Pirates: Their Arms And Morals

    “That Man that shall not keep his Arms clean, fit for an Engagement, or neglect his Business, shall be cut off from his Share, and suffer such other Punishment as the Captain and the Company shall think fit.”

    The above quote is the seventh article in a list of codes of conduct drawn up by the pirate captain John Phillips, commander of the ship Revenge. There are many other prohibitions outlined in these rules, including assault, theft, deceit, irresponsible conduct around gunpowder and the molestation of female prisoners, as well as provisions for compensating those injured in battle.  However, the above is particularly interesting in its reverence a pirate was expected to show towards his weaponry.
    Piracy was, after all, a trade like any other, subject to intense competition both from potential victims and other pirates seeking to establish themselves as the strongest and most fearsome upon the high seas. Unlike the merchant or the shipwright, however, the pirate’s consequences of failure were not mere bankruptcy, but near certain death. It is, therefore, unsurprising that such codes of conduct were often set forth by ambitious captains, and that they were enforced with the utmost strictness.
    A well maintained stock of weaponry, whether it take the form of a cannon, a musket or arquebus, or the wide array of swords and knives employed by pirates during their nearly three centuries of nautical dominance, was essential to the success of any plundering mission. Guns were necessary to disable other ships and leave them vulnerable to boarding, but swords were equally important, for in order for a pirate crew to collect any loot, whether gold, jewels, or prisoners held for ransom, they had to physically go over and take it. This was often the most dangerous part of any attack, for once piracy became commonplace most vessels found it prudent to take precautions in the form of armed guards. It would be a foolhardy bunch of pirates indeed who dared set sail without clean and sharp blades and the knowledge of how to use them.  Furthermore, it must have been no easy task keeping such weapons as the cutlass and long dagger, which we now so commonly associate with the pirates of the 18th century, sharp and free from corrosion given the sailor’s constant exposure to moisture and salt.
    Pirates were unquestionably brutal, ruthless criminals who disrupted trade and murdered countless innocents, but they were not without their own set of morals. Articles such as those mentioned above could be found on nearly every major pirate ship, and although we know that these were bad men, it is not surprising that we continue to romanticize their legacy.