Sunday, January 6, 2013

Pirate Codes, Laws, Rules, and Guidelines by Teresa Knudsen April 10, 2009 Republished January 06, 2013



Pirate Codes, Laws, Rules, and Guidelines

From Treasure Island "Israel Hands" attacking Jim Hawkins  Painting by N. C. Wyeth 1911

Lawless Pirates Actually Made Rules for their Ships
Apr 10, 2009
Teresa Knudsen

Illustration from Treasure Island - N.C. Wyeth

Pirates are seen as outcasts, lawlessly sailing seas. Yet, research shows pirates made a code, rules, laws, or articles. These guidelines are shown in pirate films.



One of the most famous scenes from Hollywood is from Pirates of the Caribbean, Curse of the Black Pearl.. Confronted with desperate pirates ready to kidnap her, Elizabeth Swann, played by Keira Knightly, fights back, with words and a pirate code being her only weapons.

"Parlay! I invoke the right of parlay! According to the Code of the Brethren, set down by the pirates Morgan and Bartholomew, you must take me to your Captain!"

The Pirate Code of the Brethren

Did the real-life pirates Morgan and Bartholomew create a pirates' code together?
According to the article "The Pirates' Code," by Ed Foxe, "No, they did not, but the era of buccaneering in the late 17th century did see the beginning of pirate codes. Pirate codes did exist, but there was no single code which all pirates recognized and subscribed to."

The Rules of a Pirate's Code

Pirate codes often contained similar rules, no matter which captain and crew developed them.
  • Fighting between crew members could be punished by death or marooning both men.
  • Pirates who brought women disguised as men aboard ship were threatened with death.
  • Sexual assault was punished with death.
  • Drinking during watch was punished by death.
  • Gambling for money was forbidden.
  • Musicians had to play every day, with rest only on Sundays.
Pirate Codes Provided Insurance Plans

Pirate ships often sailed under the guidelines of codes that provided better insurance coverage than many modern people have today. There was compensation to a crew-member for injuries suffered during the work of sailing and plundering. Here is an example from Morgan's articles,

"Lastly they stipulate in writing what recompense or reward each one ought to have, that is either wounded or maimed in his body, suffering the loss of any limb, by that voyage."

Some of the payments included six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves, for the loss of a right arm. There was discrimination against the left-handed pirates, though, who would only receive five hundred pieces of eight or slaves for the loss of a left arm.
It appears that the freedom and laws on pirate ships arrived on land. Pirates who retired from the sea to farm or to go into business often used the pirate codes as guidelines in their new lives. Thus, the lawless pirates and their rules, or guidelines drifted into society and culture.

Captain Blood with Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland

An example of the pirate code in action is also shown in the film Captain Blood, starring Errol Flynn as Dr. Peter Blood and Olivia de Havilland as Arabella Bishop.
A physician unjustly arrested with rebels in England, Dr. Blood and his friends are sold into slavery in Port Royal. Arabella saves the proud physician from the worst slavery on the island, and instead helps him become the governor's physician.

Longing for freedom, Dr. Blood and his friends take over a Spanish ship, where he becomes Captain Blood. His first order of business is to write articles, a code of conduct to sail under. Later, when Blood returns to society, he brings the ethics of the code to land.

References

Pirates of the Caribbean. Walt Disney Pictures Directed by: Gore Verbinski Written by: Tedd Elliott &Terry Rossio from a story by Ted Elliott & Terry Rossio and Stuart Beattie and Jay Wolpert based on Walt Disney's `Pirates of the Caribbean' Cast: Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom Screened at: Beekman, NYC, 7/9/03.

“The Pirates’ Code.” Pirate Mythtory. Ed Foxe. 2004.

Surowiecki, James. “The Pirates’ Code.” The New Yorker. July 9, 2007.

Wyeth, N.C. Preparing for the Mutiny. Oil on Canvas, From Robert Lewis Stevenson's Treasure Island. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911.

Copyright Teresa Knudsen. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Online she has written for USA Today and E How.
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11 Comments

Comments

Feb 6, 2010 11:53 AM

Guest :

Hmmm...interestng, I presume.

Feb 9, 2010 4:46 AM

Guest :

is it true

Feb 13, 2010 4:27 PM

Guest :

just what i needed for my projet thx #:o)

Feb 24, 2010 12:58 PM

Guest :

wat about pirate code of conduct...where no light is on at night, and drinking only on the deck?

Apr 27, 2010 1:44 AM

Guest :

Pirates lived by the rules of their Captain, who could be deemed unworthy by the crew anyway.
Few laws were kept to as a "code", but as mentioned before, there were many "Pirate Codes" per ship that were vaugely similar (remembering that a pirate often jumped ship to follow the swag).
Good Article.

