by Jacqueline Church Simonds
Author of
Captain Mary, Buccaneer
Related Pages on this Site:
Women Pirates
Bibliographies
Pirate Books
Pirate Films
Historical Clothing
Did you know:
Pirates were the first democratic organization in the "New World" |
Each pirate was allowed to vote on where the ship was to go or if a colonial ship should be attacked. Each pirate received an equal share of the booty, with a double share going to the captain, the pilot, the carpenter, the cook, and a share set aside for the maintenance of the ship. Most pirates were paid four times as much as they had ever received as merchant or naval men. However, if no plunder was captured, no one would be paid. Each pirate signed an agreement—called "articles"—before they "joined" (many were forced to become pirates when the buccaneers captured their ships). This paper detailed how much they would be paid, behavior expected (no gambling, no fighting except on land, no stealing) and punishments for breaking rules. For breaking the rules spelled out in the articles, a pirate would be marooned with a flagon of water and a pistol, to survive or die. Because most of the Caribbean islands are mere spits of sand, most of the men died. Articles of clothing were acquired from plundering
ships. Pirates often wore some very odd costumes because of this. But
no pirate would be caught wearing "slops" – the striped
shirt worn by British sailors. |
Pirate ships had unusually large crews
|
There were up to eighty pirates per ship. In contrast, most English ships had only thirty men. Work was evenly distributed among the pirate crew, and so jobs got done faster with less strain than on traditional colonial ships. Many considered a berth on a pirate ship easy pay for little work. In many cases, pirates wouldn’t have to fire a shot. The
mere approach of a pirate ship would cause most colonial captains to
surrender. Then the captured captain would try to make some sort of
deal that would result in the least amount of death and injuries. This
often worked — but not always! There were many
pirates–Blackbeard for one–who engaged in ruthless, bloody
brigandage for the sheer sport of it. |
Pirates had the New World’s first insurance compensation plan |
A typical document might award money ("specie") or slaves in the following way:
(Source: David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag) |
The captain of a pirate ship wasn’t the ship’s master
|
The captain (like Blackbeard or Henry Morgan) was, in fact, a battle leader for boarding ships and leading land raids. The ship’s pilot, the person who actually steered the ship, was the real captain. He received a share of booty equal to the captain. If the pirate crew felt the captain was not succeeding (getting the men enough plunder), they would vote him out and elect a new captain from among their number. The captain’s cabin was open for anyone to use — a sort of
"den" if you will. |
There was a fine line between a "privateer" and a "pirate"
|
Colonial governments active in the Caribbean (Spain, England, France, Portugal) commissioned naval captains to attack ships of opposing flags. A privateer was allowed to keep a large share of anything they captured from the foreign ship. Henry Morgan was originally commissioned as a privateer to attack French ships. He got in trouble when he started attacking any ship, including his own country’s. At that point, he became a pirate. |
The typical pirate diet gave rise to the term "Buccaneer"
|
The word "buccaneer" comes from boucan, meat prepared in a manner similar to modern barbeque. Pirates were in the habit of going onto Hispaniola and other islands, killing semi-wild cattle and boars and cooking the meat over an open flame. They often used the meat to barter with ships seeking provisions. The Portuguese are credited with placing breeding pairs of pigs on hundreds of Caribbean islands. They did this in case they were stranded, they’d have something to eat. Of course, pigs let to breed and do whatever they want with no natural predator will shortly take over the ecology and ruin the feeding grounds for native species. |
Pirates had as dismal a record with Africans as did other Europeans in the Caribbean.
|
Since most slave ships were quite large and well-staffed, most pirate ships avoided them. But when they did attack, the pirates removed the Africans and then sold them in the nearest port. There are tales of individual slaves becoming pirates. There is some evidence that there was a ship comprised of escaped slaves and Africans. |
The Jolly Roger, or skull and crossed bones we identify as "the" pirate flag was, in fact, one of many flags |
Each pirate captain
created a flag unique to his command. For a nice display of pirate
flags, go to: A skull and crossed swords flag belonged to Calico Jack
Rackam, with whom Mary Read and Ann Bonny sailed. When pirates wished to show their deadly intent, they flew long blood-red pennants from the yardarms of their mainmast. This signal was called, "No Quarter." |
The most common forms of money (or "specie") was "pieces of eight" and doubloons
|
Pieces of eight were actually Spanish silver eight "reales" coins. The gold coins were called "escudos." These had the Spanish coat of arms on one side and two columns depicting the Pillars of Hercules (symbolizing the Straits of Gibraltar) on the other. It is thought that the twin pillars became such a recognized symbol for money that the modern dollar sign evolved from it. The doubloon was a gold eight escudo coin--the highest value coin in the Spanish system. It had the a bust of the King of Spain's on one side and the Spanish coat of arms on the other. A handful of doubloons would have been a real treasure to any pirate. |
Bibliography
For further information, see these websites: |
inpan.fortunecity.com/lennon/897 www.Noquartergiven.net The Pirate's Realm is a terrific source of information and fun things for kids! http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Garden/5213 http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/1500/piracy.html http://pirateshold.buccaneersoft.com http://blindkat.fateback.com/pirates/pirates.html Blackbeard And just for fun, check out the Talk Like A Pirate Day website |
Or read a book!
|
My top two recommendations are: Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates. New York: Random House, 1995. Cordingly, David, ed. Pirates: Terror on the High Seas from the Caribbean to the South China Sea. Atlanta: Turner Publishing, Inc., 1996. See the Pirate Books & Pirate Films pages for a more comprehensive list of materials currently available. |
