Democracy, Equality, and a Bottle of Rum:
Pirate Law from the Late 17th Century
through the Early 18th Century
As the 2004 presidential election takes full swing,
citizens and scholars alike will ponder the effectiveness of democracy in
America.[1] Is a representative democracy really
democratic? Instead of every
individual having an equal vote in a Presidential election, members of an
electoral college vote based on their respective state majority votes.[2] As a result of such a system, fifteen
presidential candidates have won presidential elections without the majority of
the popular vote between 1912 and 1996.[3] One could imagine a much different
governmental structure where every man's voice is heard and where every man's
vote counts. Taken further, one
could conceive of a legal system where even the leaders are fully subject to
the rest of the group's decisions.
Such a system has in fact existed.
While arguably not "civilized" individuals, pirates from the
late 1600s through the early 1700s practiced a nearly perfect democratic system
in addition to a life of crime.
This paper recounts the cultural and social background of why such an
order came to be, describes the social aspects of such a system, and explores
the legal structure and workings that developed from such a system.
A. Definitions and Distinctions between Pirates,
Buccaneers, Privateers, Freebooters, and Corsairs
Before delving into a particular group of individuals
and transporting back into a specific period of time, it is appropriate to
begin with the distinctions among different groups of people that practice
piracy. The particular type of
individual this paper focuses on is the "pirate," who does not
identify himself as a buccaneer, privateer, freebooter, or corsair. In its broadest sense, this term refers
to "someone who robs from others at sea, and acts beyond the law."[4] The following distinctions in
terminology are important because in order to avoid conviction and hanging
under Admiralty law jurisdiction "[m]any pirates went to great lengths to
cover their crimes, trying to hide behind the more forgiving appellations of
privateer or buccaneer."[5]
Buccaneer was an early 17th century term
that referred to French backwoodsmen who occupied the hunting grounds of
Hispaniola,[6] the area
that now geographically covers Haiti and the Dominican Republic. [7] Derived from the French word for
barbecue, or boucan, the name
buccaneer described the way the hunters cooked their meat.[8] Although Spanish soldiers originally chased the early
buccaneers out of inland Hispaniola,[9]
individuals later began to associate the term buccaneer with the English and
French plunderers "of the Spanish main, who acted as semi-legalized
pirates, based principally in Port Royal and Tortuga."[10] The French buccaneers, in
particular, were referred to as freebooters and filibusters, "named after
the small fast flibotes (fly
boats) they sometimes used."[11] After the terms freebooter and
filibuster fell into disuse, the 19th century revived these
nominations, redefining filibuster as "a smuggler or blockade runner."[12]
A
privateer was kind of a legally hired pirate. The term "privateer" was used interchangeably to
refer to the armed vessel itself, the ship commander, or the ship crew.[13]
Privateers were fitting names for such ships because, unlike sovereign or
government owned naval ships, they were privately owned.[14] More notably, governments
commissioned these ships to capture merchant vessels of belligerent countries[15]
and to attack enemy ships in times of war.[16] This contract or commission, known as a
"Letter of Marque," generally entitled the government to 20%, and
like shares, of the privateer ship's profits.[17] Therefore, privateers were licensed
pirates who neither plundered their own government's ships nor assaulted their
fellow countrymen.[18]
The
French word for privateer was la course. [19] As a result, the privateers who
plundered the Mediterranean See were generally known as corsairs. [20] Some scholars suggest that corsairs,
like privateers, were not technically lawless pirates, because they acted with
government approval, attacking only ships from opposing countries.[21] For example, the Barbary corsairs of
the North African coast considered themselves privateers whose mission was to
fight religious enemies of the states of the Barbary Coast, under whom they had
contracted.[22]
In addition to the different terms for individuals who
practice pirate-like activity, piracy affected many places, and attracted many
types of peoples. "Pirates
marauded during many eras and in all parts of the world."[23] In the Ancient World, "[d]uring
the period between the end of the Bronze Age and the rise of the Roman
Republic, piracy was commonplace throughout the eastern Mediterranean,"[24]
affecting both Greece[25]
and Cilicia.[26] Pirates
plundered "the waters of the South China Sea since before the
establishment of the Sui Dynasty in AD 589."[27] Medieval pirates plagued northern
Europe as well as the western Mediterranean.[28] In terms of honorable piracy, the
Elizabethan Era introduced privateer heroes such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir
John Hawkins,[29] while the French Huguenot pirates
participated their own way in the wars between France and Spain in the mid-16th
century.[30]
This paper primarily focuses on pirates between the 1600s and the 1730s, the time just prior to and including the Golden Age of Piracy (approximately 1690 until 1730).[31] More specifically, this paper introduces the Saint Mary's pirates also known as the "Madagascar marauders,"[32] (late 1600s 1720s) and the Anglo-American pirates (early 1700s), but from time to time adds information from other eras and types of piracy for purposes of interest and comparison.
Unless the individuals were pirates by birth, having
been "born in pirate ports, from which their families had marauded for
generations,"[33] piracy was a voluntary vocation and
path of life. [34] Large numbers of men chose this way of
life because they "directly challenged the ways of the society from which
they excepted themselves."[35] Before turning to piracy, most pirates
had previously been employed as either navy sailors, privateers, or merchant
seamen.[36]
Pirates who previously served in the navy had
undergone harsh ship conditions including food shortages, low wages, high
mortality rates, and severe discipline.[37] In terms of discipline,
[b]y
the 1680s...[navy] captains routinely imposed their tyranny through
intimidation, calculated viciousness, and physical torture. Many literally got away with murder,
when seamen died of inadequate food and overwork. When all else failed, officers beat crewmen with their
fists, ropes, belts, sticks, and whatever else came to hand.[38]
Likewise,
pirates who had formerly served as privateers "knew well that such
employment was far less onerous than on merchant or naval ships."[39] Compared to navy employment,
pirate ships generally provided more food, significantly higher wages, and
shorter work shifts.[40] While pirates also experienced many of
the challenges of a life at sea, such a livelihood appears to have been a
favorable alternative to naval ship conditions.
