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.