Thar be Pirates

[ramblingboy42]

While I was around the Caribbean , I searched for the definitive book on the real life of the pirates.

I looked at a lot of tourist junk but that's what it was .....until I found a bookstore hidden in one of the fortresses at Puerto Rico of all places.

I had a good chat to the shop owner and told him what I was looking and he offered me this book.....'Under the Black Flag'...the Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates.....by David Cordingly...reputed to be the most authoritative and literate account of the pirates.

It's still sealed......haven't had a chance to start it yet.....but he also gave me a copy of 'The Pirates Creed of Ethics".

In 1640 or there abouts , the pirates formed 'democratic confraternity' and their vows formed the 'Custom of the Brothers of the Coast'.....or the Pirates Creed of Ethics.

There are 14 items in the creed and if there is interest here from forum members I will put one up each day.

Could have some fun with this......

Dennis

[Ausfree]

You have my attention!!:)

[Pedro_The_Swift]

https://www.aulro.com/afvb/images/imported/2014/12/903.jpg


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6OvsJqimfg

[Redback]

Why do Pirates have a Cornish accent:confused:

I'd like to see his list, there are others I know of, the one about how to treat women is interesting I must say.

Baz.

[303gunner]

Why do Pirates have a Cornish accent:confused:

I'd like to see his list, there are others I know of, the one about how to treat women is interesting I must say.

Baz.
I think you need to ask why everyone in Cornwall talks like Pirates?


"I'd like 2 pasties and a pint of cider, please"


"Arr, that'll be 2 Pieces of Eight, you scurvy dog"

[Eevo]

More like guidelines

[Grappler]

Why do Pirates have a Cornish accent:confused:

I'd like to see his list, there are others I know of, the one about how to treat women is interesting I must say.

Baz.

Patron of International Talk. Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19), actor, Robert Newton had a Cornish accent. He played Long John Silver

[strangy]

While I was around the Caribbean , I searched for the definitive book on the real life of the pirates. I looked at a lot of tourist junk but that's what it was .....until I found a bookstore hidden in one of the fortresses at Puerto Rico of all places. I had a good chat to the shop owner and told him what I was looking and he offered me this book.....'Under the Black Flag'...the Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates.....by David Cordingly...reputed to be the most authoritative and literate account of the pirates. It's still sealed......haven't had a chance to start it yet.....but he also gave me a copy of 'The Pirates Creed of Ethics". In 1640 or there abouts , the pirates formed 'democratic confraternity' and their vows formed the 'Custom of the Brothers of the Coast'.....or the Pirates Creed of Ethics. There are 14 items in the creed and if there is interest here from forum members I will put one up each day. Could have some fun with this...... Dennis

Interested. Let's have them:)

[ramblingboy42]

ok,

PIRATE'S CREED of ETHICS

#1. Ye Captain shall have full command during the time of engagement , and shall have authority at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly.
He who disobeys him may be punished unless the majority vote against the punishment.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

ok,

PIRATE'S CREED of ETHICS

#1. Ye Captain shall have full command during the time of engagement , and shall have authority at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly.
He who disobeys him may be punished unless the majority vote against the punishment.Sounds Pythonesque to me!

[Redback]

Patron of International Talk. Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19), actor, Robert Newton had a Cornish accent. He played Long John Silver

I ddn't realise the Pirate accent was Cornish until I was over there in 1986, I asked for directions, thought the guy was taking the **** out of me:D

"Arrr you be going down thar, then you be goin left":eek: an old bloke, probably in his 70s, near fell off my bike at the time:)

Baz.

[Ausfree]

ok,

PIRATE'S CREED of ETHICS

#1. Ye Captain shall have full command during the time of engagement , and shall have authority at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly.
He who disobeys him may be punished unless the majority vote against the punishment.

Very democratic!!!! What is the punishment....walking the plank.........keelhauling...........tied up to the yard arm and lashed????

[JDNSW]

It is probably impossible to gain any real idea today (probably was always the same) as to whether the pirates' "code of ethics" was ever a real document in the sense of reflecting how any crew ever operated.

Certainly, in some cases the crews operated by a set of rules, or perhaps customs, that existed because of the need to work together as a crew. But in most cases they worked together because the captain had a strong personality and a demonstrated capacity for success, and given a sufficiently strong and ruthless outlook much was overlooked if they were successful and able to navigate. Some of the captains had a documented ability to kill dissident crew members, and this probably happened more times than have been recorded.

