Tag: pirate codes

Although there are no surviving Articles of Agreement put together by the buccaneers of the 17^th century, although Alexander Exquemelin wrote in his book The Buccaneers of America (1678) something about them. He wrote about them about more in general terms, but they could be construed as a more specific code. Because Exquemelin sailed as Henry Morgan’s physician it is likely that these were very similar to Henry Morgan’s actual articles. Exquemelin explained that the buccaneers chose to: “Agree on certain articles, which are put in writing, by way of bond or obligation, which every one is bound to observe, and all of them, or the chief, set their hands to it.”

John Gow was a Scottish pirate who was active off the Iberian Peninsula from 1724 to 1725. He was captured in the Orkneys and hanged at Execution Dock on 11^th June 1725. His articles were written in his own hand writing and were found aboard his ship, the Revenge, not long after his capture in 1725. Evidence suggests that these articles were written only a few days before he and his crew were captured by the authorities after dangerous currents had pulled the ship onto a reef and forced it aground. Historians believe that the reference in Article IV to no going ashore “till the ship is off the ground” suggests that the ship was already grounded when this code was written.

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.

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 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.