The largest group of pirates, individuals who had been
merchant sailors, experienced a different transition into a pirate-hood. While these merchant sailors were
volunteers as were the navy sailors and privateers, most merchantmen became
pirates after a pirate ship captured them[41]
and took their merchant vessels.[42] Upon capturing a merchant ship, "[t]he
pirate captain or quartermaster asked the seamen of the captured vessel who
among them would serve under the death's head and black colors, and frequently
several stepped forward." [43] A few number of bold merchant
ship mutineers became pirates after seizing control of the merchant vessel. [44]
Otherwise, individuals who for whatever reason simply
decided that their destiny was to become a pirate just needed to "find a
ship heading for the Indian Ocean [or wherever else he wanted to rove]." [45] Generally, "[s]ea rovers
came from many nations and every social level but almost always from a
seafaring community. [46] It is important to mention,
however, that not all pirates were sailors. Some pirates were literate, some were skilled craftsmen, and
at least one of the Saint Mary's Pirates had been a nobleman.[47] Nevertheless, since the great
majority of pirates "necessarily came from seafaring employments,"[48] most pirates, like most mariners, came
from "the lowest social classes." [49] Royal officials condescendingly
considered pirates to be "Œdesperate Rogues' who could have little hope of
life ashore." [50] These characteristics, along with the
knowledge of such conceptions of themselves, "served as bases of unity
when men of the sea decided, in search of something better, to become pirates."[51]
Evidence of this area of pirate life is
uncertain. Nevertheless, a life at
sea appears to have freed most pirates from family ties and obligations back on
land. [52] Records from pirate ships and from
trials have rarely mentioned pirates' wives and children. [53] In fact pirates were generally against taking married men, in
the interests of preventing desertion.[54] Since pirates were just common folk,
their private lives remained so, and stories of famous captains primarily
focused on their professional activities.[55]
The young age of pirates also seems to have
contributed to this lack of information.
For pirates that settled on Saint Mary's Island, twelve miles northeast
of Madagascar,[56] "[p]iracy was a young man's game." [57]
Saint
Mary's pirates entered the profession in their early twenties, and settled down
to an early retirement in their thirties.[58]
A man
in his early twenties probably was not married and had relatively few ties at
home. Once aboard ship, he had his
comrades formed an independent society.
Perhaps the best comparison is to today's collegiate and professional
athletic squads. Under the
leadership of a charismatic older captain, relationships were characterized by
tight male bonding. The men lived,
worked, and suffered as a team.
They also celebrated their shared triumphs with boisterous parties.[59]
The
later Anglo-American pirates who were active between 1716 and 1726 ranged in
age from seventeen to fifty years. [60] The mean age was 27.4, with the
median at 27.[61] "[T]he 20-24 and 25-29 age
categories had the highest concentrations, with thirty-nine and thirty-seven
men, respectively."[62]
Evidence that does exist suggests that pirates and even
governments stayed out of pirate family affairs. For example, in 1700 the government of Réunion Island "left
it up to each family to police its members' behavior.[63] Evidence also suggests that
illegitimate births were common among pirates, and as a result it was "likely
that many men and women did not interfere with their spouses' promiscuity."[64]
Often held rumors about pirate life involve pirates' sexual promiscuity with women and boys. Despite the prevalence of babies born to pirates outside of wedlock, pirate codes had strict laws against promiscuity.[65] Additionally some pirate codes prohibited homosexuality. [66] While scholars do not suggest that these activities never happened, they do propose that some pirate crews frowned upon such practices.
Since few pirates left diaries, rumors that they were homosexual are hard to evaluate. Two men enlisting together on several vessels were friends but not necessarily lovers. Since [pirates] considered homosexuality a defect, some observers brought false charges against their enemies. Although precise estimates are impossible, homosexuality clearly was found among seamen and pirates.[67]
For example, despite the
fact that some pirate codes prohibited the introduction of a "boy or woman"
on board ship, [68] some
accounts described pirate captains who "carried off boys and young men." [69] There is also a story about how one
captain angered his crew by "promoting his cabin boy to first mate over
older and more able mariners."[70]
Scholars with different views suggest that homosexuality and promiscuity was not that big of a deal. Some ship codes did not even mention homosexuality.[71] From this information, David Cordingly proposes that "we may assume either that homosexuality was never an issue among them, or that it was so widely practiced and tolerated that it was not necessary to include it in any code of conduct."[72]
Even though this paper focuses exclusively on male
pirates, it is worth mentioning that piracy was practiced by the fairer sex as
well.[73] Since most mariners were men, and most
pirates had previously been mariners, piracy was predominantly a male activity.[74] The idea that it is unlucky to
have a woman at sea was just a myth and not necessarily believed in by sailors. [75] Rather, women generally accompanied
ships as "passengers and wives of mariners."[76] The women of some countries "joined
men on fishing vessels, merchantmen, and whalers." [77] Eighteenth-century British warships
carried female servants who were paid by the government.[78] These women, however, rarely became
pirates. [79] Nevertheless, "[a] few women
sailed with the pirates of the Atlantic and the Caribbean,"[80]
and "several women sponsored piracy as rulers of corsair havens."[81] Two famous female pirates who actually
existed, Anne Bonny and Mary Read, were convicted of piracy in 1720.[82]
1. Egalitarian and Democratic Ideology and Underlying
Rationale
As discussed above under how an individual becomes a pirate, the following discussion describes how pirates' escape from tyrannical social orders and severe living conditions influenced their decisions and practices of self-governance. The social order,
articulated in the organization of the pirate ship, was conceived and deliberately constructed by the pirates themselves. Its hallmark was a rough, improvised, but effective egalitarianism that placed authority in the collective hands of the crew. A core value in the broader culture of the common tar, egalitarianism was institutionalized aboard the pirate ship.[83]
As such, "[p]irates constructed [a] world in defiant contradistinction to the ways of the world they left behind, in particular to its salient figures of power, the merchant captain and the royal official, and to the system of authority those figures represented and enforced."[84]
The most striking feature of such a world is the pirate's implementation of a system of checks and balances. Above all, pirates wanted to "overturn the dictatorship of naval and merchant captains." [85] Pirates empowered the quartermaster to counterbalance the powers of the captain. [86] That practice alone, however, was not sufficient for the pirates. They had a greater vision of the ability of every man aboard the ship to counterbalance the powers of other ship members. [87] On a pirate ship, "[e]very man was to have a voice." [88] In theory, this system was very egalitarian and democratic. However, in practice, such principles were more effective on smaller ships than on larger ships with hundreds of members.[89] Despite the size of the ship, however, pirates drafted the ship's articles to promote "equality as their fundamental principle."[90]
2. Pirate Codes and Articles:
The egalitarian ideology and "consciousness of kind among pirates" discussed above "manifested itself in an elaborate social code."[91] Essentially, a ship's articles, or code of conduct, was a huge contract. Prior to embarking on "a new cruise or expedition, the entire ship's company came together," [92] to draw up a compact for the voyage.[93] Pirates likewise drafted a new code of conduct when electing a new captain. [94] Once written, the articles had to be agreed to by the entire crew.[95] If a pirate enlistee were to join the crew at some point during the voyage, he signed that ship's existing articles.[96] However, pirates became subject a new set of articles when they broke away from one ship and joined another[97]
Even though codes of conduct varied by ship,[98] most ships shared strikingly similar rules and customs.[99] "Through rule, custom, and
symbol, the code prescribed specific behavior standards intended to preserve
the social world that pirates had creatively built for themselves."[100] Pirate crews used these articles to
allocate positions of authority, distribute plunder among its members, and
enforce discipline on those who failed to abide by the code.[101] These codes grew, sometimes resembling
small-scale constitutions,[102] as the pirates found more and more
rules to protect themselves and to preserve their system. [103]
Even more interesting than the development of the code
are the laws and procedures that the pirates decided to include in their
codes. Since pirates tried to keep
their codes secret, historians have come upon the contents of these articles by
accident.[104] In contrast to literature's
romanticized accounts about pirates roguish lifestyles, pirate codes contained
provisions that disallowed "gambling,
womanizing, fighting, and drinking."[105] An example taken from a pirate charter
written by Bartholomew Roberts' crew allowed, "[n]o boy or woman to be
allowed amongst them. If any man
shall be found seducing one of the latter sex and carrying her to sea in
disguise, he shall suffer death."[106] This code also provided that "[n]one
shall game for money, either with dice or cards."[107]
A more significant example of subject matter contained
within the ship's articles concerned the distribution of booty:
The
distribution of plunder was regulated explicitly by the ship's articles, which
allocated booty according to skills and duties. Pirates used the precapitalist share system to allocate
their take. Captain and
quartermaster received between one and one-half and two shares; gunners,
boatswains, mates, carpenters, and doctors, one and one-quarter or one and
one-half; all others got one share each.
