SUBHAN ASLAM
The basis for much of modern pirate literature comes from the 1724 collection of biographies A General History of the Robberies and Murders of the most notorious Pyrates written by Captain Charles Johnson. Novelists such as Robert Louis Stevenson and J.M Barrie both cite Johnson’s work by name as a major influence in their creations of Treasure Island and Peter Pan respectively. [01] His influence is undeniable, as the Naval Historian David Cordingley confirms: “It has been said, and there seems no reason to question this, that Captain Johnson created the modern conception of pirates” [02]. Many notable characters, however, when gaining their notoriety become caricatures of themselves; time and popular culture often remove layers of nuance. Captain Charles Johnson’s pirates are no different.
Perhaps the most famous pirate in the Western world is the English pirate Edward Teach, who on his ship Queen Anne’s Revenge was more commonly known as Blackbeard: a pirate greatly romanticised after his death in works such as Disney’s Blackbeard’s Ghost, the BBC's Blackbeard: terror at sea and NBC's Crossbones. His legacy is now used as the archetype for bloodthirsty rogues that ruled the Caribbean and Atlantic coastal waters, but in Charles Johnson’s book he was a complicated character, with some less well-known attitudes. He was described as a violent voyeur and whilst his actions were carried out at a surface level in a heterosexual sense, this interpretation also allowed for relations between men to be freely discussed. Yet, in a 1974 biography Blackbeard became a so-called “hairy Hugh Hefner” [03], which created a new heterocentric masculine narrative of pirates, and as such the modern depiction of Teach is a greatly sterilised interpretation of Johnson’s work, though this is not to say that Johnson doesn’t engage in some straight-washing himself for his gendering of Ann Bonny and Mary Read, two wildly successful crossdressing pirates. In morphing them into unmistakable female roles despite them presenting as male, Johnson seeks to remove all indications of overt activity of a queer nature taking place on pirate ships. Homoeroticism is scrubbed from the historiography of pirates and buried as a secretive subculture rather than being displayed as the prominent dynamic it actually was.
Whilst Blackbeard undoubtedly holds the title of most famous pirate from the Golden Age, that of most successful lies with the Welsh pirate Bartholomew “Black Bart” Roberts whose tally of 400 ships plundered is a record for the Golden Age [04]. Roberts also defined the canon of piracy, his adoption of the skull and crossbones giving it the fame needed for it to become an integral part of the modern pirate identity. Whilst he seems to fit the character model, on his ships there was not the lawlessness we have become accustomed to. Captain Roberts authored, and led his crew according to the terms of, a lengthy and detailed formal Pirate Code that consisted of eleven articles each governing a distinct aspect of pirate life. Article III stated that “no person [is] to game at cards or dice for money;” article V said that all had to “to keep their piece, pistols, and cutlass clean and fit for service,” and article XI allowed “the musicians to have rest on the Sabbath Day.” Article VI governed sexual relations on the ships and stated to the crew that “no boy or women [were] to be allowed among them” [05]. Historians such as Edward Fox have suggested that this clause was put in place to preserve the masculine identity of the homosocial pirate ship. Women and boys would “disrupt the manliness of the company” with their effeminate influence. However, it only takes a brief examination into the life of Captain Roberts to throw great doubt over this conclusion that it was a “manly men only” clause [06]. Black Bart was known for a strict adherence to his Pirate Code; however, there was one person on ship that he developed a soft spot for, the surgeon George Wilson. During his final rampage down the West coast of Africa their relationship grew and witnesses attest to their “intimacy” on board. They pledged a mutual suicide pact, swearing to “blow up and go to hell together” rather than be captured, and were engaged in a civil union known as a matelotage [07]. As a result of its economic overtones the bond is often viewed as a platonic form of mutual insurance; in the case of Captain Roberts however, it is more accurately comparable to modern day same-sex marriage. The relationship between Black Bart and George Wilson was not the only case of an openly gay couple within the pirate world: the Cornish Pirate Robert Culliford took a matelotage with John Swann, who was described as “a great consort” [08] of his, the two living together on Île Sainte-Marie, a small island belonging to Madagascar that became a pirate haven.
