The Pirate Code

Be the first to write a review

Want to read this on your NOOK? Request as NOOK Book from the publisher

Thank you for requesting this book as a NOOK book from the publisher.

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview
Product Details
Meet the Author
Read an Excerpt
Table of Contents

Advertising

Overview

Despite what countless buccaneering books and movies may suggest, never has there been a universal Pirate Code to bind the merry (and mean) marauders of seafaring history. In fact there have been many “codes,” and drawing out their common elements into a single concept is no easy task. The Pirate Code is the first book to bring together thousands of years of pirating traditions in a clear and authoritative manner.

Chronicling the rules and realities of pirates’ shipboard life through the ages, Brenda Ralph Lewis explores what “honor among thieves” has really meant—whether for the pirates of the ancient Aegean, the seventeenth-century Brethren of the Coast who inspired the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, or modern-day pirates on the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea. Lavishly illustrated and engagingly written, this book is a must for all serious devotees of pirate lore.

Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781599214559
Publisher: Lyons Press, The
Publication date: 11/25/2008
Pages: 192
Sales rank: 892,152
Product dimensions: 9.46 (w) x 7.42 (h) x 0.54 (d)

Meet the Author

Brenda Ralph Lewis has written more than 100 books and hundreds of magazine articles, as well as radio and television documentaries, on subjects including history (both ancient and modern), myth and legend, animal and insect life, archaeology and genealogy. She lives in Buckinghamshire, England.

Read an Excerpt

“If any Man shall offer to run away, or keep any Secret from the Company, he shall be maroon’d with one Bottle of Powder, one Bottle of Water, one small Arm, and Shot.”

“That Man that shall snap his Arms, or smoke Tobacco in the Hold, without a Cap to his Pipe, or carry a Candle lighted without a Lanthorn, shall receive Moses’s Law (that is, 40 Stripes lacking one) on the bare Back.”

“If any Man shall lose a Joint in time of an Engagement, shall have 400 Pieces of Eight; if a Limb, 800.”

—from Captain John Philips’s Articles, 1724

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter One: Pirates in Ancient Greece and Rome

From the earliest documented evidence of pirates in the Aegean in the 13th century BC to Thracian pirates in Ancient Greece. In 75BC Julius Caesar was captured by pirates in the Aegean: when they demanded a ransom of 20 pieces of gold, he insisted that they ask for 50. He later had them crucified. Pompey was made responsible for suppressing piracy, and eventually brought many to justice.

Chapter Two: Vikings, Arabs: Pirates in the Dark Ages

From the Viking raids on the British Isles and France to Irish attacks on Britain to Arab raids on the eastern Mediterranean. How the pirates were organized and how they were eventually defeated.

Chapter Three: Piracy in the Far East

Wokou, Japanese pirates, raided Korean and Chinese merchant ships. Peaking in the early 1500s, by the end of the century a combination of factors, including official trade policies and better policing, led to the decline of Wokou.

Chapter Four: Honour Among Thieves

Introduction to the golden age of piracy in the 17th and 18th centuries. What life was like for a pirate crew, and why a code was needed. Few pirate articles have survived, because pirates on the verge of capture or surrender usually burned their articles or threw them overboard, to prevent the papers being used against them at trial.

Chapter Five: Bartholomew Roberts’ and Captain John Philips’ Articles

The two most famous pirate codes are examined in detail. How did they come about and were theymore a set of guidelines? How these codes eventually evolved into the modern merchant shipping contract.

Chapter Six: Tales from the Caribbean

Some of the most famous pirates and their campaigns – looking at how the Code was intepreted and often broken in the violent and dangerous world of the pirate ship.

Chapter Seven: The Brethren of the Coast

Brethren of the Coast were a loose coalition of pirates and privateers active in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries in the Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. They were a syndicate of captains with a written code of conduct. Among famous Brethren members was Henry Morgan. The Code in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies is most closely related to the code of the Brethren.

Chapter Eight: Pirates Today

It’s estimated that up to $18 billion are lost each year due to piracy. Current pirate hotspots are in the Horn of Africa, South America, the South China Sea and between Malaysia and Sumatra. More than 200 pirate attacks were reported in 2006. This chapter looks at the links between piracy and organized crime (Mafia, Yakuza etc) and the complex system of loyalties, oaths and bloody reprisals that govern this shady world.

Index

Customer Reviews

Be the first to write a review

( 0 )

Rating Distribution

5 Star

(0)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines

Tell the world what you think of this product.

Add Recommendations

Your Name: Create a Pen Name or Leave Anonymously

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

- HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
- Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
- Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
- Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
- Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
- Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
- Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

- By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
- Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
- See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.

If you find inappropriate content, please report it to Barnes & Noble

The Pirate Code

Overview

Customers Who Bought This Also Bought

More About This Book

Overview

Related Subjects

Product Details

Meet the Author

Read an Excerpt

Table of Contents

Customer Reviews

Rating Distribution

5 Star

4 Star

3 Star

2 Star

1 Star

Your Rating:

Your Recommendations:

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

What to exclude from your review:

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

Reminder:

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!