Jun 3, 2010 7:15 AM

Guest :

I'm doing a hmwk project, do u recur mend this site?

Oct 19, 2010 10:55 AM

Guest :

no you spelled recomend wrong

Nov 30, 2010 11:54 AM

Guest :

cool

Nov 30, 2010 11:55 AM

Guest :

this is cool.

Dec 2, 2010 5:23 AM

Guest :

not very good

Feb 10, 2011 10:52 AM

Guest :

hoping this is true, cause im using it on a project ( ; Pirates FTW!!! i still prefer ninjas though...

11 Comments

Pirate Codes, Laws, Rules, and Guidelines by Teresa Knudsen April 10, 2009 Republished January 06, 2013

Errol Flynn, Captain Blood, and the Pirate Code by Teresa Knudsen April 10, 2009 Republished January 06, 2013


Errol Flynn, Captain Blood, and the Pirate Code

Captain Blood, Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland - fanpix.net
Hollywood Pirates Sail under Rules, Guidelines, and Articles
Apr 10, 2009 by Teresa Knudsen

The Pirates of the Caribbean films show that lawless pirates felt a need for laws. One such film from Hollywood's Golden years is Captain Blood with Errol Flynn.

Thanks to the Pirates of the Caribbean films, people across the globe know that even lawless pirates developed laws, rules, and guidelines. Hollywood has a tradition of pirate films. One of the most famous is Captain Blood, adapted from Rafael Sabatini's novel.
Doctor Peter Blood, Gardener, Pacifist and the Christian Code

The film begins with a 1686 revolt against the tyrranical Britsh King James II. Dr. Blood, a mercenary in the past, had sickened of war, and retired to the English countryside to practice medicine and raise geraniums. He refuses to participate in the rebellion against the king, but believes it is his duty to help the wounded.

When the king's men arrive to arrest the rebels, Dr. Blood explains he took an oath to help all mankind, no matter who they are.

Dr. Blood appeals to the Christian code. "This is a Christian county. Christian men don't make war on the wounded or those who shelter them."

But the Christian code as Dr. Blood interprets it is not operating. Unimpressed with the philosophy of helping all people, the king's men arrest Dr. Blood.

Peter Blood and the Code of Sacred Duty and the Law

Blood is tried with the others in an unfair court system. When the harsh chief justice asks why he was offering aid to a rebel, Blood answers that he took the physician's oath to help all mankind, saying "My business was with his wounds, not his politics." Blood insists that as a doctor, he must follow his sacred duty.

The judge counters that Dr. Blood's duty is to obey the king first. The judge cites God's will for King James's absolute power to arrest, detain, torture, and kill. The judge places the king above British common law, including habeas corpus, the rules of evidence, and other rights of the Magna Carta.

Though Peter Blood and the others are sentenced to death, King James decides that selling the "rebels" into slavery instead of just killing them is good economics.

Dr. Blood becomes a Pirate Captain, and Author of Articles for the Ship

In Port Royal, Dr. Blood proves insubordinate and is slated for the worst of all the slave work. He is saved by the intervention of Arabella Bishop (Olivia de Havilland), the governor's niece, with whom he forms a romantic attachment held in check by their different social status. Blood then escapes with his friends by commandeering a Spanish ship. With Blood elected captain, he develops articles, a pirate code by which to run the ship.

The articles forbid assaults upon "unwilling" women, and offer plans for wounded crew-members.

A financial plan has any plunder first being used to keep the ship in provisions and seaworthy.

And there is even a plan for compensating pirates hurt in the line of pirating duty.

Captain Blood Breaks the Pirate Code and his Articles

In Tortuga, Captain Blood meets Captain Levasseur (Basil Rathbone). The two agree to join forces, with Blood being the brains of the operation, and Levasseur adding muscle. At Blood's insistance, Levasseur reluctantly agrees to sail under the Articles.

Yet when Blood and his crew meet Levasseur on an island to divide the latest loot, Blood finds Arabella prisoner of Levasseur. In one of the most thrilling pirate swordfights ever filmed, Blood and Levasseur duel on the beach, amongst the surf and rocks, where Blood kills Levasseur.

Later, with Araballa safely on the ship Blood named for her, he tries to give her jewels and gowns that he has stolen from other ships. When she refuses his advances, Blood becomes angry and tells her, "You're mine, to do with as I like."

Immediately disgusted with himself for breaking his own articles and rules, he then decides to return Arabella to Port Royal, where he and his crew face certain hanging. His reluctant crew stage a small mutiny before agreeing to return to Port Royal, where they save the town from enemy gun boats.

The Code is Restored

In the end, order is restored. The British people rid themselves of King James II the tyrant. Captain Blood and his crew are rewarded for loyalty. With Peter Blood declared the new Governor of Port Royal, and husband of Arabella, the codes are back in force, with peace, prosperity, freedom.

