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Most pirates in this era were of Welsh, English, Dutch, Irish, and French origin. Many pirates came from poorer urban areas in search of a way to make money and of reprieve. London in particular was known for high unemployment, crowding, and poverty which drove people to piracy. Piracy also offered power and quick riches. [citation needed]
The pirates ran their affairs using what was called the pirate code, which was the basis of their claim that their rule of New Providence constituted a kind of republic. [13] According to the code, the pirates ran their ships democratically, sharing plunder equally and selecting and deposing their captains by popular vote. [14]
Pirate code dictated that absolutely no women were permitted aboard ships, and violating this code was generally punishable by death. However, female pirates, such as Anne Bonny and Mary Read, refute the myth that only male pirates ever existed. These women also wore male clothing not to conceal their gender, but to allow for more freedom of ...
However, there are several accounts of pirates selling slaves captured on slave ships, sometimes after they had helped man the pirates' own vessels. In combat they were considered ferocious and were reputed to be experts with flintlock weapons (invented in 1615), but these were so unreliable that they were not in widespread military use before ...
Pirates did not have the luxury of building their ships; they were "acquired". [36]: 160 As a result, a pirate captain had to be on the lookout for a vessel that would serve his purpose and procure the ship without harming it in such a way as to make it unfit for service.
At least one written matelotage agreement survives in historical records; it was between two pirates residing at Port Dolphin on Madagascar in 1699. [6] Other potential pirate matelotage unions such as that of John Swann and Robert Culliford, who were pirates in the Indian Ocean during the late 17th century are sometimes described as romantic but are not referred to as matelotage in British ...
Pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy were organized criminals. As well as having crew members assigned certain duties, pirates found a way to reduce conflict among themselves and maximize profits. They used a democratic system, spelled out by written " articles of agreement ", to limit the captain's power and to keep order on board the ship.
Slaves were "liquid assets" that served as a ready currency for land owners with unreliable income. The financial system of the frontier U.S. south was based on the inherent fundamental value of the enslaved, all while guaranteeing a lifetime of insecurity for the people used as security.