This pay system represented a radical departure from practices in the
merchant service, Royal Navy, or privateering. It leveled an elaborate hierarchy of pay ranks and
decisively reduced the disparity between the top and bottom of the scale. Indeed, this must have been one of the
most egalitarian plans for the disposition of resources to be found anywhere in
the early eighteenth century. The
scheme revealingly indicates that pirates did not consider themselves wage laborers
but rather risk-sharing partners.[108]
From
this information, one can gain insight into pirates' employment and property
systems. Pirates were thieves by
trade, but they all shared in the distribution of the plundered property. Ownership of the ship itself was most
likely co-owned by the entire pirate community aboard that ship. There is no mention of pirates having
to give up their plunder when they desert a ship or leave it to join another. However, it would be difficult for a
pirate to take any substantial portion of the ship with him, and there does not
appear to be any evidence of any type of deed or written agreement indicating
that a pirate keeps an interest in the former ship. While not many codes mention the ownership of the ship
itself, it is most likely that pirates completely abandon any interest in a
ship after leaving the ship.
It should be noted that pirates were not the first to
invent such a system of articles, or contracts as we would call them. Written
contracts and articles have been around for a long time.[109] For example, the Saint Mary's Pirates implemented "the institutions they inherited,
modifying them to meet their special needs."[110] Likewise, late seventeenth century
English merchant seamen signed wage contracts. [111] In
addition to setting wages, these contracts defined the voyage and documented
the sailor's promise of obedience to the captain.[112]
3.
Oath and Signature:
Not only did the crew participate in drafting the
code, but every member had to agree to the provisions therein. The oath was a solemn one, often sworn
with the pirate's hand placed on a bible.[113] This oath was a voluntary one in which
no man could be forced to take.[114]
Therefore, if a prospective pirate or new member to a crew did not agree
with the articles, he had to either back out before joining the voyage or
accept the majority's decisions during the voyage. [115] After taking the oath, the pirate
could not leave the ship before the end of the voyage unless he obtained
permission from the other men.[116] At first glance, this process appears
to be no more than a system enforcing majority rule. Note, however, that since pirate life was voluntary, an
individual could just refuse to agree to the ship's articles and leave before
the voyage began. It is also
important to remember that the articles were most likely to everyone's liking,
seeing as pirate crews strove to practice equality and live lives at sea that
were more palatable than those on merchant and naval ships.
The importance pirates gave to the oath reflects the
social and religious backgrounds from which they came. In addition to swearing on bibles,
oaths were sworn on saints' relics.[117] A man's word, especially in the form of
a formal oath, was something that was meant to be kept.[118]
There
was a sense...that a man who broke his word was beneath contempt. While on earth, an oath breaker put
himself outside the law and could be killed on sight. After death, because he had profaned the holy things to
which he had pledged loyalty, he was eternally damned.[119]
As such, this system seemed to prove effective as long as men kept oaths in such a regard as to sustain the socially and contractually binding force of an oath.
In addition to taking the oath, each member had to
either sign the articles, "or if illiterate, [make] his mark."[120] This is another aspect of the
code that reveals the contractual nature of the document. "In signing the ship's articles,
every man pledged to obey the rules they contained."[121]
4.
Saint Mary's Island
and "The Pirate Republic of Libertalia:"[122]
a.
Saint Mary's
Island
One example of unfettered pirate democracy or
egalitarianism occurred on Saint Mary's Island. This narrow island, "about 35 miles long (modern Île
Sainte-Marie, also called Ambodifototra)" is situated off of the
northeastern coast of Madagascar. [123] Pirates who frequented the Indian
Ocean and roved Red Sea preferred Saint Mary's.[124] Saint
Mary's Island became a main pirate base by the early 1690s.[125] On this island, the pirates created a
utopia for both residents and visiting seamen.[126] The island community was independent,
with its "own institutions, customs, rules, and flag."[127] In terms of available evidence, it is
suggested that "Saint Mary's Island [was] the only pirate island in human
history," and that the pirates there "formed what may well be the
most democratic and egalitarian society in human history." [128]
In accordance with the characteristics discussed
above, Saint Mary's pirates implemented a system of elections and were bound by
the ship's articles.[129] In slight contrast to the Anglo-American
pirates' later, more defined system of plundering, "each crewman received
an equal share of the booty." [130] Pirates of this tropical island
rarely imposed physical punishments, and when necessary, only did so by
majority vote.[131] Being more egalitarian than the general
pirate society, the Saint Mary's pirates completely overthrew any sort of
hierarchical system of pay.[132] However, these pirates did allocate one
of their men an extra share when the majority saw fit.[133] This was presumably a reward or
incentive exception. On the other
end of the exception scale, pirates who displayed cowardice during battle
entirely lost his share of the plunder. [134] Finally, pirates who stole from their
own crew, anything valued at a half a piece of eight or more, could be marooned
by their fellow crewmen.[135] Therefore, while stealing from
non-pirates was acceptable as a the pirate's livelihood and fulfillment of the
ship's code, theft among pirates on the same ship was a forbidden.
b.