References
Captain Blood. Directed by Michael Curtiz. Screenplay by Casey Robinson. Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone. 1935


Copyright Teresa Knudsen. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton.
Online she has written for USA Today and E How.


 




 

Friday, December 21, 2012

Nirvana's Concert in Spokane, WA, Jan. 6, 1994 Cobain, Novoselic, Grohl Play on The Feast of the Epiphany

Kurt Cobain, Spokane, WA Jan.6, 1994 - Photo by Dan Pelle, Spokesman-Review
Nirvana's Concert in Spokane, WA, Jan. 6, 1994
Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl Play on the Feast of the Epiphany

Nirvana, the three piece band that put Seattle on the world map and grunge on the airwaves, played one of the group's last concerts in Spokane's Coliseum.

Nirvana is the band that became famous world-wide, leading the grunge, or alternative, music scene, especially after the band released its album Nevermind in 1991, and In Utero in 1993. On January 6, 1994, Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, and Dave Grohl appeared as Nirvana for the first and last time in Spokane, Washington, at the old Coliseum.
Line Up of Bands

The poster for the concert gave the following information:
"Nirvana with Special Guests, BH Surfers & Chokebore & M.C. Bobcat Goldthwait, Thursday, Jan. 6, 7 PM, Spokane Coliseum."

Nirvana in Spokane, January 6, 1994
Of all types of musicians, grunge musicians in particular were notorious for drug and alcohol use, and Cobain specifically had been known to use heroin. Yet there was no evidence of these issues in Spokane, where the band played with energy and wit. Some audience members had expected to see musicians slogging through sets, but instead heard the band play in top form. According to the Nirvana Live Guide 1994, "The band was in a great mood and talked to the audience quite a bit."

During the concert, band members actively engaged and addressed the Spokane audience. Cobain noticed that some members of the audience were aggressively pushing their way to the front of the stage. Cobain spoke directly to the people being pushed around by saying, "Just don't let them through."
Cobain also noticed that a small group sitting in the balcony were the only people not dancing to the songs. Speaking into the microphone, he directly addressed the group, saying, "Why don't you people in the balcony get up off your asses and dance?"

What Cobain did not realize was that the group in the balcony were parents of kids in the audience, and that while the group certainly were fans of Nirvana, many of the parents had promised to sit quietly so as not to embarass their kids. Thus, though the older group wanted to dance, they had been forbidden to dance by their kids, who would have been mortified to see their parents "rocking" to Nirvana.
Krist Novoselic also spoke directly to the audience on several occasions. One example is his greeting of the audience in a self-parody of a zoned-out, confused rock star. Though clearly the band was playing on the east side of the state in Spokane, Washington, Novoselic yelled out "Hello Ellensburg!" as if he thought he was on the west side of the state in Ellensburg, Washington.

Nirvana in Seattle, January 7, 1994
The next evening after the concert in Spokane, Nirvana played a concert at the Arena in Seattle. This concert was recorded and issued as a bootleg under the title Rape Me, a reference to one of the band's songs.

On this bootleg CD recording, Krist Novoselic again repeats his satire of a zoned-out rock star, yelling to the Seattle audience, "Hello Spokane!"
Thus, many people who have listened to the bootleg CD believe, apparently incorrectly, that at least some of the CD was recorded in Spokane.

Nirvana: The Blowing Out of the Candle
These two concerts in Spokane and Seattle were among the last performed by Nirvana, before the loss of Cobain in April 1994, only a few months later. Like the original meaning of the word "nirvana," a blowing out of a candle, the band Nirvana ended in the year 1994. Nevertheless, these concerts show all the reasons that Nirvana became famous: the catchy music, and the engaging, talented musicians.


Nirvana playing in Spokane, WA Jan.6, 1994 - Photo by Dan Pelle, Spokesman-Review


References
Bootleg Recording of Nirvana appearing at the Arena, Seattle, WA, January 7, 1994. Alley Kat.
http://bootlegdownloads.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/nirvana-1994-01-07-seattle-center-arena-seattle-wa-us-aud/

Nirvana Live Guide Discussion Forums.

Pelle, Dan. Photo of Kurt Cobain and Dave Grohl. Jan. 6, 1994, Spokane, Washington. Spokesman-Review. [Note: While the photographer took additional photos of the band, including Krist Novolselic, the Spokesman-Review editorial policy only allows those photos actually published to be reprinted. Thus, the additional photo by photographer P.B.Rage, of a 1991 or 1992 concert, is also included.]
Rage, P.B. Photo. Kurt Cobain and Krist Novoselic. circa 1991. Update info from reader, January 07, 2011, the photo is from the September 09, 1992 MTV Awards. with "Lithium."

