by Jamaica Rose
As if one devastating earthquake wasn’t enough, what remained of Port Royal was hit again and again by disaster. In the next couple of decades, fires, hurricanes, and earthquakes discouraged people from rebuilding. Today, Port Royal exists only as a sleepy little fishing village.
Port Royal after a strong earthquake hit in 1692.
Start Planting or Leave!
Toward the end of the 1600s, the buccaneers were no longer welcomed in the Caribbean. Their main havens of Tortuga and Port Royal were settling down and becoming civilized. The buccaneers were encouraged to come ashore and become planters. If they didn’t want to do that, they had to move on and find new waters.
Those who moved on also moved on to other prey. No longer were they just after the Spanish. The buccaneers were becoming outright pirates, going after ships of any country. No one was safe from pirates. They were becoming “villains of all nations.”
There Wasn’t So Much Gold in the Golden Age
As pirates spread out from the Caribbean in the 1690s, the “Golden Age of Piracy” began. It was the time of the big names in the piracy game: Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, Bartholomew Roberts, Samuel “Black Sam” Bellamy, “Calico Jack” Rackham, and the famous women pirates Anne Bonny and Mary Read.
The world had opened up. Trading ships carrying valuable cargos were going vast distances. European companies had been formed to trade with India, China, and other Asian nations. The English East India Company (also called the East India Trading Company) was formed in 1600. The Dutch East India Company was founded a couple of years later, followed by Danish, Portuguese, French, and even Swedish East India Companies. Their merchant ships often carried cargoes of cotton, silk, indigo, spices, tea, and opium. These were tempting targets.
The sea rogues were no longer just after Spanish silver and gold. They would take what they could get, wherever they could get it. Though this era was called “The Golden Age,” gold was very hard to find. Pirates often came away with common items like some casks of rum, a few bales of cotton, and some dried fish.
This Golden Age did not last very long. Navies were getting stronger and patrolling more. The various East India Companies put pressure on their governments to clamp down on the pirates. Many pirate crews were captured, tried, and publicly executed (usually by hanging). Soon, most of the pirates had either been captured or disappeared ashore to avoid capture. By the end of the 1720s, piracy had been mostly wiped out—at least for several decades.
Becomin’ a Pirate and Keepin’ the Code
Pirates have been with us from ancient times and are still active today. You don’t have to sail the high seas to be called a pirate. A pirate can be someone who comes ashore to pillage and plunder, or who sails along the coast, in a harbor, or even along rivers.
The words “pirate,” “buccaneer,” and “corsair” are often used interchangeably, but that’s not necessarily correct. In fact, depending on the era and the location, pirates have been called by other names. Many of them are listed on below.
Often, one person’s pirate was another person’s patriot, depending upon your loyalties. For example, Sir Francis Drake and Sir Henry Morgan were heroes to the English but were piratas to the Spanish. John Paul Jones was an American hero of the Revolutionary War, but at the same time, the British considered him a pirate.
No matter how the word is used, a pirate is usually someone who flouts the rules of general society and does things his (or her) own way. Many pirates were cruel people who did awful things. Some were just petty thieves. Some were outcasts from society, just trying to make a way for themselves. Others were rebelling against unjust laws and governments. A few of them could even be considered heroes.
How Pirates Became Pirates
Why become a pirate in the first place? You might want to escape a life of slavery or the harsh life of a sailor on a naval or merchant ship. As a pirate, you usually got better quality food and could drink anytime you wanted (as long as the rum held out). You might be seeking adventure and a way to make your fortune. On a pirate ship, there were no schools nor baths, and you would have your mates protecting your back. This was quite an attractive prospect for a young lad with no other future in store.
There were several ways to become a pirate—
Start your own crew: Pirate crews were often created by several men getting together and deciding to “go on the account” (go pirating) together. If none of them already had a ship, they would steal one.
Mutiny: When a large part of a ship’s crew plotted to take over the ship, it was called mutiny. It usually happened in the middle of the night. They killed or captured the captain and other officers. Any surviving officers and loyal crewmen were usually left behind on land or put into a small boat to fend for themselves on the seas.
Volunteer: If pirates captured a ship, the captured crewmen were often given the choice of joining up with the pirates or being released. If their captain had been treating them badly, or the food given them was bad or not enough, many would take up the pirates’ offer. There were usually plenty of volunteers, so pirates often did not have to force common sailors to join them.
Be forced: If you were a carpenter, surgeon, musician, or sailing master, and pirates captured your vessel, you were in trouble. Pirates often needed these skills. The pirates might give you the choice, “Join with us and sign the articles...or die!”
