Letters of Marque
Letters of Marque were papers issued to privateers which gave specific instructions on a task they were to perform in the service of a country of private company. Typically these letters outlined the actions the ship could against warring nations. Two examples are a general "Letters of Marque" issued in 1625 by King James of England and the Letters issued to Captain, Sir Henry Morgan (Letter will open in new window.)

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Letter of Ransom
Another paper that was remarkably worthless when dealing with real pirates. Letters of Ransom were given to ship by privateers after members of the crew or passengers had been kidnapped. Typically a privateer would issue the letters with instructions for all other privateers to allow this ship to pass safely to its intended destiination because people were being held ransom and the ransom could not be paid by dead men. The little good that could come from this letter would be a spared life in the event no booty was found on board.

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Let Pass
The Letters of Safe Passage, or Let Pass were papers given to ships in order to grant safe passagethrough an area. Typically these letters would be given to the captain of ship of a neutral nation or perhaps an enemy ship involved in negotiations with the host nation of privateers. While they may have kept away a privateer they offered little guarentee against a determined pirate.

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Letters of Reprisal
Basically a letter declaring unrestricted warfare in a specified area due to the actions of a sovereign government See Letters of Marque.

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Dueling
Overseen by the Quarter Master and strictly controlled. Dueling without permission would lead to marooning of all concerned. (more information to come)

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Who's in Charge
A division of power between the Quatermaster and the Captain existed on Pirate ships. (more information to come)

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Dividing Booty

Depending on the situation, the division of plunder would change.

For instance, if the ship were a Privateer, and was operating under a Letter of Marque, the division is most likely outlined by whomever issued the Letter.

Typically, the commision would divide the spoils at a certain percentage for the captain and crew and the rest for the company or government that issued the letter. This percentage could be anything from 10% to 90% for the government. Quite often Queen Elizabeth settled for a 50/50 split.

Once the government or got its share the rest would be divided among the captain and his crew. This would be decided ahead of time. A good rule of thumb would be that the captain would get two shares, while other important members of the crew would get between 1 1/4 to 1 3/4 shares. A seasoned crew member would get a 1 share, a new man may get as little as 1/4 share. This would differ from ship to ship and often would be agreed upon before setting sail.

One Article of Piracy stated: the captain shall have one full share and a half in all prizes. the Master, Carpenter, Boatswain, and Gunner shall have one share and quarter. This leaves it open how much everyone else got. It may be that every else got one share or may be that each person was instructed individually what they would get. Other things were also considered. Boarding parties might get a bonus share.

Most of this division of booty concerned items of wealth, such as gold, silver, gems, slaves, and merchandise like coffee, sugar cane, and textiles. While weapons and blades were also divided up, crews may have handled them differently. If you killed a man, then perhaps you got his pistol or cutlass if it were better than yours, or perhaps it went into a pool and captains and other senior members got first crack at ownership. Or perhaps you bought it by having its worth deducted from your share.

It was common practice for leaders of boarding parties to get a first crack at a any captured pistols or blades. Quatermasters and Captains would also often lay claim to anything they felt was special and this too would be above and beyond the division of spoils. This was not unexpected. In fact, considering the pecking order onboard the ship, it was perfectly acceptable.