Of course, such conduct was not limited to Pirates; the circumstance of freedom on the high seas led to gay relationships across the sailing world, as the writer and abolitionist Olaudah Equiano recounts in his journal. Richard Baker was a young American that Equiano met whilst sailing with the Naval officer Michael Henry Pascal, and whilst the two teenagers were living at sea they grew “extremely fond” [09] of one another. For two years they too had an informal matelotage agreement, often sharing the same bed space. Equiano in his journal writes that the two were “inseparable,” and “experienced many sufferings together on shipboard” that would result in them spending the nights “lain in each other’s bosoms [during times of] great distress” [10]. The institution of matelotage, which by definition was purely transactional, in practice could “combine friendship, brotherly love, servitude and perhaps even sex” [11].
As pirates were already operating away from the law they did not pay much attention to the fact that buggery remained a capital offence in England until 1861, and that conviction from that date until 1967 was punishable by life imprisonment. In the larger sea faring institution of the Royal Navy, in accordance with the military mantra of removing the right to individuality, same-sex relations were only legalised in 1994 [12]. Despite this draconian rule however, Commander John Bligh - a Royal Navy officer who served during the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars - stated that “to my knowledge sodomy is a regular thing on ships that go on long cruises.” He went on to say that soldiers came “to accept homosexual practices and ultimately to prefer them” [13]. This acceptance on behalf of a commander was not common and whilst Bligh was light-handed in his administration of punishment*, that was not often the case. In the minds of many naval commanders sodomy and the general breakdown of law and order were closely related. This was reflected in the severity of the consequence of such ‘crimes’. During the Seven Years’ War where concerns over desertion resulted in the highest lashing (a frequent seafarers' punishment) rates in British naval history, floggings for sodomy doubled them. In fact from 1755 to 1791 the average number of lashes for mutiny was 283 whilst the average for ‘homosexual offence’ stood at 527 [14]. This disproportionality continued through to levels of higher punishment and from 1756 to 1806, 57% of cases labelled ‘Buggery’ carried death sentences, a rate higher than that of both murder and desertion [15]. The percentage of capital convictions for buggery that actually led to execution in the same time period stood at 54%, dwarfing the execution rate for murder which was 18%, and significantly higher than that of 'Striking an Officer' or 'Mutiny' which were 33% and 30% respectively [16]. Only 1 case of buggery was pardoned, a number insignificant when compared to the 55 pardons for mutiny and 38 for striking an officer [17].
Many of these cases were upheld on inconclusive grounds with the nature of the crime rather than the certainty of evidence playing a significant role in the outcome of the trial. In the Benson and Francis case of 1797 “two seamen of the St George were observed one night in a very indecent position,” and the court sentenced them both to death [18]. In 1832, Edward McGee and John Peach were put on trial for “indecent conduct” after a witness testified that they were in bed together. The full testimony of the witness stated that they were drunk and mistakenly collapsed in the same bed, yet they were sentenced to 300 lashes each and were promptly discharged [19]. The flimsy pretences for dismissal existed regardless of rank with Lieutenant Richard Morgan being tried and dismissed in 1838 on the suspicion that he “touched two seamen on their thighs” [20]. No matter how hard they tried the Navy was unable to escape the fact that homosocial sea faring travel meant there was a near certainty of gay relations, but unlike their pirate counterparts they did not embrace it.
Disagreements between these two ocean-bound forces of course went beyond social issues, and the battles between them have cemented themselves within the culturo-historical conscience. Whilst the dichotomy between sexual freedom and unjust punishment isn’t explored, naval battles are the basis of one of the most successful film trilogies of recent decades. Johnny Depp’s portrayal of Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean is now likely to be the first image that comes to people’s minds when discussing pirates. Whilst Jack Sparrow is a much loved character now, on the release of the first film the actor took frequent criticism for being 'too camp' in the role. Disney executives were greatly confused by the portrayal of Jack, questioning “what is that thing? It is drunk; Is it gay?” [21]. Depp’s response to the remarks was that “it's very, very important to me, no matter who the person is, to play that person with the utmost degree of truth that I'm able to bring”. Perhaps the bosses were unaware of the true nature of pirates and homosexuality. This ignorance is not exactly difficult to understand given how straight-washed pirate history is, and many thought it too controversial in 2001 to have a gay character as the lead. It would be disheartening if the same conversation was to be happening now. Well, after Depp’s court case and Disney’s cutting-of-ties with the actor, Margot Robbie was rumoured to have been cast as the lead in establishing a new pirate franchise. Sources have claimed that she wanted to play a character with an open sexuality and that she wanted “her character to be LGBT” [22]. In 2021 this would be assumed not to be an issue. ‘Fans’, however, assert that “Disney is looking to alienate millions of hardcore fans and ruin the pirates series”. Others are pleading that Disney “let Pirates of the Caribbean end instead of trying to force it into pandering” [23]. Perhaps a reassessment of sea-faring history is needed to demonstrate that Robbie is perfectly correct to portray a queer pirate if she wishes to, and by doing so is not pandering but aiming in fact for a truer representation of pirate history.