Other song links:
Nirvana's first live tv performance of " Smells Like Teen Spirit."

Nirvana in Amsterdam, Dec. 1991. " Smells Like Teen Spirit." and " Love Buzz."
Nirvana in Texas Love Buzz, via Live! Tonight! Sold Out!, Krist Novoselic and DaveGrohl.

Krist says to the audience, "You can't believe everything you see and hear now can you?"

Kurt adds, "You know it's really hard to believe everything you read."
Krist concludes, "Remember Joseph Gobbels."

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19 Comments

Comments
Mar 25, 2010 4:58 PM

Guest :

For the record, Ellensburg is on the east side of the state, not the west.

Jan 7, 2011 12:15 PM

Guest :

I like it. Somewhat informative

Jan 7, 2011 12:25 PM

Guest :

The third photo are from MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles 09/09/92.

Jan 7, 2011 12:55 PM

Guest :

I didn't get into Nirvana until about 2 years ago... But they are now one of my all time favorite bands...Their music picks me up when I'm feeling down, it let's me know that people have gone through worse. I love you guys. May you rest in peace Kurt... I only hope you have found your place of solice.

Jan 7, 2011 12:57 PM

Guest :

people would write anything to get a buck.the facts are there wer 2 kurts.the first one thatbroke his thumb, got hurt.the second just someone that looked like him an the show had to go on.

Jan 7, 2011 12:57 PM

Guest :

I didn't get into Nirvana until about 2 years ago... But they are now one of my all time favorite bands...Their music picks me up when I'm feeling down, it let's me know that people have gone through worse. I love you guys. May you rest in peace Kurt... I only hope you have found your place of solice.

Jan 7, 2011 1:13 PM

Guest :

the truth is he invested in a factory.had his thumb broken an couldnt play.someone that looked an played like him did some live shows.the person doing that wanted to take his place an an be kurt an tryed to kill him.he got shot an kurt the first was put in a witness protection plan.

Jan 7, 2011 1:33 PM

Guest :

it was a 3ed degree gun shot wound to his head.part of his jaw an nose was missing an he had plastic an brain surgery.

Jan 7, 2011 2:05 PM

Guest :

pretty good

Jan 7, 2011 2:06 PM

Guest :

I was at this show and was 14. It was the greatest experience a teenage boy could have in the early 90's.

Jan 7, 2011 2:18 PM

Guest :

doctors said it was like a frontal lobotomy an in time kurt should get better over years.he had to learn how to talk again as half his jaw was missing.

Jan 7, 2011 2:26 PM

Guest :

the fear was other people would copy cat an for political reasons couldn't be who he was.he was suffering with amnesia.

Jan 7, 2011 2:32 PM

Guest :

part of his neck had been damaged.he has a false vocal cord an can talk.there was damage to his swallowing.they used part of his neck muscle to fix it.

Jan 7, 2011 3:37 PM

Guest :

forever the best

Jan 7, 2011 9:59 PM

Guest :

NIRVANA is the best alternative rock band in history

Jan 8, 2011 1:01 PM

Guest :

Some crazy person is commenting that Kurt had a lobotomy basically and amnesia, half his jaw is missing and he had to learn to talk again and is in a witness protection program. That's about an entertaining as the article. No, the article was good, I liked it.

Jan 11, 2011 1:56 PM

Guest :

i love this band

Jan 11, 2011 1:56 PM

Guest :

i love this band

Jun 5, 2011 12:56 AM

Guest :

I attended the amazing concert In Spokane. It was unforgettable, but that was seventeen years years ago some things I have forgotten about. It was cool that I had come acrossed this artical. That was one hell of a show. I would like to add, I remeber Kurt jumping off the stage to chase a photographer around for taking his picture? I do remeber him off stage for some reason but not 100% sure on what had accured. All in All it was my first concert, and the best concert ever seen.

 

Note regarding this article:
Written by Teresa Knudsen. Published on Suite 101 October 30, 2009. Republished on Winter Solstice, December 21, 2012 on Sweet Suite Writings.
Originally pubished by author on Suite 101, October 30, 2009. When Suite 101 changed the contract to include authors giving up rights to their work, like many other authors, I asked for Suite to return the articles to me, which they did in November 2012 (ish). Therefore this link below no longer will work as the article no longer appears on Suite 101.
Read more at Suite101: Nirvana's Concert in Spokane, WA, Jan. 6, 1994: Cobain, Novoselic, and Grohl Play on the Feast of the Epiphany | Suite101.com http://suite101.com/article/nirvanas-concert-in-spokane-wa-jan-6-1994-a163940#ixzz27YQ6W71V






Copyright Teresa Knudsen. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Teresa's writing appears in the British Library, Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Online she has written for USA Today and E How.