Don't forget that very few of the pirates were literate, so few records of their real activities exist. At the end of the day you have to remember that they were nothing more than gangs of armed thugs that happen to operate at sea. The "golden age of piracy" resulted from various governments using these thugs as cheap naval forces by giving them 'Letters of Marque" on the condition that they were selective about who they attacked.

John

[Redback]

Very democratic!!!! What is the punishment....walking the plank.........keelhauling...........tied up to the yard arm and lashed????

That was British Navy punishment, life on a British Navy vessel was no picnic:twisted: whether Pirates did it or not is another story.

Captain Bligh was famous/infamous for it, was not a popular Governor (NSW) either.

Baz.

[bob10]

Sounds like a great trip!, That book will be a good read. The truth is stranger than fiction. Bob

[JBM770]

A lot of pirate crews were former English merchantmen given free reign to attack French vessels and whoever was the enemy of the day.
When the English didnt need them anymore they had to find another way to make a living.
James

[AndyG]

ok,

PIRATE'S CREED of ETHICS

#1. Ye Captain shall have full command during the time of engagement , and shall have authority at all other times to conduct the ship accordingly.
He who disobeys him may be punished unless the majority vote against the punishment.

Sounds like the mods here , except for the last bit.:wasntme:

[bob10]

Very democratic!!!! What is the punishment....walking the plank.........keelhauling...........tied up to the yard arm and lashed????


The Royal Navy didn't have people walk the plank, the story of the plank is said to have its origins from around 100BC , when pirates in the Med. preyed on Roman shipping. When the Romans imperiously identified them selves as subjects of the Emperor, the pirates would fall to their knees, & with great sarcasm, tell the Romans they were free to walk home, the only place they could walk was over the side into the sea. 18th century pirates did feed people to the sharks, and one of their favourite things was marooning people on a desert isle.


Keel hauling was a Dutch invention, picked up by other navies, used until about the 17th & 18th centuries, when the cat-o-nine-tails was the punishment of choice, said to be more effective. A sailor charged with mutiny could be flogged around the fleet, for his troubles. Bligh used the cat. Tough times, indeed, Bob

[ramblingboy42]

lots of the questions will be answered as I put up the other 13 creeds .

you have to wait.....one each day I said.

tomorrow at approx 7am creed #2 will be revealed.

aaaarrrrgh!

[d2dave]

You have my attention!!:)

And mine.

Looking forward to 7.00 am tomorrow. Ramblingboy, make sure you are not late or we will have you walk the plank.:)

[JDNSW]

I think Bligh has had a rather unfair press. He was not a strict captain by the standards of the time, in fact probably the reverse - the mutiny was led by an officer who had been demoted for dereliction of duty (not flogged). "He scolded when other captains would have whipped, and whipped when other captains would have hanged."

However, his successful long voyage in an overcrowded open boat showed that he was a brilliant seaman, and a good leader.

As captain of the 56 gun HMS Glatton he was commended by Nelson for his actions in the Battle of Copenhagen, where he followed Nelson's lead in ignoring Admiral Parkker's signal to disengage, and repeated Nelson's signal to the rest of the fleet.

As Governor of NSW he was not popular with the ruling oligarchy, including the NSW Corps, because he tried, unsuccessfully, to limit their blatant corruption and enforce the law. He was never very diplomatic. He was succeeded by Macquarie, who was even more unpopular, but had a regiment of highlanders to support him, and actually got a lot done in spite of the remnants of the disbanded NSW Corps.

John

[ramblingboy42]

PIRATES CREED OF ETHICS

#2.
If ye captain's vessel is shipwrecked , the crew pledges to remain until he has possessed himself of a vessel.
If the vessel is the common property of the crew , the first vessel captured shall belong to ye Captain with one share of the spoil.

[ramblingboy42]

And mine.

Looking forward to 7.00 am tomorrow. Ramblingboy, make sure you are not late or we will have you walk the plank.:)

I did say approximately 7am ya scab!

[Pedro_The_Swift]

If the vessel is the common property of the crew , the first vessel captured shall belong to ye Captain with one share of the spoil.

This is a big change from normal royal navy percentages

[AndyG]

make sure you are not late or we will have you walk the plank.

Mutiny !

[Ausfree]

I did say approximately 7am ya scab!

OI!! Can you be a bit more exact with the approximate, you might have a mutiny otherwise. Aaaaarrrgh!!!;)

[digger]

Change your google settings to
https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=xx-pirate&gws_rd=ssl

Then get your fill of pirate seaches!

I did ask an old sailor why Pirates are called Pirates not thugs

He said, they're called Pirates because they Arrrr!

[ramblingboy42]

arrrggghh me hearties.....

the sun appears to be over the yardarm , so I'll add the next creed.

