The Articles of John Phillips

These articles were written by Captain John Phillips and crew of the Revenge in 1724. The articles were recovered because the forced pirates on his crew mutinied against him and turned the loyal pirates over to the authorities along with the ship. This meant the pirate articles survived long enough to be recorded by Charles Johnson in his book A General History of the Pyrates, published in 1724. An example of strict enforcement the Articles was when a forced carpenter called Fern was killed for attempting to escape.

The Articles of Edward Low & George Lowther

These articles are known to have been used by Edward Low and George Lowther aboard their ship. They were first seen in the Boston News Letter, and it appears that Low and Lowther had the same articles. This is probably because they sailed together from early January to the end of May in 1722. Lowe’s articles were published in the Boston News-Letter on August 1, 1723, and also The Tryals of Thirty-Six Persons for Piracy, Twenty-Eight of them upon Full Evidence were Found Guilty and the Rest Acquitted, which was also printed in 1723. The first eight points of George Lowther’s articles were published in A General History of the Pyrates (1724).

The Articles of Bartholomew Roberts

The Pirate Code of Captain Bartholomew Roberts is one of the best surviving examples of the Articles of Agreement put together by pirates. Roberts success in capturing over 400 ships in a three year time period might be as a result of the discipline instilled into the men by this strict code, which helped to keep the running of the ship smooth and  fair, to avoid mutiny, and prevent other problems on board the ship. He probably based the articles on those of his predecessor Howell Davis.