The Code

[thepiratecaptainmorgan]

I dunno if anyone has ever seen these, but

Here is the Code

Modified Pirates Code

1. Everyone shall obey orders.

2. Booty will be shared out as follows: 1 share to every ordinary seaman; 1 1/2

shares to

the captain; 1 1/4 shares to the master carpenter, boatswain and gunner.

3. Anyone keeping secret of attempting to desert will be marooned. He may take

only a flask

of gunpowder, a bottle of water, a gun and some shot.

4. The punishment for hitting a man is 40 lashes on the bare back.

5. Anyone being lazy or failing to clean his weapons will lose his share of booty.

6. Everyone may vote on all important decisions.

7. Everyone may have a share of captured drink and fresh food.

8. Anyone found stealing form another member of crew will have his ears and nose

slit open

and be set ashore.

9. Gambling with cards and money is forbidden.

10. The penalty for bringing a woman aboard in disguise is death.

11. No one may leave the crew until each man has made 1,100 pounds.

12. The compensation of losing a limb is 800 silver dollars.

The Orignial Code

1) Ye captain shall have full command during the time of engagement, and shall have

authority

at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly. He who disobeys him may be punished

unless

the majority cote against the punishment.

2) If ye captain's vessel is shipwrecked, the crew pledges to remain until he has

possessed

himself of a vessel. If the vessel is the common property of the crew, the first

vessel

captured shall belong to ye Captain with one share of the spoil.

3) Ye ship's surgeon shall have two hundred crowns for the maintenance of his medicine

chest

and he shall receive one part of the spoil.

4) Ye other officers will receive each a single part, and if ye distinguish yourself,

the crew

will determine how much reward to be given to ye.

5) Ye spoil taken from a captured ship is to be distributed in equal portion.

6) Ye who shall be the first to signal the appearance of the vessel that is captured,

shall

receive one hundred crowns.

7) If ye lose an eye, or hand or leg in ye said service, ye shall receive up to

siz slaves or

six hundred crowns.

8) Ye supplies and rations are to be shared equally.

9) If ye introduce on board a woman in disguise, ye shall be punished by death.

10) If one brother steals from another, his nose or ears are to be cut off. If he

sins again,

he is to be given a musket, bulleets, lead and a bottle of water and marooned on

an island.

11) If there is any doubt in a dispute between ye brothers, a count of honour is

to decide the

verdict. If a brother is proved in the wrong, the first time he shall be pardoned,

but should

he offend again, he shall be tied to a gun, and there shall receive from each of

the ship's

company one strike of the lash. The same punishment shall be given to ye among us,

including

officers, who shall get drunk, while on the ship, to the point of losing ye senses.

12) Whoever shall be placed on sentry, and upon his post shall go to sleep, shall

in the first

case be lashed by all the brothers, and should he again offend, his head shall be

split.

13) All ye who shall plot to desert, or having deserted shall be captured, shall

have ye heads

split open.

14) Quarrels between several brothers whilst aboard ye ship shall be settled ashore

with

pistol and sword. He that draws first blood shall be the victor. No striking another

whilst

aboard ye ship.

NOTE: Nothing about anyman who falls behind, gets left behind.

[capnwilliam]

This "code" is what I'd normally think of as the "articles", which were specific to a given vessel and venture.

Does anyone have any evidence that there was some sort of Code that was generally acceptable to pirates, such as the right to parley, that was mentioned in "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

Capt. William

[Captain Charlotte Savvy]

This "code" is what I'd normally think of as the "articles", which were specific to a given vessel and venture.

Does anyone have any evidence that there was some sort of Code that was generally acceptable to pirates, such as the right to parley, that was mentioned in "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

Capt. William

There was no "universal" pirates code as mentioned in PotC. Just about every pirate ship had a code (or list of articles), but they differed from ship to ship. And, granted, while a lot of the lists of codes looked very similiar to one another (such as the bit about voting a captain in democratically), there was no universally-accepted pirate code.

Still, Terry and Ted only took artistic license with the idea of pirates' codes -- I still find it quite cool that most ships had some PotC-like code in place.

[CaptJackSparrow]

I particularly like the fact that the writers had woven into the story "The code set down by Morgan and Bartholemew" and that Barbossa addresses the fact that they are guidelings and not actual rules. This is a great piece of writing in that if one be so enclined? to look them up you'll find that there are many different prints of this code /articles written by the same 2 men and they differ slightly from ship to ship but remain basicly the same in the intent and since they were the first to impliment this kind of maritime "Code of Behavior" so to speak it and is losely refered to as "The Code"

Jack

[Bilgemunky]

While I don't know that I've ever heard of a code, I do remember something about Morgan (I think?) being declared Admiral of the Brethren of the Coast. Anyone else remember this?

If he was Admiral, that would certainly imply at least a loose structure in place, and make something such as "the code" a very feasible possibility.