Pirate Code Of Conduct

[kaizoku]

I plan on writing my paper with the thesis of(edits likely to come) "Life aboard a pirate's ship, contrary to popular belief, was well organized and the rules were abided by." And this is the code of conduct I found that seemed the most legit online. I was wondering is this a good one to use? Is it missing any big points?

And if you know of any other information and/or links that have information on how a ships rules were inforced on a pirate ship and other information like that it would be greatly appreciated.

1. Every man shall obey civil Command; the Captain shall have one full share and a half in all Prizes; the Master, Carpenter, Boatswain and Gunner shall have one Share and quarter.

2. If any man shall offer to run away, or keep any Secret from the Company, he shall be marroon'd with one Bottle of Powder, one Bottle of Water, one small Arm and shot.

3. If any Many shall steel any Thing in the Company, or game, to the Value of a Piece of Eight, he shall be marroon'd or shot.

4. If at any Time we should meet another Marrooner (that is Pyrate) that Man that shall sign his Articles without the Consent of our Company, shall suffer such Punishment as the Captain and Company shall think fit.

5. That Man that shall strike another whilst these Articles are in force, shall receive Mose's Law (that is 40 stripes lacking one) on the bare Back.

6. That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoak Tobacco in the Hold, without a cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall suffer the same Punishment as in the former Article.

7. That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit.

8. If any Man shall lose a Joint in time of an Engagement he shall have 400 pieces of Eight; if a limb 800.

9. If at any time you meet with a prudent Woman, that Man that offers to meddle with her, without her Consent, shall suffer present Death

[Durty Mick Moon]

There are many books on pirates, I would suggest searching on Amazon.com. Also there are some on the Pub here who are quite knowledgable if you look through certain topics and threads. One thing I found quite interesting was how life on board most pirate ships was about as pure a democracy as one can get. The captain was ususally voted on and elected by the majority of the crew. As long as he did a good job as captain/leader he got to keep it. If at any time the majority of the crew no longer wanted him as captain they dumped him and elected someone else. To be captain of a ship one had to be a very dynamic leader with much political and personal savvy (to quote Sparrow), ergo the colorful bigger-than-life pirate captain characters we know of so well today. Blackbeard, Kidd, Calico Jack, Drake etc. were all natural leaders and sailors who were respected by their crews, no matter how mad some of them also must have seemed.

Also a crew on a ship needed to be very organized and work together as a team. Everyone, by necessity, had a role. They had to all depend on each other for survival.

[kaizoku]

There are many books on pirates, I would suggest searching on Amazon.com. Also there are some on the Pub here who are quite knowledgable if you look through certain topics and threads. One thing I found quite interesting was how life on board most pirate ships was about as pure a democracy as one can get. The captain was ususally voted  on and elected by the majority of the crew. As long as he did a good job as captain/leader he got to keep it. If at any time the majority of the crew no longer wanted him as captain they dumped him and elected someone else. To be captain of a ship one had to be a very dynamic leader with much political and personal savvy (to quote Sparrow), ergo the colorful bigger-than-life pirate captain characters we know of so well today. Blackbeard, Kidd, Calico Jack, Drake etc. were all natural leaders and sailors who were respected by their crews, no matter how mad some of them also must have seemed.

Also a crew on a ship needed to be very organized and work together as a team. Everyone, by necessity, had a role. They had to all depend on each other for survival.

I understood that the captain was voted on by I did have one curiosity that a google search couldn't pull up the necesary answer.

If they decided a new captain was necesary did it almost always result in murder/marooning/violence or did it ever just kind of happen like an impeachment and the captain backed down and let someone else in his place?

Also, I do plan to hit up the border books a bit aways as walden books does not have any good stock in pirate books it is all order. And the paper is due on short notice leaving me with not enough time to wait for shipping.

[Capt. Marcus Keys]

Actually that looks right. actually if you watch the movie Captiain blood with Errol Flynn they state some shipboard rules that follow what you have.

[Patrick Hand]

Beers got my mind a little foggey right now.... but I think it was in Demphers book (this is the part I can't quite remember right now) but one ship kept voting this one guy Captain...then voting for another..... they just couldn't make up thier minds..........

