Pirates! We've all heard of them. As children we thrilled to the stories of their daring exploits. Tales of buried treasure, walking the plank and heroic sea battles sent us to bed too wide eyed to sleep. There are even modern day pirates kidnapping sailors and robbing ocean going tankers.
But the reality of piracy is much different than the myth. When piracy was at it's height, the world was in the middle of an economic boom. Nations and huge trading companies sailed the seas in search of the wealth to be found in the new world, Asia and Africa. The nations of the Europe needed these resources to keep their economies going and the shipment of these goods through dangerous waters was of prime importance. When their ships came in the merchants fortunes were assured.
But for the ordinary seamen there was no fortune. In many cases to increase their profits the ship owners shorted the men's rations, or cheated them of their wages. Some introduced a company store police where the sailors had to buy goods at inflated prices till they were so deep in dept that they had to indenture themselves as a kind of slave labor. Men who sold supplies to the ships would send rotten meat and bad supplies to the ships and the sailors were forced to eat it.
And if all this wasn't bad enough, a cruel and vicious disciplinarian of a captain would make their lives a living hell, Beatings and even murder where used to control the men. Some captains were truly insane with power. When this madness became too much, the men would mutiny, and as they had committed an act punishable by death, they turned pirate.
At this point you might think that the only thing that the new pirates were interested in was riches in the ships they planed to take. You would be wrong. It was a strange thing but pirates did not just rob and pillage on the high seas. When a ship was taken the crew of that ship was asked if there was any complaints against the captain and officers of the ship and if their was he would be tried and wiped or executed for his crimes.
The pirate ship was a floating democracy in a world of class privilege and inherited wealth. The captain was elected and limits were placed on his power. He only had absolute authority during a chase and battle. At all other times a quartermaster was elected to counterbalance the power of the captain. The quartermaster stood between the captain and the crew to protect them from unfair decisions of the captain
He also acted as ,treasurer, he divided equally the ships stores and any captured booty, and he acted as mediator in disputes between crewmen.
The common council was the real power on a pirate ship. All the men had a vote and everything would be voted on. The election of a captain, the division of ship stores, where to sail or what to do with a captured ship were all discussed openly and voted on. A captain could be removed by a vote and many were.
There was no overly complicated pay system. Instead every crewman was paid according to his skill
1 to 2 shares for the captain and quartermaster, 11/4 to 11/2 shares for gunners, carpenters, doctors and other skilled men. All others got 1 share each. No one was allowed to take more than his fair share, including the captain (least he assume a power to take whatever they want for themselves. )
But for all their striving for justice and democracy, pirates were still just criminals who used terror to get what they wanted. They stole to gain what they wanted. They destroyed ships and cargo rather than allow it to return to the rightful owner, even if they had no use for it themselves.
International trade itself was in danger. Pirates took almost a thousand ships as prizes. Important figures in government, trade and religion responded with a terror all their own. When the governor of a colony of a colony hung a number of pirates their fellow pirates, enraged by this treatment offered a bounty on his head and blockaded the colony and stopped and commerce. When they captured the governor of another colony they hung him instead. Tit for tat each side used terror to accomplish their aim of neutralizing the other.
In the end the legal authorities proved strongest. Capturing and hanging hundreds of pirates until the seas were swept clear of them.
But the conditions that began piracy in the first place still existed. When a couple of pirate ships were captured the officers of the navel ships conspired to cheat the crew out of their legal share of the prize money.
And so it goes, from that day to this the struggle for social and economic equality continues. People continue to use the same out mode tactics to get their own way. It's not that they are evil, it's just that their human. But the escalating use of terror to obtain social justice and an equally justified use of terror to fight against the first terror and keep the status quos is nothing but a vicious circle of terror that produces nothing but more terror. It does not produce the social justice that everyone "says" they are striving for. Remember the pirate's of old left nothing behind but a myth, and the freedom fighter of today is in danger of leaving behind the same thing. No great nation of freedom, no justice, No better life for poor honest men. Just, go away, you are not our kind so disappear off the face of the earth. The pirate is only a criminal who uses fear against others to make an easy life for himself. The revolutionary begins to do the same.
So what do you do to gain equality in a world of unfairness? Instead of being like an angry child throwing ones self at the legs of a giant, try climbing onto the shoulders of that giant.
If you want cheaper food gather together in a group to buy food at wholesale prices. Or better still buy direct from the farmer. Need expensive equipment, do the same thing.
Form a public company,(you are allowed to you know)and deal with the problems of sewage, water, roads, and medical needs as a group. At least one person in your area has some skills at book keeping don't they. If there is no justice then find an honest man to arbitrate between you before it gets too serious. Be creative, try new things. If enough of you stand together, then no company or government can stop you. But, The key words are, IF YOU STAND TOGETHER.
Some who swear to stand at your side are dishonest, and are only out for themselves. Pirates had such men too. They marooned them on a desert isle. Make sure you have a way to remove such people. And watch the books closely. Those pirates of old could have been so much more than they eventually became. They could have built a truly democratic nation. A gigantic fleet that delivered the goods of nations without cruelty or penny pinching. Changed economic policy by delivering goods for the merchants without turning to thievery. But they were blinded by their lust for revenge, liquor and an easy life. If you would be a pirate, be a gentle one. Or else you may end up a naked savage, wandering thru the ruins of a once great civilization unable to build what you have destroyed. The pirate of old and the terrorist of today have one thing in common. They chose the taking of revenge even over their own survival. And in the end they turned against the ones they claimed to be protecting.
So raise high the black banner of freedom me heart's! And on it an anatomy of white skull and cross bones. Fly it proudly over your business and take your place with those who would change the world. Give your competitor a broadside of low prices, and board his ship with superior customer service and quality goods and services, Aye! Lets all stand together and make this venture a success, Arrr, and raise a glass O rum to old sailors every ware. Oh, sorry, no rum for me. I have a business meeting at 10:30, just tea and crumpets thanks.
