The Pirates’ Code: Laws and Life Aboard Ship by Rebecca Simon

Read the review (requires subscription) by Nathan Jopling in the November 2024 issue of the IJMH

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/08438714241272623

A description of the book is available here:

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/distributed/P/bo199165757.html

Pirates have long captured our imaginations with images of cutlass-wielding swashbucklers, eye patches, and buried treasure. But what was life really like on a pirate ship? Piracy was a risky, sometimes deadly occupation, and strict orders were essential for everyone’s survival. These “Laws” were sets of rules that determined everything from how much each pirate earned from their plunder to compensation for injuries, punishments, and even the entertainment allowed on ships. These rules became known as the “Pirates’ Code,” which all pirates had to publicly swear by. Using primary sources like eyewitness accounts, trial proceedings, and maritime logs, this book explains how each one of the pirate codes was the key to pirates’ success in battle, on sea, and on land.