Bufflehead Cabin

igather:

The pirate’s code, also called the Articles of the Brethren or The Brotherhood of the Coast allowed pirates to vote for their captain who would remain captain till he was voted out. “Every man of us is a freeman and stands for his own self, but a man serves his best interest by standin’ with other free men. We don’t hold to colour or class or wealth. A man’s not born with his rank, but earns it.”

To Anne Bonny, the pirate’s code meant equality, something she had not encountered previously and now defended fiercely against the very pirates she lived with. At one point she turns on her husband demanding: “Have ye not just told me that the Code made all men equal? By what right do ye tell me how to speak…or what to think? I’m here precisely because I will have no one tell me what I can or cannot do.” At another moment she argues: “Do not try to tell me that because I am a woman, I must have a different set of rules, for God knows, I have earned my place as an equal. I am a crew member and entitled to all the privileges of any man here.” (via Active Voice: Piracy: the way the books are balanced?)

Need this book. Love Ann and Mary.