Concept

Pirate code

Summary
A pirate code, pirate articles, or articles of agreement were a code of conduct 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. Breaking the code could get a pirate marooned or killed. 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 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 and Bartholomew Roberts. Buccaneers 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 of allegiance or honour. The oath was sometimes taken on a Bible, 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, or astride a cannon. This act formally inducted the signer into the pirate crew, generally entitling him to vote 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.
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