Libertalia
Another pirate haven on Madagascar, the perhaps more
famously known Libertalia, supposedly practiced a similar system to that of the
Saint Mary's Pirates.
Unfortunately, there is still no solid evidence that such a place really
ever existed.[136] It is difficult to determine whether or
not the accounts of pirate captains and trials associated with Libertalia are
mere stories, akin to those written by 19th and 20th
Century authors.[137] Furthermore, there is a lot of doubt
among scholars as to the authorship of A General History of the Pyrates, and the existence of Libertalia's founder, Captain
Charles Johnson.[138] Scholars explain that Daniel Defoe
wrote several volumes on the subject of mariners and pirates including Robinson
Crusoe and A General History of
the Pyrates.[139] For more than 200 years, readers
believed that the unidentifiable Captain Charles Johnson wrote the latter work.[140] Scholars eventually found that The
History of the Pyrates was most
likely written in Defoe's hand.[141] Evidence towards this theory included
Defoe's written style and use of idiom, ideas and interests, and the fact that
this was not the first time Defoe used a captain for his penname.[142]
One striking feature of the pirates' plunder
distribution system was that "[a] portion went into a Œcommon fund' to
provide for the men who sustained injury of lasting effect."[143] From this fund, pirates received
compensation for losing their eyesight and/or appendages.[144] For example, a typical pirate could
receive 100 pieces of eight for loss of an eye, 100 for loss of a finger, 600
for loss of the left arm, 500 for loss of the right arm, 400 for loss of the
left leg, and/or 500 for loss of the left leg.[145] On this matter, Bartholomew Roberts'
more generous code provides that, "[e]very man who shall become a cripple
or lose a limb in the service shall have eight hundred pieces of eight from the
common stock, and for lesser hurts proportionally."[146] For purposes of clarification, a "piece
of eight" is equal to the "peso," which translates into
$0.96USD.[147] Overall, pirates applied this
system of compensation to protect skills that certain disabilities could
destroy, to attract other pirates to join their company, and to promote loyalty
and a sense of unity on the ship.[148]
Under the tenets of a true, almost perfect democracy, each member of a pirate ship participates in executive, legislative, and judicial activity. The social and legal structure of a pirate ship in its most basic form designates the entire crew as the law making body, the quartermaster and the ship council as the judiciary body, and the entire crew as the enforcement body. The following discussion relates each pirate's respective legal duties and social responsibilities.
1. The Captain
Unlike most top leadership positions, the written code
"made the captain the creature of his crew."[149] The crew elected, or appointed,
its captain by a majority vote. [150] In electing a captain, a crew looked
for an individual with a bold temper and strong navigational skill.[151] Likewise, the captains on Saint Mary's
Island were competent mariners.[152] Such experience was necessary for the
captain to carry out his responsibilities of deciding where to plunder, evaluating how much his crew
would gain, and balancing those gains with the estimated loses and risks
associated with the pursuit.[153] Therefore, a captain had to be market
savvy, both "locally and
internationally." [154] After a victorious raid, the captain
had effectively "fence the loot."[155] Ironically, even though the pirates'
main purpose was to steal and plunder, the captain had to be able to prevent
outsiders from cheating the ship crew when buying supplies. [156] Most importantly, as with any effective
leader in battle, "a captain had to manage, lead, and inspire his men,"[157] A content crew stayed unified and
motivated during battle.[158]
Once elected, the captain received few privileges.[159] The Captain received no more food than
any other member of the crew; nor could he keep his cabin to himself.[160] As mentioned above, the captain's
unquestioned authority applied only "in fighting, chasing, or being
chased."[161] In every other matter, the crew
majority governed.[162]
The crew also had the power to depose the captain,
again by a majority vote.[163] For example, a captain could lose his
position for "cowardice, cruelty, or refusing Œto take and plunder [enemy]
Vessels.'"[164] Occasionally, a pirate crew would
execute a captain that became tyrannical. [165] Notably, the information discussed
about pirate captains is seeded with information about the crew's power over
the captain instead of the captain's powers over the crew. This makes sense since the pirates
intended that their system exist "[i]n stark, telling contrast to the
near-dictatorial arrangement of command in the merchant service and the Royal
Navy."[166]
2. The Quartermaster
Quartermasters on merchant and naval ships normally
refer to experienced seamen who received a small sum of extra wages to for
aiding the ship's mates with "storing supplies, coiling cables, and
steering the vessel."[167] The quartermaster was clearly not an
officer on merchant and navy ships. [168] On a
pirate ship, however, the quartermaster "was elevated to a valued position
of trust and authority." [169]
As with the captain, the crew elected or appointed the
quartermaster.[170] As aforementioned, the quartermaster's
powers countervailed those of the captain in order to prevent the captain from
abusing his authority.[171] The quartermaster also represented and
protected "Œthe Interests of the Crew.'"[172] The captain's authority did not always
preempt the powers of the quartermaster; rather, the captain obeyed the
quartermaster in the same way as any other member of the crew in situations
involving the quartermaster's domain.[173] While the captain exercised his "unlimited
authority during battles," "he was subject to the quartermaster in
many routine matters."[174] For
example, the quartermaster had the judicial role of settling minor disputes.[175] Here, the quartermaster "served as
a Œcivil Magistrate.'"[176] Perhaps
the quartermaster was in the best position to perform this function because he
was also in charge of equally distributing the food and money as required by
the ship's articles. [177] In this role, the quartermaster was
responsible for maintaining the supplies, and neither the captain nor the crew
could take these supplies without his permission.[178]
In addition to routine ship matters, the quartermaster
was a noticeable participant in battles. [179] Quartermasters could lead
boarding-party attacks and sometimes even supervised "attacks on prize
vessels." [180] When
victorious, the quartermaster decided what booty to seize.[181]
In addition to taking gold, silver, and jewels, items that the quartermaster
was required to plunder, the quartermaster had to determine how much storage
space was left on the ship and the ship's distance from markets in order to
decide what other loot to take.[182] Finally,
as the individual who was technically second in command, "[t]he
quartermaster often became the captain of a captured ship when the captor was
overcrowded or divided by discord. This containment of authority within a dual
and representative executive was a distinctive feature of social organization
among pirates."[183]
3. Other Titled Positions
Other titled pirate positions appear to have been more
functional than legal or governmental.
