The Pirate Code

Man Being "Waterboarded" (A Form of Torture)

Man Who has been Marooned

Often, pirates would raid villages in hopes of stealing the villagers' gold and other possessions. The problem with this tactic, however, is that the villagers would hide their belongings in order to discourage the pirates from finding all of their stuff. Pirates knew this and would torture the villagers until they told them where they were hiding their possessions. While I don't necessarily think torture is good and think piracy is illegal, I do think that if you do something, you should do it right. The Pirates were already breaking a myriad of laws, so adding torturing innocent civilians to the list should not have affected their conscience too much. Considering the fact that it helped them further their careers as pirates, I think they were just doing their jobs well when they tortured the villagers.
There are other instances of cruelty, however, that I think the pirates were in the wrong in. For example, pirates would often rape the girls of the villages they plundered. This was totally unnecessary and added no monetary gain to their plunder. In addition, deserting a man on an island or purposefully starving men or women to death was cruel and unnecessary. In these instances, the pirates gain nothing from inflicting the punishments. They should have simply put the victims out of their misery if they had to inflict a punishment.

Code of Pirates

The pirates technically have a "Code of Pirates" that the crew and captain are supposed to obey. The problem, however, is that there are several "Codes of Pirates," and that they are not always followed and not every crew had to acknowledge them. The idea was to discourage certain heinous acts and ensure that proper punishments would be inflicted for the correct crimes. For some crews, this kept pirates' behaviors in check, but for others, it was merely a piece of paper to scoff at. Pirates were right to be cruel. They had to be in order to have the reputation they had and do their jobs properly.











Sources Consulted:

Stockton, Frank R. Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts (p. 125-140). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2007. Print.

Female Pirates

Treasure Map

While exploring a deserted island for a pile of treasure promised to me by a map my grandfather left to me in his will, I was entranced by a beautiful cove I found. Neglecting the path I had been following to find the treasure, I ventured into the water. When I got back to shore, a large, old-timey wooden ship was docking, and many raggedy men began to scurry off. As I rushed to gather my clothes, I realized that the clothes I left on the sand were not the same as the ones I returned to, and as I dawned my colonial time dressings, I was approached by two of the raggedy men, hit on the head with the handle of a cutlass, and dragged aboard their ship.

Female Pirate

When I came to, I was greeted with a not-so-friendly voice. It sounded rough, yet higher pitched than that of the men who knocked me out. Upon looking up, I noticed that this rough fellow was a lady. I must have appeared astonished because, immediately, she taunted me; "What? You've never seen a lady pirate before?"
Confused as to where I was and what had happened, I pleaded with the pirates to let me go. I was just a lost traveler after all! My pleas, however, were in vain because, as the pirates pointed out, if they left me on the island, I would surely die.
The lady captain felt sympathy for me. She allowed me to join her crew until I found safe passage back to wherever I came from. As her crew began to unload the plundered treasure from the ship in order to get an accurate count of the plunder so they could divide it amongst themselves, the captain and I talked. I soon realized that this was no ordinary woman. She spent her whole life growing up as a boy, and when she set on the Carribean, she disguised herself as one too. Then she explained how she got a crew of men in a patriarchal world to follow her as loyally as they did. Simply put, she was more viscous than the men she commanded, and her anger and cruelty terrified them to speak out against her. They respected her and understood the position she held, but she was often mocked by others not in her crew. She had to make a reputation for herself, and she did so through absolute violence.

Sleeping Quarters

After we finished talking, I went to my quarters to sleep for the night. In the morning I woke up on my own vessel in my old clothes with the treasure map still in hand. Encouraged by the female pirate's story of beating the odds, I set out yet again to find the treasure.

Henry Morgan: The Real Man

Sir Henry Morgan

Sir Henry Morgan can be depicted as a hero or a villain, depending on whose perspective you look at him from. Britain dubbed Morgan as a hero and rightfully so as he caused much turmoil for the Spanish colonies during his time sailing the Caribbean, but his heroicness was not unmatched by his dirty deeds.

"Pirates and Buccaneers"
by Frank Stockton

The book "Buccaneers and Pirates," by Frank Stockton, depicts Morgan as a marvelous sailor and a heroic Buccaneer. In his book, Stockton describes many adventurous battles Morgan leads the Buccaneers through in order to defeat the Spanish, but he fails to include key facts about Morgan's darker side. For instance, Stockton ends Morgan's story by claiming that the end of Morgan's life is not depicted in history books. This is simply not true. In his book, "Under the Black Flag," Cordingly claims the end of Morgan's life was that of a sad alcoholic. He says that Morgan drank himself to death in his Jamaican home as a sick, old hermit.

"Under the Black Flag"
by David Cordingly

In addition to leaving out the end of Morgan's life, Stockton also claims Morgan often rallied the troops and was an enthusiastic and motivated leader for his Buccaneers. Cordingly, however, tells of a different Morgan. He claims that, while Morgan rallied the troops, it was more threatening than cheerful, and Morgan was the opposite of friendly towards his crew.
Although Stockton embellishes some facts to make Morgan appear more likable, he certainly did not depict Morgan as a saint. He did include tales of Morgan and his crew using innocent nuns and monks as human shields as well as stories f Morgan and his crew torturing natives and prisoners of war to gain information.
These are just a few examples of how different perspectives on the same bit of history can tell different stories. While both Cordingly and Stockton do a good job of portraying Henry Morgan's life as a privateer, Cordingly provides a more factual and realistic account of Morgan's dark, yet illustrious, career.







