Defoe\'s Pyrates: Images From History

Defoe's Pyrates: Images From History And Their Impact On Popular Culture

The popular image of the pirate, fueled not only by Hollywood but by children's literature, and of course, Walt Disney Studios, depicts the classical pirate (1500-1750) as rebellious, clever teams who operated just outside the restricting bureaucracy of naval law. Pirates were, at times, agents of legitimate government, had a strict moral code, and always raised the "skull and bones," or "Jolly Roger" when preparing to hijack or board a vessel. Indeed, the archetype of the pirate is the Jolly Roger, appropriated by the modern consciousness even into children's toys.

This image presents somewhat of a conundrum for the academic -- though literature, films, and folklore continue to romanticize pirates as gallant seamen who hunted for treasure and glory in exotic locations, the reality of such men as Captain Kidd, Blackbeard, and Calico Jack are far less sanitized than brutal. This image, though, is not just a modern paradigm. In a General History of the Robberies and Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates, a 1724 book published in London, we have a supposed first-hand account of contemporary pirates and pirate lore. While the authorship remains in question, the listed author is likely a pseudonym, Captain Charles Johnson, for Daniel Defoe, famous for Robinson Caruso and Moll Flanders.

It is this juxtaposition and impact on modern culture that remains fascinating, though, and the conundrum of a contemporary audience's view of piracy to what Defoe, and modern historians, believe to be true about the sub-culture and Era of Piracy.

One modern pirate expert, David Cordingly, for instance, is an English naval historian and museum curator is considered one of the world's leading authorities on the subject of piracy. His research resulted in Under the Black Flag: The Romance and Reality of Life Among the Pirates.

Cordingly's main source, however, is none other than Daniel Defoe. A General History, for example, introduced a number of themes that became almost synonymous with not only pirate literature, but the popular novel itself. For example, pirates who buried vast sums of treasure, the name "Jolly Roger," and pirates with missing legs, eyes, or arms all start with Defoe and have proven to be an incredible influence, witness authors like Robert Louis Stevenson and J.M. Barrie.

For some years, though, DeFoe's account of pirate lore was considered as fanciful and journalistic. However, in 1925 historians began to reexamine the work as possibly a history (as billed) rather than a popular account:

Not a long while ago it was the custom to smile indulgently at Johnson's History as being a mixture of fact and fancy, but from time to time old documents have been rescued from some dusty nook of oblivion which have proved his good faith. Many of the incidents looked upon as imaginary are found all to be absolutely accurate in date and circumstance.

So what were the realities of these knaves of the seas? Not surprisingly, loss of limb was as common on pirate ships as any wartime activity during the Age of Discovery -- without adequate medical technology amputation was often the only way to save a limb.

Searching exotic locations for casks of buried treasure? Cordingly, for one, cannot locate even one source to corroborate such activity -- why hide the booty when it was so easy to steal it?

The punishment of "walking the plank," and ruthless captains? Unlikely, pirate ships were more a working democracy in which work was detailed by expertise, popular and skilled Captains valued, and unpopular captains executed and thrown overboard.

The idea of honorable raids on the high seas in which the pirate ship raised the Jolly Roger to let the other ship "know" they were being pursued? Never. Instead, stealth and skill were used to capture ships; anything of value was coveted, anything that would prove too costly or dangerous (some crew, etc.) killed and tossed overboard. Often, it seems, the ship itself would be ransomed, owners willing to pay rather than replace. However, the boarding and subsequent capture of the vessel could be quite bloody depending on the circumstances.

Piracy was a business, and like any business, maximization of capital was essential for the ongoing nature of the business.

This "business" of piracy became lucrative because of some rather simple, but powerful, historical and political facts. Due to a series of geographical and geopolitical advantages, five major European empires were poised to move into an aggressive area of world exploration, a fight for a fabled passage to China and India, and domination of the seas. These nations, England, France, the Dutch, Spain, and Portugal all required exploration to fuel their growing economies, and all, over the course of two centuries, rose and fell politically and as sea powers. It was the increased number of ships, however, being sent to the New World that became the incentive for pirates, although the typical pirate booty was not gold and jewels, but hard goods, silks, spices, and slaves.

As trade increased between what is now South, Central and North America, so did piracy. Caribbean piracy mirrored the European conflicts -- whichever power was at odds with the other in trade and colonization, would become the focus of that year's piracy. However, because Spain controlled most of the Caribbean and was jealously coveted by the other European powers, most pirates were of English, Dutch and French origin. Many also set up "bases" in the Bahamas, preferring to launch attacks either just before goods were dropped off to colonies (tired crews, low water, but heavy with booty), or just as they were leaving for Europe (ransom, hard goods, and raw materials).

One of the most fascinating surprises when comparing the Defoe version and modern scholarship is the hierarchy of a typical pirate governing organization. Unlike traditional Western societies of the time, many pirate crews operated as limited democracies. Pirate communities were some of the first to instate a system of checks and balances towards power. The first record of such a government aboard a pirate sloop dates to the 1600s, a full century before the United States' and France's adoption of democracy in 1789, or Spain's move to democracy in 1812.

Both the captain and the quartermaster were elected by the crew; they, in turn, appointed the other ship's officers. The captain of a pirate ship was often a fierce fighter in whom the men could place their trust, rather than a more traditional authority figure sanctioned by an elite. However, when not in battle, the quartermaster usually had the real authority. Many groups of pirates shared in whatever they seized; pirates injured in battle might be afforded special compensation similar to medical or disability insurance.

There are contemporary records that many pirates placed a portion of any captured money into a central fund that was used to compensate the injuries sustained by the crew. Pirates readily accepted outcasts from traditional societies, perhaps easily recognizing kindred spirits, and they were known to welcome them into the pirate fold. For example as many as 40% of the pirate vessels' crews were slaves liberated from captured slavers. Such practices within a pirate crew were tenuous, however, and did little to mitigate the brutality of the pirate's way of life.