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Maybe a better College Thesis would be how most Pirate Ships were not as Democratic as we are made out to believe.

I know I am the contrary indian, but it seem that the pirate ships, crews and captains that we know the most about were the ones that ruled by Dictatorship.

I know that we like to think that it was a love fest aboard ship as far as democracy goes but my wager it wasn't as widespread as the pirate community hopes.

From Johnson:

Avery: got his command by instigating and leading a take over/mutiny

Martel: No mention of how he obtained Captaincy of his ship.

But this is interesting, apparently, when they were faced with being caught by the RN's Captain Hume, the pirates "quit there ship and set her on fire with 20 Negroes in the hold" Seems they took twenty Negroes with them and killed the rest..

Now wait just a minute... I thought that pirates were supposed to be a free for all-love one another utopian society? Seems like the slaves that they captured they kept as slaves (to do menial ship work or to selll later?) and instead of "letting them go" the burned them with the ship!

Teach: Was not "voted in" but put in charge of a prize ship by another pirate captain (Benjamin Hornigold). Horningold goes to Procvidence where he surrendered for mercy ONLY AFTER giving Teach the captaincy of the large ship that Teach re-names Queen Anne's Revenge.

Teach later runs into the Pirate Captain Major Bonnet, and finding him unfit as Captain, takes his ship and replaces Bonnet with Richards. Notice here that there was no vote, no black spot, no straws drawn. Teach PUT Richards in Charge. This is a theme with Black Beard. As he takes ships, he INSTALLS the Captain (Isreal Hands is appointed by Black Beard.

Major Bonnet: Bought his ship and fitted it out to be a pirate. It seems that it was obvious that he had no real Naval skills or leadership abilities. His crew seems to have been divided but never gave him the black spot or "voted" another Captain in. It was Black Beard who eventually "relieved" him of command and Appointed Richards as the ships Captain.

England: Johnson doesn't mention how he got his captaincy, but it does say that England was a Mate aboard a ship that was taken by another Pirate (Winter).

I'll post more later....

GoF

[blackjohn]

Now wait just a minute... I thought that pirates were supposed to be a free for all-love one another utopian society?  Seems like the slaves that they captured they kept as slaves (to do menial ship work or to selll later?) and instead of "letting them go" the burned them with the ship!

Now who told you that!

I don't see a correlation between type of government and the politics played out on the stage by said government. Why, my favorite representative democracy has been guilty of countless massacres, mutinies, and a major instigator of regime change among its many petty dicta... ooops! I mean democratically elected... client states.

Here's a question for the lot of you - what form of government would you expect from a ship full of drunk and heavily armed men?

I plan on writing my paper with the thesis of(edits likely to come) "Life aboard a pirate's ship, contrary to popular belief, was well organized and the rules were abided by." And this is the code of conduct I found that seemed the most legit online. I was wondering is this a good one to use? Is it missing any big points?

Kaizoku, as GoF points out, if you go with the scant source (secondary) available to us, you will in all probably dispprove your point.

And as Patrick point out, you may be better served looking toward Dampier, Wafer, Ringrose and the buccaneers.

I'll post more later....

Me too! If I can find my favorite vignette from Johnson I'll post it. It's a tale of democracy in action!

[blackjohn]

Snipped from an email I sent to someone on 11/7/1996...

a passage about pirates

putting some of their own on trial for desertion.  The trial took place in

the hold.  They had a large bowl of punch and tobacco.  After much

deliberation, in which the defendants were found guilty, one of the judges,

Valentine Ashplant:

"stood up, and taking the pipe out of his mouth, said, he had something to

offer to the Court, in behalf of one of the Prisoners; and spoke to this

Effect.  '----- By G--, Glasby should not dye, d--n him if he should.'  After

this learned Speech, he sat down in his Place, and returned his Pipe.  This

Motion was loudly opposed by all the rest of the Judges, in equivalent Terms;

but Ashplant, who was resolute in his Opinion, made another pathetical

Speech, in the following Manner.  'G-- d--n you Gentlemen, I am as good a Man

as the best of you; d--n my S--l if ever I turn'd my Back to any Man in my

Life, nor ever will, by G--; Glasby is an honest Fellow, notwithstanding this

Misfortune, and I love him; D---l d--n me, if I don't: I hope he'll live and

repent of what he has down; but d--n me if he must dye, I will dye along with

him.'  And thereupon, he pulled out a pair of Pistols, and presented them to

some of the other learned Judges upon the Bench; who, perceiving his Argument

so well supported, thought it reasonable that Gladsby should be pardoned; 

and so they all came over to his Opinion, and allow'd it to be Law."

