As a kid, when I thought of pirates I dreamed of absolute freedom with plenty of swashbuckling.
When I grew up, I realized that pirates were bloodthirsty savages who deserved to be strung for their unforgivable crimes against countless civilians. So terrible was their presence in the Mediterranean that until last century parents would leave inland plots to their sons and coastal ones to their daughters, as the latter had practically no value (with the advent of tourism, of course, these girls’ descendants became rich).
So, I was surprised to discover today that, for a brief moment in history between the 17th-18th century, a golden age of piracy burst into life against all odds and burned bright for a century.
A Progressive Society
As Henrey Bradley explains in Quora, these men and women of the sea, drawn from wildly diverse backgrounds, managed to build a functional and fair society, with admirably progressive laws and codes that wouldn’t be equaled for centuries.
Pirate crews were generally formed of experienced seamen, often former Royal Navy sailors. Most ship crews were surprisingly diverse during the Age of Piracy, with freed African slaves, and seamen from practically every country that sent people to sea.
Not only were the pirate crews more diverse, but they were also usually better trained, equipped, and led. Which enabled them to sack many cities in Spanish America, hunting treasure ships with near impunity, raiding shipping lanes for casual plunder, and tormenting Atlantic slave traders.
Pirates crews also followed surprisingly progressive laws, which were codified and covered everything from health insurance, equal rights for all members regardless of race or religion, fair distribution of plunder, and most impressively – same-sex marriages, called Matelotage. This form of gay marriage was an early form of civil union – something that 300 years later is still available in a handful of countries.
Here is an example of a pirate code from 1724 (which was more than a guideline, unlike what Captain Sparrow would have you believe):
Article VIII: Any Man who loses a limb in time of an engagement shall receive 800 Pieces of Eight.
Article IX: If at any time you meet with a prudent woman, that man that offers to meddle with her without her consent, shall suffer present death.
In an age when absolute monarchies ruled the world, pirates had democracy. Captains and senior officers were elected from amongst the crew, in fair votes. Unsuccessful captains or unpopular officers were replaced by disgruntled voters.
Pirate society as a bastion of progressive, inclusive, and democratic codes? Now I’ve heard it all!
V.M.Sang said:
That’s amazing. Who would have thought it?
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Certainly not me! Like I said, I thought the whole lot to not be worth the rope you’d use to hang them!
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V.M.Sang said:
More food for thought for a novel or short story.
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beetleypete said:
I have read in books about ‘Pirate codes’. Punishments for breaking them were always harsh too. It is nice to think that they had their own form of democracy, until you remember they killed, raped, and pillaged everyone else without so much as a second thought. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Yes, that’s the shocking bit. How a society could be so monstrous to outsiders, yet surprisingly progressive to its own members.
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CalicoJack said:
They actually didn’t kill, rape, and pillage as much as we imagine or any more than any king’s army did.
When pirates captured a ship — usually without much a fight since fighting just meant that the pirates would be pissed when they won and the crews and junior officers pretty much just quit when they showed up — they asked the crew how the captain was. If he was cruel, he was in for a bad time.
They allowed anyone on the crew to join them that wanted. If they needed a specific skill, that person wouldn’t always get much of a choice, though. And, the rest were often put off in one of the ship’s boats with provisions including officers and “nicer” captains.
Pirates were rebelling against the system they lived in. They didn’t hate everyone. They weren’t psychopaths — not many of them anyway. Most were decent human beings who were looking to escape the cruelty of the Eighteenth Century. Few actually did, though.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Many thanks for the interesting insight and info, Jack!
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Chris The Story Reading Ape said:
Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog.
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Staci Troilo said:
That’s fascinating. I didn’t know about them being quite so progressive, though I did know they had a code of honor. And I did not know land owners left coastal property to their daughters. I’m shaking my head.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
The world is a strange place, indeed!
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lhoke2016@yahoo.com said:
“Who da thunk it?” I had heard part of their societal rules before but never knew they were codified…amazing.
I think someone should start a pirate political party come next election time. Couldn’t be any worse than the two we have.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – isn’t there a pirate party in Sweden? It has more to do with Pirate Bay than actual pirates, but still!
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RyDenn Six said:
Where were these societies located?
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Remote Caribbean islands, from what I understand.
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RyDenn Six said:
Sounds like the seed of a good story!
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Exactly what I thought when I first heard about it!
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Stefan Ayers said:
This reminds me of a YA book by Avi, True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle. Except there, Captain Jaggery had virtually no scruples and brought Charlotte aboard to prevent a mutiny due to his meanness.
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Well, if Captain Jaggerty had tried to take advantage of young Miss Doyle, he could have been executed for it!
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Stefan Ayers said:
He knew the crew signed on to mutiny and took Miss Doyle on to prevent the mutiny, as we learn near the end. My students were always surprised by that (and in a way it’s a bigger plot twist than who the “spy” is.
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OIKOS™-Editorial said:
Its amazing. They are true role models for some of our actual leaders. They only one they will need is a sea. Maybe the issue of some not to be affiliated with democracy. 😉 Thank you for another great information, Nicholas! I never had learned so much history. Have a beautiful weekend! Dont become a pirate, even your area would allow. :-)) Michael
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Lol – wasn’t planning to 😀
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OIKOS™-Editorial said:
:-))
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Klausbernd said:
Hi Nicholas,
in a way, the pirates invented accident insurance and an old-age pension. But the stories about the democratic pirate republics like on Madagaskar are a myth.
I studied and published about piracy but I was especially interested in female piracy. You’ll find an abstract about my research here
Thanks for sharing
Klausbernd 🙂
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
Thank you so much for sharing the link to your post, Klaus! My German was a bit rusty so I used Google translate. I got the gist of it. Maybe someday I can find out more about those fascinating women!
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CalicoJack said:
Howdy y’all!
Pirates of the Golden Age get a bad rap for being “blood thirsty savages,” but they exist in blood thirsty savage times. Armies in the field fed themselves using the farms and people where they were at. Everyone was poorly paid and abused by the system on land or at sea. The Eighteenth Century was not an easy time to be alive for anyone any where.
Discovering that pirates were the first functional democracies gave me hope for the future when I was a lad. Hope that we may be losing here in a year or so.
Huzzah!
Jack
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Nicholas C. Rossis said:
I guess it depends. In Greece, the Berber pirates had devastated the Aegean coastline with the tacit approval of the Ottomans (who took a share of the spoils). In fact, I believe that one of the causes of the Greek War of Independence (1821) lay on widespread frustration over this chronic problem. Perhaps things were different an ocean away!
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