Look for a pirate crew: You could head for some notorious port such as Port Royal or Tortuga. If you frequented the local taverns, you might pick up rumors about ships or crews with a “questionable” reputation that you might approach about joining. Or you might hear someone was signing on a crew to go “on the account.” They wouldn’t openly say it of course, but they would probably imply what was up, if they thought they could trust you...
Cap’n Michael says:
O’ course, approaching a drunken pirate in a tavern and tellin’ him ya wanted ta sign on MIGHT not be the safest thing in the world, especially if he didn’t like yer looks! You better be prepared to be REAL persuasive, or things could get REAL ugly, REAL fast! And ya never know who might be listenin’. So, beware who ya talk to and what ya say! You might find yourself arrested (or worse) for bein’ a pirate before ya actually did any piratin’!
They Were More Than Guidelines
Most of the people who eventually became pirates didn’t start out that way. Originally they were sailors, indentured servants, or workers in some menial job. But they got sick and tired of the brutality and mistreatment they received at the hands of others. They were tired of other people running their lives. They had seen how people who got put in charge (like officers and captains) could often be cruel and mistreat people under them. But no more! Things were going to change!
The pirates knew they needed some rules, though. They were a bunch of hardheaded, strong-willed characters, and they would be at each other’s throats if they did not agree on how they were going to live together. For a bunch of rough men in rough circumstances, they came up with some pretty good rules for getting along together. Some of their rules were forerunners of modern democracy.
Pirates all voted on the rules together and then set them to paper. These rules were called articles. The articles told how the plunder would be shared out, how things would be decided on the ship, and what punishments people got for specific crimes. They even included arrangements for things like accident insurance in case they got injured.
Everyone who wanted to be a part of the crew had to agree to and sign the articles. They usually had a little ceremony. There was lots of celebratory drinking. Everyone swore an oath of loyalty, promising never to cheat or betray his shipmates. Then they signed the piece of paper with the rules on it. They signed it in a “round robin,” a circle around the edges of the paper. That way, if they were caught later and the authorities found the articles, they couldn’t tell who was the leader of the bunch. They would all be equally guilty.
On Bartholomew Roberts’ crew, they signed
the articles at night in the ship’s cabin. By candlelight, the men could see on the table a platter with the articles and a loaded pistol. Most of them figured this meant they could chose between the two.
The oath was sometimes taken on a Bible, but there are other stories of pirates swearing on crossed pistols, swords, axes, a human skull, or astride a cannon.
As soon as a sailor signed the articles, he was a full member of the crew. But not everyone joined willingly. Some people with special skills (surgeons, navigators, carpenters, and musicians, for example) were forced to sign the articles under threat of death. Many such skilled people were believed at trials when they testified they were forced to join the pirates. As the articles had everyone’s name signed to it, the pirate crew did not want the articles to fall into the hands of the authorities upon capture. If a pirate crew thought they were going to be taken prisoner, the pirates tried to destroy the articles. Because of this, only a small handful of articles are known about today.
Pirates in the Movies: Signing Articles
In the 1942 classic movie The Black Swan, Jamie Waring (Tyrone Power) is shown signing the articles as he joins up with Captain Leech (George Saunders).
Bartholomew Roberts’ Articles
Article I. Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have an equal title to the fresh provisions or strong liquors at any time seized, and shall use them at pleasure unless a scarcity may make it necessary for the common good that a retrenchment may be voted.
Every man gets a vote in major decisions. Every man can help himself to the food or alcoholic drink at any time, unless supplies were running short (which did happen a lot). Then the crew might vote to ration their supplies to make them last longer.
Article II. Every man shall be called fairly in turn by the list on board of prizes, because over and above their proper share, they are allowed a shift of clothes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even one dollar in plate, jewels, or money, they shall be marooned. If any man rob another he shall have his nose and ears slit, and be put ashore where he shall be sure to encounter hardships.
In turn, every crewmember would eventually get a set of clothes. This was in addition to their fair share of the plunder.
If any pirate took any extra treasure, even just one dollar, the punishment was marooning. (Pirates were called “marooners” because of their use of this punishment.)
If the offender robbed only from another pirate’s personal belongings, they slit his ears and nose (so others would know not to trust him). Then he was set ashore in a place where things would be tough for him.
Article III. None shall game for money either with dice or cards.
Whenever there was gambling and wagering, there were winners and losers. Winners would be happy to have won someone else’s money. The loser would not be happy and might start to think the winner cheated somehow. Pirates were smart enough to know this often led to fighting between crewmembers. Fighting between crewmates meant they were less likely to be successful pirates.
Article IV. The lights and candles should be put out at eight at night, and if any of the crew desire to drink after that hour they shall sit upon the open deck without lights.