Democracy in action!

[kaizoku]

All this information is of great help. Do you guys feel that my thesis would be better set vs hollywood image?

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Thats Democracy in action? Democracy seems to have been that the majority of Pirates wanted to kill that man, and had the majority won, then I would say it was Democracy, but one man saying, "Hey, I say this is a good man and if you kill him, you gotta kill me"..... Doesn't exactly sound like the Declaration of Independence to me.

All I am saying is that the common lore of our modern understanding is that All Pirates and Ships operated as Democratic societies.

I am saying that period refrences provide that there was Some Democracy, but that I don't buy that it was the rule (or even in the majority of cases). I think that instead, pirate societies had to operate on rules, just like regular society at the time. Maybe more leeway was given, due to the fact that in order to retain the services of the pirates Captains had to allow more on and off deck.

Do we really believe that Bart Roberts or Black Beard handed out ballots to decide what there next move would be? Do we believe that if the crew of Black Beard did not think that he was doing the best job that he would have stepped down to let someone else lead?

Heck, you can't even run a Pirate RE-ENACTING group like that, let alone a criminal organization where if you get caught it almost certain death!

I think, instead, that Black Beard would have probably killed anyone else on board that would have had designs on sleeping in his cabin.

I listed the first 4 Pirates in Johnson. None of them show that democracy was the rule of the day on board either. There is no mention of any of the four being elected by their crews to be their leaders either.

Whats more, we also have a belief that the Black man was equal to the whites in pirate societies. Again, there are instances where this may have been the case, but we also see plenty of evidence where slaves were slaves, and in fact, a commodity to be looted as plunder. This is another area where what we "know" about pirates is painted with a very broad brush.

I will look into the rest of Johnson (when I have some more time) and I encourage anyone else out there to read Dampier, Wafer, Ringrose and post instances of Pirate Democracy as well as Pirate Authoritarian rule.

Bottom line for me is that I think we take a lot of the pirate lore for granted, and even look over the parts that don't help our own personal theisis regarding pirates.

If I was Kaizoku's prof, and he gave me a paper stating that Pirates conducted their ships/affairs/business according to Democratic principles, It wouldn't take very long to find evidence of the contrary. (no offence Kaizoku.

GoF

[blackjohn]

Thats Democracy in action?  Democracy seems to have been that the majority of  Pirates wanted to kill that man, and had the majority won, then I would say it was Democracy, but one man saying, "Hey, I say this is a good man and if you kill him, you gotta kill me".....  Doesn't exactly sound like the Declaration of Independence to me.

Sorry, I should put <sarcasm></sarcasm> around that. Is it democracy? Hell no.

All I am saying is that the common lore of our modern understanding is that All Pirates and Ships operated as Democratic societies.

I guess I don't subscribe to the common lore. Though I can see how some would assume I do, since I often like to take that side when the debates rage.

I am saying that period refrences provide that there was Some Democracy, but that I don't buy that it was the rule (or even in the majority of cases).  I think that instead, pirate societies had to operate on rules, just like regular society at the time.  Maybe more leeway was given, due to the fact that in order to retain the services of the pirates Captains had to allow more on and off deck.

That's cool. And I can't say that I can argue against it. However, if I wanted to, I'd could take it several ways. One is to point out that the post-War pirates left no written records of their own and therefore we get a negatively biased opinion.

Do we really believe that Bart Roberts or Black Beard handed out ballots to decide what there next move would be?  Do we believe that if the crew of Black Beard did not think that he was doing the best job that he would have stepped down to let someone else lead?

