Pirates really were bristling with weapons, as the St. Augustine Pirate & Treasure Museum explains:
To survive battles in close quarters, pirates had to be walking arsenals. Pistols took time to reload, so most pirates carried more than one. Blackbeard carried six in addition to a cutlass and a dagger.
Jim Cirillo would approve of the New Amsterdam Reload.
Duckfoot. A pistol with three barrels. Carry about three or four at a time fully loaded and you could kill or wound multiple assailants with one shot.
People at that time were also accustomed to using a blade. Butchering large animals for food and awash with blood and evil smells. Using a firearm and then resorting to an edged weapon was routine. Cleaving a person open was not a whole lot different than butchering a large stockyard beast.