Pirates of the Caribbean: The Captain & Crew
Return to Pirates of the Caribbean --Return to A Pyrates Life
The Golden Age -- Pirate Government -- Captain and Crew -- Life at Sea -- Punishment -- Rules of Engagement -- Pirates,Parrots and Pets--
Ship's Articles -- Pieces of Eight, Doubloons -- A Pirate's Lexicon --The Jolly Roger-- Myths & Monsters -- Pyrate Medicine
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The Captain Contrary to the book Treasure Island, Most Captains didn't command
by an iron fist, they commanded because of skill, daring, and the ability
to win prize and booty. In some cases pirate ship elected its Captain
through a vote. If the Captain fell in disfavor The crew were just as
quick as quick to maroon their captain, or throw him overboard, or perhaps
if he were lucky they would just let him off at the nearest port.
But it is safe to assume that if a Captain had a bad cruise with
little to show for it and the end of it, it would be difficult for
him to raise a new crew in the future.
In many cases, the Captain didin't have the last say, except perhaps
in the midst of battle. In fact, on some ships , the Captain had no more
power than every other pirate on board except in times of battle. When
not in battle or preparing to fight, quite often the Quartermaster might
actually be in charge of the ship.
Important matters such as where the ship might sail, or rather or not
to put into port, or if a certain ship should be engaged and so on, were
quite often not up to the Captain. These pressing details were decided
by vote, with the majority ruling. If the Captain were to go against the
vote, then he too would be in violation of the Articles of Piracy, and
would most likely step down from command and new leader would be chosen.
Of course on other ships, simply through his skill and charisma, a pirate
captain would command and lead with his voice being the ultimate authority.
While it is true that after mutinies crews would sometimes vote ona new
captain before going pirate, it was usually the leader of the mutiny that
got the vote. It is also true that, especially among some of the smaller
pirate vessels, that the pirate crew was led by a natural leader and his
close mates. In such a case, the priate crew may work more like a family
or clan than the much touted democracy.
Pirate didn't trust authority and therefore saw no
reason to let all the power of a ship rest on one man.
Therefore they split the power between, the Captain,
who led the ship in battle, and navigated the ship, and the
Quartermaster, who usually led the way on any boarding party,
and kept custody of all prize or booty. The Quartermaster also
determined what prize was worth taking.
As expected all gold, silver, or coin was taken, but beyond that,
it was the quartermaster who decided what else was worth taking.
He made his decisions based on time on how much room the ship
had. If the ship was already cramped, spices and exotic materials
may be burned rather that stolen.
The quartermaster would also watch over the treasure until it was
divided among the crew. It was also the quartermaster who did
the dividing, with the crew's supervision. There was rarely a dispute
about how the loot was divided, however.
The quartermaster was also the only man who could dole
out punishment. Even then, any many instances the crew
would take a vote first. The captain could order punishment
but only the quartermaster could administer it, which made it the
will of at least two before any punishment was given.
The quartermaster also settled individual quarrels and if need be, acted
as a witness to any duels, to insure that duels were fair and just. Finally,
on some ships, except when in battle the quartermaster might actually
hold a position above the captain, especially in matters of punishment
and rations.
Despite all the activitiy of the quartermaster, Pirate captains would
still pick their other officers such as first and second mate, often creating
a complex chain of command on a pirate ship.
Of course this was not always the case. In many cases, a pirate captain
was the ultimate law and there was no quatermaster or the quartermaster
and captain worked as if captain and firstmate. Much of the discussion
of quatermasters is found in the General History of Pirates
and it would be foolish to think all pirate crews had a division of power
as it described in that book.
Boatswain (bos ´n) Cabin Boy Carpenter Gunner Master Pilot Powder Monkey Sea Artist On a more broad term, the sea artists was anyone who could maneuver ships
over great distances with little or no difficulty, an expert seaman. Often overlooked, the Striker was a native of the West Indies, typically
from Darien or the Mosquito Coast. They were expert hunters who trapped
sea turtles and manatees; fished for sharks and other large fish; and
also hunted wild game when the the crew came ashore. Their knowledge of
local plants aided in collecting edible fruits and vegitables as well
as medicinal plants and herbs.Their expert ability at hunting and fishing
earned them a spot among the crew, Their hatred of Spain assured their
loyalty and ferocity in battle. They were not kept aboard for the seaman
ship, their job was to catch fish and kill Spaniards. Surgeon Surgeons were highly valued among pirates and when pirates captured ships
they would often press surgeons into service. A surgeon was typically
the only person kept on board who was not required to sign articles. Depending
on the nature of the crew some surgeons were paid even if they refused
to sign on.
If a surgeon wasn't handy, then the crew would often
elect someone with an inkling of knowledge to act as surgeon. On at least one account, the carpenter was elected the
ship's surgeon, because the carpenter
had the necessary tools needed to amputate limbs and knew how to cut quickly.