Sources Consulted:

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (p. 42-55). New York: Random House, 1996. Print.


Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (p. 132-170). New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

Sir Henry Morgan Under Fire, and Under Arrest

Attack on Panama

Sir Morgan's Buccaneers Attack Panama

Wednesday, January 28, 1671, Sir Henry Morgan attacked the Spanish stronghold of Panama with a large fleet of Buccaneers. Although Governor Don Juan of Panama built up his defenses in immense numbers in preparation for such an attack, Sir Morgan's Buccaneers were never discouraged. The Buccaneers advanced on Juan's defenses at daybreak and defeated the first wave of defenders with ease. After the line was broken, the governor ordered the city to be set ablaze and the treasure to be moved elsewhere. By the time the Buccaneers reached Panama, there was little booty left to be plundered.

The Plunder

Golden Doubloons

After the Buccaneers raided the city and found little gold, they ventured to the Panama native's homes and brutally tortured them until they revealed where they had hidden their valuables. Using a myriad of torture techniques ranging from searing flesh with hot iron to removing fingernails one by one, the Buccaneers eventually formed a relatively small pile of plunder, worth around £30,000, before deciding to give up. After equally distributing the wealth among his men, Sir Morgan could merely provide £15 to each head.

Morgan's Arrest

Sir Henry Morgan Jailed

Upon returning to Jamaica, Sir Morgan was placed under arrest and required to sail back to England to face sentencing under claims that he had violated the treaty between Spain and England. Sir Morgan has been sentenced to two years under house arrest.






For Further Reading:

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (p. 42-55). New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

Huebner, Brandon. "Henry Morgan and the Sack of Panama City - 28 January 1671." Today In British History. N.p., 28 Jan. 2014. Web. 06 Feb. 2017.

Masters of Piracy

Throughout the Golden Age of Pirates, many major figures emerged as "famous" pirates. They gained a reputation as extremely fierce and powerful figureheads in the Carribean area (Cordingly).

Blackbeard's Ship Pictured

One powerful pirate was known as Blackbeard. He was called Blackbeard because of his unnecessarily long black beard that was often tied up with black ribbons. He was such a nuisance to the Royal Navy that the Navy was ordered to find and capture/kill him. He was eventually killed in battle (Cordingly)

Sir Francis Drake

Another formidable pirate was Sir Francis Drake who plundered the Spanish out of revenge. He started out as a small pirate attempting to plunder Nombre de Dios, a Spanish town in Panama, but after capturing the town, he found no treasure. He eventually made his reputation as a good pirate after accomplishing many feats such as tricking a Spanish captain into thinking he was a merchant before launching a surprise attack on his ship and stealing the immense wealth on board. He caused so much turmoil to the Spanish that Queen Elizabeth actually pardoned and knighted him for his illegal activities (Stockton). 

Area of Sir Henry Morgan's Attack

Similarly, Sir Henry Morgan was appointed by Her Majesty to be a pain in the neck for the Spanish. It is interesting to note that his piracy was legal because the Queen endorsed it. He led several expeditionary forces of Buccaneers against the Spanish and stole much of their fortune. Morgan especially focused on Panama and drove the Spanish defenses out of Panama before ransacking the warehouses that stored the Spanish gold and silver (Cordingly). Masters of piracy, such as these men, often scoffed when referred to as pirates, but their professions were undeniably just that; professional pirates.




Sources Consulted:

Stockton, Frank R. Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts (p. 1-6). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2007. Print.

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (p. 1-25). New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

Buccaneers: How They Really Were

Buccaneer Ship

Buccaneers. When you hear the word "Buccaneers" you think of parrots, peg legs, and buried treasure. The truth, however, is that Buccaneers refers to a group of pirates who raided Carribean Islands in order to steal smoked meat (Stockton). Buccaneers lived a murderous and violent life and got their name from their life style. "Buccaneer," in fact, is derived from the French word, "boucanier," which means "a drier of beef (Stockton)." This is not the stereotypical view of what a pirate is, but, in reality, there is no stereotypical pirate. Pirates come from all different types of backgrounds with all different types of educations and upbringings (Cordingly). It is interesting to see that each pirate ship truly has a unique crew and a unique captain. Over time, pirates have acquired stereotypes from famous fictional stories as well as famous nonfictional stories, but most of these stereotypes are only popular because of the popularity of a story. If you were to venture into the past and look at every instance of piracy, you would see no true pattern in their behavior, education, or leadership style (Cordingly).

Further Reading:

Stockton, Frank R. Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts (p. 1-6). Mineola, NY: Dover Publications, 2007. Print.

Cordingly, David. Under the Black Flag: The Romance and the Reality of Life Among the Pirates (p. 1-25). New York: Random House, 1996. Print.

John Rittenberry

My name is John Rittenberry. Born and raised in Lilburn, GA, I am a part time lifeguard, a high school junior, and a college freshman. I love cars and engineering and plan to pursue a degree in aeronautical engineering.