For example, pirates elected ranks to men perform jobs carried out by
the equivalent of merchant and naval ships' warrant officers and petty
officers.[184] These additional titled positions
included boatswain, gunner, carpenter, cook, first mate, and second mate.[185]
4. Council and Crew
The council, the highest authority on the ship, made
the company's most important decisions. [186] Here, "[p]irates drew upon
an ancient custom...in which the master consulted his entire crew in making
crucial decisions."[187] Consultation
of a council had also been a naval tradition. The Council of war, made up of the "top officers of a
fleet or ship[,] met to plan strategy."[188] However, the pirates modified this navy
custom to fit their egalitarian and democratic ideals.[189] As a result, on most ships, every man
on the ship was a member of the council.[190] The council met to discuss the best
places to plunder, and how to resolve the conflicts and disagreements that arose
on the ship.[191] Some crews functioned as a council
governed by system of majority votes, while other ships' councils served more
like as a court. [192] The
council's decisions "were sacrosanct, and even the boldest captain dared
not to challenge a council's mandate."[193] In other words, neither the captain nor
a crew member could attempt to appeal a council decision.
Aside from the above descriptions of the different social positions and functions each member of a pirate ship perform, the following legal roles and procedures become apparent. The quartermaster adjudicated minor disputes and could punish minor offenses,[194] while a jury tried more serious crimes.[195] This jury was made up of the council or crew, and a "convicted" pirate could not appeal the decision. Therefore, it is apparent that the members of the crew themselves had a large role in prosecution, adjudication, and sentencing, all according to the ship's articles.
Since the voluntary nature of becoming and remaining a
pirate was already built into the oath system, some crews simply prevented
disciplinary issues by not keeping anybody on the ship against his will.[196] Pirate oaths of honor also helped to
prevent problems by "cement[ing] the loyalty of new members."[197] Once the old members accepted the new
men, Œ"the New Men being
sworn to be faithful, and not to cheat the Company to the Value of a Piece
of Eight, they all consulted and
acted together with great unanimity, and no distinction was made between Old and New.'"[198]
Nevertheless, conflict tends to arise even in
societies that take the strongest precautions against tyrannical authority and
put forth the greatest efforts "to maintain harmony and cohesion."[199] "The social organization
constructed by pirates, although flexible, was unable to accommodate severe,
sustained conflict."[200] As
discussed above, if members of the crew were unhappy, they could split and
overtake a new ship. Pirates could elect new captains, draw up new
articles, and sail off to a more attractive place.[201] One has
to keep in mind, however, that while the theory behind this solution do not
seem difficult, it is essential that there be a ship available to those who
want to depart from their former ship.
What happens to the pirate who wants to leave a crew but has no ship
available to him? Overall, in addition to keeping pirate crews from
outgrowing a ship in size, "[t]he very process by which new crews were
established helped to ensure a social uniformity and...a consciousness of kind
among pirates."[202]
Sometimes, however, it was necessary to resolve
internal conflict with discipline.
Conveniently, the ship code also regulated the discipline of its
members.[203]
Less
arbitrary than that of the merchant service and less codified than that of the
navy, discipline among pirates always depended on a collective sense of
transgression. Many misdeeds were
accorded Œwhat Punishment the Captain and Majority of the Company shall think
fit'[204]
For
example, Saint Mary's pirates disciplined "desertion, mutiny, drunkenness,
and refusal to board the enemy" with Œ"what punishment ye Capt. and
ye Quarter-Master shall think fitt...'"[205] This
practice is somewhat reminiscent of Imperial China's laws of doing what ought
not be done and being punished as the emperor shall think fit. The Saint Mary's pirates' treatment of
discipline also raises in important question. If a pirate life was voluntary, then why are desertion and
mutiny punishable offenses? The
above discussion suggested that pirate groups on the whole permitted pirates to
split off into other groups when a ship experiences internal conflict. If those pirates already left the ship,
then how could a company punish those individuals? Perhaps "desertion" here relates to pirates who
ran away during a battle, and come back expecting to receive a share of the
plunder.
Whipping or "Moses's Law" appears to have
been a rare occurrence among pirates.
One of the provisions in Captain John Phillips's code mandated "thirty-none
stripes on a man's bare back" for not being careful with their pipes and
candles.[206] This rule makes sense, however, because
stray pipe tobacco and open candle flames could catch the entire ship on fire.[207] Pirate discipline "was generally
tolerant of behavior that provoked punishment in other maritime
occupations. Three major methods
of discipline were employed, all conditioned by the fact that pirate ships were
crowded; an average crew numbered near eighty on a 250-ton vessel."[208] These three categories include pistol
duels at shore, marooning, and execution.[209]
On Saint Mary's Island, however, "[p]hysical punishments were rare and
imposed only by a majority vote."[210]
Keeping disputes on land, especially those which
involve open fire, instead of on a ship makes a lot of sense. For example, one set of ship articles
forbade fighting aboard the ship and required that quarrels be resolved on
shore with sword and pistol.[211] This "punishment" required
the two disagreeing individuals to duel with
their pistols. [212] If both pirates missed their first
shots, they had to continue the duel with their swords. [213] The "winner"
was the first to draw the blood of his opponent. [214] Another provision taken from Bartholomew
Roberts' further explains:
None
shall strike another aboard 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 draws first blood shall be declared the victor.[215]
Again,
it makes intuitive sense that pirates should want to keep dangerous conflicts
among themselves off of the ship. [216] After all, the ship was their home and
their livelihood.
Pirates also tried to preserve harmony by marooning
pirates who caused trouble. [217] Here,
the pirates would drop the troublemaker near an island and sail away, making
that crew member "the ŒGovernor of an Island,"' where they were sure
he would suffer hardships.[218] Pirate
crews generally reserved this punishment for individuals who "were incorrigibly
disruptive or who transgressed important rules." [219] Examples
of offenses that justified marooning included defrauding shipmates, taking more
than his share of plunder, and for deserting or idling during battle, stealing,
or keeping secrets from the rest of the company.[220]
Likewise,
Saint Mary's pirates who stole "anything worth half a piece of eight or
more (about $60) [were] marooned on an uninhabited island."[221]
Although it appears to have been a rarity, "[t]he
ultimate method of maintaining order was execution."[222] "This
penalty was exacted for bringing on board Œa Boy or a Woman' or for meddling
with a Œprudent Woman' on a prize ship, but was most commonly invoked to punish
a captain who abused his authority."[223] One could theorize as to why execution
was so uncommon among pirate companies.
Perhaps the ship crew would rather keep around an able-bodied man
around, especially if he was good in battle. Another suggestion goes back to
pirate unity. It would be a lot
easier to feel loyalty to a group of people that is trying to make a life at
sea more bearable than it would be to those you did not trust and that could
kill you at any time. If the
latter were the case, the pirates might as well have returned to the Royal
Navy.
In accordance with principles of commonness of kind,
it makes sense that groups of pirates, even those on different ships, should
feel some sense of fraternity for each other. After all, they became pirates for many of the same reasons
(i.e. to escape oppressive sea merchant or navy lives). One way for groups with a common
cause to survive and succeed is for such groups to work together and develop
connections. Connections among
pirate crews have been charted.