At other times a cook might also be employed but cooks were normally
considered less skillful at cutting than carpenters. (Cooks weren't butchers and had little training. Typically they were crew
members assigned to work the galley who managed to make edible food.)
One thing for sure about pirates is they didn't like
authority. The Navy ships of the various countries were
usually commanded by the privileged class, not necessarily
because of any inherent skill but just because that was the
way it was done. Sailor in the regular navy were often treated
miserably by their Captains. Pirates would have nothing
to with this.
The Quartermaster, depending on the circumstances and the pirare ship
was the second in command. His main purpose was to distribute things.
He distributed, rations, powder, work, prize, and punishment.
On most ships, the First Mate is the officer who ranks just below the
Captain of the ship and takes over in the event that the Captain can no
longer perform his duties. Unfortunately this is not the case on a pirate
ship. The first mate on a pirate ship is the man the pirate picks as his
second in command. In the even the pirate is killed the job falls to the
quartermaster. Ships also had second, third, even forth mates creating
a chain of command.
Among the crews were several skilled seamen who kept the ship afloat or
kept the crew in place. The Bos'n was one of them. Originally, on board
a sailing ship such as a man-of-war or a galleon, the boatswain was in
charge of a ship's anchors, cordage, colors, deck crew and the ship's
boats, and would also be in charge of the rigging while the ship was in
dock. The bos'n is often a petty officer. On a sailing ship he might be
the thyroid or forth mate. within a pirate crew, if it were large a Bos'n
would be right under the quartermaster. On a smaller ship the quartermaster
would handle the jobs of the bos'n.
The cabin boy is typically a young boy of privileged birth who is sent
to sea to learn the maritime trade. Typically the cabin boy waits upon
the officers of the ship. In some instances he may act as the Captain's
servant. The cabin boy will run messages and errands for the officers,
prepare their uniforms, perhaps even fetches their dinner. Because he
is an apprentice of sorts, he is also expected to learn all aspects of
the maritime trade. The cabin boy works long hard hours. Even on pirate
ships, the captain might employ a young energetic fellow as a cabin boy.
A ship's carpenter was the man who kept the ship afloat, making necessary
repairs, filling holes if need be, and so on. Carpentry was an extremely
useful skill onboard ship and good carpenters were highly valued.
Gunners were skilled men who aimed the guns on a ship. In some instances
a master gunner would give orders to other gunners on how to set their
guns during a broadside. It took years of practice to become a good gunner.
The term used to describe a leader of certain section. Thus the master
gunner is the person in charge of the guns (artillery, now pistols), the
Master Rigger would be in charge of fixing the ships rigging, a Master
carpenter, would be the top carpenter. Under these "masters"
would be a series of mates. Thus you might have a gunners mate and gunners
second mate and so on.
The man at the helm. The helmsman. The pilot was the man who steered the
ship. Typically one man would be the master pilot who would work with
the navigator and captain to pilot the ship over the water. The pilot
needed to know such aspects as the ship's draught (how deep she sat in
the water) how wide the ship was and how sharply she could turn. In shallow
waters, the crew would take soundings (checking the depth of the water)
and it would be up to the pilot to either steer the ship or sometimes
stand at the bow and relay orders back to the man at the helm which way
to steer the ship. Quite often, in the movies you see the captain of the
ship giving the orders but in real life the captain would rely on the
pilot of the ship to do such a task. In some cases a crew man might be
given the task of acting as a pilot for a portion of a voyage because
they were more familiar with sand banks, hidden shoals, and rough currents
in an that area
Powder Monkey was a British naval term used to describe the young boys
who made up the gun crews. The term dates from the 1600s. Many powder
monkeys were probably pressed into service, being kidnapped by press gangs
and forced to serve aboard ship. Often the powder monkeys were young lads
no more than eleven to thirteen years old. They mainly assisted the gun
crews and learned most of the ships basics but were paid little (if anything),
treated poorly, and were expendable. If they managed to live a few years,
they might eventually make it to a position of more importance on the
ship. Often, due to their harsh life, powder monkeys were quick to sign
articles and desert a ship. On a pirate ship, new comers would serve the
function of powder monkeys.
A sea artists is not someone who paints seascapes. typically the term
referred to the ship's navigator. The sea artist was expert at reading
and correcting charts, using navigational tools such as the cross-staff,
backstaff, quadrant, and sextant (depending on time period). They were
also expert at use dead reckoning methods for determining longitude. Some
were also capable of determining longitude using lunar observations (taking
lunars). The sea artist was also an expert at reading the ocean, able
to tell shallows and hidden reefs from deep waters and able to determine
if storms were coming. Possessing such knowledge often would make a person
the second mate if he were not already the first mate or captain.
For a more detailed account, see Pirate
Medicine.
