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I just rewatched Pirates of the Caribbean and decided to look up the ‘Pirate Code’
And I found a set of rules made by Black Bart (one of the most famous Pirates ever) to keep the ship and her crew from falling apart and they are the most un-pirate like rules ever:
(Taken from A General History of the Pyrates, 1724)
I. Every man has a vote in affairs of moment; has equal title to the fresh provisions, or strong liquors, at any time seized, and may use them at pleasure, unless a scarcity makes it necessary, for the good of all, to vote a retrenchment.
(Translation: The ship is a democracy, one man one vote. Also, everyone is free to the alcohol and food on board except when there are rations)
II. Every man to be called fairly in turn, by list, on board of prizes because, (over and above their proper share) they were on these occasions allowed a shift of clothes: but if they defrauded the company to the value of a dollar in plate, jewels, or money, marooning was their punishment. If the robbery was only betwixt one another, they contented themselves with slitting the ears and nose of him that was guilty, and set him on shore, not in an uninhabited place, but somewhere, where he was sure to encounter hardships.
(Translation: You can buy new clothes and stuff when we pay you your share, but if you steal from the ship’s treasure we’ll leave you to die on an island (one pistol shot and all that). If you steal from someone else, they’re allowed to cut bits off you.)
III. No person to game at cards or dice for money.
(Translation: No gambling.)
IV. The lights and candles to be put out at eight o’clock at night: if any of the crew, after that hour still remained inclined for drinking, they were to do it on the open deck.
(Translation: Lights out at 8pm. If anyone wants to stay awake, you can go up top; some people are trying to sleep.)
V. To keep their piece, pistols, and cutlass clean and fit for service.
(Translation: Have a little pride in your appearance boys. You’re pirates for God’s sake…)
VI. No boy or woman to be allowed amongst them. If any man were to be found seducing any of the latter sex, and carried her to sea, disguised, he was to suffer death.
(Translation: No women on board to distract the very lonely male crew who’ve been at sea for a long time. Note: Wives did sometimes join their husbands. And Women did end up disguising themselves and becoming pirates.)
VII. To desert the ship or their quarters in battle, was punished with death or marooning.
(Translation: Traitors and deserters will get thrown off the ship, sometimes with their blood inside their bodies)
VIII. No striking one another on board, but every man’s quarrels to be ended on shore, at sword and pistol.
(Translation: No fighting. If you do, take it outside (so to speak).)
IX. No man to talk of breaking up their way of living, till each had shared one thousand pounds. If in order to this, any man should lose a limb, or become a cripple in their service, he was to have eight hundred dollars, out of the public stock, and for lesser hurts, proportionately.
(Translation: You can’t leave the ship til you have helped plunder £1000. If you lost a limb or were badly hurt you were given £800.)
X. The Captain and Quartermaster to receive two shares of a prize: the master, boatswain, and gunner, one share and a half, and other officers one and quarter.
(Translation: Everyone is paid proportionately to their rank.)
XI. The musicians to have rest on the Sabbath Day, but the other six days and nights, none without special favor.
(Translation: Musicians get Sundays off.)
So, your queer history lesson for the day:
Everyone’s heard that pirate’s call each other “matey”. What you probably haven’t heard is that the word matey comes from “matelote”.
In the Caribbean this word was used between buccaneers to signify a life partner. Matelotes could inherit from each other, shared space, fought together, could speak for each other when one was incapacitated or absent, and more often than not the relationship was romantic and sexual.
That’s right folks. Pirates had a term for their gay life partners.
In light of this, I present to you a new alternative for significant other and partner. Bring back matelote.
(You can learn more about the practice of matelotage in: The Origins and Role of Same-Sex Relations in Human Societies by James Niell)
Arrr! Matelotage was such a great idea!
In an age when the English Navy ran on “rum, sodomy and the lash,” (as noted in many writings of the time), homosexual relationships were punishable by death.
The result here was that in the English Navy, relationships went underground. Very often, they became forced, often between a superior and a subordinate. When English crews went on the account, becoming pirates, they looked for a way to legitimize relationships of honest affection.
Matelotage [French; meaning ‘seamanship’] , now used as an English word, became a term for a legal marriage between two men.[…]
In pirate society (and only pirate society) two men could “marry.” They would exchange gold rings, and pledge eternal union. After this, they were expected to share everything. Plunder and living spaces were obvious, but couples in matelotage were also known to share other property, and even women. If one of the partners was killed in action, pirate captains were careful to make sure that the surviving member received both shares of plunder, as well as any appropriate death benefits.