No. I hope not! Does anyone here believe that? I could be mistaken, but I think the most common believe is that a captain was elected, as were other officers, and that they took the crews' wishes into consideration when/if possible.

I think, instead, that Black Beard would have probably killed anyone else on board that would have had designs on sleeping in his cabin.

What's the quote, "if I didn't shoot one of them now and again they'd forget who I was."

<sarcasm>Democracy is action! </sarcasm>

I listed the first 4 Pirates in Johnson.  None of them show that democracy was the rule of the day on board either.  There is no mention of any of the four being elected by their crews to be their leaders either.

I wonder what a good statistical sampling would be for this? How many pirates operated post-War? Are these four representative? Did Johnson pick his subjects based on particular notoriety, leaving out the less colorful pirates? Just some rhetorical thoughts...

Bottom line for me is that I think we take a lot of the pirate lore for granted, and even look over the parts that don't help our own personal theisis regarding pirates.

True, very true. I was thinking of the original question, and wondering why it was posed in such a way. Wouldn't it be better to present the notion as a question to be proven true or false? I don't like the idea of starting with a conclusion then trying to go about proving it.

Anyone here familair with Samuel Langhorne Clemens' famous quote, "there are lies, damned lies, and statistics." I believe the same holds true for history. Thus, I present Blackjohn's corollary - There are lies, damned lies, and history.

[Gentleman of Fortune]

Black John...

I hope you don't take any of this discussion/debate as a personal attack.

Have you noticed that whenever the debate about Historical Piracy takes a philosophical turn, you and I are the only ones to seem to stick around. (Foxe and Josh Red must be hitting the Rum Bottle).

I APPRECIATE the role of the Devil's advocate, as it gives me (and others) an opportunity to throw out our personal theories and have others who may have read (or remember reading) something else (or have a different interpretation) run it through the grinder. Sometimes they come through stronger; other times its back to the drawing board.

So… good on you mate.

Anyway.

I had intended to go through Johnson and see if any mention was made to Democratically elected Captains, or situations where decisions of the crew went against the pirate Captain and how it was resolved.

Then life got in the way and I had to change a freakin’ poopy assed diaper.

I know that Josh Red has recently read Dampier and its still fresh in his mind. You and Foxe have read a ton of stuff as well.

I am intrigued by the whole mess because the Democracy of Pirate Groups is a well held belief that may not stand up very well to historical scrutiny. Since, this is actually an assignment for Kaizoku, he can pull a lot of the weight too.

My main recommendation to him as pertains to the original topic post would be…. “not so fast”. Do your own research into how they operated and then decide whether they were generally “Democratic” like popular legend, or in actuality, something else altogether.

And, of course, post his finding here!

GoF

[kaizoku]

Snipped from an email I sent to someone on 11/7/1996...

a passage about pirates

putting some of their own on trial for desertion.  The trial took place in

the hold.  They had a large bowl of punch and tobacco.  After much

deliberation, in which the defendants were found guilty, one of the judges,

Valentine Ashplant:

"stood up, and taking the pipe out of his mouth, said, he had something to

offer to the Court, in behalf of one of the Prisoners; and spoke to this

Effect.  '----- By G--, Glasby should not dye, d--n him if he should.'  After

this learned Speech, he sat down in his Place, and returned his Pipe.  This

Motion was loudly opposed by all the rest of the Judges, in equivalent Terms;

but Ashplant, who was resolute in his Opinion, made another pathetical

Speech, in the following Manner.  'G-- d--n you Gentlemen, I am as good a Man

as the best of you; d--n my S--l if ever I turn'd my Back to any Man in my

Life, nor ever will, by G--; Glasby is an honest Fellow, notwithstanding this

Misfortune, and I love him; D---l d--n me, if I don't: I hope he'll live and

repent of what he has down; but d--n me if he must dye, I will dye along with

him.'  And thereupon, he pulled out a pair of Pistols, and presented them to

some of the other learned Judges upon the Bench; who, perceiving his Argument

so well supported, thought it reasonable that Gladsby should be pardoned; 

and so they all came over to his Opinion, and allow'd it to be Law."

Democracy in action!

May I enquire if you would happen to know the source of that information? Information about a trial in the hold would do excellent as information in my paper.

