Pirate Codes, Laws,
Rules, and Guidelines
Lawless Pirates Actually Made Rules for their
Ships
Apr 10, 2009
 | ||
| From Treasure Island "Israel Hands" attacking Jim Hawkins Painting by N. C. Wyeth 1911 |
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.
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.
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
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