How were commands given to other ships?

[MadJackRho]

Say that a Pyrate had a fleet. How were the commands given to the other ships. I've heard of Jean Doublet, a French Privateer, wrote that they had set recognition signals depending on the day of the week,

"she to Windward is to hale up all her Sails, and lower her Top-sails, with her flying Jib loose; and she to Leeward is to answer with making what Sail she can, her Ensign in her Fore-shrouds, and fire a gun."

and I know of the broadside battle formation below, but was there a certain way that pirate "admirals" communicated with other ships?

Thanks for you help, in advance.

[Daniel]

Edward Low used a green flag with a yellow trumpeter on it to summon his ships together for conference. At closer range, his quartermaster John Russell used a speaking trumpet to shout orders at his victims, and I would assume that would be used to communicate between ships also.

That's the only example I know specifically of pirates communicating with other pirate ships at a distance, but there were several methods of signaling other ships that were commonly understood long before the Napoleonic-era signal flags were introduced. For example, tying a "wiff" knot in one's flag was universally understood as a signal to come aboard and give help; Stede Bonnet's pirates mocklingly used this signal to their enemies aboard the Henry in the battle of the Cape Fear River, as a challenge to board them. Rhett's men understood the signal and shouted that they would come aboard by and by.

In another case, Henry Every wished to avoid confrontation with the Royal Navy, so he left a message for English ships to signal their identity by rolling up their ensign into a bundle and flying it at the mizzen peak, so he would know to leave them alone. I don't know if this signal was ever actually used, though.

Of course, if we credit Richard Hawkins' old story that the black flag was a promise of mercy while a red flag meant no quarter, then the red flag would have functioned as a signal to any other pirate ships in the fleet that they too should offer no quarter. It doesn't make much sense to warn your victims that you're going to offer no quarter; all that does is steel them to fight to the last man, so it only makes sense as a signal to fellow pirates.

[Silver]

if you can get a copy of "the tobacco coast" a maritime history of chesapeake bay in colonial era, by arthur pierce middleton. starting on pge 491through498 it lists a tobacco fleet of 57 merchent ships that sailed from the chesapecke bay for england in convoy with the hms "exssex prize" on 9 june 1700, in those pages you will find signalls by day, night and fog. also line of battle and fighting instructions. i think that these instruction would be under stood by english sailors.