[Fox]

Slighted by the suggestion that I hide from philosophical debate, here I am. (Though I would like to point out my long contribution to the Pirates as Terrorists thread ).

Personally, I really don't buy the all-pervading democracy nonsense. Yeah, maybe some crews were more democratic than society of the time, but I suspect that in many cases the democracy in practice was that the bigger tougher guys got the votes.

If my memory of Johnson is anything like reliable I can only recall one proper incident of what I would call the "democratic removal of an officer": when Vane's crew deposed him in favour of Rackham. I suppose that Phillips' demise was semi-democratic - the majority of his crew didn't like him so the killed him and his supporters.

Kaizoku, Blackjohn's extract comes from the Roberts' chapter in Johnson's General History.

[Caraccioli]

I plan on writing my paper with the thesis of(edits likely to come) "Life aboard a pirate's ship, contrary to popular belief, was well organized and the rules were abided by."

I think you would be remiss in writing that. You can rephrase to say something like "There is evidence that life aboard some pirates ships, contrary to popular belief, was well organized and the certain rules were abided by." Then I'd go on to explain what you meant.

We have four or five articles that circulate around and we conjecture that this must surely have applied to all pirates, ergo pirates were democratic. Given that each ship was its own little pirate nation, who knows what actually went on in every, or even most, pirate ships. Heck, we don't really even know if they followed their articles or not. Human nature being what it is, we're apt not to follow rules if we can get around them. (BTW, your articles are from Phillip's ship. To see more on the other articles, check out this thread. Note who uses references and who doesn't before you believe everything you read.)

Foxe mentioned the Pirates as terrorists thread which is over in the Popular forum. We've been discussing the basic idea there as well.

Lastly, I point you to my 1000 Word Pirate Essay which may solve all your problems without further research.

[Duchess]

What follows is just some techincal advice for writing the paper.

I'd just like to point out that no self respecting comp. teacher is going to accept:

A bunch of people on an internet bulletin board

A pirate movie

some internet websites

As legitmate references. You're going to want to get into a library and look up some of those books and sources mentioned in this thread, then put together your own arguments.

[kaizoku]

Alright this is getting ridiculous. If you guys can't help answer the actualy question and are more worried about criticizing my non-complete thesis then please do not post.

It was only a quick jot of a thesis. Not thought through and not set in stone. It was the result of freewriting.

A composition paper, which you should know since your all worried about criticizing me, is a thing that gets rewritten(INCLUDING THE THESIS, WHICH I DID STATE THE THESIS MAY CHANGE IN THE ORIGINAL POST) many times before the paper is actually handed in. My thesis is changed, so lets move on....

[blackjohn]

Hey kaizoku, don't mind us, we like to have a debate now and again.

Slighted by the suggestion that I hide from philosophical debate, here I am. (Though I would like to point out my long contribution to the Pirates as Terrorists thread ).

Hey, I for one am glad you are back!!! Now I don't have to switch sides! :)

Personally, I really don't buy the all-pervading democracy nonsense. Yeah, maybe some crews were more democratic than society of the time, but I suspect that in many cases the democracy in practice was that the bigger tougher guys got the votes.

I'm reminded of another of my favorite quotes:

This week, we stray into murky, obscure waters with a quote from Robert Anton Wilson,

from his book, Everything is Under Control. Conspiracies, Cults and Cover-ups.

Great Pirates.In the sociological theory of R. Buckminster Fuller, the Great Pirates signify those men combining elements of what ethnologists call the alpha male, historians call the despot, and sociologists call the sociopath. (Radical feminists such as Susan Brownmiller and Robin Morgan believe that there are no other kinds of men.) Our primitive ancestors, Fuller explains, were conquered by wave after wave of these despotic-sociopathic Great Pirates, until all humans became accustomed to being ruled by Great Pirates, since the only other choice was to be murdered by them.

The Great Pirates then discovered that other people were working at science, and hired the scientists to produce gadgets to suit there own needs. Therefore, Bucky says, scientists know more about weaponry than about livingry. Fuller's experimental geometry and housing were attempts to contribute to the livingry he felt science had largely ignored.