For example, a group of 3,600 active Anglo-American pirates from
1716-1726 were found to "fit into two main lines of genealogical descent."[224]
Captain Benjamin Hornigold and the pirate rendezvous
in the Bahamas stood at the origin of an intricate lineage that ended with the
hanging of John Phillips's crew in June 1724. The second line, spawned in the chance meeting of the lately
mutinous crews of George Lowther and Edward Low in 1722, culminated in the
executions of William Fly and his men in July 1726. It was primarily within and through this network that the
social organization of the pirate ship took on its significance, transmitting
and preserving customs and meanings and helping to structure and perpetuate the
pirates' social world.[225]
Pirates usually did not go after other pirate
groups. As a result, pirates
developed their consciousness of kind was shared on a grander scale.[226] For example, "[p]irates showed a
recurrent willingness to join forces at sea and in port."[227] Some crews "frequently invoked an
unwritten code of hospitality to forge spontaneous alliances."[228] Other pirate groups would even avenge
each other when executed by outsiders.[229]
Pirates also used symbols to display and reinforce
their unity.[230] Language
was one such symbol.[231] Pirate language included a style of
swearing and cursing that would arouse a hearty laugh out of the other pirates.[232] Flags
were a more visible symbol of piracy.[233] The Jolly Roger is the most widely
recognized flag.[234]
The Jolly Roger was described as a Œblack Ensign, in the Middle of which is a large white Skeleton with a Dart in one hand striking a bleeding Heart, and in the other an Hour Glass.' Although there was considerable variation in particulars among these flags, there was also a general uniformity of chosen images. The flag's background was black, adorned with white representational figures. The most common symbol was the human skull, or Œdeath's head,' sometimes isolated but more frequently the most prominent feature of an entire skeleton. Other recurring items were a weapon cutlass, sword, or dart and an hour glass.[235]
Pirates designed their flags to frighten their victims. [236] Scholars, however, suggest a deeper meaning behind the symbols placed on the flag. These scholars suggest that the skeletal figures that represented death, violence, and limited time represented the pirates' consciousness of themselves as having been victims themselves.[237]
Upon seeing the black flag of an approaching ship, pirate ships sometimes saluted each other with their cannons.[238] In addition to trying to prevent internal conflict on individual pirate ships, the pirates sustained a community among pirate groups by minimizing conflict among the various bands of pirates. [239]
"Moreover, pirates self-righteously perceived their situation and the excesses of these powerful figures through a collectivistic ethos that had been forged in the struggle for survival."[240] "The self-righteousness of pirates was strongly linked to a world traditional, mythical, or utopian Œin which men are justly dealt with.'"[241] "It found expression in their social rules, their egalitarian social organization, and their notions of revenge and justice. By walking Œto the Gallows without a Tear,' by calling themselves ŒHonest Men' and ŒGentlemen,' and by speaking self-servingly but proudly of their ŒConscience' and ŒHonor,' pirates flaunted their certitude."[242]
B. Fights/Wars/Justice Among Different Pirate Groups/Crews.
The above discussion of how well pirates get along with each other helps to account for the lack of literature describing conflict between different pirate groups. In fact, the Anglo-American crews did not attack each other.[243] Transnationally, "French, Dutch, Spanish, and Anglo-American pirates usually cooperated peaceably, only occasionally exchanging cannon fire."[244] None of the pirate codes described in the literature seem to mention anything about how pirates were supposed to deal with conflicts with other ships. Many societies that embrace a commonness of kind still have their conflicts. One could theorize, however, that if such conflicts did occur between different pirate groups, such conflicts would be dealt with much like on any pirate ship. However, it would be interesting to know what would happen if one ship's code had much different provisions for dealing with such a situation than the other ship's articles. This subject seems to parallel International law in the sense that like different countries with a conflict of laws, different pirate groups would have to deal with contrasting ship provisions in order to decide who's laws or articles controls. Again, like international law, this situation could be governed by norms and common principles of pirate law. An example taken from a fictional pirate move, Disney's "Pirates of the Carribean" mentions "parley," a device by which a prisoner can directly report to the Captain of the ship. In the movie, this was presented as a pirate code "norm" that all pirates know and implement. Interestingly, none of the literature or codes analyzed in this research project makes any mention of this pirate norm. Perhaps pirates also practiced an unspoken code as well as the written code.
A. Pirate
Treatment of Outsiders and Treatment of Prisoners:
This is obviously the area that invokes the most negative images of pirates. Although pirates tend to have fair and just dealings within their own crews and social orders, most outsiders would find pirate treatment of outsiders, most often involving plundering and killing, as cruel and unjust. However, just as the Gypsy Rom felt that their dealings with outsiders were lawful and upright, pirates distributed justice according to their own legal ideals.
For example, merchant captains "faced great
danger" when confronted with pirates.[245] "Upon seizing a merchantman,
pirates often administered the ŒDistribution of Justice,' Œenquiring into the
Manner of the Commander's Behavior to their Men, and those, against whom
Complaint was made' were Œwhipp'd and pickled.'"[246] "Pirates were vengeful and often
vented feelings of rage at the injustice of life on captives of higher birth
and particularly on officers who represented the arbitrary authority they had
been subject to on men-o'-war and merchant ships."[247] "The search for vengeance was in
many ways a fierce, embittered response to the violent, personal, and arbitrary
authority wielded by the merchant captain."[248] "To pirates revenge was justice;
punishment was meted out to barbarous captains, as befitted the captains'
crimes."[249]
Some pirates practices rather disgusting and sadistic
tortures.[250] "When the captain of a Portuguese
merchant-man dropped a large bag filled with gold moidores (coins) overboard, he had the man's lips cut off and
broiled in front of him and then forced the Portuguese mate to eat them before
slaughtering the entire crew."[251] Another form of torture practiced
against captured merchant captains was sweating or "the Sweat."[252] Here, a circle of twenty-five pirates,
armed with swords, penknives, compasses, forks, and other pointed objects
surrounded the victim.[253] Accompanied by a "merry Jig,"
the victim "must run about for about ten Minutes, while each man runs his
Instrument into his [the victim's] Posteriors."[254] "Prisoners
were tortured for a variety of reasons:
chief among them, to make them reveal hidden valuables or because there
was no valuable cargo. Prisoners
were sometimes hauled up in the rigging by block and tackle and then dropped to
their death on the deck. Naked
captives might be used as target practice."[255] After tortures [that didn't result in
death!], some merchant captains were then executed.[256]
Still, the pirates did show a little bit of
mercy. For example, pirates would
actually reward honest (merchant ship) captains who did not abuse their
sailors.[257] The
pirates' motivation behind this seemingly unfitting practice was to show the
merchants that "good fortunes befell good captains."[258] Likewise,
"[w]omen often received some protection; however, the cost might mean accepting the amorous advances
of a particular pirate, and there are records of women suffering barbarous
atrocities."[259]
Outsiders' were just as harsh in their mutual
treatment of pirates. The Golden
Age "caused a public outcry and an increasingly firm anti-pirate stance by
regional governments, major national powers, and navies."[260]
Anti-piracy
legislation increased all throughout the Atlantic, and anti-pirate naval
patrols decreased pirate activities.[261] After capturing pirates, governments
would subject pirates to trials and execution.[262] The obvious abuse of the pirate corpses
following execution served as yet another deterrent.[263]
1.