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS #3

Ye ship's surgeon shall have two hundred crowns for the maintenance of his medicine chest and he shall receive one part of the spoil.

[ramblingboy42]

The book is proving to be a wealth of , to me, previously unknown information.

The role of the ship's surgeon was placed very high on the Pyrates priorities as many injuries occurred to the sailors during the hectic voyages.

The Pyrates usually drove their vessels hard and the surgeon was kept busy with injuries sustained to the crew while climbing masts and lashing and changing sails etc.

The ship's carpenter was sometimes used to assist the surgeon in amputations and cordurising wounds. The mind boggles.

As there were hundreds of Pyrate ships around the world it seems a bit uncertain where the supply of surgeons came from , but it is recorded quite a few came from the UK areas , were either seeking adventure or hiding from something , or seeking the regular income or wealth offered by the Pyrates.

Quite a number of surgeons 'came home' and requested pardons and were given same and set themselves up nicely with their new found wealth.

[digger]

"Pyrates" ?? Deliberate spelling?

[digger]

Alestorm - You Are A Pirate: Alestorm - You Are A Pirate - YouTube

[Ausfree]

A surgeon.........on a pirate ship:o............the mind boggles when I think of the standard of care an injured member of the ships crew would receive.;)

[ramblingboy42]

Pyrates was the spelling from the original chronicles in 16th century.

I like it , so will continue using it.

[ramblingboy42]

Alestorm - You Are A Pirate: Alestorm - You Are A Pirate - YouTube (http://youtu.be/GXoZsgNHquM)

Robert Louis Stevenson , Daniel Defoe and Gilbert & Sullivan are the main contributors to the rampaging , swashbuckling , frivolous presentation of pyrate life.

It is fun though and if you saw Pirates of Penzance starring John English you know what I mean. If you haven't seen Pirates of Penzance do it!

[Ausfree]

Pyrates was the spelling from the original chronicles in 16th century.

I like it , so will continue using it.


Reminds me of pyrite, or fool's gold!!


https://www.google.com.au/webhp'sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=pyrites

[ramblingboy42]

yeah.....my spellchecker keeps trying to write pyrites.

[JDNSW]

According to Mr Oxford, Shakespeare used "Pyrates" - but you have to remember that it was not his usage that was printed but that of the printer or, indeed the typesetter (alternative spelling was commonly used to justify lines of type until the late seventeenth century, and it is not uncommon to find different spellings for the same word on the same page; "y" is wider than "i"). English spelling was not stabilised until around the beginning of the eighteenth century, so that to refer to this spelling as "original" is probably a bit of a stretch. Particularly since the English word is a direct copy of the Latin "pirata"; and Latin does not use "y".

John

[ramblingboy42]

Well , Pyrates was being used long before Shakespeare was alive.

[bob10]

Well, just to confuse the issue, a book titled " A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates" was published in 1724 , the author is generally thought to be Daniel Defoe, writing under a pseudo-nym. Bob

[ramblingboy42]

yes Bob......as I said previously , Daniel Defoe was one of the greater contributors to the legends of the 'pyrates'.

I didn't know he wrote under pseudonyms .....didn't think he'd have needed to.

[ramblingboy42]

And now me hearties.

The next addition to the .....

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS

creed # 4

Ye other officers will receive each a single part , and if ye distinguish yourself , the crew will determine how much reward is given to ye.

[ramblingboy42]

PIRATES CREED of ETHICS

#5....and listen up ya scabs....

ye spoil taken from a captured ship is to be distributed in equal portion.

[ramblingboy42]

creed #6

ye who shall be the first to signal the appearance of the vessel that is captured , shall receive one hundred crowns.

[ramblingboy42]

creed #6 was a cunning way of always having a crew member in the crows nest as the pyrates liked the extra fortune and prestige resulting from spotting prey.

if a capture resulted in high bounty then often the the crew member who spotted the vessel was given extra share of the loot as well.

[Dark61]

I couldn't watch the Pirates of The Caribbean movies as Depp's accent just grated. Someone told me he based it on Mick and Keith's - but they're from Dartford in Kent and I couldn't see it.


D

[AndyG]

creed #6

ye who shall be the first to signal the appearance of the vessel that is captured , shall receive one hundred crowns.