Ed wrote:

If my memory of Johnson is anything like reliable I can only recall one proper incident of what I would call the "democratic removal of an officer": when Vane's crew deposed him in favour of Rackham. I suppose that Phillips' demise was semi-democratic - the majority of his crew didn't like him so the killed him and his supporters.

What is the incident where the captains wear the coats ashore and the crews get upset from? I don't have any refs handy. I know Rediker mentions it, but I don't recall from whenc it came.

[Caraccioli]

Alright this is getting ridiculous. If you guys can't help answer the actualy question and are more worried about criticizing my non-complete thesis then please do not post.

Oh, ah, sorry if my comments offend, my friend. I was actually just promoting my childish 1000 word essay here in Twill where it sort of kind of belongs. However, I selfishly placed in my alter-ego's forum - think of it as a quirky place to put it.

Great Pirates.In the sociological theory of R. Buckminster Fuller, the Great Pirates signify those men combining elements of what ethnologists call the alpha male, historians call the despot, and sociologists call the sociopath. (Radical feminists such as Susan Brownmiller and Robin Morgan believe that there are no other kinds of men.) Our primitive ancestors, Fuller explains, were conquered by wave after wave of these despotic-sociopathic Great Pirates, until all humans became accustomed to being ruled by Great Pirates, since the only other choice was to be murdered by them.

The Great Pirates then discovered that other people were working at science, and hired the scientists to produce gadgets to suit there own needs. Therefore, Bucky says, scientists know more about weaponry than about livingry. Fuller's experimental geometry and housing were attempts to contribute to the livingry he felt science had largely ignored.

Good ol' Bucky! I read one of his books and found him to be quite the thimblizing philosopher...all the worlds troubles can be neatly tucked into a small space like the ocean into a thumble without spilling a drop. I'll bet none of you realize that this is where Schultz got the idea for The Great Pumpkin. (I'll bet none of you realize it because it's not true.)

[Gentleman of Fortune]

kaizoku

Ok man... don't get your knickers all knotted up. We are here to help you know

Remeber though, that most of the folks on this board are really passionate about Maritime and Pirate history. But its not like our spouses want to hear about Democracy on board pirate ships so when we get the chance to discuss, and dare I say debate the topic, we jump in with both feet.

You asked the question, and we gave the answer (and a whole lot more ). I think its cool that you are getting to write a scholarly work on Pirates (most of the regular posters here in Twill would love to have the time to do such a task) and most would be willing to help.

But if we see someone going down a path that doesn't chime with serious research, we want to let that person know before they just end up repeating the old Hollywood Pirate line that is not congruent with historical fact.

Also, when you ask the question... it then takes on a life of its own on a forum like this. 2 months from now, someone is going to see your original post and have their own two cents to add, even though you feel that the topic and question have already be covered ad ad nauseam. That is just the nature and the beauty of this forum.

And the added bonus is that there are folks on this board that will take the devil’s advocate despite their personal beliefs which might seem like an affront at first, but actually help to look at the problem from a fresh angle (and maybe even change some points of view).

So, as hard as it may seem, don’t take it personally. In fact, you should be proud of yourself to be the author of 2 post with over 300 hundred views and almost 40 replies!

GoF

[blackjohn]

Remeber though, that most of the folks on this board are really passionate about Maritime and Pirate history. But its not like our spouses want to hear about Democracy on board pirate ships so when we get the chance to discuss, and dare I say debate the topic, we jump in with both feet.

And now there are three or four going on at once! Where do I go next?

[hurricane]

So that's why my marriages failed.

No wonder their eyes would roll up in the back of their head.

-- Hurricane

[kaizoku]

So that's why my marriages failed.

No wonder their eyes would roll up in the back of their head.

-- Hurricane

News flash, eh?

I know i know, i was just getting frustrated because everyone was saying that it wont work but no one was really giving me a good suggestion. Telling me it wont work without helping me figure out how to put it doesn't really accomplish anything. I apologize for my outburst, hope its accepted

[Gentleman of Fortune]

No problem... but NOW you got everyone stewing in their juices over coming up with the DREAM pirate thesis!

GoF