Simply put, homosexual relationships had been kept under wraps by people in fear for their lives because of draconian laws. Among sailors who had practiced this form of release themselves, it lost its sense of being alien, and so became accepted and legitimized as soon as they (by turning pirate) gained the right to make their own laws. {X}
Another excellent addition!
✖ : Describe a way to make them uneasy or apprehensive.
HORATIO, when confronted by social obligations tends to become something of an anxiety ridden wreck who would much rather swim to the bottom of the ocean and make friends with cuttlefish than figure out how in the hell to comport himself in various degrees of esteemed company.
✖ : Describe a way to make them uneasy or apprehensive.
JACK, when confronted by his own mortality tends to be at his most apprehensive. While this is true for most people with a sense of self preservation, it is exceptionally notable that Jack’s response to this feeling of impending doom known to all souls is not to take a deep breath and relax, but rather to go on a wild adventure in search of immortality, instead. Only to, one might add, sacrifice all possibility of immortality in order to save someone who won’t even thank him for the trouble.
♡ : Is there a certain scent that brings about nostalgia?
The scent of rosemary is often enough to bring Theodore back home to his sisters. It is one of the more affordable products, subtle to those that meet the girls in passing but pungent in application. It is used in their baths and as part of their hair care rituals – it got to the point he was so used to it that he didn’t even notice it anymore. It was only when he noticed it sharply on a woman after two years at sea that he realized it’s potency, and capacity to call him home.
Gillette is not an artistic man in the traditional sense; he sees the world in too practical a manner to get lost in paintings or fashion. Theater was a luxury he did not afford himself, when he could instead spend his time advancing his knowledge of the articles of war, the histories of battles recent and far gone. He had a passion for reaching back in time and seeing how others managed their odds, and fashioning scenarios and resolutions.
Soon, he found himself writing down operations, calculations and various other elements in order to better exercise his understanding of command. He eventually engaged his mother in the game, and slowly it evolved to something more. Now, when he gets letters from her, he gets several tests to work on, scenarios and battle plans, and he writes like a man running out of time to work out the best solutions, the clearest paths to victory, never knowing that more often than not his plans are not nearly as hypothetical as he believes them to be.
Eveline is in a unique position where the revelation of her true gender under certain circumstances can hold very little repercussion overall. As Captain Etienne Cotard, she is recognized as a leader among the royalist refugees in England and is present for all meetings between her brother, Major Andre Cotard, and collective English and French leaders working on operations meant to once more establish control over the revolutionists and in particular, reign in Bonaparte.
However, as Eveline Cotard she is the only daughter of a venerated marquis and a lady of the queen’s own court. Her reputation in France is relatively small but favorable – her debutante affairs were, to her credit, executed flawlessly and she was known during the seasons to be level headed, clever and perhaps a bit too strong in opinion.
Both of these factors combine to make her a powerful asset to the royalist campaign – and she knows it well. Despite this, she maintains her subterfuge – for though she is respected by the men she leads, there is no reason in her view to shake their confidence in any way. Nor does she desire to have them focus too much on her protection, when up until now she has served them well without such concerns.
As such, it is rare for Eveline to reveal to anyone that “Etienne” is in fact a woman. It is much easier to be a young lord than a young lady in a war camp, after all. The few times she has seen fit to reveal herself however, have been fairly remarkable.
On three occasions, the individual learning this truth was another woman who was needed on hand to assist the surgeon with an injury she had sustained in battle. This man, along with her fellow captain and her brother, are the only constants who know her for who she truly is – but then there were those other notable moments.
Once, while out on the town with some of her squadron, Eveline spotted an absolutely gorgeous English sailor and decided to slip off on her soldiers to find herself a helpful matron to outfit her in proper women’s fashion. She spent a good week flirting and enjoying the man’s attentions, and once she felt done with him she wished him well upon his travels and – for all intents and purposes – vanished. Her guise as Etienne hid her well, and within two more days, the man had sailed off, leaving behind nothing more than fond memories. ( As it should be, by her view! )
Another time, a high flying upstart of a British officer was being too loose with his insults toward the French within the pub. Fed up, she challenged him to a target game – the one with the most shots accurately placed would have to pay for the drinks of all men in the other party for that evening. Certain no frog could outshoot him, the man agreed – and was summarily trounced by Etienne, who was known to his men as one of the best shots around, save perhaps the major.
But Eveline was not finished with the man – oh no. After this, she visited her friend the matron again and was once more dressed to impress. She willfully lured the man into thinking her a dainty escapee of revolutionist France, and through charm and flirtation convinced him to “show her” how to use his rifle, as it seemed ever so exciting.