Capture and Trial
Most countries conducted piracy trials under Maritime
or Admiralty law,[264] and were subject to the states' full
penalties for property crimes.[265] "Pirates on trial were denied
benefit of clergy, were Œcalled Hostis Humani Generis, with whom neither Faith nor Oath' were to be kept,
and were regarded as ŒBrutes, and Beasts
of Prey.'"[266] "Pirates who were caught during
the late 17th and early 18th centuries faced the prospect of a highly
publicized trial and, if found guilty, almost certainly faced execution by
hanging."[267]
2.
Hanging/Execution
As such, pirates were sentenced to death.[268] As a result of animosity between
pirates and royal officials, members of each group reciprocally offered
bounties of "any price" for captured members the other.[269] After execution, governments hung the
pirates' bodies en masse, at the
sites of busy ports, and then suspended the bodies of the most well-known
pirates in cages until the corpses decomposed.[270] For
example, the bodies of William Kidd, Jack Rackham, and Charles Vane underwent
such treatment.[271] These
extreme practices served as a deterrent by providing a "clear
demonstration of the fate that would befall anyone who turned to crime on the
sea."[272] When executing pirates at sea,
executioners hung the pirates on "a wooden gallows...built on the
foreshore above the low water mark," and then left the body for a day-and-a-half
to be washed by the tides" as required by Admiralty law.[273] "The Golden Age of Piracy was
effectively ended through a combination of [all of the above-mentioned] naval
patrols and harsh judicial punishment."[274]
The above interpretation of pirate life and legal
structure is undoubtedly much different than in stories and books about pirates
written in 19th and 20th centuries. Beyond the myths and romanticism
surrounding common ideas about how pirates lived, this culture produced a
striking system of egalitarianism, democracy and even precapitalism. Instead of merely searching for a life
of adventure, St. Mary's and the Anglo-American pirates seemed to be in search
of something more. Clearly this
system developed out of the treacherous system from which the pirates were
escaping. One question that arises
for further study is whether present-day pirates[275]
have retained any of the same norms and are compelled by the same forces.
[1] Citizens for True Democracy, at http://www.geocities.com/dave_enrich/ctd/college.html. (Find better support for this!!)
[2] U.S. Const. Art. II, § 1.
[3] Citizens for True Democracy, supra note 1 at, http://www.geocities.com/dave_enrich/ctd/ecsux.html.
[4] Angus Konstam, The History of Pirates 10 (Lyons Press 1999).
[5] Id.
[6] Id.; David Cordingly, Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates 39 (Harcourt Brace & Company 1995).
[7] Konstam, supra note 4, at 10.
[8] Id.
[9] Id.; Cordingly, supra note 5, at 39.
[10] Id.
[11] Id. at 11.
[12] Konstam, supra note 4, at 11.
[13] David Cordingly, Introduction to Pirates: Terror on the High Seas from the Carribbean to the South China Seas 9 (David Cordingly ed. 1996).
[14] Id.
[15] Id.
[16] Konstam, supra note 4, at 10-11.
[17] Id. at 10-11.
[18] Id. at 11.
[19] Id.
[20] Id.
[21] Jan Rogoziński, Pirates! Brigands, Buccaneers, and Privateers in Fact, Fiction, and Legend 82 (Da Capo Press 1995) [hereinafter Rogoziński I].
[22] Konstam, supra note 4, at 11.
[23] Rogoziński I, at vii.
[24] Konstam, supra note 4, at 24.
[25] Angus Konstam at 24.
[26] Id. at 26.
[27] Id. at 168.
[28] Id. at 33.
[29] See generally id. at 62-67.
[30] Id. at 68.
[31] Konstam, supra note 4, at 94.
[32] Jan Rogoziński, Honor Among Thieves: Captain Kidd, Henry Every, and the Pirate Democracy in the Indian Ocean, 165 (Stackpole Books 2000) [hereinafter Rogoziński II].
[33] Id. at 161.
[34] Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merchang Seamen, Pirates, and the Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700-1750, 255 (Cambridge University Press 1987).
[35] Id.
[36] Id. at 258.
[37] Id. at 259.
[38] Rogoziński II at 167.
[39] Rediker, supra note 34, at 259.
[40] Id. at 259.
[41] Id. at 258.
[42] Id. at 260.
[43] Id.
[44] Id.
[45] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 161.
[46] Id.
[47] Id. at xiii.
[48] Rediker, supra note 34, at 260.
[49] Id. at 261.
[50] Id.
[51] Id.
[52] Id. at 260-61.
[53] Id.
[54] Rediker, supra note 34, at 260-61.
[55] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 157.
[56] Id. at xi.
[57] Id. at xiii.
[58] Id.
[59] Id. at 161.
[60] Id. at 260.
[61] Rediker, supra note 34, at
260.
[62] Id.
[63] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 159. Réunion, an island in the Indian Ocean, became a ³refuge for pirates who did not want to remain on Madagascar.² Id.
[64] Id. at 159.
[65] Konstam, supra note 4, at
180.
[66] Id.
[67] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 163.
[68] Id.
[69] Id.
[70] Id.
[71] Cordingly, supra note 13, at 100.
[72] Id.
[73] See Sara Lorimer, Booty: Girl Pirates on the High Seas (Chronicle Books 2002),
for an amusing collection of stories about female pirates from several eras and
countries.
[74] See Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 368.
[75] Id.
[76] Id.
[77] Id.
[78] Id.
[79] Id.
[80] See Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 368.
[81] Id.
[82] Id. at 369.
[83] Rediker, supra note 34, at 261.
[84] Id. at 267.
[85] See Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 171.
[86] Id.
[87] Id.
[88] Id.
[89] Id.
[90] Id.
[91] Rediker, supra note 34, at 281.
[92] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, 167.
[93] Rediker, supra note 34, at 261.
