Christian practices among pirates of the Golden Age
M ost know the Hollywood-inspired image of the one-eyed, peg-legged, “arr”-proclaiming pirate is a stereotypical caricature. But what if the other assumptions about pirates being godless enemies of humankind are also inaccurate?
While there’s no denying pirates were often fearsome, violent people, few have considered what kind of impact Christianity might have had on them.
Historians often omit, particularly in the Pirate Golden Age (1680–1730), the undercurrent of Christian thought and belief running throughout life aboard pirate ships. We tend to forget pirates were once regular people, part of a landed society where the Church influenced much of daily life.
Historian E. T. Fox argues pirates tended to live according to the customs of regular society while aboard their ships. We shouldn’t then be surprised to find fingerprints of Christian faith and practice there either.
Pirate articles, the governing codes agreed upon and signed by all pirates aboard a ship, highlight some interesting Christian assumptions. Many of the articles that ruled pirate life suggest pirates were more connected to Christian ideology than we might assume.
The notorious Bartholomew Roberts (d. 1722) famously orders “Musicians to have Rest on the Sabbath Day,” showing Roberts’ pirates were linked, at least nominally, to some Christian heritage.
Likewise, a rule in pirate captain John Taylor’s (d. 1723) code prohibits the “discussion of religion” alongside arguments, insults and gambling. While seeming to demonstrate a lack of faith affiliation, this prohibition highlights that the differing religious opinions of those on board were strong enough that they threatened the peace on the ship.
PHOTO: BEEN INK
Pirate articles aren’t the only evidence. Some pirates paid seemingly uncharacteristic attention to Christian conventions in their preparations for death.
The famous Henry Morgan begins his Last Will and Testament, “First I will give and bequeath my Soule into the hands of almighty God . . . firmly believing in and hoping for a pardon . . . and remission of all my sins through the merritts and mediation of my Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christe.”
While to us this may seem a bold proclamation of faith from a pirate, its notability is not for its theological content. Historians caution against leaning too heavily on wills as evidence of religious faith because of how standardized the religious preamble was.
However, Morgan’s preamble is exceptional because of its timing. When Morgan’s will was written in 1688, the religious preamble was already out of style and no longer automatically included. That means it’s more likely genuine.
Another will, written by pirate Joseph Jones in 1698, similarly includes a commendation of his soul to God and hope in an eventual bodily resurrection. Even in the heyday of religious preambles, mentioning the bodily resurrection was a rare inclusion.
Again, the religious preamble to a will isn’t sufficient evidence for genuine Christian belief. But for Jones to include such a proclamation in his will, written in his own hand, without the help of a clergy or scribe, in the middle of the ocean far from the established Church, is noteworthy.
Jones died a poor pirate with few possessions to bequeath. His preamble could have been easily omitted as was the practice of amateur scribes like himself for nearly a century. Yet his inclusion of a proclamation of faith and hope for resurrection demonstrates how pirates like him remained connected to Christian traditions.
While it is arguably not a historian’s place to assess the authenticity of a person’s faith, the hints of Christian ideology and convention among these so-called godless pirates could cause us to consider how the gospel permeates into unlikely places.
Granted, pirates are not your typical shining models of Christian life and behaviour, but this doesn’t undermine the evidence that some of these pirates may have had real, personal convictions about God, Christian living and even life after death.
While we often overlook it, the influence of the Christian faith extended well past the edges of landed society to these ships, reminding us even pirates are not beyond God’s gracious reach.
Chiante Duncan of Ottawa has a BA in history from Briercrest College and works as a bookbinder. Read more at FaithToday.ca/HistoryLesson. Image of pirate ship: Been Ink