A Democracy of Scoundrels Part II: Dividing up the Spoils and Electing a Captain

     

     Now a days, nowhere is law more relevant (or more complicated!) than when it pertains to money.  In the days of the Buccaneers, it was no less true, especially when it came to dividing up the spoils of a conquest!  With the spoils often being varied, haphazard dispersal of their gains would surely incite resentment and even violence.  To avoid this, rules were made ahead of time within the Articles on how to reward those who participated in a successful chase.

     In a great sense of camaraderie and fairness, the Articles frequently stipulated that all old debts were to be paid from the common prize before any division of spoils was made.  This would mitigate the possibility of crewmembers accosting each other after the conclusion of the voyage.  If the chase had been successful enough but there were wounded to contend with, the Articles might state that an individual would get extra shares depending on the severity of their injury.  The loss of an eye might net half a share or the loss or mangling of a limb, one full extra share.   

     When it came to the authority of the captain, the Articles might typically afford all crew members the right to hold a meeting to speak against and remove their captain.  In this event, a vote could be taken and a new captain elected if the first captain was deemed unlucky or hadn’t forced them to fight sufficiently or equally.  In this way, a chase party of Buccaneers was much more like a direct democracy than a dictatorship.  The captain was generally afforded few special rights under the Articles except extra shares of the plunder.

     On larger vessels, however, the command structure became a bit more sophisticated and a captain might assert greater powers.  If the captain was deemed lucky over time and his chase parties successful, he might rise to prominence among the men.  His authority would rise with him, in some cases even to fame, as in the case of Henry Morgan, Pierre le Grand and others.  Crewmen tended to aggregate around such personalities who had proven they could deliver wealth and success to those who followed them, thus their authority was less often challenged.  When the crew became too large to manage by the captain himself, he would select a quartermaster whose duty it was to keep the men in line and to inform the captain of any infractions.

     If anyone was caught violating any of the items in the Articles, punishment was also stipulated in the document.  It was usually as severe as these men treated their Spanish captives.  A man might be marooned on a small island with nothing more than a skin of water and his cutlass, if he was caught robbing another, or was deemed undesirable.  Certain death would almost always follow in such cases.  Even apparently trivial things could be punishable.  Too much idle talk could get your lips sewn together.  Noses might be slit down the middle or an ear cut off, if a man showed disrespect to one of the Articles.  If it couldn’t be ascertained who of two men had been the instigator of an infraction, the Articles might declare ‘pistol to pistol or sword to sword’ with the two of them.  Such severe and capital punishments were necessary to keep otherwise lawless men in line aboard the ship.  Once the hunt for Spanish shipping was over and the men were ashore, however, old grudges could be settled in the usual way.

     When they had disembarked and were away from the rules of the Articles, these corsairs spent their stolen wealth freely in the taverns and stews of the Dutch and French ports of the Windward Antilles.  They understood well the brevity of life in the islands and the New World, aware that misfortune and death could come at any day.  Thus money left unspent may well be money left to waste.  In just a few nights these unrestrained men could lose everything in houses of ill repute, on gambling and in taverns.  Along the way, many a brandy induced argument was settled over crossed swords or knives, leaving the tavern keeper to  hope the loser’s bill was already paid.

     However, upon reaching sobriety again, shoeless and penniless, they were more often then not ready for another adventure beneath the Article's strict discipline. 

     Next week's blog will be:  Tortuga; First Haven of the Buccaneers

For much more on the subject, you can also read my historical novel, The Brethren Prince, available as an e-book at the Amazon Kindle store, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and other major e-book retailers.

A Democracy of Scoundrels, Part I: The Articles of Conduct

   

     In the 17th Century, in an age where Kings and nobles still ruled the world by virtue of inheritance, egalitarianism emerged in an unexpected place: along the wild coasts of Hispaniola.  The place where Buccaneer hunters scratched out a living on the tattered fringe of civilization.  A place where no nation's laws could yet reach. 

     As is often the case, when men go too long without the structure of society, they create some semblance of society themselves.  Such was the case with the Buccaneers.  Because the Buccaneers consisted of the dregs of western civilization, there were no nobles amongst them who could impose or import rules by virtue of their innate authority (nor would any birthright be enforced, anyway).  Therefore, the creation of makeshift laws was grassroots and came from a show of hands, with no man's opinion being weighted more than any others. 

     The simplest and probably earliest "legal" document among the Buccaneers was known simply as ‘the Articles’.  It was a solemn bond between two men, a serious pledge written out, signed, and probably varied depending on the individual’s situation.  In a lawless place like the northern coast of Hispaniola, it could be helpful in binding two Buccaneer hunters together to protect each other in case of attack by various trespassers.  It also helped to have rules when it came to sharing resources such as residences, clothing, and weapons as well as food stores, and of course income derived from sale of meat and hides.  Above all, the Articles declared that each man would hide nothing from his partner, or brethren.  These concerns were thought out between the two men and numbered in the Articles individually.  Before signing, they would both agree to the terms.  The Articles seemed to have worked well as a common governmental tool, for the idea spread up and down the coast and eventually it involved more than just two men. 

     As larger groups of individuals worked together in chase parties directed at Spanish shipping, the Articles evolved to become a democratic document that everyone should respect and pledge to uphold; a set of laws by which all members have elected, and then to which they must adhere.  Before a sea raid, the Articles were drawn up by an elected captain, and then put to an up or down vote.  Once the crew had signed, it gave the captain the authority to enforce the tenants of the Articles as well as demand that they fight as best they could. 

