative as the inhabitants were with their scarce resources, the population rapidly declined. Through malnutrition, emigration and the mass exodus of tourists (and rumours of cannibalism), Malta became thinly populated. While there wasn't enough manpower to farm the depleted land or fish in the emptying seas, the Maltese embraced their corsair roots. Their anarcho-pirate fleet was loosely run by a hacker collective with access to global shipping infrastructure and abandoned ships were quietly repurposed into piracy and raiding parties. Their open resources and motley spoils were distributed throughout the population. Everyone was gradually, yet unpredictably, becoming richer through piracy. The culture became one of feast and famine. The cuisine was resilient and adaptable to unpredictable conditions. Sometimes exploding with complex ingredients and extravagant spices, other times it would consist of a single ingredient only. As the centuries passed, the descendants of pirates began celebrating this time as the formative period of their culture. Tough times that forged tough people. As the culture became less rough, more prosperous and sophisticated, fetishising the wild past became inevitable. The yearly Pirate Potluck celebrates a time when piracy was central to the economy of Malta. At this island-wide festa, everyone brings ingredients cooked up in many large pots, blending almost anything into unrecognisable stews, spiced up with grated dried meat, fish flakes, seaweed, pickles and soy-based taste intensifiers. For the Maltese the potluck festa reminds them that without sharing there is no survival, while taste remains unpredictable. | As creative as the inhabitants were with their scarce resources, the population rapidly declined. Through malnutrition, emigration and the mass exodus of tourists (and rumours of cannibalism), Malta became thinly populated. While there wasn't enough manpower to farm the depleted land or fish in the emptying seas, the Maltese embraced their corsair roots. Their anarcho-pirate fleet was loosely run by a hacker collective with access to global shipping infrastructure and abandoned ships were quietly repurposed into piracy and raiding parties. Their open resources and motley spoils were distributed throughout the population. Everyone was gradually, yet unpredictably, becoming richer through piracy. The culture became one of feast and famine. The cuisine was resilient and adaptable to unpredictable conditions. Sometimes exploding with complex ingredients and extravagant spices, other times it would consist of a single ingredient only. As the centuries passed, the descendants of pirates began celebrating this time as the formative period of their culture. Tough times that forged tough people. As the culture became less rough, more prosperous and sophisticated, fetishising the wild past became inevitable. The yearly Pirate Potluck celebrates a time when piracy was central to the economy of Malta. At this island-wide festa, everyone brings ingredients cooked up in many large pots, blending almost anything into unrecognisable stews, spiced up with grated dried meat, fish flakes, seaweed, pickles and soy-based taste intensifiers. For the Maltese the potluck festa reminds them that without sharing there is no survival, while taste remains unpredictable. |
nik