The Pirate Code

from the book The Whydah by Martin W. Sandler pages 20-22

Life aboard a pirate ship was governed by a code of laws called the Articles of Agreement, or simply the Articles, which were developed in the last half of the 1600s by pirates in the West Indies. No one could become a full-fledged member of a pirate crew unless he went on the account, meaning he first signed the Articles of Agreement and then swore on a Bible, an ax, or on a skull to obey them. The Whydah's copy of the Articles were not recovered, but Bellamy's crew would have been governed by rules much like these, from the notorious pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts:

I. Every man shall have an equal vote in affairs of moment. He shall have 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. 

II. Every man shall be called fairly in turn, by the list on board of prizes. But if they defraud the company to the value of even a Piece of Eight 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. 

III. None shall game for money either with dice or cards.

IV. The lights and candles should be put out at eight at night, and if any of the crew desired to drink after that hour they shall sit upon the open deck without lights. 

V. Each man shall keep his piece, cutlass and pistols at all times clean and ready for action. 

VI. No boy or woman shall 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. 

VII. He that shall desert the ship or his quarters in time of battle shall be punished by death or marooning.

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. 

IX. No man shall talk of breaking up their way of living till each has a share of 1000 [pounds.] Every man who shall become a cripple or lose a limb in his service shall have 800 pieces of eight from common stock and for lesser hurts proportionately. 

X. The captain and the quartermaster shall 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 gentleman of fortune one share each.

XI. The musicians shall have rest on the Sabbath Day only by right. On all other days by favour only. 

Pirates knew the risks

Many of the men who chose piracy regarded themselves as true Robin Hoods, robbing from the rich to give to the poor, and standing in open defiance of all those in authority. Unless they were privateers, acting in the employ of a government, what they were doing was illegal, and they knew that if they were caught, they wold end their days swinging from a rope. But it was a life that most chose happily. "In an honest [occupation]," declared pirate Captain Bartholomew Roberts, "there is thin rations, low wages and hard labor; in [piracy, there is] plenty...pleasure and ease, liberty and power....A merry life and a short one shall be my motto." 

from the book The Whydah by Martin W. Sandler page 49

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November 24th, 1718

On November 24th in 1718, ‘Calico Jack’ Rackham branded Charles Vane a coward and led a mutiny to depose him as captain. Charles Vane and his crew had left Ocracoke, NC in mid-October, unsuccessful in attempting to recruit Blackbeard to join them in an attempt to retake New Providence from Woodes Rogers and re-establish their pirate republic.

Upon their return to the Caribbean and the Bahamas, they had successfully raided the island of Eleuthera. Inhabited mostly by families, the attack was a swift and complete success, with the pirates pillaging as much liquor and livestock as they could carry away.

Over the next month, historian Colin Woodard states that the pirates “lived riotously onboard, drinking heavily and gorging on freshly slaughtered animals.” While they were busy living to excess, they failed to capture a single prize for almost a month. Their merry revelry soon turned sour.

On the 23rd, Vane’s lookouts spotted a frigate downwind of their position and ordered his brigantine and sloop to bear down on it. As he closed in, he raised the black flag up the mainmast, expecting the ship to surrender.

Instead, the ship hoisted its own colors: a white flag with gold fleur-de-lis. No sooner than Vane realized he was chasing down a French navy vessel, it opened its gun ports and delivered a devastating broadside.

Outgunned, Vane gave the order to turn around and run. The French ship trimmed its sails and gave chase. The majority of the crew, believing that they could close and board the French man-of-war, were furious with the decision but had to abide. Vane, as captain, had absolute power “while fighting, chasing, or being chased.”

The next day the pirates were out of danger and Jack Rackham called a meeting of the ships company in an effort to challenge Vane’s rule. Although a small contingent agreed with Vane, the vast majority voted in favor of deposing him as captain in favor of Rackham.

Vane and his supporters were put aboard the consort sloop with some provisions and ammunition. Rackham, now captain, sailed away toward Jamaica. 

December 5th, 1717

The name "Blackbeard" is born after Henry Bostock and his men have an encounter with Edward Teach off the coast of Anguilla.

Somehow Henry Bostock lived to tell the tale. Then encounter took place on December 5, 1717, when for eight long hours he and his men remained Blackbeard's prisoners, never knowing from one minute to the next whether they would live or die. The attack took place off Crab Island near Anguilla, and for the rest of the day the Queen Anne's Revenge, accompanied by the sloop Revenge, cruised the waters of the Leeward Islands in search of more victims. During that time Bostock had plenty of time to watch Blackbeard in action, and when he wrote his statement for the governor of Barbados two weeks later he was able to describe his nemesis in some detail. In fact, the master of the sloop Margaret was the first to provide a description of the pirate who captured him, and it was he who first came up with the cognomen "Blackbeard."

from the book Blackbeard by Angus Konstam page 154