Rebecca Simon, The Pirates’ Code

Pirates hold their place in the sagas of the sea.The Pirates' Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship sweeps away the fog of legend to uncover the life and structure of pirates' existence.The Golden Age of Piracy is defined as the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and is a largely West Indian phenomenon, although it extended throughout the Western Hemisphere and beyond.Just as it is said there is honor even among thieves, so pirates had codes by which they lived.Cognizant of the maxim, "If you will steal for me, you will steal from me," Northern Mariner readers might be inclined to think piracy was an undisciplined industry and wonder why anyone would undertake it.Author Rebecca Simon devotes an introduction, eight chapters and a conclusion to refuting such presumptions.Operations of pirate ships frequently were governed by "Articles" which were similar to a modern partnership agreement.The Articles of Captain Edward Low and his Company are offered as an example.The Articles set the distribution of loot: "The Captain shall have Two full Shares, the Master a Share and a half, the Doctor, Mate, Gunner, Carpenter and Boatswain a Share and a quarter."Presumably other crew members received one share.Infractions included "striking or taking up any unlawful Weapon"; "Cowardice in the Time of Engagement"; failure to deliver "any Jewels, Gold or Silver ... found on board a Prize to the Value of a Piece of Eight ... to the Quarter-Master in Twenty-four Hours Time"; "Gaming, or playing at Cards, or Defrauding or Cheating one another to the Value of a Royal of Plate"; "Drunkenness in the Time of an Engagement."Those found guilty were made to "suffer what Punishment the Captain and majority of the Company shall think fit."Provision was also made for compensation to pirates suffering serious injury while "working."Why would anyone enlist in a pirate enterprise?Chapters are devoted to food and drink, safety, weapons and battle tactics, and entertainment and culture.Pirates were better paid, better fed, were healthier, received better medical treatment, and were offered more economic advancement than other available careers, including naval or commercial maritime ones.Captives were sometimes lured by promises of mercy and shares of the loot.Yes, it was a dangerous occupation and pirates were often hanged, but various

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