     There were many rules detailed in the Articles that were common.  For instance, the Articles might insist that there be no gambling while at sea, for it would foster bad feelings with the looser.  The Articles might also insist that there be no smoking, as fire aboard a vessel was every seaman’s dread.  Women were often banned since it was considered bad luck for them to be brought along, though an exception was made if female slaves were captured, for they were too valuable as contraband.  One of the greatest offenses, according to the Articles, was "concealing items from his mates, even the least thing they found among their prey," as the Historian Esquemeling relates.

     But the Articles was not always strictly punitive.  It may include incentives as well.  For instance it might stipulate that if a great prize was captured, every man might have as much to drink as he so chose, if supplies were sufficient. 

     The Articles also determined how loot was distributed.  The crew was given "shares" in the same way stockholders are given stock in a modern company.  Before disembarking after a successful voyage, the loot was totaled as best as was possible then divided up into 'shares'.  The Captain might be entitled to receive up to 5 shares.  "Officers",  like the first mate or quartermaster might get 2 shares.  All other crewmen generally received 1 share each with the exception of boy helpers, who may only get half a share.

     As time went on and the Buccaneer raiders became a force to be reckoned with in the Caribbean, the face of Buccaneers in the Caribbean changed considerably, but the democratic ethic of the Articles persisted.

     Next week, we'll continue with A Democracy of Scoundrel, Part II: Dividing up the Spoils and Electing a Captain.

For much more on the subject, you can also read my historical novel, The Brethren Prince, available as an e-book at the Amazon Kindle store, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and other major e-book retailers.

Spices, Silks and Slaves: The Allure of Piracy, Part II

            This week, we explore further the various goods that the Buccaneers of the Caribbean pilfered from their prey.  If you haven't already, read part one of Spices, Silks and Slaves: The Allure of Piracy, Part 1.
            While it might seem odd to many of us today, salt was a highly coveted item in the Caribbean, as it had been throughout the world and human history.  Before the days of refrigeration, not many foods could be kept from spoiling.  Salt, however, is a natural preservative and was used to keep meat from rotting.  Salt in the New World was hacked loose from great piles in Cumana (Venezuela), located on the north coast of South America.  It's no coincidence that this region was referred to as "The Salt Coast."  Naturally, salt was a valuable cargo for Buccaneers to seize.    

            Another valuable resource to come by was Indigo wood from the Orinoco area in South America.  It was prized for the deep blue dye that could be extracted.  It was lumbered from distant forest areas down the Orinoco River, cut into shippable blocks, and transported to the coast.  While it may seem peculiar to imagine a band of Buccaneers celebrating around a shipment of newly captured lumber, Indigo wood would be considered a very fine catch. 

            But inventories from the Americas were not the only treasures that passed through the Caribbean on their way to the ports of Spain and markets of Europe.  Embroidered muslin and fabrics, fine china, silverware, and silks came from China.  Spices like pepper, mustard, ginger, and cinnamon came from Indonesia.  Ivory carvings and combs came from India and China. 

            Every year these exotic goods and many others were shipped across the Pacific to the west coast of Mexico via The Manila Galleon.  They were then carted across the continent to Vera Cruz, where, once a year a great bazaar took place.  Afterward, everything was transported back to Europe via the treasure fleet.          
            All of the goods mentioned so far were some of the more frequent inventories, but there were scores of other items that were produced and traded in smaller quantities, like pearls.  But despite the tremendous wealth that was generated or passed through the Caribbean, the vast majority of goods seized by pirates were not the valuable ones mentioned above but goods that were mundane in nature: provisions like sail cloth, fruit, dried meat, needles, fish, clothing, gunpowder, iron and brass fittings, and all of the other ordinary provisions that made life in the Caribbean possible.  After all, it was the ships that carried these types of items that were most common, least guarded, and most easily captured.      

            Regardless of what the Buccaneers confiscated, they rarely shopped around for buyers when it came to their stolen property.  After a short jaunt from the Windward Passage to Tortuga, they would disembark their stolen cargo and sell it quayside to middlemen and merchants after paying Governor Levasseur’s tax.  Once the spoils were divided, treasure was never buried (a fictitious act for Buccaneers) nor was it saved.  They typically sold or traded everything soon after stealing it, and promptly spent it all in literal orgies of drinking and indulgence of every sort.  It’s because of these flurries of wild spending and brief bouts of high living that Buccaneer havens like Tortuga earned their deserved reputations.

            Though the Buccaneers dreamed of chests full of gold and silver, most would never capture any great quantity until later, when most of them had moved from Tortuga to Port Royal, Jamaica, and put to sea with such devils as Francois L'Ollonais, Christopher Myngs and Henry Morgan.  That’s not to say that vast quantities of gold and silver didn’t pass through the Windward Passage on its way back to Europe.  They certainly did, but these precious metals were transported in Spanish treasure fleets amid dozens of vessels, all jealously guarded by armed war galleons.  Even later, when major cities on the Spanish Main were sacked, the Buccaneers had to divide such spoils many times, since these undertakings required hundreds, even thousands of men.     

          If you enjoyed this blog, join us next week for:  A Democracy of Scoundrels.

For much more on the subject, you can also read my historical novel, The Brethren Prince, available as an e-book at the Amazon Kindle store, Apple iBooks, Barnes and Noble, and other major e-book retailers.