This still applies in any LR dealership for any one who sells a Defender

[bob10]

I have a book, from Time -life ,part of the seafarers series. It's called " the pirates" Fascinating. Of course, it really only gives a snapshot of the pirates, eg, it has a article about Bartholomew Roberts, who they say was the greatest pirate of his day. Roberts launched his career in 1720 for all the wrong reasons. According to Defoe ' he could not plead Want of employment, nor incapacity of getting his bread in an honest way , but frankly own'd , it was to get rid of the disagreeable superiority of some masters he was acquainted with - and the love of novelty and change' "


Arrrr! me hearty's! gotta love it. Bob

[Hay Ewe]

A real pirate book is The Pyrates by George Macdonald Fraser.

:D

[ramblingboy42]

and now , the Pyrates Creed of Ethics OHS policy.

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS

#7

If ye lose an eye , or hand or leg in ye said service , ye shall receive up to six slaves or six hundred crowns.

[ramblingboy42]

Ethic #8

a most important one...

Ye supplies and rations are to be shared equally.

[ramblingboy42]

ye all better take a look at this one:o:o:o

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS

#9....

If ye introduce on board , a woman in disguise , ye shall be punished by death.

[AndyG]

Thats it i quit, :p
I suppose a boy dressed as a girl would be ok:angel:

[Hay Ewe]

this is fun, thanks for these

[ramblingboy42]

there were always boys on board......especially on merchantmen.

that is all I'm going to say on that point.

[bob10]

[QUOTE=ramblingboy42;2284088]ye all better take a look at this one:o:o:o

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS

#9....

If ye introduce on board , a woman in disguise , ye shall be punished by death.[ quote]


Back in the day, about Nelsons time , men used to smuggle women on board, in harbour. In the morning, the call was " wakey wakey, show a leg. "
If a female leg came over the hammock, the occupant was left to sleep. And there was at least one female Pirate Captain.:
Jack Rackham:
Known as Calico Jack for the bright cotton clothing he often wore , Rackham was the man voted into Vanes captaincy [ Charles Vane, voted out for not taking on a more heavily armed French warship] Rackhams place in history rests on his great romance with the lady pirate, Anne Bonney . Afloat or ashore, according to Defoe, " had nothing but Bonney on his mind."

[ramblingboy42]

on the other point, there were often women on ships , working as men.

there were two well known ladies in the caribbean areas mastering vessels and another well known chinese lady who led a massive flotilla of junks.....like up to a thousand ships

more to follow on these ladies later.

[ramblingboy42]

yes Bob , Anne Bonney was one

[bob10]

yes Bob , Anne Bonney was one
Ignore the trolls mate. They are like a virus. Bob

[ramblingboy42]

Todays creed is a beauty and one I'd like to see used today.

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS

#10

If ye Brother steals from another , his nose or ears are to be cut off. If he sins again , he is to be given a musket , bullets , lead and a bottle of water and marooned on an island.

[bob10]

yes Bob......as I said previously , Daniel Defoe was one of the greater contributors to the legends of the 'pyrates'.

I didn't know he wrote under pseudonyms .....didn't think he'd have needed to.`


I haven't read this particular book for some time, your post made me curious, and I found this.


" In 1724, barely two years after the last great mass hangings of pirates, a book entitled A general history of the robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates " was published in London and soon became a bestseller. The book dealt in depth with the pirates and was obviously based on such first hand material as the transcripts of pirates' trials and interviews with pirates , their victims and their vanquishers. Four years later a second volume of the General History was published. The author of these volumes was alleged to be Captain Charles Johnson. It was later established beyond any reasonable doubt that Captain Johnson was in fact the great London novelist and journalist, Daniel Defoe. The author of such tales of seafaring life and adventure as Robinson Crusoe and Captain Singleton.


Defoe's books were intended for popular consumption. They were sensational and moralistic, and A General History is interlarded [ great word, Bob] with a number of largely fictitious anecdotes. Yet for all these faults they are classics of the literature of the sea. His volumes on pirates purvey the authentic flavour of the pirate life, present a shrewd insight into the pirate mind , and are mostly correct in their principal details as subsequent historical research has shown. "


It goes on , of course, but you get the drift. [ That's nautical talk] :p Bob

[ramblingboy42]

does the punishment fit the crime?

PYRATES CREED of ETHICS.

#11

If there is any doubt in a dispute between ye Brothers , a Court of Honour is to decide the verdict. If a Brother is proved in the wrong , the first time he shall be pardoned , but should he offend again , he shall be tied to a gun , and there shall receive , from each of the ship's company one strike of the lash . The same punishment shall be given to ye among us , including officers , who shall get drunk , while on the ship , to the point of losing ye senses.

[ramblingboy42]

Might have to wait until after xmas for rest.

Lovely wifey has taken the parchment away to be framed as a chrissy prissy for yours truly.

yours truly
Den