The queer stories concealed within pirate history testify that allowing people to freely come to their own conclusions about who they are and want to be can be hard for some. Changing long-held beliefs, even in the face of overwhelming evidence may also be tough, especially when those thoughts and these changes come wrapped in a rainbow flag.
*Bligh used a loophole within the Naval Code that exploited the fact the terms for ‘uncleanliness’ were vague and came with a less severe punishment than sodomy, using this instead in his punishment of sailor James Jones on March 17 and again on April 21 1806.
Bibliography
[01] Porterfield, J. (2004). Treasure Island and the pirates of the 18th century. New York: Rosen Central Primary Source, p.12.
[02] Cordingly, D. (2010). Introduction. In: Johnson, C. General History of the Robberies & Murders of the Most Notorious Pyrates. 2nd ed. Guilford, Connecticut: Lyons Press, p.viii.
[03] Turley, H. (1999). Rum, sodomy, and the lash : piracy, sexuality, and masculine identity. New York: New York University Press, p.6.
[04] Conlin, D. (2011). Pirates of the Atlantic : robbery, murder and mayhem off the Canadian east coast. Halifax, N.S.: Formac ; Newbury, p.32.
[05] Cartwright, M. (2021). Bartholomew Roberts. [online] World History Encyclopedia. Available at: https://www.worldhistory.org/Bartholomew_Roberts/.
[06] Fox, E.T. (2013). “Piratical Schemes and Contracts”: Pirate Articles and Their Society 1660-1730. Phd.
[07] Cordingly and Johnson, p.246
[08] "America and West Indies: June 1699, 12-20" in Calendar of State Papers Colonial, America and West Indies: Volume 17, 1699 and Addenda 1621-1698, ed. Cecil Headlam (London: His Majesty's Stationery Office, 1908), 283-291. British History Online, http://www.british-history.ac.uk/cal-state-papers/colonial/america-west-indies/vol17/pp 283-291.
[09] Equiano, O. (1793). The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African ... Second edition. With a portrait. p.64.
[10] Equiano, p.64
[11] Miller, C.L. (2008). The French Atlantic triangle : literature and culture of the slave trade. Durham, NC: Duke Univ. Press, p.309.
[12] Stanley, J. (2016). Queer Histories in the Navy. [online] www.rmg.co.uk. Available at: https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/blog/queer-histories-navy.
[13] Hyde, H.Montgomery. (1970). The Love That Dared Not Speak Its Name: A Candid History of Homosexuality in Britain. Little, Brown and Company, p.159.
[14] Gilbert, A.N. (1976). Buggery and the British Navy, 1700-1861. Journal of Social History, 10(1), p.84.
[15] Gilbert, p.82.
[16] Gilbert, p.83.
[17] Gilbert, p.82.
[18] Gilbert, p.75.
[19] Gilbert, p.78.
[20] Gilbert, p.78.
[21] Denham, J. (2015). Johnny Depp recalls what he told Disney bosses confused by Captain Jack Sparrow. [online] The Independent. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/johnny-depp-recalls-what-he-told-disney-bosses-confused-by-jack-sparrow-didn-t-you-know-all-my-characters-are-gay-a6728081.html.
[22] Davies, M. (2020). Margot Robbie wants her Pirates of the Caribbean character to be queer. [online] PinkNews | Latest lesbian, gay, bi and trans news | LGBT+ news. Available at: https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2020/12/13/margot-robbie-pirates-of-the-caribbean-character-lgbt-queer-johnny-depp/.
[23] Dufresne, A. (2021). “Pirates” Star Johnny Depp Told Disney Jack Sparrow Is Gay. [online] Inside the Magic. Available at: https://insidethemagic.net/2021/02/jack-sparrow-gay-ad1/
[24] Gilbert, p.72.