Roberts thought that by requiring the men to drink on deck in the dark, they might not drink so much. It probably didn’t make much difference. Most pirate crews did not have this rule.
Article V. Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action.
The crewmembers had to keep their weapons clean and ready to go at all times. This rule was rarely broken. Pirates were very proud of their weapons, very much like some people are with their cars.
Article VI. No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man shall be found seducing any of the latter sex and carrying her to sea in disguise he shall suffer death.
Pirates knew if there was a woman on board, there soon would be fighting over her. The punishment was DEATH for any pirate caught sneaking a girlfriend on board disguised as a man. They were very serious about this!
If a woman was being held prisoner, a guard was set over her to protect her from the crew until her ransom was paid.
Of course, there were some exceptions to this rule; we do know of some woman who became pirates. However, these were tough women who could take care of themselves. They had to use their strong wills and force of character to get the male crewmembers to accept them. (For more on women pirates, see Notorious Ladies of the Sea.)
Article VII. He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.
During battle, if a pirate left his assigned job, or left the ship, he would be killed or marooned. Pirates would not tolerate cowards.
Article VIII. None shall strike another on board the ship, but every man’s quarrel shall be ended on shore by sword or pistol in this manner. At the word of command from the quartermaster, each man being previously placed back to back, shall turn and fire immediately. If any man do not, the quartermaster shall knock the piece out of his hand. If both miss their aim they shall take to their cutlasses, and he that draweth first blood shall be declared the victor.
Fighting was forbidden on ship. If two crewmembers had a quarrel with each other, they had to wait until they could go ashore.
On the beach, they would have a duel with pistols and swords. The quartermaster was in charge of the actions. When the quartermaster gave the word, the duelers turned and fired at each other. If a man did not shoot (or if his pistol misfired, which happened with flintlocks a lot of the time), the quartermaster knocked the pistol out of that man’s hand. The duel would stop at this point if one of them was hit, and the other would be the winner. If both missed, then they would fight with their cutlasses. The first to draw blood won the duel.
Article IX. No man shall talk of breaking up their way of living till each has a share of £l,000. Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in the service shall have 800 pieces of eight from the common stock and for lesser hurts proportionately.
The pirate crew set of goal of 1,000 pounds (that funny L stands for a pound sterling, a British value of money). They agreed no one would even talk about breaking up the group until they reached that goal.
If anyone got hurt along the way, they got a payment of 800 pieces of eight (or less, depending on how badly hurt they were). This was an early form of accident insurance.
Article X. The captain and the quartermaster shall each receive two shares of a prize, the master gunner and boatswain, one and one half shares, all other officers one and one quarter, and private gentlemen of fortune one share each.
This gives the formula on how to break up the plunder into shares. The captain and quartermaster got twice as much as a common sailor. Other officers got between 1-1⁄2 and 1-1/4 shares.
Article XI. The musicians shall have rest on the Sabbath Day only by right. On all other days by favour only.
The musicians got to rest on Sundays. On Monday through Saturday, they were required to play music anytime someone asked them.
Pastimes for Scurvy Dogs
Writing Yer Own Rules
Now that you’ve seen an example of actual pirate articles (and our own, below), you might want to get together with the rest of your crew and see what kind of articles you can come up with. Your “crew” might include your brothers and sisters, or a bunch of your friends, or the kids in your class.
Pirates may have been outlaws, but they weren’t stupid. They knew what it was like to be aboard a ship for months at a time. And they knew what they were up against. So they carefully chose the minimum rules they thought they needed to live by.
Your rules should be designed to help you all get along. You all get treated equally, you all do your jobs, and you all work together as a team to make the voyage a success. Remember, the articles will apply to ALL of you equally, no exceptions (pirates never tolerate favoritism).
Decide among
yourselves just WHICH rules you think you need to get to your goal.
Once you’ve got them all agreed to, get yourself a big sheet of paper, preferably some parchment, and write ’em out big and proud. Remember, these are YOUR articles.
Pirate’s Code
(Well, they be more like guidelines, actually.)
Jamaica Rose an’ I realized we’d never gotten around to writin’ our own articles. So we sat down and put together a list of the rules we thought were most important to us...
All facial hair shall be unkempt and mangy. (We’ve got standards, ya know.)
No songs about scurvy.
No frolikin’ in the bilges.
One pet per pirate, parrot preferred. (A kraken is not a pet!)
No relievin’ yerself from the crowsnest.
No sword shall be larger than Cap’n Michael’s.
Prisoners must be tied to something. (No exceptions!)
Cannons should be tied down, too. (No loose cannons.)
Prisoners should not be tied to cannons. (It makes the prisoners irritable and the cannons hard to load.)
