Pirate Code

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A pirate code was a contract or code of conduct by and for pirates . Normally every pirate ship had its own code of conduct, which laid down basic rules of conduct, disciplinary measures, rules for the distribution of booty and compensation for injured crew members. However, there were some generally recognized principles that many pirates observed. An example of this is the orderly and strictly hierarchical pirate organization under the Chinese Zheng Yi and Zheng Yisao at the beginning of the 19th century.

It should be noted, however, that these rules could not be compared with a code of honor or similar fixed principles as they are presented in popular culture - rather, it was mostly a kind of disciplinary law or employment contract that the crew entered into, regulated processes and to be able to expect guaranteed remuneration. In addition, pirate codes are not to be confused with the letters of war that were issued by the government to privateers and obliged them to comply with laws and rules of war.

history

Pirates often gave themselves a set of rules - they were known by names like Chasse-Partie, Charter Party, Custom of the Coast, or Jamaica Discipline . These were eventually summarized under the terms Articles of Agreement or Pirate Code . While these rules could vary from ship to ship, sometimes from one voyage to another, they usually contained relatively similar provisions on discipline and the distribution of booty and compensation. The first surviving pirate code was introduced in the 17th century by the Portuguese pirate Bartolomeu Português .

Every member of the crew had to sign the rules and swear an oath of loyalty and honor. This act formally accepted the undersigned into the pirate crew, which entitled him to vote for officers and to carry weapons, as well as to secure a share of the booty for him. The rules were then put up in a clearly visible place (often the door of the cabin).

Often the crews of hijacked ships were recruited to sign the rules - sometimes voluntarily, in other cases under threat of torture and death. Particularly "useful" crew members, such as craftsmen or navigators, were preferred. It also happened that the crew volunteered to be recruited, but could later claim to have been forced to do so. Even so, people who did not sign the rules had a better chance in a process than those who did.

Sir Henry Morgan , a privateer from Wales , also introduced Articles of Agreement in the 17th century . These were written down by Alexandre Olivier Exquemelin , who presumably stayed with the privateers as a doctor: "You will receive 600 piastres or six slaves for the loss of a right arm, 500 piastres or five slaves for the loss of a left arm ..." ("Thus they order for the loss of a right arm six hundred pieces of eight, or six slaves; for the loss of a left arm five hundred pieces of eight, or five slaves ... “) By comparison, at that time a cow could already cost two piastres can be acquired. When hired, a pirate signed this code, which guaranteed him a democratic say in the choice of the captain and a fixed share of the booty. Today the records known as the Pirate Codex are in the Archivo General de Indias in Seville .

Parley

Parley [ ˈpɑrli ] (from the French parler for “to speak, to speak”, more rarely also to parlay ) is a meeting of warring parties to negotiate how to proceed. The term became known through the movie Pirates of the Caribbean , in which Elisabeth Swann invokes the “right to speak” in order to escape death. Parley is also used in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar , as well as the films / series The Wire , The Office , Charmed , Django Unchained and The Order (TV series) .

Although such a rule among pirates has not actually come down to us, the term was actually used to denote official negotiations between state warring parties. The internationally recognized symbol to offer Parley was the black flag .

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ On piracy in the Chinese Sea, see Udo Allerbeck: Piraterie in China. In: Hartmut Roder (Ed.): Pirates - The Lords of the Seven Seas. Edition Temmen : Bremen 2000, ISBN 3-86108-536-4 .
  2. ↑ Hayes, P. (2008), 'Pirates, Privateers and the Contract Theories of Hobbes and Locke', History of Political Thought 24 , 3: 461-84.
  3. ^ Charles Johnson (1724), A General History of the Pyrates , p. 398
  4. ↑ Benerson Little (2005), The Sea Rover's Practice: Pirate Tactics and Techniques , Potomac Books, Inc., ISBN 1-57488-910-9 , p. 34.
  5. ↑ Douglas Botting, The Pirates , Time-Life Books Inc., p. 51. ("Sometimes seamen who volunteered to join the pirates asked the quartermaster to go through the motions of forcing them in the presence of their officers. The quartermaster was happy to oblige and do a blustery piratical turn for them, with much waving of cutlasses and mouthing of oaths ").
  6. ^ The Buccaneers of America ( July 6, 2007 memento on the Internet Archive ) by John Esquemeling , Part I, Chapter VII, p. 46
  7. ↑ Piratenleben ( Memento from December 27, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) - Olaf Voigt
  8. ↑ Blackbeard - The True Curse of the Caribbean , ProSieben , October 13, 2006, presseportal.de
  9. ↑ The Times newspaper, London, May 27, 2011