As his men looked on, the poor man got himself set up perfectly as he held on to her and rearranged her limbs to aim, and helped her fire the first shot. She asked for one more try, on her own this time, and he reloaded for her – setting her aim, for safety sake – only for Eveline to drawl, “No wonder you miss so often,” elbow him back, shift her stance, and fire a perfect shot. Setting the rifle back into his hands, she cautioned him to keep his tongue between his teeth, until such a time as he can outshoot a Frenchwoman.
The third, and final revelation of her true gender, is one that to this day has Andre pinch the bridge of his nose to stave off a headache. Men at war were bickering over an angle of attack and she tried to get them to focus. When all attempts at staying their posturing failed, “Etienne” loudly proclaimed that this was why women had do all the work in parliament.
The statement earned scoffs and while the men were starting in on women she dropped the solution to the situation in a tone so cold Andre knew full well a storm was coming and was wise enough to position himself near the door behind her in case of having to grab her and bolt. However, the solution was considered quite impressive – and someone made the idiotic remark that she had been waiting for. The notion that a woman could never come up with such a plan.
Stone faced, Eveline lifted up her shirt and flashed the gathered English into silence. Tucking her shirt back in place, she continued the meeting and left her brother to deal with the aftermath of her actions.
👍 FAVORITE BODY PART ON THE OPPOSITE SEX?
Horatio doesn’t really pay attention to women in a sense of attraction and specific body parts, but he does tend to pay attention to the eyes of women, mostly because he is fascinated by eyes in general.
👥 FAVORITE BODY PART ON THE SAME SEX?
Horatio is fascinated by hair, interestingly enough. He loves to run his hand through it – by his estimation it is one of the most intimate kindnesses that can be shared, for a man’s hair is meant to be well kept and controlled by the queue. To be allowed to see it loose and to engage in an act that could muss it is a deep indulgence he most greatly enjoys.
🍒 ARE YOU A VIRGIN?
He is in the traditional sense, yes.
💋 DO YOU USE TONGUE WHEN YOU KISS?
He follows the lead of who is kissing him – which means that generally, yes – tongue does tend to be involved.
👅 GIVE OR RECEIVE ORAL SEX?
Horatio has — hang ups in particular regard to this. While he will delightfully go down on his partner, having the act performed on himself tends to illicit a sharp and negative reaction. Being on the receiving end places him in a position he is deeply discomfited by and will abruptly stop in most occasions.
👄 DO YOU SWALLOW?
Yes he does.
💍 COMMITMENT OR SLEEPING AROUND?
Horatio is extremely committed and will never be anything more than absolutely faithful to his partner ( or partners, in the case of a polyamorous group; provided he is even open to such a thing, which I am, as of yet, endeavouring to discover. ) Horatio is loyal to a fault, especially to his heart – and that extends, of course, to those who holdhis heart in their hands.
💌 DO YOU TEXT/WRITE NAUGHTY THINGS TO YOUR PARTNER?
He would never dare put such thoughts to paper, by God!
👙 DO YOU LIKE TO WEAR LINGERIE/SEE YOUR PARTNER IN LINGERIE?
As a matter of fact – he does like to wear certain garments if it pleases his partner; the trick is discovering it is, indeed, something his partner enjoys. More often than not it would happen by accident – or by them purchasing him something.
👀 FAVORITE SEX POSITION?
Horatio prefers to have weight upon him, so he is generally at his happiest when he is beneath his lover. However, if he is feeling particularly energetic and is looking less for a slow, deep affair of connection ( which is, admittedly, what he seeks most with sex ) and is more in it for the pleasure – of his partner as well as himself – his favorite position is one where he can straddle them and take control of both speed and depth. He is also very flexible and tends to enjoy making use of it in such ventures.
✋ MOST SENSITIVE SPOT ON YOUR BODY?
A toss up, admittedly. Horatio is highly sensitive in general, so he can be roused by even the most simple of touches. His neck and ears are especially sensitive, though if one wishes to make him sing a good place to start would be his nipples – it shocks him every time, and is an immediate alert that tonight is meant for vigorous activity.
🛌 FAVORITE PLACE TO HAVE SEX?
Preferably a bunk, though he – is not opposed to being held up against a wall if one cannot be reached. He’s also a bit daring in his adoration for being bent over a desk.
📹 THREESOMES OR NO?
Still figuring this out. However I believe if the persons were right, he would indeed go for it. I think Archie is a necessary factor for Horatio to be willing to be polyamorous as, in truth, the only times he has shown any interest in threesomes is when Archie is a member of the party.
💰 WOULD YOU EVER PAY FOR SEX?
He would not.
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