A pirate code, pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a

code of conduct A code of conduct is a set of rules outlining the norms, rules, and responsibilities or proper practices of an individual party or an organization. Companies' codes of conduct A company code of conduct is a set of rules which is commonly writt ...

for governing pirates. A group of sailors, on turning pirate, would draw up their own code or articles, which provided rules for discipline, division of stolen goods, and compensation for injured pirates.

History

The first set of the "Pirate's Code" was supposedly written by the Portuguese buccaneer Bartolomeu Português sometime in the early 1660s, but the first recorded set belonged to

George Cusack George Cusack (died 18 January 1675) was an Irish pirate active in northern Europe and the West Indies in the late 17th century. History Cusack served as a gunner and sailor on several ships but his attempts at mutiny landed him in Marshalsea ...

who was active from 1668 to 1675. These early buccaneer articles were based on earlier maritime law and privateer codes such as the 12th century Roles of Oleron. They were later used by buccaneers and pirates such as John Phillips,

Edward Low Edward "Ned" Low (also spelled Lowe or Loe; 16901724) was a notorious pirate of English origin during the latter days of the Golden Age of Piracy, in the early 18th century. Low was born into poverty in Westminster, London, and was a thief from ...

and

Bartholomew Roberts ) , type=Pirate , birth_place = Casnewydd Bach, near Puncheston, Pembrokeshire, Wales, Kingdom of England , death_place = At sea off of Cape Lopez, Gabon , allegiance= , serviceyears=1719–1722 , base of operations= Off the coast of the Americ ...

Buccaneer Buccaneers were a kind of privateers or free sailors particular to the Caribbean Sea during the 17th and 18th centuries. First established on northern Hispaniola as early as 1625, their heyday was from the Restoration in 1660 until about 168 ...

s operated under a ship's articles that, among other things, governed conduct of the crew. These "articles of agreement" became authority independent of any nation, and were variously called the Chasse-Partie, Charter Party, Custom of the Coast, or Jamaica Discipline. In retrospect, these became known as the Pirate's Code. Pirate articles varied from one captain to another, and sometimes even from one voyage to another, but they were generally alike in including provisions for discipline, specifications for each crewmate's share of treasure, and compensation for the injured. Each crew member was asked to sign or make his mark on the articles, then swear an

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...

of allegiance or honour. The oath was sometimes taken on a

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, but John Phillips' men, lacking a Bible, swore on an axe. Legend suggests that other pirates swore on crossed pistols, swords, on a

human skull The skull is a bone protective cavity for the brain. The skull is composed of four types of bone i.e., cranial bones, facial bones, ear ossicles and hyoid bone. However two parts are more prominent: the cranium and the mandible. In humans, th ...

, or astride a

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

. This act formally inducted the signer into the pirate crew, generally entitling him to

vote Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an Constituency, electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision making, decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election camp ...

for officers and on other "affairs of moment", to bear arms, and to his share of the plunder. The articles having been signed, they were then posted in a prominent place, often the door to the captain's cabin. After a piratical cruise began, new recruits from captured ships would sometimes sign the articles, in some cases voluntarily, in other cases under threat of torture or death. Valuable sea

artisan An artisan (from french: artisan, it, artigiano) is a skilled craft worker who makes or creates material objects partly or entirely by hand. These objects may be functional or strictly decorative, for example furniture, decorative art ...

s, such as carpenters and

navigators A navigator is the person on board a ship or aircraft responsible for its navigation.Grierson, MikeAviation History—Demise of the Flight Navigator FrancoFlyers.org website, October 14, 2008. Retrieved August 31, 2014. The navigator's primar ...

, were especially likely to be forced to sign articles under duress, and would rarely be released regardless of their decision to sign or not. In some cases, even willing recruits would ask the pirates to pretend to force them to sign, so that they could plead they were forced should they ever be captured by the law. Generally, men who had not signed the articles had a much better chance of acquittal at

trial In law, a trial is a coming together of parties to a dispute, to present information (in the form of evidence) in a tribunal, a formal setting with the authority to adjudicate claims or disputes. One form of tribunal is a court. The tribunal ...

if captured by the law. Pirate articles are closely related to, and were derived from, ship's articles of the time, especially those of privateers, which similarly provided for discipline and regulated distribution of

booty Booty may refer to: Music *Booty music (also known as Miami bass or booty bass), a subgenre of hip hop * "Booty" (Jennifer Lopez song), 2014 *Booty (Blac Youngsta song), 2017 * Booty (C. Tangana and Becky G song), 2018 *"Booty", a 1993 song by G ...