[94] Id.
[95] Id.
[96] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, 167.
[97] Id.
[98] David Cordingly, supra note 13, at 11.
[99] Rediker, supra note 34, at 261.
[100] Id. at 281.
[101] Rediker, supra note 34, at 261.
[102] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 171.
[103] Id.
[104] Id. at 172.
[105] Konstam, supra note 4, at 186.
[106] Id. at 180. See id. at 186-187, for more provisions of the code drawn by the crew of Bartholomew Roberts.
[107] Id. at 186.
[108] Rediker, supra note 34, at 264.
[109] See Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 168.
[110] Id..
[111] Id.
[112] Id.
[113] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 167.
[114] Id. at 171.
[115] Id.
[116] Id.
[117] Id.
[118] See id. at 171.
[119] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 171.
[120] Id. at 167.
[121] Id. at 171.
[122] Rogoziński II at xi.
[123] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 301.
[124] Id.
[125] Rogoziński II at xi.
[126] Id.
[127] Id.
[128] Id. at xii.
[129] Id.
[130] Id.
[131] Id.
[132] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 168.
[133] Id. at 172.
[134] Id. at 170
[135] Id.
[136] http://www.cindyvallar.com/havens3.html. See also http://www.piratesinfo.com/mysql/phorum/read.php?f=5&i=1151&t=1151.
[137] See generally Daniel Defoe, A General History of the Pyrates (Manuel Schonhorn ed., Dover Publications 1972) (1724).
[138]
See Cordingly, supra note 13, at xix xx (discussing whether stories
written in The General History of Pirates should be attributed to Daniel Defoe or the mysterious Captain Johnson). See also http://www.cindyvallar.com/havens3.html.
[139] Defoe, supra note 137, at xiv, xxiii.
[140] Defoe, supra note 137 at xxiii.
[141]
Id.
[142] Id. Scholars suspect that Defoe also wrote under the name of Captain George Roberts. Id.
[143] Rediker, supra note 34, at 264.
[144] Id.
[145] Krzysztof Wilczynski, Injury Compensation, Pirates! Fact & Legend, at http://www.piratesinfo.com/detail/detail.php?article_id=53 (last visited Feb. 2, 2004).
[146] Konstam, supra note 4, at 187.
[147] Rogoziński I, supra note 21, at 255; Wilczynski, supra note 145.
[148] Rediker, supra note 34, at 264-65.
[149] Rediker, supra note 34, at 261-62.
[150] David Cordingly, supra note 13, at 11.
[151] Rediker, , supra note 34, at 262.
[152] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at xiii.
[153] Id.
[154] Id.
[155] Id.
[156] Id.
[157] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at xiii.
[158] Id..
[159] Rediker, supra note 34, at 262.
[160] Id.
[161] Id.
[162] Id.
[163] Id.; Cordingly, supra note 13, at 11.
[164] Rediker, supra note 34, at 262.
[165] Id. at 262-63.
[166] Id.
[167] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 178.
[168] Id.
[169] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263.
[170] David Cordingly at 11.
[171] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263; Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[172] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263; Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[173] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[174] Id.
[175] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263.
[176] Id.
[177] Id.
[178] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[179] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263; Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[180] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263; Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[181] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[182] Id.
[183] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263.
[184]
Cordingly, supra note 6, at 98.
[185] Id.
[186]
Rediker, supra note 34, at
263. See also Jennifer G. Marx, The Golden Age of Piracy, in Pirates: Terror on the High Seas from the
Carribbean to the South China Seas 105 (David Cordingly ed. 1996).
[187]
Rediker, supra note 34, at
263. See also Jennifer G. Marx, The Golden Age of Piracy, in Pirates: Terror on the High Seas from the
Carribbean to the South China Seas 105 (David Cordingly ed. 1996).
[188] Rediker, supra note 34, at 263.
[189] Id.
[190] Id.
[191] Id. at 263-64.
[192] Id. at 264.
[193] Id.
[194] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 177.
[195] Id.
[196] Rediker, supra note 34, at 266.
[197] Id.
[198] Id.
[199] Id.
[200] Id.
[201] Id. at 266-67.
[202] Rediker, supra note 34, at 266-67.
[203] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265.
[204] Id..
[205] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at 170-171.
[206] Marx, supra note 186, at 105.
[207] Marx, supra note 186, at 105.
[208] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265.
[209] Id. at 265-66.
[210] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, at xii.
[211] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265.
[212] Id.
[213] Id.
[214] Id.
[215] Konstam, supra note 4, at 187.
[216] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265.
[217] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265. See also Cordingly, supra note 6, at 135-36.
[218] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265. See also Cordingly, supra note 6, at 135-36.
[219] Rediker, supra note 34, 265. See also Cordingly, supra note 6, at 135-36.
[220] Rediker, supra note 34, at 265.
[221] Rogoziński II, supra note 32, 170
[222] Rediker, supra note 34, 265-66.
[223] Rediker, supra note 34, at 266.
[224] Rediker, supra note 34, at 267.
[225] Id.
[226] Rediker, supra note 34, at 275.
[227] Id.
[228] Id.
[229] Rediker, supra note 34, at 277.
[230] Id. at 278.
[231] Id.
[232] Id.
[233] Id.
[234] Id.
[235] Rediker, supra note 34, at 279.
[236] Id.
[237] Id.
[238] Id. at 275.
[239] Id. at 276.
[240] Id. at 280.
[241] Rediker, supra note 34, at 280.
[242] Id.
[243] Id. at 276.
[244] Id. at 276.
[245] Id. at 270.
[246] Id.
[247] Jennifer G. Marx, supra note 186, at 105.
[248] Rediker, supra note 34, at 270-71.
[249] Id. at 273.
[250] Jennifer G. Marx, supra note 186, at 105.
[251] Id. at 105-106.
[252] Rediker, supra note 34, at 270.
[253] Id. at 270.
[254] Id. .
[255] Jennifer G. Marx, supra note 186, at 106.
[256] Rediker, supra note 34, at 270.
[257]
Id. at 271; See also
Jennifer G. Marx, supra note 186, at 106.
[258] Rediker, supra note 34, at 272.
[259] Jennifer G. Marx, supra note 186, at 106.
[260] Konstam supra note 4, at 138.
[261] Id.
[262] Id. at 139.
[263] Id.
[264] Id. at 140.
[265] Rediker, supra note 34, at 273.
[266] Id. at 274.
[267] Konstam supra note 4, at 140.
[268] See Rediker, supra note 34, at 274.
[269] Id.
[270] Konstam supra note 4, at 139.
[271] Id.
[272] Id.
[273] Id. at 140.
[274] Id.
[275] See generally Konstam supra note 4.