(though usually far less equally than with pirate articles). Merchant articles and privateering articles can be traced back to Europe in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

when there was a system of "joint hands" agreements between merchants, owners, and seamen to share profits.Hayes, Peter (2008), "Pirates, Privateers and the Contract Theories of Hobbes and Locke", ''History of Political Thought'' 24, 3: 461-84.

Examples

Nine complete or nearly complete sets of piratical articles have survived, chiefly from Charles Johnson's ''

A General History of the Pyrates ''A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates'' is a 1724 book published in Britain containing biographies of contemporary pirates,

'', first published in 1724, and from records kept by Admiralty Court proceedings at the trials of pirates. A partial code from

Henry Morgan Sir Henry Morgan ( cy, Harri Morgan; – 25 August 1688) was a privateer, plantation owner, and, later, Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica. From his base in Port Royal, Jamaica, he raided settlements and shipping on the Spanish Main, becoming we ...

is preserved in

Alexandre Exquemelin Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin (also spelled ''Esquemeling'', ''Exquemeling'', or ''Oexmelin'') (c. 1645–1707) was a French, Dutch or Flemish writer best known as the author of one of the most important sourcebooks of 17th-century piracy, first ...

's 1678 book ''The Buccaneers of America''. Many other pirates are known to have had articles; the late-17th century Articles of

and

Nicholas Clough Nicholas Clough ( fl. 1682-1683) was a merchant captain, slave trader, and pirate active in the Caribbean and off the coast of Africa. He is best remembered for leaving behind a well-documented Pirate Code, his "Articles of Agreement". History T ...

have also survived intact. Part of the reason that few pirate articles have survived is that pirates on the verge of capture or surrender often burned their articles or threw them overboard to prevent the papers being used against them at trial.

Articles of Bartholomew Roberts

' Articles were similar (but not identical) to those of his former Captain,

Howell Davis Howell Davis (ca. 1690 – 19 June 1719), also known as Hywel and/or Davies, was a Welsh pirate. His piratical career lasted just 11 months, from 11 July 1718 to 19 June 1719, when he was ambushed and killed. His ships were the ''Cadogan'', ' ...

. In turn, Roberts' Articles influenced those of pirates such as Thomas Anstis who served under him and later went their own way.

Articles of John Phillips

Captain John Phillips, captain of the ''Revenge'', also set a code for his men in 1724:

Articles of Edward Low and George Lowther

The articles listed below are attributed by the ''

Boston News-Letter ''The Boston News-Letter'', first published on April 24, 1704, is regarded as the first continuously published newspaper in the colony of Massachusetts. It was heavily subsidized by the British government, with a limited circulation. All copies ...

'' to Captain

. The first eight of these articles are essentially identical to those attributed to pirate captain George Lowther by Charles Johnson. Since Lowther and Low are known to have sailed together from about New Year's to May 28, 1722, it is probable that both reports are correct and that Low and Lowther shared the same articles, with Low's two extra articles being an ''ordinance'', or amendment, adopted after the two crews separated.

Articles of John Gow

A set of articles written in

John Gow John Gow (c. 1698–11 June 1725) was a notorious pirate whose short career was immortalised by Charles Johnson in the 1725 work ''The History and Lives of All the Most Notorious Pirates and Their Crews''. Little is known of his life, except f ...

's own hand was found aboard his ship, the ''Revenge'' (née ''George''), in 1729.The Newgate Calendar - JOHN GOW
Accessed 16 December 2009. Article IV's reference to no going ashore "till the ship is off the ground" suggests that the ''Revenge'' was already grounded when the articles were written, only days before Gow and his men were captured. The code states as follows:

Articles of Henry Morgan and other buccaneers

Exquemelin writes in general terms about the articles of late 17th century Caribbean buccaneers. Although he does not attribute these articles to any specific buccaneer captain, Exquemelin almost certainly sailed with

as a physician, and thus his account likely reflects Morgan's articles more accurately than any other privateer or buccaneer of the time. Exquemelin writes that the buccaneers "agree on certain articles, which are put in writing, by way of bond or obligation, which every one is bound to observe, and all of them, or the chief, set their hands to it." Although Exquemelin does not number the articles, the following approximately reflects his description of the buccaneers' laws:

References

External links

Really Bad Eggs: Pirates of the Caribbean
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pirate Code Fictional books Codes of conduct Pirate customs and traditions Contract law Warrior code